Dachstein hiking disaster

In April 1954, 13 people from Heilbronn, ten students and three teachers, died in a blizzard while hiking the Dachstein Mountains in Upper Austria.

Expedition
On April 15, 1954, during the Easter holiday, a group of ten students and three teachers led by 40-year-old Hans Seiler, a teacher described as having past mountaineering experience, set off on a hiking trip to Hoher Dachstein. Although the weather was "typical of an Austrian spring", there had been forecasted reports of snow and fog. Despite being warned by locals of these forecasts, Seiler brushed them off, and the group left for the trip in the morning. After failing to return, the group was reported as missing, and rescue efforts were initiated in the following days. The bodies of eight students and the three teachers were found on April 24.

Photographs of the group during their expedition had been taken by one of the students, 16-year-old Dieter Steck, whose camera was found by his body.