Kleinwalsertal: A scavenger bin cripples a ski resort in Austria

A tube-like object about 15 centimeters long has caused a lot of excitement in Kleinwalstal, Austria. One of the ski resorts has completely stopped operating.

A recreational activity with a scavenger hunt in Kleinwalsertal in Austria brought the ski area to a standstill for hours. Ski guests reported on Easter Sunday afternoon that a man had placed a suspicious object at a lift station in Kanzelwandbahn, Vorarlberg police said on Monday. Police called to the scene discovered a tube-like object about 15 cm long on the ski rack.

It then cleared the Kanzelwandbahn mountain station and the adjacent Zwerenalpbahn station. The Kanzelwand ski area has completely ceased operations. Specialists arrived to defuse a potentially dangerous object. They later gave the green light after identifying the object as a container for the game “Geocaching”.

Geocaching is a type of modern scavenger hunt. The container is usually hidden with a log. GPS coordinates are provided on a website associated with the game. Participants can view the coordinates there and then start searching for the container. Once they find them, they enter their names in the registry, but leave the container where they are for other geocachers. The game is said to have been invented by an American about 20 years ago. Since then it has spread around the world.

Police did not say whether the man who placed the container on the ski rack at the Kanzelwandbahn had been found or whether he might be in trouble.

dpa