European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Ready to go to the Rescue Franz w. Traut. H ran w to climbing sheer Rock faces is part of these Mountain men s Job treading with extreme care this Ber wacht team goes about its High level business a victim is carted Down the Mountain on this strange one wheeled Cradle affair. P�96 12 the stars and stripes Franz w. Traut these Rescue dogs can pick up the scent of a Man buried six feet under Snow. Keystone a furry Freeloader is caught dogging it getting a monday september 25, 1967 Guenther Schwiger lift from two Ber Waechter. Throughout the Long Winter in the bavarian Alps when peaks Are Yards deep in Snow and skiers Are Taptto come to grief on dangerous slopes or in deceptively covered fissures the Hardy men of the German Ber wacht Are ready and waiting with ropes sleds and dogs to go to the Rescue. The Ber wacht literally Mountain watch is a proud and enthusiastic organization with stiff qualifications for membership health stamina skill thorough knowledge of first Aid an dedication to its life saving Mission. It also has a fraternal Bond with other famous mountaineering groups such As the Grenz Polisei customs police who patrol the German Alpine Borders the 1st Mountain division of the German army which Maneu vers through the ranges and along the ridges of the wer Deniels and the american ski patrol which watches Over the Zug Spitze Kruzeck and Hausberg slopes frequented by american visitors to the Garmisch recreation area. Typical of he Ber wacht s membership is 23-year-old Reiner Branden Burg a Driver for the Hawkins bar Racks motor Pool at Oberammergau who spends practically All his Leisure time Winter and summer with the Garmisch unit s Rescue team. Two reasons induced Brandenburg to join the Ber wacht. First when he was 14 years old he and his family spent a anxious three weeks watching the res Cue group s search for his 19-year-Oldbrother, Michael who disappeared while crossing the Jubilee Trail fro the Al Spitze to the Zug Spitze. The search was fruitless but Young Reiner admiration for the mountaineers was such that he resolved to become one of them when he became 18, the required age to join. The second reason was Sim ply that he loved the mountains through which he had roamed As a Schoolboy. Brandenburg s name is on the Berg wacht duty list for saturday or sunday but neither of those Days Marks his entire service with the organization. Every tuesday and Friday Winter and summer Ber wacht members from the Garmisch Region gather in the Vic Den Felderhof for training and discussion. They practice bandaging an injured per son applying tourniquets and making splints. They study Anatomy and Bone Structure and the proper methods of handling a person with broken Bones sprains bruises of alleviating distress until the victim reaches a Hospital. They discuss Avalanche warnings Snow conditions weather indications. They read reports on detection devices some electronic through which Ava by John Buster Lanche victims buried beneath Man feet of Snow May be found. In the summer the scene  they Are Busy with ropes and Pitons the spikes of Many shape Sand sizes that Are driven into Rock crevices and enable a Mountaineer toc Jimb the precipitous sides of almost any Mountain. Sometimes they work out with these instruments on a 60-foot Cliff at the Klette Garten near Garmisch which offers All the geologic features of the higher mountains. Early in the morning of his duty Day Brandenburg reports at a Ber wacht hut every ski run in the Garmisch District has one ready for any Emer gency. He wears a sporty red Anora emblazoned with a red Cross on a White edelweiss which makes him distinguish Able even at a distance. In a Belt be Neath the coat is his first Aid kit iodine bandages pain killers. When an emergency Call comes Woof the team strap on their skis and Start for the trouble Point. Towed be tween them is an Akia a Cradle like litter with two handles at each end which is loaded with blankets and splints on which an injured Man can be Sledden Down the Trail swiftly and smoothly to an ambulance waiting be Low. Sometimes when an Accident occurs near the top of a Mountain the More difficult operation of raising the victim to the Summit requires All the expertise gained by Long hours of study and prac Tice in Ber wacht  this involves rigging a breeches buoy from a rope with special knots in which the Man can be hauled to the top. Days May go by without the report Ofa single mishap. Then there May be several in one Day perhaps caused by changing Snow conditions. The Only pay received by the Berg wacht is in Brandenburg s words the fun and the free lift  of course., in a catastrophe such As the Avalanche that swept Over the Schnei Erner Haus on May 15, 1965, when the search for victims must continue for Days the men Are paid for the Days they have lost on their regular jobs. Although Many devices Are Avail Able to locate people buried in deep Snow Many of the Ber wacht still be Lieve that the German Shepherd is the Best Friend of Man in these Circum stances. He can cover an area in the time it would take five to 10 men Tocheck the same ground and his nose can respond to a human s scent eve if the Man is buried under six feet of Snow. Mountaineers have been trying out a electronic device that operates some thing like a mine Detector. Trouble i that the skier must be wearing a Small electromagnet on his Belt or there is no reaction. In time perhaps these mag nets will be compulsory equipment like scat belts in an automobile. Al he Winter season has no monopoly in mountaineering accidents. Branden Burg relates a near tragedy on the Kramer a Mountaintop near Garmisch two Summers ago. Nine boy scouts from Augsburg the oldest 16 years old an the youngest 9, had been climbing the Mountain without their  found themselves in a Ravine at Nightfall and were unable to find the Trail in the darkness. One of the boys however stumble Down the Mountainside to a Telephone and alerted the  members of the Ber wacht set out shortly before Midnight to Fin the missing boys guided Only by the caller s vague  into three groups of five the Ber wacht moved up the Mountain through gullies and Over ledges keeping in touch with each other through Flash Light signals. At 3 . The missing scouts were found a miserable Bunch of Little boys hungry sleepy and almost Freez ing in their Short  hot Coffee and blankets brought a warm and Happy ending to their adventure. Sometimes when an  occurs near the lop of a Mountain Lite More difficult operation of raisins Hie it victim. Requires All the expertise gained by Long hours of study and practice in Ber wacht  the stars and stripes Page 13