A night in the mountains

The mountains are his entire passion - and they almost became fatal for the enthusiastic climber Anselm Oberhummer (30). If it weren't for his loyal dog. The music teacher set off at seven in the morning with his Wolfspitz Aramis. He had his day off from classes at the “Musikschulwerk Salzburg” (music school Salzburg) and wanted to “take a deep breath again”. The tour started in beautiful weather. It led the two-man team over the Poserhöhe to the Flugkopf, a mountain near Badgastein (Salzburger Land). "A route," Oberhummer later reported, "that Aramis and I have known well for years."

After climbing to the summit, the musician made his way back via the Glaserer Steig, which was unknown to him - a wonderful piece of untouched nature. Oberhummer: "My dog and I were accompanied by two golden eagles the whole way. It was an unforgettable day." Unforgettable, and not just because of the rare birds! Because in the afternoon fog appeared - and icy cold. Oberhummer lost his bearings and no longer dared to take a step “in the opaque milky soup,” as he remembers. The experienced mountaineer Oberhummer remembered the old climbing wisdom: If you get lost in an alpine area and a safe descent is not possible, you have to stay where you are. So the music teacher stayed where he was with his dog. As if the loyal dog sensed the mortal danger to his master, who was helplessly exposed to the cold, the animal snuggled up very closely to Anselm Oberhummer's body. The two sat next to each other like a close-knit community. The teacher was tormented by calf and thigh cramps, chills and nausea. Aramis sensed the danger of a slow, cold death. Whenever his master threatened to fall asleep, he nudged him with his wet nose and woke him up. The Wolfspitz regularly trotted up and down to loosen himself up. So both of them stayed through the night.

Oberhummer after the happy descent the next morning: "Without Aramis, this would have been my last tour."