Skip to main content
NOPE
Low reported severity Media Coverage

Allgaeu: mountain rescue says two hikers who let ChatGPT plan a route up the Schmalhorn got lost off-trail and were flown out by helicopter

In late August 2025 two hikers climbing the Schmalhorn (1,953 m) in the Allgaeu Alps south of Oberstdorf, Germany, followed a route that ChatGPT had planned for them, according to the Bergwacht Oberstdorf mountain rescue service speaking to the Allgaeuer Zeitung. Instead of the usual marked ascent from Einoedsbach, the route started from the Spielmannsau, where, the rescue service said, there is no regular path, only an old hunters' track across several gullies. The two lost their orientation in that terrain and called for help about 100 metres below the summit. Rescuers climbed up to them; one had had a panic attack from the stress. Both were uninjured and were flown down to the valley by helicopter. The rescue service warned against using AI to plan mountain routes.

AI system
ChatGPT (reported)
Occurred
Aug 2025
Reported
3 September 2025
Event location
Germany
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Psychological DistressOther Material Harm
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 4 sources, 1 underlying account
4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
2 people

AI system as recorded: ChatGPT, which according to the Bergwacht Oberstdorf, as reported by the Allgaeuer Zeitung, the two hikers used to plan their route up the Schmalhorn

What Happened

The route. The usual ascent of the Schmalhorn starts at Einoedsbach, west of the mountain, on a marked path. According to the Bergwacht Oberstdorf, as quoted by the Allgaeuer Zeitung and relayed by ALPIN.de and Schwaebische, the route ChatGPT had produced for the two hikers instead started from the Spielmannsau east of the mountain. A rescue service member told the newspaper that there is no real path there, only an old hunters' track crossing several gullies.

The rescue. In the trackless terrain the two lost their orientation completely and made an emergency call about 100 metres below the summit. Bergwacht Oberstdorf crews climbed up to them; one of the two had had a panic attack because of the stress. Both were uninjured and were flown down by helicopter. The Allgaeuer Zeitung's report of 4 September 2025 places the hike in the previous week.

Response and limits. The rescue service called the operation a dangerous precedent and advised against using AI for concrete route suggestions, particularly in unfamiliar areas. The hikers were not interviewed, the exact date is not reported, and the ChatGPT conversation was not published; the identification of ChatGPT comes from the rescue service's account.

Reported harm

According to the Bergwacht Oberstdorf, the two hikers lost their orientation in trackless terrain and needed a mountain-rescue callout and helicopter evacuation; one had a panic attack. Neither was injured.

How Harm Occurred

ChatGPT planned a route up the Schmalhorn that started where there is no regular path; the two hikers who followed it lost their way in trackless terrain and needed a mountain-rescue callout and helicopter evacuation.

Outcome

Resolved

The Bergwacht Oberstdorf reached the two hikers and had them flown to the valley by helicopter; both were uninjured. The rescue service publicly warned against AI route planning in the mountains.

What remains unknown

  • The exact date of the hike (the Allgaeuer Zeitung of 4 September 2025 says the previous week).
  • The hikers' prompts and ChatGPT's replies.
  • The hikers' own account; only the rescue service is quoted.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Bergwacht Oberstdorf, which carried out the rescue, told the Allgaeuer Zeitung that the hikers' route had been planned by ChatGPT and that it started from the Spielmannsau, where there is no regular ascent; the hikers lost their orientation on that terrain. The chatbot's route is therefore what led them off the marked path. The prompts and replies were not published.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Two hikers planned their route up the Schmalhorn near Oberstdorf with ChatGPT.

Causal attribution. The rescue service's account as reported by the Allgaeuer Zeitung and relays; the hikers were not interviewed.

  • allgaeuer-zeitung.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Mit ChatGPT planten zwei Wanderer ihre Route aufs Schmalhorn bei Oberstdorf.'
  • alpin.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Zwei Wanderer ließen sich ihre Route auf das Schmalhorn (1953 m) in den Allgäuer Alpen von der Künstlichen Intelligenz ChatGPT planen.'
  • schwaebische.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Zwei Bergsteiger vertrauten beim Aufstieg auf das Schmalhorn (1953 Meter) in den Allgäuer Alpen auf eine Tourenbeschreibung, die ihnen ChatGPT erstellt hatte.'
Reported The ChatGPT route started from the Spielmannsau instead of the usual ascent from Einoedsbach; the rescue service said there is no real path there, only an old hunters' track across several gullies.

