Mountain risk

Italiano

The mountain exerts a particular and irresistible charm on many people, some are born in the mountains. A mountain is a relief of the earth's surface, extending above the ground in length and height, isolation, some have exposed rocks. There is no precise definition, nor how high it should be at a minimum.[^] As the altitude rises, the temperature decreases. The average gradient recorded under normal conditions is about 0.6-0.65 °C every 100 meters (in unsaturated air the temperature decreases by about 1 °C).[^] You can appreciate and experience the mountains in many ways, contemplating nature in a mountain pasture, admiring a view from the window of a house, staying in a village, working as a shepherd, farmer, in the tourism and crafts sector. Some have the opportunity and the privilege of walking (or climbing) regularly along trails and routes, so much so that this outdoor activity becomes a lifestyle. The most courageous, strong, technically prepared and motivated climb steep walls with rocks and move in a wild environment.

Going to the mountains is not without its risks. In a series of twelve articles, which I started writing in the fall of 2021 and ends with this one that uses the topics covered in detail in the other eleven, there are notions for practicing conscious hiking, which reduces the generic mountain risk. They therefore do not intend to dissuade you from doing what you love, nor to scare you, but they are a means to educate and entertain. As I feared at the beginning of the introduction, my work continues to expand, and to occupy many hours of my free time.

Traditionally, dangers in the mountains[^] are divided into two broad categories: subjective dangers, which depend on the choices, actions and behaviors of the hiker, and objective dangers, linked to the nature of the mountain.[^] The two categories are not so clearly separated, because an underestimation of the danger of one category triggers a danger of the other. The main and harmful risks of walking in the mountains are falls along slopes or in the void, bad weather, lightning, long exposure to the sun or cold, high altitude illnesses, sliding on snow and ice, falling rocks, avalanches, loss, lack of water and sugars, physical injuries, exhaustion of strength, feeling ill, equipment breakdown, fires, vipers.[^]

Subjective dangers

Subjective dangers are to be understood as all dangerous situations related to the person himself. The desire or idea to go from a point A to B according to a certain itinerary collides with physical and training conditions, equipment, experience. Planning an excursion is nothing more than a series of questions and doubts, such as what comes from what, to which to answer with frankness, taking the required action, and humility. Even a single no could make you give up or decide to plan an easier route. A saying goes: "Mountains don't move".

Here are some questions, which I ask in first person, and some possible consequences of bad choices, which do not claim to be a list that includes all the dangers you might face in the mountains.
Do I feel good and fit? Am I sufficiently trained for the length, the difference in height, the time it takes and the difficulty of the route? If the route is new to me, have I read a description carefully and consulted a topographical map? I am in good mental condition, because the mountains require clarity and steady nerves. The consequences of underestimating are fatigue, muscle fatigue, cramps, injuries such as sprained ankles and knee problems, physical exhaustion and inability to continue. Parallel, nervousness grows, with real attacks, anger, anxiety and even panic attacks and depression. The effort of walking stresses the cardiovascular system. It is not uncommon to hear hikers struggling with heart problems or having a heart attack. One parameter is age. It is essential not to make mistakes how much and how to drink and to have enough water with you to avoid dehydration. If it's hot you have to drink a lot more. For nutrition, the risk comes from a drop in sugar which decreases physical and mental performance, which must be supplemented.

Have I consulted the weather bulletin and, if necessary, the avalanche bulletin? Do I have enough free time to practice the excursion? Tragedies occur because commitments prevent you from waiting when the forecasts give favorable weather or you start with good weather knowing that it will get worse. Have I told or left my itinerary and program in writing to family or friends? This is essential in order not to be forgotten on the mountain in case of non-return and to circumscribe the searches. It is also necessary to be aware that with one's own choices one can put in danger of injury or life those who work in the rescue system, including many volunteers.
Which type of shoe is right for the terrain, season and forecasted weather? Have I already walked a few kilometers in shoes and they didn't hurt me? Aren't they too worn? Sports shoes or mountain boots, or both with one change? Are the socks technical? You can be physically prepared as long as you want but a shoe mistake is not forgiven. Sore feet, swollen feet, inflammation, bleeding skin, blisters, nail crushing, calluses, among the least consequences. Which pants, long or short, shirt, long or short sleeve, yes or no tank top, should I wear? Walking in comfortable and breathable clothing facilitates physical activity and not sweating too much.

