In 1963, 23-year-old hiker threw his backpack into an Austrian glacier crevasse to survive; 63 years later, melting ice returned his lost belongings

In 1963, a 23-year-old hiker threw his backpack into a crevasse on Austria’s Sulztalferner glacier after falling during a dangerous mountain crossing. The backpack, camera, ice axe and other belongings remained trapped in the ice for 63 years before melting glaciers exposed them in 2026. The discovery eventually reunited the 86-year-old’s family with the belongings from his near-fatal mountain ordeal.