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| In Germany, Ordeal Ends for Physicist Hurt in Cave | In Germany, Ordeal Ends for Physicist Hurt in Cave |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BERCHTESGADEN, Germany — Johann Westhauser, a 52-year-old physicist who was struck in the head by a rock 3,766 feet below the surface in Germany’s deepest cavern on June 8, had only one wish as he was finally hoisted to the surface on Thursday — to personally thank all 728 people responsible for his rescue. | BERCHTESGADEN, Germany — Johann Westhauser, a 52-year-old physicist who was struck in the head by a rock 3,766 feet below the surface in Germany’s deepest cavern on June 8, had only one wish as he was finally hoisted to the surface on Thursday — to personally thank all 728 people responsible for his rescue. |
| “It will keep me busy,” he told Dr. Nico Petterich, a physician with Bavaria’s Mountain Rescue Service, at the end of his ordeal. | “It will keep me busy,” he told Dr. Nico Petterich, a physician with Bavaria’s Mountain Rescue Service, at the end of his ordeal. |
| A seasoned cave explorer himself, Mr. Westhauser was no stranger to the inky darkness of the cavern that he, as part of a team, had discovered in the mid-1990s and helped to map. Known as the Riesending, or Big Thing, the cave stretches more than 12 miles, cutting vertically and horizontally into a mountain near the Austrian border, not far from where Adolf Hitler had his alpine residence, the Berghof. It is known among even the most experienced cavers as challenging. | A seasoned cave explorer himself, Mr. Westhauser was no stranger to the inky darkness of the cavern that he, as part of a team, had discovered in the mid-1990s and helped to map. Known as the Riesending, or Big Thing, the cave stretches more than 12 miles, cutting vertically and horizontally into a mountain near the Austrian border, not far from where Adolf Hitler had his alpine residence, the Berghof. It is known among even the most experienced cavers as challenging. |
| As luck would have it, Mr. Westhauser, despite wearing a helmet, was injured in the deepest part of the cave while exploring with two others. One of them made the arduous, 12-hour journey back to the surface to alert the authorities. | As luck would have it, Mr. Westhauser, despite wearing a helmet, was injured in the deepest part of the cave while exploring with two others. One of them made the arduous, 12-hour journey back to the surface to alert the authorities. |
| The top priority of the rescue effort was ensuring that Mr. Westhauser was stable. He was wrapped in protective padding and strapped in a fiberglass toboggan like those used to take injured skiers off the mountain. Then began the tortuous process of hauling the toboggan up from the depths, winching it up vertical shafts and carrying it through a labyrinth of passages so narrow that Mr. Westhauser’s nose was nearly scraped by the limestone walls. | The top priority of the rescue effort was ensuring that Mr. Westhauser was stable. He was wrapped in protective padding and strapped in a fiberglass toboggan like those used to take injured skiers off the mountain. Then began the tortuous process of hauling the toboggan up from the depths, winching it up vertical shafts and carrying it through a labyrinth of passages so narrow that Mr. Westhauser’s nose was nearly scraped by the limestone walls. |
| “You had to be not only experienced in climbing and rappelling, but able to raise yourself on ropes anchored to the walls,” said Christian Lüthi, a caver from Switzerland. “It is difficult for the best trained individual, but to maneuver the narrow passages with a patient bound to a stretcher involved meticulous planning.” | “You had to be not only experienced in climbing and rappelling, but able to raise yourself on ropes anchored to the walls,” said Christian Lüthi, a caver from Switzerland. “It is difficult for the best trained individual, but to maneuver the narrow passages with a patient bound to a stretcher involved meticulous planning.” |
| After 11 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, Mr. Westhauser emerged, and the toboggan was transferred hand to hand the final 100 yards to a waiting helicopter that took him to an undisclosed hospital, accompanied by Dr. Petterich. | After 11 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes, Mr. Westhauser emerged, and the toboggan was transferred hand to hand the final 100 yards to a waiting helicopter that took him to an undisclosed hospital, accompanied by Dr. Petterich. |
| “Our patient has been admitted to the clinic; we have achieved our goal,” Norbert Heiland, the head of the Mountain Rescue Service, told reporters at a news conference held in the fire station in nearby Berchtesgaden. “We have also made rescue history, which was only possible through international cooperation.” | |
| The complexity of the rescue effort was apparent from the start. The rocky, scrub-scarred surface of the nearly 6,000-foot mountain, where the cavern’s narrow mouth opens in a 590-foot vertical drop known as “the chimney,” initially made it impossible for a helicopter to land. Supplies and equipment had to be lowered by cable until a landing pad could be cleared. | The complexity of the rescue effort was apparent from the start. The rocky, scrub-scarred surface of the nearly 6,000-foot mountain, where the cavern’s narrow mouth opens in a 590-foot vertical drop known as “the chimney,” initially made it impossible for a helicopter to land. Supplies and equipment had to be lowered by cable until a landing pad could be cleared. |
