Ready For An Emergency: Large Rescue Exercise Runs In Snow Space Salzburg

The annual major rescue exercise took place at Snow Space Salzburg to ensure that if an emergency occurs, a quick and professional rescue can be provided under the highest safety standards.

Large-scale emergency exercises are regularly carried out at Snow Space Salzburg, in which a technical defect in the cable car systems is simulated under real conditions. On Saturday, September 30th, the practice scenario was designed as follows: The 8-seater Buchau gondola lift and the 8-seater Straßalm chairlift in the St. Johann - Alpendorf ski area come to a standstill at the same time. Within a very short time, all passengers had to be safely rescued from the gondolas and chairs and brought back to the assembly point. Even over rough terrain.

Wolfgang HETTEGGER, CEO of Snow Space Salzburg Bergbahnen AG, emphasized the importance of these exercises: “Every cable car system has redundant safety systems and an emergency drive to bring guests safely to the station. Nevertheless, the current summer at Grafenberg has shown us that you always have to be prepared for emergencies. The regular exercises prepare our staff for such emergencies and strengthen cooperation with the emergency organizations.”

For this year's exercise, mountain rescue teams from Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann and Altenmarkt as well as the volunteer fire brigades from Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann i. P. alarmed. Heli Austria, the Alpine Police and the Red Cross were also available to support. Overall operations manager Siegfried GRUBER, operations manager in St. Johann - Alpendorf, also emphasized the importance of regular exercises to optimize the rescue chain: “To ensure that evacuations run smoothly under these demanding conditions, comprehensive training in cooperation with the rescue organizations is important. By simulating realistic scenarios, we can further improve our rescue processes and be well prepared when it matters."

The rescue was carried out with the help of a helicopter, which brought the rescue teams to the affected cable car supports. One person from the rescue team climbed onto a support, drove along the support cable to the gondola cabins or chairs and evacuated the passengers one after the other. The guests were then welcomed by ground staff and escorted to the nearest street, from where they were taken to the assembly point. The rescue, with a total of 150 people involved, was successfully completed in just under two hours. This was well below the officially prescribed three and a half hours. Wolfgang HETTEGGER is visibly pleased with how the exercise went: “Today we saw that our employees worked excellently with the relevant rescue organizations such as the mountain rescue, the fire department, the Red Cross and the Alpine police work together and are well prepared for an emergency. This gives us reason to be happy and allows us to start the upcoming winter season with confidence."