Yes, the Guardia Civil, mountain-rescue service was busy during last month picking up buckled hikers, dented mountain climbers and hobbling barranco descenders.
All told, they were called out 15 times, which is an average of one rescue every two day, whereas in reality, they were sometimes called out two or three times a day over weekends.
During those rescue operations they brought to safety 18 people aged between 22 and 79 years of age, from several points around the province, including Castril, Trevélez, Capileira, Quéntar, Padul, Monachil, Otívar and Lentegí.
Of the above places, you might wonder, where were the most habitual areas, and the answer is Siete Lagunas (Trevélez) and Los Cahorros (Monachil) and of course, the Junta de Los Ríos (Otívar).
The rescue helicopter was needed in the majority of these rescue missions; 12 out of 15, in fact. A close analysis of the statistics show that in over 50% of the cases, people out hiking or climbing were doing it unaccompanied or with their partner.
As for injuries, the most frequent were dislocations and fractured ankles, caused by, falls and slips and an overwhelming lack of common sense, perhaps. Most of these mishaps occurred in riverbeds and gullies, by the way.
Another reason why people needed rescuing was from exhaustion, getting lost, and in many cases through a lack of physical preparation, lack of equipment or suitable clothing/footwear, an insufficient provision of water and food and… overestimating their own physical capacity/stamina.
On the flip side, one climber had the sense to take a sleeping bag and victuals when he went out climbing; having suffered a fall, he was able to survive the night until the rescue helicopter could locate him in during first light of the next day.
The Guardia Civil’s advice is prepare physically before setting out, wear the correct clothes and footwear, carry a fully charged mobile phone, let your family and friend know where you are going and if it looks dangerous, it probably is because… it is, so don’t risk it.
(News: Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Guardia Civil, Rescue Mountain-Rescue, Helicopter, Hikers, Climbers, Falls, Fractured ankles, dislocations, Footware, Provisions
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