Mountain rescue: guardian angels in the mountains

A sharp twinge. The right leg. Probably sprained. Maybe even more. Annemarie's face contorts in pain. She's stuck at an altitude of 2,300 meters. And now?

Annemarie is a passionate mountaineer - but sometimes she just has bad luck. Like on her tour at the weekend, where her right leg slipped and now she can't go any further - let alone back. Anyone like her who feels injured or unwell in alpine terrain should call mountain rescue as soon as possible. After all, you usually can't assess how serious the situation is yourself.

In addition, many people forget that mountain rescue services take significantly longer to reach patients than urban rescue services: while rescuers in large cities are required to be at the scene of an accident within ten minutes, there are no such regulations for their colleagues in alpine regions. “For us, that would just be madness, because we have to be extremely careful to protect ourselves. Under time pressure, you forget everything important and end up endangering not only yourself, but also your colleagues and patients,” says Regina Poberschnigg. She is the head of the Ehrwald mountain rescue team and has been there for 20 years. She is also a real pioneer in the field: she was the first woman ever to join the Tyrolean Mountain Rescue Service. A few laws first had to be changed for this to happen.

The appeal of the mountains is growing - countless accidents included

According to Regina, more and more people are being drawn to the mountains. How does she notice this? There are sometimes a disproportionate number of missions. “People are becoming more and more sporty. You also have so many options here: Riding up on e-bikes is a current trend, but hiking and mountaineering are still popular. And right now, when there is still snow in the mountains, ski tourers are of course also out and about with us.”

The many missions are not necessarily due to the athletes' equipment. Markus Wolf, district manager of Reutte Mountain Rescue and head of the Berwang/Namlos branch, emphasizes: “Mountaineers and climbers in particular are very well equipped these days.” However, the situation is different for hikers, as they often overestimate themselves, underestimate the tour or simply have too little clothing and food with them: “A warm cup of tea should always be in your rucksack, even in summer,” advises Markus. Because holidaymakers usually forget that although it can be warm at the foot of the mountain, the temperatures at 2,000 meters above sea level are completely different.

Mountain rescue: “We'd rather be called too early than too late”

Unfortunately, it's not just the victims of exhaustion: “When we have climbing missions, it's not uncommon for people to fall or suffer serious injuries. This can have dramatic consequences if we as rescuers don't pay attention to what we're doing,” says Markus. “It's easy to say: 'He just broke his leg'. But if the thigh is broken, around three liters of blood can seep out. That becomes life-threatening within a few minutes!”

Both experts agree: it is better to dial 140 in good time than too late. Because even minor injuries can overwhelm inexperienced mountain visitors. It also gets dark faster in the mountains - it is not uncommon for rescuers to be unable to get into the helicopter. The ascent therefore takes considerably longer and the area is slower and more difficult to search in the dark and from the ground.

An insider tip from Markus and Regina is the Tyrolean Mountain Rescue emergency app: you can download it for free and all you have to do is press a button to be connected directly. The location is forwarded via GPS and the rescuers know immediately where to look. They also have an important tip: Rescue sometimes incurs extremely high costs, as this is not covered by health insurance. That's why you should definitely think about suitable mountain insurance before going on an excursion. An advantage for sponsors of the Tyrolean Mountain Rescue Service: worldwide mountain insurance cover is included.

How does the mountain rescue team get to the patient?

But what happens if it does happen? If an emergency is reported to the control center, the mountain rescuers are alerted immediately. They arrive at their respective local station as quickly as possible and get ready. According to Regina, teams of at least three people are now always sent out, even for smaller operations, because in the past the situation has sometimes been underestimated. And of course, the worse the situation, the more rescuers are needed. There is enough equipment to carry: a mountain rucksack, a stretcher for transport, two ropes, each 200 meters long. Also a tent in case you can't descend immediately, drills if you need to drill a belay, carabiner pulleys and hooks and medical first aid equipment as well as heat management. The latter in particular is a very important point for rescuers, as a weakened or injured body quickly loses heat.

Always in a hurry, but never hectic

If you can cover part of the route with the gondola or snow groomers, the mountain rescue team will use them. However, the following applies: only go as far as you can go back without endangering your own safety. The younger and fitter rescuers go ahead as the vanguard and take care of first aid. But the mountain rescue team needs everyone: Because you don't just have to be fast or athletic, technical skills and strength are also important. Once the patient arrives, everything is done to get them back on their feet. In this case, our Annemarie. According to the experts, her ankle is only sprained, but she can no longer walk downhill. So she is wrapped in a blanket, placed on the stretcher and brought safely back down to the valley by the Tyrol Mountain Rescue team. Well, that turned out to be just about as bad as it gets!

By the way: Regina Poberschnigg and Markus Wolf answered our questions on even more topics. You can find the exciting interview in the GRENZENLOS Winter 2017/18 issue, which you can access in the free GRENZENLOS app (for Android or iOS) or here as a browser version.