The number of mountain rescues completed by the Generalitat Firefighters rose to a total of 1,443 in 2023, 18% more than in 2022. So far the highest figure, 1,253, was recorded in the second year of the covid pandemic, in 2021, when a strong increase in outings to nature was detected. In the last decade, rescues have more than doubled, going from 697 in 2013 to the aforementioned 1,443. On average, the Bombers made four saves a day last year.
Pyrenean destinations such as Val d'Aran, Ripollès and Pallars Sobirà; Baix Llobregat and Vallès Occidental are the areas that gather most of the interventions of the firefighters.
The discourse that Bombers maintains is that more and more people are going to the mountains which, inevitably, has led to more rescues. The natural spaces did register a significant increase in visitors at the end of the Covid confinement; the desire for freedom after months of confinement prompted many people who had previously barely set foot on the mountain to embark on the search for peaks. But as of 2022, this growth in influx ceased. An example is the Serra de Collserola natural park, where the number of visits during 2023 is estimated at around 5.2 million people, compared to the historical maximum of 6.4 million in 2021. In other enclaves of Catalonia shows a trend along the same lines.
What other reasons influence this new increase in rescues? From Bombers they indicate that they still do not have a database that allows them to document the case history of each rescue nor the age, sex or whether the injured party was federated or not. Year after year, the Federation of Hiking Entities of Catalonia (FEEC), with 44,656 members in 2023, demands that Bombers launch an observatory that, among other functions, analyzes this type of events with the aim of designing actions to try to reduce them. "We want to have precise information about these cases, we want to know if the rescued person left despite the fact that there were warnings for bad weather, if he was well equipped, if he had experience, what activity he practiced..., to carry out awareness campaigns among the population. "We, the FEEC, launched our own accident observatory last year to obtain information from the federated members since Bombers does not provide us with data on rescues, although we do have the collaboration of the mountain Mossos and the Rural Agents," says Jordi Merino, president of the FEEC.
What is clear is that in the mountains zero risk does not exist. Unforeseen events and bad luck can play tricks on the most cautious hiker. If you lack experience and physical fitness, the chances of having problems multiply. There is also a certain frivolity, a lack of respect encouraged by the ego. Those who overestimate their abilities, those who defy storm warnings, those who seek the summit at all costs, even if everything is against them, are the ones who are most likely to face compromising situations. But fortunately you can always call 112 to get out of trouble.
The FEEC has begun to analyze the accident reports of the federated group to investigate further. During 2023, 2,819 files were opened, of which 95% required healthcare assistance. 4% of the incidents occurred abroad.
Based on the preliminary results of a survey carried out in 2023 among 82 people with a federal license, the FEEC highlights that 40% of those injured were hiking while 20% were running in the mountains. Of this second group, 9% suffered some mishap while competing. The third most affected activity is climbing, with 10% of the total incidents.
49% are between 45 and 64 years old, says Josep Maria Silvestre, head of Security at the FEEC. By far the main cause is falls, 39%, and in second place, with the same percentage, 12%, slips on sloping terrain and physical problems. It is surprising that 4% of those surveyed suffered an electrocution from lightning.
Other data that this sample shows are that 77% of those injured did not require a rescue, that 43% were alone, that 59% did not have any training in mountain disciplines and that 65% were men. 91% suffered an injury while the rest emerged unscathed from the mishap.
Silvestre acknowledges that this is a modest survey that could be expanded to more people.
For Iñigo Soteras, rescue doctor, member of the Health and Safety committee of the FEEC and also responsible for Health of the Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports (FEDME), he believes that such an increase in rescues “is due not only to the "The number of people who go to the natural environment but also the ease of accessing very good rescue resources, knowing that with a phone call they will solve their problem." “But we cannot do more precise analyzes because we do not have enough data,” he adds.
Jordi Merino believes that everyone who requests a rescue in the mountains “should know how much it cost so that they are aware that it is a lot of money. And if you act recklessly, if you go out despite bad weather warnings or the risk of avalanches, then you should pay. It should be approached as an issue of awareness, not fundraising.”
What happens in the mountains is a reflection of society. Just as there are citizens who go to the emergency room for something stupid because they want a solution to their, let's say, already cold, an inexperienced hiker who has not properly calibrated his strength, gets tired halfway and does not feel like returning on his own. means to the starting point, call 112 to come to your aid. “We want everything and to get the chestnuts out of the fire because we know that we have a good and free resource,” says Soteras, who has participated in many rescue operations as a doctor.
