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Man Dies, Wife Critical After 200-Foot Sledding Fall

Couple plunged from Austrian sledding trail; daughter gave first aid
Posted Jan 2, 2026 2:07 PM CST
Man Dies, Wife Critical After 200-Foot Sledding Fall
Stock photo of toboggans in the Austrian Alps.   (Getty Image/Image Source)

A holiday sledding run in the Austrian Alps ended in catastrophe when a couple plunged more than 200 feet off a mountainside, killing the husband and leaving his wife in critical condition. Authorities in Tyrol say the 63-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife were descending the Rabantalm mountain in East Tyrol on New Year's Day when their sled veered off the track, People reports.

A police spokesman said the slope in that area quickly turns into an almost sheer rock wall about 82 feet high, followed by a steep, wooded incline. The pair reportedly fell down the rock face, then continued another 164 feet down the snowy slope. "Sledders coming up the mountain noticed the fresh toboggan track extending beyond the edge of the road, heard screams, and called for help," police said.

The couple's daughter and son-in-law, who were on the outing with them, tried to administer first aid. An emergency doctor later pronounced the man dead at the scene, according to local media. His body was later recovered. Authorities said the operation involved two alpine police officers and 22 members of the Lienz mountain rescue team. The site Kronen Zeitung describes the toboggan run as a popular family activity. People hike up a forest road for around an hour, then descend for more than half a mile along the same road, passing through a 400-foot illuminated tunnel.

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