Man Falls 300 Feet to His Death After Slipping Off ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Ladder to Climb Instagram-Worthy Austrian Mountain
A British man fell 300 feet to his death while trying to cross a famous 130-foot ladder bridge in the Dachstein Mountains.
The Austrian site is a popular spot for tourists seeking to snap awe-inspiring pictures for Instagram.
The unnamed tourist was only 42 years old and encountered trouble on the narrow 130-foot aerial ladder, also called the “iron path” or “the stairway to heaven,” causing him to slip on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
After the man’s fall, two helicopter crews and numerous officers from the Hallein Alpine and Abtenau police quickly responded to the scene to try to save him. Investigators quickly ruled out negligence or any third-party intervention — he was alone on the thrill-seeking excursion.
“According to the conclusion of the police investigation, it is clearly an accident,” a spokesperson said, according to the Daily Mail.
His mangled body was found underneath the climbing route, Via Ferrata.
Tourists have flocked to the bucket list site for years, but it is “not ideal for beginners.”
Those who dare to try it are supposed to be attached to the ladder by a harness for safety, using steel cables, rungs, pegs, etc., to help them get across. The ladder links the base of Donnerkogel mountain to the higher part, called “Greater” Donnerkogel top, which has a 6,740-foot peak.
Advertisement for the ladder calls the ladder a “TOP attraction” for “climbing enthusiasts.”
A similar incident happened in the United States.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, around 2 p.m., a 55-year-old man named Ranjith Varma from Virginia died while attempting the challenging 24-mile Rim-to-Rim hike in the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Authorities say it takes between 12 to 15 hours to complete.
First responders received a distress call about a hiker near a campground on the North Kaibab Trail.
The hiker fell unconscious and required an airlift from the canyon, but despite efforts by the National Park Service (NPS) search and rescue team to resuscitate Varma, they could not.