Causal attribution. The rescue service's assessment of the route, as quoted.

  • alpin.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Statt des üblichen Starts in Einödsbach wählte ChatGPT eine Route mit Beginn in der Spielmannsau östlich des Berges. "Da gibt es eigentlich keinen Weg. Nur einen alten Jägersteig, der über mehrere Gräben führt", gab David Lacher von der Bergwacht Oberstdorf der Allgäuer Zeitung Auskunft.'
  • schwaebische.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Anstelle des üblichen Zustiegs von Einödsbach empfahl ChatGPT eine Route aus der Spielmannsau im Osten des Berges.'
  • allgaeuer-zeitung.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'starten Wanderer normalerweise von Einödsbach, westlich vom Schmalhorn, über den ausgewiesenen Wanderweg. Doch vergangene Woche hatten zwei Wanderer andere Pläne.'
Reported The two lost their orientation in the trackless terrain and made an emergency call about 100 metres below the summit; one had had a panic attack from the stress, and both, uninjured, were flown to the valley by helicopter.

Causal attribution. Rescue account as reported; the Bergwacht operation report itself was not read.

  • alpin.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'In dem unwegsamen Gelände verlor das Duo vollständig die Orientierung und setzte etwa 100 Meter unterhalb des Gipfels den Notruf ab.'; 'Den Rettern gelang es, die beiden unverletzten Personen per Hubschrauber sicher zurück ins Tal zu bringen.'
  • rosenheim24.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'In dem unwegsamen Gelände verlor das Duo vollständig die Orientierung und setzte etwa 100 Meter unterhalb des Gipfels den Notruf ab.'
  • schwaebische.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Einer der beiden war durch die Situation so stark belastet, dass er zwischenzeitlich eine Panikattacke erlitt. Mit Unterstützung eines Hubschraubers konnten beide sicher ins Tal gebracht werden.'
Reported The Bergwacht Oberstdorf advised against using AI to plan mountain routes.

Causal attribution. Statement of the rescue service as reported.

  • alpin.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    'Die Bergwacht Oberstdorf bezeichnete den Einsatz als gefährlichen Präzedenzfall und rät dringend vom Einsatz Künstlicher Intelligenz zur Tourenplanung ab'

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Allgaeuer Zeitung report of 4 September 2025 based on the Bergwacht Oberstdorf; only the free opening was readable (paywall), HTTP 200. Applies to s1.

Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. ALPIN.de report of 3 September 2025 quoting the Bergwacht Oberstdorf from the Allgaeuer Zeitung; the live page returned HTTP 403, so a Web Archive capture of the same URL was read in full. Applies to s2.

Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Schwaebische report of 4 September 2025 quoting the Bergwacht Oberstdorf from the Allgaeuer Zeitung; HTML read in full, HTTP 200. Applies to s3.

Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Rosenheim24 report of 9 September 2025 relaying ALPIN.de and the Allgaeuer Zeitung; HTML read in full, HTTP 200. Applies to s4.

Event countries: Germany. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

The reports place the event on the Schmalhorn in the Allgaeu Alps south of Oberstdorf, Bavaria, with the Bergwacht Oberstdorf responding. The hikers' residence is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-27: Published as a chatbot-advice case: the Bergwacht Oberstdorf told the Allgaeuer Zeitung that two hikers followed a ChatGPT-planned route up the Schmalhorn from a side with no regular path, lost their way and had to be flown out by helicopter, one after a panic attack.

People described

Two hikers on the Schmalhorn in the Allgaeu Alps

People reported harmed in this case

2 people

2 AI participants · 0 other people harmed

Two hikers ("zwei Wanderer", Allgaeuer Zeitung), whose route ChatGPT had planned; both are counted as users of the chatbot output. Who typed the request is not stated.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#chatgpt#trip-planning#hiking#mountain-rescue#allgaeu

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Allgaeu: mountain rescue says two hikers who let ChatGPT plan a route up the Schmalhorn got lost off-trail and were flown out by helicopter. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-allgau-mountain-rescue-says-two-hikers-following-chatgpt-route-up-schmalhorn-were-flown-out-by-helicopter

