Feature: Italian experts call for more prudence to avoid mountain fatalities

A number of accidents, hundreds of them fatal, happen every year on Italian mountains, many of which could be avoided if more precautionary measures are adopted, according to local experts.

More than 8,000 rescues were carried out throughout Italy and 400 people lost their lives in 2013, according to the National Alpine Cliff and Cave Rescue Corps (CNSAS), operational division of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), which said figures were roughly the same last year.

Nearly 50 percent of the accidents were due to slipping. Fainting spells, loss of orientation, weariness, and bad weather were among the other causes of accidents. Hikers were the biggest group affected, followed by skiers, climbers, and mushroom pickers.

"Compared to the considerable number of mountain goers, however, the number of accidents cannot be considered so high," CAI President Umberto Martini told Xinhua.

The amount of fatalities has especially diminished in recent years, thanks to the increased use of helicopter rescue service, he noted. A total of 3,337 rescue operations were conducted with helicopters in 2013, CNSAS figures showed.

However, Martini said many of the accidents take place because people are over-confident or underestimate potential risks and therefore could be avoided if they took precautionary measures.

Ski slopes are the easiest place where mountain goers can be monitored, he noted. Days ago, Piedmont, a mountainous region in northern Italy, announced that traffic officers had been deployed to monitor violations on ski slopes and punish those skiing dangerously and out of bounds.

A variety of mountain-related activities, however, have become more popular in recent times and are often practised off-piste, which experts say can be particularly risky due to rapid changes in temperature conditions - a cause of avalanches - and thus people needed to exercise more caution.

For example, in recent times, snowshoeing has made inroads in Italy, noted Egidio Bonapace, president of the Academy of the Mountains of Trentino, a foundation with the aim of promoting mountain activities.

"Over the last 10 years, snowshoers have increased from zero to 400,000 adding to some 200,000 alpine skiers and to so-called free-skiers, or those who love the excitement of skiing off-piste," Bonapace explained to Xinhua.

He made some suggestions for mountain lovers, saying that first and foremost, it is fundamental to be properly equipped with avalanche beacons, shovels, and probes to ensure that rescue operations are carried out within 15 minutes, "after which the probability of death enormously grows."

Then, before leaving for any kind of excursion, avalanche bulletins should always be checked, as they provide accurate information. "Many believe the third level is quite safe on a danger scale between zero and five, but they are wrong as it does bear risks," Bonapace, who is also an alpine guide and ski instructor, added.

Lastly, he advised not to go on solo expeditions or excursions. At the same time, however, groups should be composed of a limited number of people, preferably four or five, in order to avoid snow disruptions, which also trigger avalanches, he pointed out.

Both the CAI and the Academy of the Mountains of Trentino organize dozens of courses and training activities for mountain lovers, because "knowledge is the first rule of safety," Bonapace stressed. Enditem