| Within days, rescue workers began arriving from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Switzerland. Many were cavers themselves, a tight-knit group of expert climbers who regularly descend into the inner depths of the Alps. | Within days, rescue workers began arriving from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Switzerland. Many were cavers themselves, a tight-knit group of expert climbers who regularly descend into the inner depths of the Alps. |
| “For years, our solidarity has grown,” said Roberto Corti of the Italian National Society of Alpine Speleology. “We have worked together and gotten to know each other.” | “For years, our solidarity has grown,” said Roberto Corti of the Italian National Society of Alpine Speleology. “We have worked together and gotten to know each other.” |
| “Today, we have the proof that this is the right way to work,” he said. | “Today, we have the proof that this is the right way to work,” he said. |
| By the end, 202 workers had descended into the cave to carry out an effort that involved at times carrying a stretcher by hand and lifting it manually with pulleys through the darkness of the cavern. Although immobilized, Mr. Westhauser had one hand free that he used to guide the toboggan through narrow passages. | By the end, 202 workers had descended into the cave to carry out an effort that involved at times carrying a stretcher by hand and lifting it manually with pulleys through the darkness of the cavern. Although immobilized, Mr. Westhauser had one hand free that he used to guide the toboggan through narrow passages. |
| “They really worked hard, they brought their best,” said Klemens Reindl, of the Mountain Rescue Service, who led the effort. “The best cavern rescue teams gathered here.” | “They really worked hard, they brought their best,” said Klemens Reindl, of the Mountain Rescue Service, who led the effort. “The best cavern rescue teams gathered here.” |
| Five bivouacs equipped with sleeping bags, food and other supplies were set up at intervals inside the cavern, which was illuminated by rescuers’ headlamps reflecting on the limestone walls. | Five bivouacs equipped with sleeping bags, food and other supplies were set up at intervals inside the cavern, which was illuminated by rescuers’ headlamps reflecting on the limestone walls. |
| “A difficult rescue effort like this can always fail,” Mr. Reindl said of the risk. “It is essential that we work together.” | “A difficult rescue effort like this can always fail,” Mr. Reindl said of the risk. “It is essential that we work together.” |
| He praised Mr. Westhauser, who remained conscious and able to communicate throughout the rescue. | He praised Mr. Westhauser, who remained conscious and able to communicate throughout the rescue. |
| “The incredible mental strength of our patient helped us to persevere,” Mr. Reindl said. | “The incredible mental strength of our patient helped us to persevere,” Mr. Reindl said. |
| Sabine Zimmerebner, a kindergarten teacher and cave explorer from Austria who knew Mr. Westhauser before the accident and was with the first teams to descend to the cave, worked at keeping up her friend’s spirits, holding his hand and telling him jokes. | Sabine Zimmerebner, a kindergarten teacher and cave explorer from Austria who knew Mr. Westhauser before the accident and was with the first teams to descend to the cave, worked at keeping up her friend’s spirits, holding his hand and telling him jokes. |
| After reaching the final bivouac, Mr. Reindl said, they stopped to rest and refocus, knowing that calm discipline was essential to bringing Mr. Westhauser up the last vertical of the “chimney” and finally to the surface. Although he had been accompanied by a doctor from Italy who is also a mountain climber throughout the final days of his ascent, there was a fear that a sudden burst of euphoria after the tension of the journey could endanger his health. | After reaching the final bivouac, Mr. Reindl said, they stopped to rest and refocus, knowing that calm discipline was essential to bringing Mr. Westhauser up the last vertical of the “chimney” and finally to the surface. Although he had been accompanied by a doctor from Italy who is also a mountain climber throughout the final days of his ascent, there was a fear that a sudden burst of euphoria after the tension of the journey could endanger his health. |
| But once word spread that Mr. Westhauser, his eyes covered with protective glasses to shield them from the sunlight, had been rescued, Ms. Zimmerebner said the elation hit. | But once word spread that Mr. Westhauser, his eyes covered with protective glasses to shield them from the sunlight, had been rescued, Ms. Zimmerebner said the elation hit. |
| “When we heard that it was successful, we fell into one another’s arms; the men cried,” she said. “We were all overjoyed.” | “When we heard that it was successful, we fell into one another’s arms; the men cried,” she said. “We were all overjoyed.” |