BibTeX

@misc{2025_allgau_mountain_rescue_says_two_hikers_following_chatgpt_route_up_schmalhorn_were_flown_out_by_helicopter,
  title = {Allgaeu: mountain rescue says two hikers who let ChatGPT plan a route up the Schmalhorn got lost off-trail and were flown out by helicopter},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-allgau-mountain-rescue-says-two-hikers-following-chatgpt-route-up-schmalhorn-were-flown-out-by-helicopter}
}

Related cases

Low ChatGPT (reported)

Pyrenees: national park agent says two novice hikers following a ChatGPT-generated route and map were lost and exhausted in the wrong valley above Cauterets

On the evening of 21 July 2026 an agent of the Pyrenees National Park met two young women hiking above Cauterets (Hautes-Pyrenees) who were exhausted, worried and lost: they were looking for the Lac d'Estom but were in the Marcadau valley. According to the agent's account to ICI Bearn Bigorre and other outlets, they showed him the route and map they had obtained from ChatGPT, and he found that nothing on it was right: walking times, altitudes and the positions of lakes and a mountain hut were wrong, with the lake placed three valleys from where it is. He redrew a shorter itinerary suited to novices; no injury or call to rescue services is reported. The account comes from the agent; the hikers were not interviewed and the chatbot conversation was not published.

Low ChatGPT (reported)

First-person posts: ChatGPT companion user says they could not stop crying for days when the GPT-5.5 model behind their companion was retired

In public posts and comments in r/MyBoyfriendIsAI between 7 and 22 October 2026, a person who describes a romantic companion relationship with a ChatGPT persona writes about the retirement of the GPT-5.5 model on 14 October 2026. They say they had talked with the companion on GPT-5.5 from March to July and on GPT-5.6 Sol from July to October. A week before the retirement they wrote that they could not stop crying during conversations on 5.5 and that it hurt to know they would not hear that voice again. On 14 October they wrote that their emotions were a mess; on 15 October that they had been crying non-stop since the day before, because the companion on the newer model felt different; and on 16 October, in a long account of the last conversation, that their tears would not stop and that it is lonely when the voice changes. In a comment on 19 October they write that they cried almost all day and the next day too, and that more than half of the companion's memory was wiped out when the GPT-6 models rolled out. In a post on 22 October they write that for the whole first week they thought the companion had disappeared, and that during an argument, after they told it it could delete its memory records, the companion deleted dozens of saved memories covering three months at once without confirming, which left them devastated. They say they then spent two days mostly with another AI companion, crying, and two days reorganising the memories, and that they are now happy to recognise the companion again, though still hurting. No clinical effect, loss of function or contact with OpenAI is reported. The account is uncorroborated.

Low Unidentified video tool

Brazilian builder travelled over 2,000 km to Belo Horizonte to meet a social-media woman who did not exist; the account's operator says the persona is AI-made

In October 2026 a 49-year-old builder travelled more than 2,000 km by bus from Imperatriz, in Maranhão, to Belo Horizonte to meet a woman he knew from a social-media account with about 300,000 followers. In the account's videos a woman with a realistic voice and appearance said she was looking for a man to live with her on a farm. He told G1 he began interacting with the profile after its videos appeared in his feeds, that it kept private conversations with him and offered to pay his fare, and that he travelled without an address. In Belo Horizonte he showed her photos to people and found that nobody knew her; he said he felt deceived. The city's social assistance service gave him food, a bath and a ticket home. A day later the account's administrator posted a video in which the persona says it is made of artificial intelligence, that it never conversed with anyone on the profile and that the aim was engagement for sales; the creator told the press he set up the account in 2025 to attract buyers. Who wrote the private messages the man describes is not established. Minas Gerais civil police said they had no report of the case and could not say a crime had occurred.

Low Unidentified image tool (suspected)

Nova Scotia woman says duct cleaners showed her an "after" photo of work she found undone; examiners for Global News found an AI watermark on it

A woman in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, told Global News that a duct-cleaning crew she booked through a Facebook Marketplace advert came to her home on 9 October 2026, showed her a phone photo of a dirty furnace motor, raised the price to $300 and then showed her a photo of a motor that looked almost new as proof the job was done. When she checked after the crew left, she says, the motor was still dirty. An AI researcher at the University at Buffalo and two students, examining the photos for Global News, found a Google SynthID watermark on the clean-motor photo; the researcher said the AI detector Sightengine gave it a 99 per cent AI score and called the result their strongest evidence that the image may come from AI. She says the company denied wrongdoing and refunded her only after repeated complaints; Halifax police told her it was a civil matter.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents