I didn't mind the students as a subplot. For one thing, they make a number of aspects of the A-plot more plausible. It's the ego threat of being beaten out by the students that gets Diessl to consent to Riefenstahl tagging along at all, and presumably keeps him from deciding to take the other two back off the mountain at various points when circumstances would suggest that turning back would be wiser, and later, it's all that faffing about in the ice-caves that provides at least some account for why we don't get on with the search and rescue of the lost trio sooner.