Ahead of International Mountain Day...

Ahead of International Mountain Day PZS and GRZS on safer winter mountain visits

Ahead of the start of the winter mountaineering season, the Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia (GRZS) and the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) at a joint press conference on December 9 in Ljubljana presented an analysis

of rescue operations in 2015, tips for safer winter mountain visits, innovations in PZS membership fees for

2016, the operation of mountain huts in winter, and activities for International Mountain Day, celebrated on December 11.

In 2015, the Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia has so far carried out 410 rescue actions (of which 39 with

fatal outcomes), which is more than last year, to which favorable weather for mountain visits contributed and

consequently higher mountain attendance. The most rescues were at the peak of the summer season from June to August,

due to good weather and duty at the airport there were also more helicopter interventions, said GRZS President Igor Potočnik. Mountain rescuers this year most frequently rescued domestic mountain visitors,

foreign hikers in about 40 percent of cases. The main causes of accidents remain slips,

lack of terrain knowledge and physical unpreparedness, twice as many male victims as

female victims, the most involved were aged between 50 and 59. Leading are accidents on hiking

trails, by far the most occurred in summer in the Triglav area. The most accidents were among

individuals and unorganized groups, the most common were lower limb injuries and

head injuries.

GRZS instructor and PZS expert associate Matjaž Šerkezi presented some of the most typical

cases of rescues in the mountains, which are due to lack of hikers' experience, poor tour preparation,

lack of knowledge, subjective information on the web, social networks, and desire for adventure. Visiting

mountains in winter is characterized by lower temperatures, shorter days, closed mountain huts, and specific snow

conditions. Currently there is very little snow in the mountains, hiking trails are mostly dry, in places

icy, especially in the morning and evening, so in addition to the rest of the equipment we must not forget crampons and

ice axe, which can be crucial for safer crossing of certain sections. Before first use

we must check the condition of the equipment, check the opening of huts, monitor weather and snow conditions, emphasized

Šerkezi. In winter, in addition to technical equipment that we must know how to use, the backpack also includes

the avalanche triplet: avalanche transceiver, which must be placed on the body under the top layer of clothing,

avalanche probe and aluminum avalanche shovel. Short instructions for safer mountain visits in

winter time brings the free leaflet Beware, avalanche, available at PZS, GRZS, mountaineering

associations and other locations.

To improve avalanche awareness and reduce the number of interventions, under the auspices of the Mountains and

Safety committee, the joint committee of PZS and GRZS, an anonymous online survey Avalanche has been launched, a short

questionnaire about an event that happened or almost happened to a mountain visitor in an avalanche. No intervention

by the rescue service was needed, so they have no data on this event, based on which all those involved in

education or rescue could improve their work, so they need feedback on general mountaineering fitness, equipment and knowledge of equipment and avalanche conditions

at the event, emphasized GRZS President of the Avalanche Rescue Commission Klemen Volontar.

The online survey or accident report form is also available for mobile phones.

Before visiting the mountain world in winter, it is also necessary to check the opening of mountain huts. Of 163

serviced huts (out of a total of 178 mountain huts, shelters and bivouacs), 123 are

open in winter months,

mostly at weekends and holidays, permanently open are 56, of which 26 all days in

winter months, 30 all days except Mondays or Tuesdays, said the head of the PZS Economic

Commission Janko Rabič and emphasized that operating times are different, associations adjust them independently

according to servicing capabilities, weather conditions, amount of snow or hazards on

paths. Mountain huts in high mountains are mostly closed in winter, all year round but 10 remain open

category I mountain huts, among which Dom na Komni is permanently open. Mostly lower

lying huts are open, in winter it is also possible to overnight in winter rooms that some mountain

homes have, bivouacs are intended primarily for emergency shelter. Current data on the opening of mountain huts are up-to-date published on

the PZS website.

That among the interventions of mountain rescuers there are very few events on organized mountaineering

activities and let this be an invitation to mountain visitors to join one of the 287 mountaineering

associations and clubs, said PZS General Secretary Matej Planko, who presented the benefits of membership in

the mountaineering organization. In addition to numerous discounts on purchases and services of PZS and its partners

(Slovenian Mountaineering Museum, mountain centers, mountaineering equipment suppliers and others) and arranged

accident insurance for rescue costs and treatment abroad with included 24-hour assistance

this year's novelties for members of mountaineering associations among other things bring reduced membership fee A with the largest

package of benefits, new category B/borderlanders, intended for borderland associations, increased discount for

members in PZS Mountaineering Publishing House and more new partners offering discounts to members. Details on

PZS membership fees can be read on the PZS website.

Only two days separate us from December 11, International Mountain Day, when in eight countries that

share the Alps, events will take place whose goal is to bring alpine culture closer through reading alpine literature.

Reading Mountains is an initiative of the German Presidency of the Alpine Convention 2015-2016, the basic idea being on

International Mountain Day to organize events dedicated to reading alpine literature at various places in

the Alps. Each partner organization participating in the initiative, including numerous mountaineering associations, has free

hands in choosing events and thus around 50 events dedicated to mountaineering literature, mountaineering fairy tale world,

Slovenian alpinism, travel lectures and exhibitions will take place in libraries, schools and other institutions in Slovenia in these days. We have collected the list of events on

the PZS website.

Ahead of International Mountain Day, PZS has traditionally prepared a message in which Slavica

Tovšak, head of the PZS Publishing and Information Committee, wrote: "Reading Mountains is a project that is not

intended only for International Mountain Day and literature created in the wide alpine area. It

successfully includes the diversity of Slovenian mountaineering literature, which allows us to read always and

everywhere. Let December 11 be the day that we will literarily mark in all countries of the Alpine arc,

but with the awareness that reading mountains also means living with mountains."

Safe travels and secure steps!