Interview with Fabian Oberbacher from Aiüt Alpin Dolomites

The mountains have many faces, each as varied as the rocks if which they are made.

There is the mountain of dreams, an emblem of natural beauty, with its Alpine flora and fauna to be admired with every change of season, then there is the mountain for climbing and mountaineering, to be explored step by step, challenging elevation changes and summits, and finally there is the mountain for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, sledging and ice climbing.

The mountains are anything but immobile. Despite the apparently static nature of their ancient masses, they are teeming with life, not least the people who travel on and around them and others who live, work, study and care for them. A great deal is going on around them, since they are a complex, constantly evolving real-life situation, a mirror of global climate change but also a horizon for new economic, social and tourist models.

This is why it is necessary to question them daily, to experience them safely and calmly, avoiding dangers without relying on stereotypes or trivializations: from the idealization of historically ingrained postcard images to the recent challenges posed by social networks.

“Danger should never be underestimated in the mountains, and this applies to everyone: locals and experts, as well as tourists and occasional visitors.” These are the words of Fabian Oberbacher, vice president of Aiüt Alpin Dolomites and head of the Alta Badia Alpine Rescue Service, but also deputy commander of the Colfosco volunteer firefighters, an expert mountaineer and an Italian avalanche service instructor.

For over half a century, the rescue and helicopter rescue association has operated in the Ladin Dolomites, from Val Badia to Val Gardena and Val di Fassa, in an area in which the mountains are not just landscapes but represent a profound identity. Founded in 1972, during the boom years of tourism in Alta Badia when resorts like Corvara, Colfosco and La Villa, and mountain ranges like the Sella, Sassongher and Odle were becoming increasingly popular destinations, Aiüt Alpin Dolomites was created to transform the spontaneous solidarity between mountain guides and residents into a structured service, available 24/7, at night and during holidays, in both Summer and Winter.

Even the name, "Aiüt Alpin" (Alpine Help in Ladin), refers to the strong connection with local culture and traditions. Over time, the association has maintained a vigorous voluntary and community focus that is typical of Ladin culture, and combined it with increasingly advanced technical skills. The rescue members are mountain guides, ski instructors, craftsmen and women and hoteliers: people from the valleys who, alongside their work and their families, guarantee a presence day and night. In many cases, they have decades of quiet service behind them, away from the spotlight, with leadership that was not only technical but also moral.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, the association took several technical leaps forward with the systematic introduction of helicopters for rock face rescues and specialized procedures in avalanche and vertical rescue, as well as establishing operational protocols integrated with the provincial system. A key figure was Gino Comelli, a mountain guide from Alba di Canazei and head of the Alta Fassa Rescue Service. He was one of the promoters of the helicopter rescue organization, president in the early 1990s and a winch operator for decades, with over 3,000 missions and approximately 4,000 flight hours. He passed away in 2024. Alongside him are Raffael Kostner, Willy Costamoling and many other historic station chiefs, who guaranteed training, organization and operational continuity for decades.

Aiüt Alpin Dolomites, which currently has 19 mountain rescue teams, primarily located in the Ladin areas of the Dolomites, responds to accidents on walking routes, via ferratas, rock faces, crevasses and ski slopes, coordinated via the single emergency number 112. The helicopter, based in Pontives (Ortisei) in Val Gardena, can reach the main mountain areas in a matter of minutes, working in coordinated partnership with the local mountain rescue team, medical services and law enforcement. Missions include the recovery of mountaineers and hikers in difficulty, emergency medical transport, and high-altitude interventions. Each year, a number of risky operations are undertaken, exposing both the association's own staff and the mountain rescue team to danger. These range from rescues in adverse weather conditions, often in areas difficult to access even by helicopter—such as particularly exposed rock faces or narrow gullies—to the search and recovery of people buried in skiing areas. Due to the risk of residual rock and stone fall, and the need to intervene quickly in intense cold conditions, by their very nature these are delicate operations.

Fabian Oberbacher explains that the interventions “are concentrated in areas where the situations are most critical: slopes where the sun doesn't shine, areas vulnerable to avalanche danger in winter, or foggy conditions.” As he explains, these are contexts where “in normal conditions, people might not choose to go, but with the limited time available for holidays and planned excursions — and the associated costs — people tend to go anyway.”

In recent years, alongside traditional accidents related to mountaineering and hiking, and more unusual cases associated with extreme sports like base jumping, a new trend has emerged, still underestimated for its dangers: mountain biking, especially e-bikes. “Today, an ascent is no longer a problem: with a battery, almost everyone can reach high altitudes. The problem has become the descent, especially on dirt tracks. If you're inexperienced, it’s really easy to fall off, and the consequences can be immediate and serious.”

Social networks also play an important role. “They show spectacular places” comments Oberbacher “and this leads more and more people to want to travel there, even just to take photos to post on their social media. However, they often don't properly assess the risks or the actual conditions.” The result is that an evocative image, taken out of context, can lull people into a false sense of security.

Prevention remains the key, but it's not easy in a region with a strong international vocation like Alta Badia. “People come from Germany, Eastern Europe, America and Northern Europe and many of them don't consult local information sources like weather reports or checking for avalanche dangers not because they can't access them, but because they often don't know they exist or aren't used to looking for them.” Those who live in cities, he notes, aren't used to checking conditions before leaving home. In the mountains, however, you absolutely have to.

Oberbacher's advice is as simple as it is decisive “Find out - get informed. Ask at your accommodation for official websites, contact tourist offices, mountain guides and ski schools that also organize summer activities. The information is out there, the key is just looking for it.”

But how much preparation goes into a rescue operation that requires rapid operations, technical decisions, and great responsibility? Behind every intervention there is a lot of rigorous and ongoing training. “There is basic training to join the mountain rescue team, then there are higher qualifications up to helicopter rescue technician. Those who are operational must take periodic refresher courses.” The training covers not only recovery techniques, but also medical training, from first aid to assisting doctors during rescue operations.

Then, there's the emotional dimension. “After particularly critical situations, we conduct debriefings, analyze what happened, and, if necessary, get specialized professionals involved.” As Oberbacher admits, this is because what you experience during an intervention "is never forgotten. Something always remains.”

Fabian Oberbacher's final message, therefore, is a call for awareness. “The mountains are always still mountains, today as they were a thousand years ago, even if the scenery seems more domesticated and accessible to everyone. Huts and ski lifts allow you to reach high altitudes easily, but this can give a false sense of security.” Even on a clear day, he remembers “temperatures can go from +15° to -5° degrees Celsius in a short time, with snow even in August. It happens more often than you think.”

Despite the tourist infrastructure and organizations, the environment remains natural and unpredictable. Thus when the weather changes or an unexpected event occurs, Oberbacher concludes “you realize you're truly in the mountains. But sometimes it's already too late.” Being informed, relying on local professionals, paying attention to the weather and listening to your body's signals: all these are small gestures that make a big difference.