Mountaineer Reunited with Backpack Lost in Glacier More Than 60 Years Ago
Mountaineer Reunited with Backpack Lost in Glacier More Than 60 Years Ago
Paloma ChavezSat, August 29, 2026 at 12:22 AM UTC
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An 86-year-old man was reunited with his backpack after losing it over 60 years agoCredit: Tyrol State Police Directorate -
An 86-year-old man’s backpack was found in a melting Austrian glacier after being lost in 1963
The man lost the backpack during a climbing accident where he fell into a crevasse but survived
The recovered items were returned to his son, who reflected on the accident’s impact on their family’s existence
A backpack abandoned inside an Austrian glacier more than six decades ago has finally returned to the family of the mountaineer who left it behind.
The 86-year-old Bavarian man lost the equipment during a terrifying accident in the mountains in 1963. Now, more than six decades later, his backpack, climbing gear and personal belongings have emerged from the retreating Sulztalferner glacier in Austria’s Tyrol region, according to a statement from Tyrolean State Police.
An alpinist discovered the weathered backpack on July 16, 2026, at an altitude of about 2,955 meters — roughly 9,700 feet above sea level, police said.
Inside were an ice axe, camera and whistle, with the equipment appearing to date from the 1950s or 1960s, according to officers. Police began investigating the discovery, initially unable to rule out whether the belongings could have been connected to an old mountain accident.
The breakthrough came when investigators examined a badly weathered document holder inside the backpack. A barely legible name was still visible, officers said.
After further research, Austrian alpine police tracked down the owner. The now-86-year-old confirmed that the equipment was his and remembered exactly how it disappeared, the statement said.
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The backpack that was found 60 years laterCredit: Tyrol State Police Directorate
On Aug. 4, 1963, he had been climbing in the Sulztalferner area with friends. While crossing the glacier, he fell into a crevasse, according to officials. The group had been roped together, allowing his companions to hold him and prevent a potentially fatal fall. The mountaineer eventually managed to free himself using Prusik loops, a type of friction knot climbers use to escape or move along a rope.
To make himself lighter and easier to pull from the crevasse, the man removed his backpack and threw it into the opening.
When his backpack was discovered, the now 86-year-old was unable to travel to Neustift because of health issues, so an alpine police officer gave the recovered belongings to his son on Tuesday, August 25.
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The man’s son thanked the person who found the backpack as well as the police officers who tracked down his father. He also reflected on the significance of the discovery, noting that if his father had not survived the accident in 1963, their family would not exist in its present form today, police said.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
