Why danger peaks on the way down a mountain

CLIMBING to the top of a mountain may sound like a daunting prospect, but the real danger lies in coming back down again, a study has found

While hikers may feel they have conquered the hardest part after reaching the peak, in fact 75 per cent of falls occur on the way back.

A mix of loose gravel, uneven ground, exhaustion and the physical exertion of walking downhill all combine to make the descent a more treacherous journey than the climb.

Falls account for around half of all hiking accidents, but the University of Innsbruck in Austria has been investigating what triggers the slip, trip or stumble.

Dr Martin Faulhaber and his team analysed the causes of 5,638, falls reported to the Austrian Alpine Police over the past nine years.

He found that three quarters of falls occur when hikers descend from a mountain. He also found the number of accidents had substantially increased. In 2006 the number of people injured was 474, whereas it had risen to over 700 by 2014.

“Presumably, this may partly be attributable to the fact that more and more people go hiking in the mountains and more emergency calls are being made,” he said.

Slipping, followed by twisting one’s ankle and stumbling are the most frequent causes of injuries in the mountains when people fall. Falls account for about 46 per cent of all hiking accidents, while other causes include cardiovascular problems, losing one’s way or exhaustion.

Most of the hikers involved, an almost equal balance of male and female, were between 40 and 70 years old.