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One of Switzerland’s most difficult protected climbing routes has been overcome by thieves. To plunder a collecting box, they traveled on narrow steel wires through canyons at a height of 2,350 meters.
On the Gemmi pass, above the village of Leukerbad, a local climbing club maintains the country’s longest protected climbing route in a box.
The fact that only the most skilled climbers may access the donation box has shocked people the most. The via ferrata route requires rigorous climbing, ascent of ladders nailed into the sheer rock face, and across gorges on thin steel wires. It is classified as category 5, the most challenging.
The people who found the theft think it was meticulously planned and executed in advance.
The donation box was discovered to be empty and broken open.
The climbing club claimed that the burglars were skilled climbers who had all the necessary mountaineering gear in addition to the tools needed to “with brute force” open the donation box. Surprisingly, it appears that they then carried the cash and continued their trek to the Dauberhorn’s 2941-meter summit.
As the weather has been ideal for climbing for the past few days and there have been numerous mountaineers using the via ferrata, it may be challenging to identify the exact perpetrator.
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Theft of Funds
Although the climbing club is unsure of the actual amount that was taken, Richard Werlen, a club member and mountain guide, told the BBC that it was probably at least 400 to 500 Swiss francs (€420 to 520; $450 to $560).
The Swiss are proud of their volunteer work maintaining hiking paths and climbing routes, and the country is still one where cash is frequently used. Most of the populace expects and is happy to contribute to such an effort. But, organizations like the climbing club may now ponder whether they need to alter their approach to soliciting donations.
There have already been a number of robberies of ATMs that are much better safeguarded as a result of the widespread use of cash in Switzerland.
The Swiss Federal Police has issued a warning about the routinely stocked and frequently carelessly monitored machines, warning that millions of francs have been stolen in the last three years alone.
The climbing club is currently hoping that whoever took the money will have “a guilty conscience” and return it covertly.
Richard Werlen also has some solace to share. A local benefactor gave 500 francs this morning to replace the donations that were stolen.
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Source: BBC
