Climbing
On May 26, a group of six hikers became stuck on the Punta Venezia, Italy, after the fall of a dog traveling with the group triggered a panic attack in one of the hikers. Rescue workers from the Piedmontese Alpine Rescue were called to recover the mountaineers stuck on the icewall at an altitude of around 3,000 meters (9,843 feet). It took the helicopter rescue three trips to safely get all six mountaineers off the mountain, as only two people could be taken in the helicopter at one time.
The group was climbing on the northwest face of the Punta Venezia on Sunday when the dog fell out of unknown reasons. The dog’s fall triggered a girl in the group to have a panic attack, rendering her unable to move forward or backward, resulting in the entire group being stuck on the icy ledge in a section with about 45°. The only way off the mountain was a helicopter rescue at this point. At its peak, Punta Venezia reaches 3,095 meters (10,154 feet), implying the group was close to the summit. Punta Venezia is located on the French-Italian border between the Po Valley and the Guil Valley, about 87 km (54 miles) from Turin, Italy.
All mountaineers were retrieved safely and unharmed, however, the dog could not be found. Once back in the valley, one of the members of the hiking group geared up again to go back to look for the dog yet was unsuccessful in locating the canine. It is unclear why the group had taken the dog on such a difficult tour in the first place. The Piedmontese Alpine Rescue kindly asks readers to not “judge, or even worse, to offend the mountaineers recovered in the operation of which we have published the film.”
