YouTuber Saved by iPhone Satellite in Deadly Andorra Hike

A 19-year-old Barcelona-based YouTuber has shared a harrowing account of a solo hiking trip in Andorra's mountains last July that nearly turned fatal, crediting his iPhone with saving his life despite lacking mobile coverage.

Marcos Küppers recounted the ordeal in a recent video, emphasising that his goal is to raise awareness rather than entertain. The incident unfolded during a warm summer day when he drove into Andorra for a 14-kilometre route passing three lakes. Initially popular with other hikers—some even swimming in the chilly waters—the path grew isolated as Küppers pressed on alone, seeking time to disconnect amid nature.

Equipped only with a lightweight T-shirt, a jersey, a water bottle, and his iPhone loaded with a mapping app for offline routes, he soon veered off course. Spotting his error on the app, he recalculated, but persistent misdirection left him further astray. Weather shifted abruptly: temperatures plunged, clouds gathered, and heavy rain began, followed by hail.

Driven by determination, Küppers followed faint rock markers despite growing disorientation. The downpour turned the terrain treacherous—slippery boulders demanded scrambling on all fours. Hail battered him relentlessly, feeling like "countless hands scratching his body and head all at once."

After one to two more hours, exhaustion set in. His body shook uncontrollably from the cold, signalling hypothermia. High in the mountains with no data signal, he couldn't call his family. Desperate, he activated his iPhone's emergency satellite feature—a capability he hadn't fully realised it possessed—allowing rescuers to locate and extract him.

Küppers described the episode as life-altering, underscoring the dangers of solo hikes and the value of emergency tech in remote areas. Authorities have not released further details on the rescue operation.