Starting Monday, April 7, the non-profit ADAC Air Rescue will be training challenging flight and rescue maneuvers using the rescue hoist in the Ohlstadt-Eschenlohe area and in the upper Höllental Valley. The crews of the ADAC Air Rescue stations “Christoph 1” at the Munich Harlaching Clinic and “Christoph Murnau” at the BG Murnau Clinic, operated by ADAC Air Rescue, will be working with the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service to train for complex operations under the unique conditions of an alpine environment. During the week of May 5-9, an ADAC rescue helicopter will also be flying regularly over the Karwendel and Wetterstein Mountains, as well as the Ammergau Alps, to simulate rescue flights in high mountains.
The ADAC rescue helicopter will be operating daily from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to approximately 5 p.m. during the training weeks. Both stations will remain fully operational during the training sessions. During the training sessions, which are closely coordinated with (nature conservation) authorities and landowners, ADAC Air Rescue places great emphasis on
minimizing disruption to flora and fauna, residents, and day-trippers.
First aid and rescue with rescue winch in the Ohlstadt-Eschenlohe area
Starting Monday, April 7, the Munich and Murnau crews will simulate complex winch operations at Ohlstadt Airfield and the Rauheck mountain range southwest of it. On Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, the ADAC rescue helicopter will complete rescue and recovery scenarios as part of additional training for emergency paramedics, including detailed instruction of the pilot and the operation of the rescue winch. Weather permitting, the helicopter will also make several ascents from Grainau into the Höllental valley toward the Jubiläumsgrat to practice specific flying techniques in high mountains.
On Wednesday and Thursday, joint training sessions with the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service are scheduled. Away from hiking trails, two teams will train in parallel on the Rauheck mountain, practicing medical and complex mountain rescue procedures. Each team, consisting of an emergency paramedic, an emergency doctor, and two members of the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service, will complete a medical case simulation or a complex mountain rescue maneuver at two stations. The medical training focuses on making quick decisions about the extent of initial care and the prerequisites for a safe rescue. During the complex rescue maneuver, alpine rope and safety techniques, precise communication, and the ascent and descent of crew and patients (medical training dummies) using a rescue winch are particularly important.
During the second week of May, an ADAC rescue helicopter will once again take off several times in the region for training purposes. During flights over the Karwendel and Wetterstein Mountains, as well as the Ammergau Alps, the crew members will gain an intensive experience of the unique characteristics of the high alpine environment and gain important expertise for rescuing people in life-threatening situations in the mountains.
Improvement of winch operational competence and growing demand
The highest quality of medical care and the safety of everyone on board during winch operations are of utmost importance to ADAC Luftrettung gGmbH. Germany’s leading air rescue organization therefore conducts winch training several times a year to optimize the interaction between crews and important partner organizations such as the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service. In addition, pilots gain valuable flying experience that can be crucial in an emergency. In addition to Munich and Murnau, ADAC Luftrettung maintains winch stations in Straubing, Sande (Lower Saxony), Imsweiler (Rhineland-Palatinate), and Hamburg. In 2024, these stations carried out a total of 552 winch operations, of which “Christoph 1” flew around 80, and “Christoph Murnau” provided rescue winch assistance around 200 times.
