The key facts

  • Brothers aged 13 and 16 were stranded at night at an altitude of more than 2,300 m near the locked Bonnerhütte refuge, which had closed for the season a week earlier
  • The parents turned back after a few hours of hiking, considering their sons experienced enough, and did not check the refuge's operating schedule
  • According to the Val Pusteria rescuers, the teenagers were dressed inadequately for the weather and became severely hypothermic; they have been discharged from the hospital

Night Rescue in South Tyrol

In South Tyrol, the mountain rescue service came to the aid in the middle of the night of two brothers from Germany, aged 13 and 16, who had been abandoned by their own parents and were stranded at an altitude of more than 2,300 meters near a locked mountain refuge.

How Events Unfolded

The family set out on a hike from Dobbiaco (Toblach in German). After a few hours, the parents turned back, allowing their sons to continue the route alone: the adults considered the teenagers experienced enough to spend the night on their own at the Bonnerhütte refuge. However, no one had checked the refuge's operating schedule in advance — the traditional mountain hut, built in 1897 by the Bonn section of the Alpine Club, had closed for the season a week earlier.

The Rescue and the Teenagers' Condition

The emergency call came in at around one in the morning. The teenagers found themselves out in the cold with no possibility of taking shelter, having climbed to an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. Rescuers evacuated the brothers and took them to a hospital. According to the mountain rescue service of Val Pusteria (Pustertal in German), the teenagers were dressed inadequately for the weather and became severely hypothermic; one of them began vomiting. By now, they have already been discharged from the hospital. The rescuers called what happened 'extreme carelessness' and emphasized that such irresponsible behavior is, fortunately, rare.

Fairy-Tale Parallels

The publication noted that the story resembles European dark fairy tales: in the Brothers Grimm's 'Hansel and Gretel' (first published in 1812), children are abandoned in the forest, and in Charles Perrault's 'Little Thumb,' poor woodcutter parents abandon their seven sons in the forest. The Russian version of Euronews also mentioned the folk tales 'Geese and Swans,' 'Father Frost' (Morozko), 'Baba Yaga,' and 'Vasilisa the Beautiful.'