Just when you think that you have heard it all, here comes another crazy story (no, not about Eliot Spitzer).
The day before yesterday, it seems that four Korean gentleman tourists decided to take the Wanderweg from Alpnachstad and walk up to the top of Pilatus. In summer, that is a somewhat boring four hour hike. In winter, it is covered with deep snow and has no train service by the steepest cog train in the world. Because of areas of avalanche danger, it is also avoided under these conditions.
To make matters worse, these guys were outfitted with sneakers and open shoes (thongs?), light jackets, and blue jeans. They also had only a fanny pack between them. No one knew of their plans. All this makes a perfect disaster scenario.
About 5 PM, the manager of the Pilatus Kulm Hotel noticed a bedraggled and wet man on the terrace of the summit. The man informed the manager that he and three others had a reservation at the hotel. He spoke only some broken English but went to a room, showered, and then went to dinner. He happened to mention to a waitress that he had three friends who were coming up by way of the path. Everyone then realized that this man had not come up on the cable car from Luzern (Kriens) but had walked up from Alpnachstad. He had a summer walking map with him and showed the people there where his friends were when he last saw them. It turns out that this a spot called Mattalp where the trains stop in summer.
The hotel manager immediately called the Obwalden police who called the Swiss Alpine Club rescue squad. These folks along with a REGA helicopter equipped with a searchlight found these clowns about 8 PM. They had gotten into a hut and built a fire. The area was covered with a meter of snow. They were air-evacuated to Alpnachstad airport by the chopper in two trips. The mountain men were a sad looking lot and were put up in a hotel in Sarnen. I assume their compatriot stayed at the Pilatus Kulm. Their picture in the paper shows them to be somewhat serious.
Likely, their demeanor comes about because REGA will rescue anyone in trouble, but unless you are a sponsor, you foot the bill. At 80 CHF per MINUTE, this runs into money for a 90 minute jaunt with a helicopter (7200 CHF). Fortunately, they do take credit cards, and I guess these guys are maxed out now.
