The chihuahua and unlikely hero, Filip.
Falling into a glacier crevasse, in Switzerland, proved fatal for Jan. Everything ended well, largely thanks to an unlikely hero.
Filip is small, furry and loyal. A tiny dog, chihuahua, with features similar to the continental dwarf spaniel, with a big personality. This is how its owner describes it, Jan Gilar.
Last summer, Gilar fell into a glacier crevasse in Switzerland and was only located when a rescue helicopter spotted a gray patch on the snow. It was his dog, his best friend, who had remained by his side and thus guaranteed his rescue.
They both love mountains and often go hiking together. When Filip gets tired of walking, Jan puts him in a special backpack and carries him on his back. And so they follow the route. Along the route, they usually stop to eat in places with the best views, rest whenever they want and explore nature.
“He can walk 20 or 30 kilometers while I walk. It’s a good thing that, on that day, I didn’t carry him in my backpack or on a leash, because, in the fall, he would have been dragged with me and the rescue teams wouldn’t have found me”, Jan told BBC News Mundo.
Born in Pilsen, Czech Republic, Jan had been in Switzerland for less than a month when the accident occurred. “My parents gave me Filip. They breed dogs and he was the last of a litter. I had had another dog from the same mother some time ago, but he died. That’s how Filip arrived.”
Little chihuahua Filip is just two and a half years old. He is no longer a baby, but is still a young dog. “He’s a little dog with a lot of personality. Everyone at my work loves him because he’s very funny and playful. He loves the snow, jumping and trying to catch the flakes.”
The almost fatal accident
Saas-Fee, also known as the Pearl of the Alps, is a small Swiss town in the southwest of the country, in the canton of Valais. The area of the Fee glacier, where Jan and his dog were walking, is extensive.
“It’s not a small area, nor is it smooth like a blank sheet of paper. It’s covered in rocks. The snow is full of sand or dirt. Finding a hole that size where he fell is not easy,” explains Bruno Kalbermatten, from the air rescue company Air Zermatt. “We don’t even want to imagine what would have happened to Jan if he hadn’t been with his dog Filipif the rescuers hadn’t seen the movement of that little dog on the rock.”
“I like hiking. Filip and I have hiked a lot of mountains in the Czech Republic, so when I got to Switzerland, we did the same. That day was the first time I’d been so close to a glacier. I thought, ‘I can go a little further, explore the glacier.'”
“I had lunch there, on top of a rock, I got up, took a few steps over the snow and, without realizing it, I stepped on a snow bridge. It gave way and I fell. Everything happened very quickly”, said Jan.
One “snow bridge” is a natural structure of snow or compact ice that forms over a crack in a glacier, creating a temporary passage between two points. But it can be extremely dangerous, as the snow can melt or give way under the weight.
It was sunny outside and the day was magnificent, so Jan had gone out that morning in shorts and a light sweater. But inside the crack, the temperature was below freezing and water was running everywhere. Like this, Before long, he became completely wet and was at risk of hypothermia. Time was playing against you.
“At first, I tried to get out on my own. The adrenaline didn’t let me realize that my shoulder was hurt. But, after trying to climb up, I noticed that it wasn’t just my hand that hurt. I was really sick,” said Jan. “Besides, I saw that further down there was a bigger drop. If I moved, I could end up in an even worse situation..”
“So I picked up my walkie-talkie and tried to contact someone. An unknown person was on the same frequency. He was, I don’t know, 100 or 200 meters away from me. He responded, asked for help by helicopter and the search began”, he said.
On the other walkie-talkie, Claudia and Ralf responded. The couple was responsible for activating the rescue services and maintaining communication with Jan, so that he remained calm and described the situation inside the crevasse. Despite this, although they knew that Jan had been in an accident, they had no idea where it had occurred and were able to provide few clues as to its location.
The red Air Zermatt helicopter searched for Jan for 40 minutes. They knew that, somewhere, the Fee glacier had “swallowed” it by about a meter and a half. Until a small clue appears.
“When I fell, I heard Filip whimpering. After a while, he sat down on a rock on the glacier and I realized he was waiting for me”, recalled Jan. And, indeed, the little chihuahua stayed there.
“We took off with the helicopter shortly after 3 pm. On board were a pilot, a paramedic, an emergency doctor and rescue specialists. They immediately began to search the area of the Fee glacier, but the dimensions are enormous”, said Kalbermatten.
“Suddenly, one of the rescue experts said he saw movement on a rock. The pilot flew there and saw a small dog waiting right next to a hole,” he added. It was the point of the collapse that led to the crack. And even Jan.
But when the helicopter landed for the first time, Filip was thrown by the air displacement caused by the blades. The rescue team then built an anchor structure on the edge of the hole. There was little left: they fixed the ropes, pulleys and a harness to descend safely and rescue Jan.
“The little chihuahua watched every movement and, as soon as rescuers removed his owner, the little dog was wagging his tail, happy to see Jan back on the surface,” said Kalbermatten.
“When I left the hospital, I contacted Claudia and Ralf to thank them for saving my life. I am also very grateful to the rescue team and the professionals at the hospital.
“I’m not a novice mountaineer and yet I didn’t realize how dangerous it is to walk on a glacier. I learned my lesson the hard way”, concluded Jan.
