Ill-Equipped Korean Hikers Rescued from Italian Via Ferrata After Spending Night Stranded Without Gear

A pair of South Korean hikers were rescued at dawn Friday, July 18, after becoming stranded overnight on a high alpine route in the Italian Dolomites, without proper equipment and carrying heavy packs. The pair spent the night stuck on ledge of a via ferrata, a climbing route with fixed cables, ladders, and bridges that help hikers safely navigate steep or exposed mountain terrain.

The couple, a 68-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, became stuck near a key section of the Via Ferrata Costantini, a demanding protected climbing route in the Moiazza group above Agordo in the Belluno province. According to the local mountain rescue organization, Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS), the pair was not equipped with safety harnesses and attempted to descend the route during the night. Instead, the pair was forced to spend the night in a precarious location, prompting a complex helicopter rescue operation early the next morning.

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Rescue teams were alerted around 10 p.m. Thursday, July 17, when the hikers contacted emergency services with help from the fire brigade and a translator from the Korean embassy in Milan. Initial reports suggested they were lost along the Alta Via No. 1, a long-distance hiking trail, but further communication revealed they were instead on the more technical ferrata in the Pala del Belia area. Rescuers instructed the pair to remain stationary until daylight, but the hikers began descending in the dark—without the proper equipment—and became trapped in a highly exposed section of the route. The couple was forced to spend the night on a precarious ledge of the via ferrata.

At first light, the Falco 2 rescue helicopter was deployed. A technician hoisted each hiker aboard from roughly 400 meters (1,312 feet) above the start of the ferrata, using a 65-meter (213-foot) winch cable in two rotations. The hikers were transported safely to the nearby Vazzoler Hut.

The couple had spent the previous night at the Coldai Refuge and set out Thursday morning for the Vazzoler Hut via the Angelini Trail. After reaching Bivacco Grisetti, they inadvertently continued onto the Ferrata Costantini—one of the most challenging via ferratas in the region—and were forced to bivouac overnight on the route.

CNSAS urges hikers to prepare adequately for high alpine routes, especially via ferratas, which require technical gear and should not be attempted without proper experience.