Mountain safety and risk prevention in youth activities

In the mountains it is possible to practise a wide variety of sports that can be started from an early age. All these activities associated with this natural environment have in common that they promote companionship and discipline in a fun and healthy environment. Below you will find information on mountain safety and risk prevention in youth activities.

What are the youth activities in the mountains?

Youth activities in the mountains are those that are developed within clubs, at federative level and at regional level, but are also carried out by many youth organisations and have to do with sports that take place in the natural environment and in the mountains.

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For example, currently, the Mountaineering Federation organises training outings aimed at young people aged 12 to 17, interested in getting started in different mountain sports and having fun while sharing their experiences with other boys and girls of the same age.

In addition, a large number of clubs affiliated to the various regional federations also have a children's and youth section. From there, they carry out activities aimed specifically at children and young people.

Some offer sporting activities for the family and others organise outings suitable for all ages, where all children are welcome.

Safety in youth mountain activities

The elements necessary to facilitate safety management during youth activities in the mountains are:

• Having an adequate system of risk management.
• Establish a plan for security specific to the activities to be implemented.
• Having the emergency plan adequate to respond to any accident or incident.

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Risk management system

A management system is a type of system that allows setting policy and objectives and working out how to achieve these objectives. If the management system is also a risk management system, it will include all the necessary management that will allow for documenting the risks associated with an activity and the measures to mitigate those risks. their affectation.

In the case of youth clubs, these elements ultimately translate into material resources for the activities that are being carried out and in the human resources who are the target public of the activity, the volunteers, the partners, the collaborators, the benevolent guides, the professional guides and even the families themselves who are leaving us in charge of their children.

Some of the main reasons justifying the implementation of a risk management system in youth activities in the mountains are as follows:

• The characteristics of the natural physical environment are highly variable with respect to the people who carry out activities in it. This is a source of unpredictable and unexpected situations, which is what is known as the environmental uncertainty.
• To minimise the possibility of accidents occurring that may involve fatalities to minors.
• The four main precursors of accidents in activities involving minors are the lack of technical level, lack of physical preparation, overestimation of potential and poor planning..

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Security plan

Security plans are put in place in order to identify what dangers may exist in the development of a given activity. Once these hazards have been identified, it is necessary to assess what the risks are that could be affected and what are the preventive measures that will allow you to eliminate them or minimise their effect.

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Emergency plan

It is a response plan to the occurrence of an incident or accident. It should include a evacuation plan and you have to check that the facilities are adequate to the type of activity being undertaken. It is also verified that the materials available are non-hazardous and if they are materials that are not within the reach of any of the participants in the activity.

The emergency plan should indicate:

• What are the media and links to the outside of the activity that can allow you to exit in the event of an emergency.
• What are the shaded areasThe coverage maps of the different companies.
• What are the shelters close to the area where the activity takes place.
• The plans for this route and the alternative ways of escape where participants could take refuge.
• The evacuation routesincluding road access to these routes.
• What are the possible obstacles that a group coming for rescue might encounter.
• Whether or not the possibility of a helicopter landing close to the site. This is used as a reference, as a clear area of more than 15 metres in diameter is required.
• Another point that should be reflected in this emergency plan is the internal contacts, such as the responsible for the organisation.
• Also the external contacts should be displayed there: 112, the civil guard in the area, the nearest health centre and hospitals, local authorities and others.

Risk prevention in youth activities

Some of the characteristics to be considered in order to establish a culture of risk prevention in youth activities are the following:

• A high percentage of today's mountaineers have taken up mountaineering activities as part of youth outdoor activities.
• It is necessary to teach a real culture of risk prevention at an early age, as this will help to anchor the concepts of prevention at an adult age.
• In order to build a real preventive culture, the starting point is the unification of risk prevention messages.
• The prevention of risks must be worked on in a global way. Outdoor accidents involve both mountain sports federations and youth organisations and everyone must work in the same direction in order to collaborate in the actions to be taken.

Conclusion

The importance of establishing the appropriate elements for the management of the safety in youth mountain activities. In addition, it is necessary to create from an early age a culture of risk prevention in the development of these activities.

Source: Fedme