Safety in hiking

ByEduardo Azcona
Safety in hiking
Mountains /Pixabay

Currently, among mountain sports, hiking is statistically the most popular activity among Spaniards. This is why it is the mountain activity with the highest percentage of accidents. To find out the causes of these rates, and the prevention measures that are being applied, here we talk about safety in hiking.

Why are there so many accidents in hiking?

The main reasons for the number of accidents that occur during hiking are the following:

  • There are a large number of people practising hiking and therefore, by the logic of proportionality, accidents in this activity must be higher than in other sports that are practised by a smaller number of sportsmen and women.
  • The first four precursors of accidents in mountain areas are: the overestimation of potential, lack of experience or technique, lack of planning and lack of physical preparation..
  • In hiking it is not easy to understand that a certain amount of training is required, let alone technical skills. It is believed that with a little experience you can do the activity and this means that many hikers do not plan their activities well.
  • The factors that cause accidents can generally be divided into three groups: the accident-causing factors are falls to the same level, physical problems in general and disorientation or loss of consciousness..
  • The high accident rate in this activity is due to the lack of preparation of the hikers. Thus, the risk in the natural environment is not perceived, it is not well planned and physical preparation is not taken into account.

READ ALSO: The main causes of mountain accidents.

How to reduce the accident rate in hiking

In order to reduce the accident rate in trekking, the following are at the first levels training and outreach of measures to reduce accidents.

Fedme has also designed a mountain safety code. It can be the first step to start planning activities better and thus control overestimation of possibilities, which is one of the precursor factors in most accidents.

This security code presents five aspects relevant to the planning of activities:

  • Preparation of the itinerary.
  • Equip yourself adequately.
  • Weather review.
  • Knowing yourself.
  • Let it be said where you are going.

Preparing the itinerary

In order to achieve a adequate preparation of the itinerary The first thing to do is to start by setting yourself real goals. Above all, you have to remember that the goal you set for yourself has to be part of what you want and not be forced by what you see in the media or what other people do.

It is necessary to establish itineraries that really correspond to your possibilities. Preparing a route involves looking for reliable information that can be verified, such as regional federations, books by well-known authors, even on the Internet if the information shared is good.

You can't work with sketches, you have to work with maps, and therefore one of the initial steps is to learn to read one and to be able to measure on it. On a map it is possible to measure basic features of the planning of your activity such as length, slope, possible obstacles presented by the terrain and others.

A day-long activity requires planning many hours in advance.

Equip yourself properly

For getting the right equipment for hiking Remember that footwear is an essential part of the equipment. For this reason, you should choose a footwear not only suitable for the activity we are going to do, but also taking into account the natural environment and the time of the year in which we are going to use it.

A very light type of shoe means more impact on the feet, more distortion in the ankles, knees and hips. A boot with a little bit of shank always gives you more balance and much more control of movement and is therefore going to be a slightly safer shoe.

For the body it is always necessary to think according to three layersA very breathable first layer, a light warm layer and a waterproof and breathable outer layer. It must be accompanied by the suitable rucksack.

Sometimes you see in the mountains very small backpacks where you can carry very little and this is always going to make you leave it at home, basic elements such as a first aid kita spare set of clothes, a survival blanket and daily provision and with a reserve for emergencies..

You must have a GPS and the phone charged and off to have it available in case of emergency. With these things you would be well equipped to go on your route.

Meteorological review

This is a very valuable piece of information. However, the statistics do not show that the weather was not predicted by the people who had the accident. What happens is that the meteorological data are not adequate.

For this reason, training is essential and it is also important that hikers have some practice in meteorology and require some theoretical as well as practical training in meteorology. knowledge of the weather forecast.

Knowing yourself

One of the most valuable points of the security code is to know yourself. You have to know what your organic and psychological response is to your activity.

You must know how long you can walk, how much elevation gain you are able to overcome and how many hours of walking you can do. All this depends on the experience you have acquired in activities and your adaptation to the activity in question.

Generally, the training and adaptation to the activity is not something that is common in hikers. However, it is necessary to have adapted the muscle groups involved and to have a certain aerobic capacity.

Saying where you are going

No activity should be undertaken without having left a source of information to a reliable person of your surroundings about what your type of activity is going to be, where you are going to leave from, who you are going with, the car registration number, if you are going to pass through shelters or villages where you can be contacted.

Conclusion

As hiking is one of the activities practised by the largest number of people, it is not unusual that it is the mountain sport with the highest accident rate. The reasons for this rate and measures to reduce it are part of the hiking safety system.

Source: Fedme