Which backpack is suitable for the route? It would be uncomfortable to carry on your shoulders a large, half-empty backpack or a small overloaded backpack, which I would have to empty to take an object.
Did I prepare my backpack well and calmly?
Is there a vest, a spare and a jacket? Do I protect myself from the elements with three layers of clothing, a breathable interior, an insulating intermediate and a waterproof or windproof exterior? I have not forgotten my mobile phone, and I charged it, essential for communicating a danger and urgency, which detects my geographic location. Do I have an identity document, some money, a map with me?
Protecting yourself from the sun's rays is essential in order not to burn your skin and have no eye problems, including temporary partial blindness. Some damage can be discovered even after years with the onset of bad diseases, such as skin cancer. Absolutely not to forget sunglasses, a hat that covers the head and gives shade to the face, sunscreen with a high sun protection factor spread in advance to protect the skin. In the event that the excursion lasts longer than expected and is seized by the darkness, which could make me take the wrong path, get lost, call for help or spend the night outdoors, do I have a headlamp with me? I have foreseen the possibility of ice or ice sheets on the ground, taking crampons or small crampons to avoid bad slips and on exposed sections of falling into the void? Is the ground expected to be snowy and will deep snow fit into my boots? Gaiters, so as not to walk with wet feet. Did I put a first aid kit in my backpack, to disinfect, bandage, wrap, soothe, prevent allergic reactions?

How does this excursion fit into my personal experience of going to the mountains? Is it really needed? If I go in company, do I trust others and believe that they have the ability to tackle the excursion? Those who don't have much experience should consider not spending all their energy to get to the top, because the descent is dangerous and expensive. The leg pain in the following days due to the descent is essentially caused by microtraumas that occurred within the muscle fibers; scientifically it is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which increases in intensity with the passing of the hours and usually reaches its peak after 48 hours.[^] When I plan an outing in nature, I wonder how I will feel the next day? Do I go to the mountains to have fun, enjoy, feel good, train, discover nature and the territory, or am I obsessed with achieving the goal, with summit fever?

During the hike, don't I get excited about feeling good and doing more? In everyday life, have I shown balance and calm? Above 2000 meters, how does my body react? Risks are Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). Do I have the ability and experience to pick up on negative signs, such as being late on schedule, not feeling well or comfortable, or having poorly planned my excursion? Am I able to assess the extent of an injury? Am I underestimating an objective danger, such as the difficulty of the route, or are the difficulties greater than expected because the route was wrong? Have I noticed deficiencies in the trail sigmage, which should alert me and have more attention near intersections? Is there a sudden and unannounced deterioration in the weather conditions? Don't forget that prolonged outdoor exposure is a risk factor.

Should I give up and go back? Mountains know how to wait ...

Objective dangers

Objective dangers are dangers that do not depend on us and our choices, but are part of the very nature of the environment in which we act. Any environment has natural dangers for man, from which he defends himself with common sense, experience, living together, seeking shelter. Man has the ability to modify the environment with works and constructions. The natural danger for those who walk in the mountains comes from the type of terrain, the slope and rocks, animals, weather. Mountains or a large area of them are not suitable for inhabiting, so one is alone and with a distant shelter. In the mountains, weather conditions are more variable and with extreme values.

Of all the terrains on which you walk in the mountains, the greatest dangers come from smooth and wet rocks and when it is snowy or icy. The paths may have exposed sections, sometimes equipped with metal structures, cables, chains, ladders, pedestals and brackets, which facilitate and allow their progression. An error means falling into the void with consequences up to the loss of life. A risk factor is the slope, as the possibility of slipping increases as it increases. In the mountains, you cross sections where you can be hit by rock falls and the triggering of avalanches, sometimes caused by the passage of hikers who are higher up. Among the dangers that depend on the behavior of other people who frequent the mountain, one comes from vehicles, in particular mountain bikes, downhill, and trials motorcycles, which travel along forbidden paths even at high speed.

Regarding animals, a danger comes from the bite of vipers,[^] a rather rare event because it is a non-aggressive snake and very sensitive to the vibrations of the ground, so it tends to get away by beating on the ground or with a stick. Its environment are arid places and under stones or in the midst of shrubs. The viper does not always inject poison when it bites, because it is a precious resource that is difficult to regenerate, and not to be wasted. This is called a dry bite, at least 25%, possibly up to 50%, of the bites are dry. Symptoms of a viper bite usually appear within minutes to hours after a bite, and can include: severe pain, swelling, bruising of the skin, changes in heart rhythm, metallic taste in the mouth, numbness, shock. The danger is mainly due to the haemotoxic and neurotoxic action of the poison. In the event of a viper bite, first aid is to immobilize the patient and bandage from the point of the bite to the extremity of the limb. The viper bite is fatal in 0.1% of cases. The number of deaths per year in Italy due to vipers is much lower than that of hymenoptera stings.
Danger are the stings of insects, such as bees, wasps and hornets, which sting to defend themselves, which generate allergic reactions, even severe, anaphylactic shock is life-threatening. Other insects sting to feed, bedbugs, fleas and ticks, painful is that of gadfly.

