Hiker reunited with backpack 60 years after he fell into a glacier in Austria
An 86-year-old man was reunited with his backpack and climbing gear after they were discovered by a hiker on a melting Austrian glacier. The items had been lost in a crevasse during a 1963 hiking accident, and their emergence highlights the rapid retreat of glaciers due to climate change.
Why it matters
The discovery serves as a tangible indicator of the accelerating impact of global heating on Alpine environments and historical preservation.
The man had been hiking in the Sulztal valley region in Tyrol, Austria, in 1963. The man had been hiking in the Sulztal valley region in Tyrol, Austria, in 1963. Austria Hiker reunited with backpack 60 years after he fell into a glacier in Austria Bag, camera and pipe belonging to 86-year-old are latest relics uncovered as glaciers melt due to global heating
Prefer the Guardian on Google An 86-year-old mountaineer has been reunited with his backpack and climbing equipment after the kit emerged from a melting glacier in Austria – more than 60 years after he was forced to leave them there.
Items including an ice axe, camera and a pipe dating from the 1950s or 1960s were discovered on the Sulztalferner glacier in Austria’s Tyrol region, at an altitude of 2,955 metres (9,700ft) above sea level, by a hiker in July.
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