Accidents fall in Scotland's hills
Thursday 16 August 2007
Scotland boasts some of the world’s most beautiful landscape and figures show that increasing numbers of walkers and climbers are taking full advantage and heading for the hills. Indeed it is estimated that over 6.5 million participation days are spent on Scotland’s summits each year, with around five percent of Scots visiting the peaks every month.
Whilst every year Scotland’s mountain rescue teams are called on to deal with a wide range of incidents, encouragingly new research, commissioned by sportscotland and based on the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland figures, reveals that the number of accidents on Scotland’s hills is on the decrease. It also highlights some key indicators that should help this trend continue, in particular by identifying those most at risk.
In an average year there are around 300 incidents, involving approximately 25 fatalities and 180 people injured. More than half of those involved are visitors to Scotland, with three-quarters being male.
The main causes of accidents include poor navigation (23%) inadequate planning (18%) and inadequate equipment (11%).
Around a quarter of incidents involve minor trips or slips and many accidents happen in fair weather. Almost two-thirds of those involved in accidents are considered to be experienced, while a fifth of all incidents involved people aged 21 to 30, primarily students. Hill walking is involved in almost three-quarters of all mountain accidents and snow/ice climbing in a further 12%.
Commenting on the reports findings, Tim Walker, Principal of sportscotland National Centre Glenmore Lodge said: “Scotland is fortunate to have such tremendous natural resources which are enjoyed by so many and we welcome increasing numbers enjoying the great outdoors.
“However being properly prepared is crucial and all throughout our training sessions here at Glenmore Lodge we emphasis this as we strive to ensure that all visits to Scotland’s summits remain incident free.
“This research will help inform, influence and update the training provided by the mountaineering community and hopefully result in these figures continuing to decrease.”
The report’s author, Dr. Bob Sharp FRGS said: “This survey is the most comprehensive of its kind ever carried out in the UK and provides an objective basis for looking at risks and hazards in the mountains for all those involved in mountain safety, training and rescue."
It was recently announced that sportscotland will be investing £36,000 per annum over the next three years to support the Mountain Weather Information Service. This complements the Scottish Avalanche Information Service which was formed in 1988 and is also funded by sportscotland, receiving £105,000 annually Both services cover five geographical areas, North West Highlands, West Highlands, Cairngorms, South East Highlands and the Southern Uplands.
A full copy of the report and a breakdown of all the figures is available from the link opposite
- Glenmore Lodge is sportscotland's National Outdoor Training Centre located in the heart of Cairngorms National Park. Learn, develop or qualify in an adventure sport of your choice. Our goal is to inspire adventure by teaching beginners, coaching intermediate/advanced and delivering training and assessment courses for leaders and instructors.
- BBC Scotland’s The Great Climb programme will be based at Glenmore Lodge as an A-List of world’s top climbers tackle some of the spectacular and remote crags of the Cairngorm National Park. The programme will be broadcast live on BBC Two Scotland from 1pm to 8pm on Saturday 18 August 2007.