Six-Hour Rescue on Hochlantsch: 21-Year-Old Saved

Photo: picture alliance / blickwinkel/McPHOTO

Late morning, 13 September 2025: a 21-year-old Czech climber and her 23-year-old companion set out from Breitenau aiming to traverse the Franz-Scheikl Naturfreunde Klettersteig on Hochlantsch (1,720 m). It’s a popular route in the Graz mountains – stunning, well-trodden – but rated C (“difficult”), requiring solid fitness, arm strength, alpine tone and a good head for exposure.

Not long after starting, the young woman began struggling. By the time they’d covered roughly one third of the ascent, exhaustion overtook her. She could no longer continue. Her partner stayed by her side, but soon other climbers behind them noticed her distress and alerted mountain rescue.

Weather turned against them: dense fog shut down any possibility of helicopter access, forcing rescuers to rely on a technical rope retrieval from the upper portions of the climb. Over six hours, a large team – 35 individuals from the Hochlantsch mountain rescue, the Alpin Police of Hochsteiermark, and Breitenau fire brigade – worked to bring her safely off the cliff-face and down to safety.

Her companion, uninjured, was also assisted down the route by a mountain police guide. Once both reached the valley, they voluntarily sought medical attention for exhaustion, stress, and exposure.

The Franz-Scheikl route is about 400 vertical meters of exposed climbing; what seems like “just steep” to some quickly becomes demanding when fatigue sets in. The rescue is a stark reminder: picturesque does not mean easy.