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A visitor to Germany’s highest mountain has been branded “stupid” after being spotted trying to reach the summit in a pair of Birkenstock-style sandals.
It comes as frustration grows across Europe and elsewhere with tourists trying to tackle mountaineering feats without the proper equipment or guidance.
In the latest incident, video footage taken by a mountain guide showed the tourist waiting to ascend to the top of the Zugspitze mountain in the Bavarian Alps, which is 2,962 metres above sea level and features one of the country’s last remaining glaciers.
He is seen waiting to climb metal rungs and a ladder bolted to the rock face, a steep section of the route that calls for sturdy hiking or walking boots.
“It’s just stupid,” said Reinhold Messner, a veteran mountaineer from Italy’s German-speaking South Tyrol region. “Everyone should be responsible for their own life,” he told the German newspaper Bild. “If something were to happen, alpine rescue will be burdened with it.”
Clips of the sandal-wearing hiker have been viewed on social media more than 1.5 million times, generating 1,300 comments — most of them critical.
The video was taken by an Austrian alpine guide who said in a withering aside: “Germany’s highest Instagram spot. Nothing surprises me any more.”