Hiker reunited with backpack 60 years after he fell into a glacier in Austria

A mountaineer has been reunited with long-abandoned climbing gear, including a backpack, ice axe, and vintage camera, after the items resurfaced from a melting glacier in Austria’s Tyrol region. The equipment, left behind over six decades ago, was discovered by a hiker at a high-altitude site, highlighting the rapid retreat of glaciers due to rising global temperatures. The find underscores how climate change is exposing forgotten relics buried in ice for generations. Scientists warn such discoveries may become more common as glaciers continue to shrink.

Bag, camera and pipe belonging to 86-year-old are latest relics uncovered as glaciers melt due to global heatingAn 86-year-old mountaineer has been reunited with his backpack and climbing equipment after the kit emerged from a melting glacier in Austria – more than 60 years after he was forced to leave them there.Items including an ice axe, camera and a pipe dating from the 1950s or 1960s were discovered on the Sulztalferner glacier in Austria’s Tyrol region, at an altitude of 2,955 metres (9,700ft) above sea level, by a hiker in July. Continue reading...