A typical summer phenomenon are thunderstorms. We must avoid being on ridges, peaks or places that constitute the tops, isolated trees, near metal parts to avoid being struck by lightning.[^] In the mountains, the meteorological parameters, solar radiation, wind speed, intensity of precipitation, with snowstorms, are more intense, endangering the health and life of those who frequent the mountains. Consequences are: skin burns, sunburn, dehydration, hypoglycemia, colds, frostbite of hands and feet, frostbite, loss of cognition, fainting, death. It should objectively be kept that, as the altitude increases, the percentage of oxygen in the air remains constant but the atmospheric pressure decreases, making the air more rarefied, therefore less oxygen is available.

For an underestimation of the subjective or objective dangers accidents happen, some not even prudence and knowledge of one's own limits are able to avoid. For assistance requests, in Italy call the telephone number 118, which activates the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps).[^] Among its aims, the CNSAS provides for the rescue of the injured, the unsafe and the recovery of the fallen in the mountain area. The distress calls can come from other hikers, companions or witnesses of accidents, or from people who report that family and friends are not returning.

Risks on the Grignone on the Pasturo side

Mountain risks on the Grignone in the slope of Pasturo are no different from the generic danger of going to the mountains. On this side are rocky Zucco dei Chignoli and Scudo Tremare, which you cross along the Traversata Alta. The Piastrone, the area that extends for about four hundred meters in altitude below the ridge, is steeply sloping rock and grass. The rest of the Northern Grigna are woods and meadows. In assessing the danger, the height of the mountain must be considered, which exceeds 2400 meters above sea level.

Climbing to the Brioschi Refuge does not require technical knowledge, the difficulty is due to the length of the route and the difference in height, about 1650 meters from Colle di Balisio and 100 meters more from Pasturo. Those who are trained take at least three hours of ascent and two hours of descent, there is water only up to the Pialeral. A risk is to overestimate your physical and training conditions, with leg pain and tiredness, so much so that you will no longer be able to continue. It is not uncommon for the Alpine Rescue to receive calls for help for this reason. Another comes from the nature of the mountain: beyond a certain altitude there are no more trees and one is exposed to the sun, nor is there the possibility of supplying water. The consequence is a considerable loss of fluids, which if not compensated for, causes dehydration, and damage to the skin, with burns.

As you go to high altitudes, the weather forecasts should be consulted. Above 2000 meters, low clouds are frequent which limit visibility. In winter the mountain conditions change radically: the summer route is not passable because it is subject to avalanches. Two major avalanches of recent times are remembered: the first on the night of 30-31 January 1986 which destroyed Rifugio Mario Tedeschi al Pialeral, the other on 8 February 2009 which reached the Traversata Bassa at one thousand meters above sea level! The winter route to the Brioschi Refuge is of mountaineering level because from Comolli the climb is steep, in the snow; for the stretch of the ridge towards the refuge, about half an hour's walk, you need crampons and an ice ax; at the refuge, where there are overhangs, it is dangerous to stop because a glass window forms, a layer of transparent ice that has caused victims. In the event of a high risk of avalanches, the Municipality of Pasturo issues an ordinance in which it prohibits excursions beyond a certain altitude.

The other high-altitude itinerary of the Grignone on the Pasturo side is the panoramic Traversata Alta delle Grigne (Grigne High Crossing), a path that connects Grignone and Grignetta. This route takes place in an unspoiled natural environment of geological interest, with ridge passages and numerous aided sections, a route classified as an itinerary for Expert Hikers with Equipment (EEA), reserved for those who practice the mountains assiduously and do not suffer from vertigo.[^]
Without objective dangers are Traversata Bassa (Low Crossing) and the paths up to the altitude of the Pialeral, you just have to pay attention to trails signage and be able to walk for the foreseen hours. There have been fatal car and motorcycle accidents along the Pasturo - Alpe Cova road.

References

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6. Minnis, Gregory (5 October 2021). "What Is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and What Can You Do About It". Health Line. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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