The increase in outings to the mountains is consolidated and translates into more rescues. During the first week of August, members of the GRAE, the Special Actions Group, participated in a total of 40 rescues, almost 43% more than those registered in the same period of 2022, according to data provided by the Generalitat Bombers. . Between the months of January and July of this 2023, 853 operations have materialized in Catalonia, a record number that represents 28% more than in the previous year. Lost hikers; others who get tired, say enough is enough and resort to their mobile phones to ask the Firefighters for help, and those who suffer falls, sprains, fractures or other accidents end up activating more and more land and air resources. The question is to what extent should firefighters go looking for a hiker who says that he is exhausted, that he finds it difficult to return to the starting point under his own power. “Today’s society is like that, we are used to having the administration solve everything for us, that is also seen in other areas, there are people who go to the ER without needing it,” says Rafael Esteban, an officer from the GRAE technical unit,
There is a lack of pedagogy, and also common sense, so that mountain fans can plan activities that fit their physical and technical abilities.
The analysis of the causes that lead to a call to 112 suggests that there are hikers who set themselves goals that are too ambitious. Before attempting the Pica de Estats, the Comaloforno, the Aneto, or any other three thousand, it is advisable to train and gain experience in less demanding peaks. The notes that the Bombers periodically publish on social networks show that too often this is not the case.
Four people reached the Punta Alta de Comalesbienes, 3,014 meters high, in the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, on the afternoon of July 13. But after reaching the top and tackling the descent, they realized that they did not know for sure which was the correct itinerary. In addition, they said that they were without strength and one of them was distressed. The four were evacuated to the parking lot of the Cavallers reservoir, in La Vall de Boí.
The situations in which the question arises as to whether it is justified to resort to the fire brigade to go down by helicopter instead of walking due to feeling tired or having got lost are repeated. Obviously, to avoid greater evils it is necessary to act, but it is also very important to convey to those rescued and to society that before setting yourself a challenge in the high mountains you have to think twice, gauge how far we can go and choose adventures within our reach. And better not go alone. A guarantee of security is hiring a guide.
“For the cases of hikers who have become disoriented, we have opened a new type of service, which is guidance through mobile phones. They send us their location by phone and we give them directions so they can find the nearest way. Sometimes this solution is not possible because there are people who feel very distressed, who have walked around for hours, who have run out of water and that their response capacity is minimal, that is why we must go looking for them”. Rafael Esteban points out. As of July, firefighters have guided 25 lost people through this method. But keep in mind that the coverage does not reach all corners.
Dr. Iñigo Soteras, a rescue specialist and member of the security committee of the Federació d’Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya (FEEC), precisely points out that lately what he has detected the most in his guards is calls from disoriented people. “After 22 years of experience in rescues, one of the things that strikes me the most is that people are not self-sufficient, that they are very dependent on the telephone. They must plan better, know how to navigate and go with the appropriate equipment, be aware that in 20 minutes they will not have an ambulance and that if the wind blows they will not be able to fly the helicopter”, Soteras points out.
From the FEEC they emphasize an old claim, the need for Firefighters to accurately document the causes that motivate each rescue and the profile of those rescued (age, sex, experience…). In the database managed by the firefighters, the historical evolution of the number of rescues is available, but without specifying the cause of each one or what activity was carried out. “Without this information it is very difficult to work to minimize risks,” they point out from the FEEC.
Another relevant issue is to create a kind of map with the enclaves that motivate more rescue operations to analyze whether or not to improve signage. But this is an issue on which there is no consensus, as it is considered that whoever faces a demanding journey or summit should know how to orient themselves and read maps.
In the Aragonese Pyrenees, the data published by the GREIM (Special Rescue Groups for Mountain Intervention) of the Civil Guard corroborate that there are many people who get lost in the mountains. Thus, on the 4th, three of the five GREIM outings in this area were to come to the aid of a total of seven disoriented hikers.
Coinciding with the fatal accident on August 2 in which a 24-year-old man lost his life, in Punta Alta de Comalesbienes, Firefighters have called for extreme caution in activities in the natural environment. Precisely, the GRAE has detected an increase in incidents in Punta Alta this summer, the majority due to hikers who get lost on the way down and suffer falls of varying degrees.
The GRAE warns that if the chosen route is circular, which starts from the Cavallers reservoir, heads towards the Ventosa i Calvell refuge and from there to the summit to return through the area of ??the Comalesbienes lakes, you must be careful to avoid taking a wrong path and entering very dangerous channels. In recent weeks, there have been four outings to help hikers with problems in Punta Alta.
The fever to climb three thousand and the perception that Punta Alta is one of the most affordable can encourage people without adequate preparation to face this peak. Things get complicated when bad weather sets in and visibility worsens. All precaution is little.
Rafael Esteban considers that the majority of citizens are prudent and that this increase in the number of people rescued only responds to the fact that many more people go to the mountains. Likewise, he points out that it is important not to embark on routes alone and that whoever does so, before leaving, advises his relatives of the itinerary that he plans to follow.
