Snow, the new risks for those who go to the mountains

Mountain sport in the time of climate change. With the milder winter, intermittent snowfalls and sharp changes in temperature, the climate confronts us with “different” seasons and new dangers. It is therefore necessary to change one’s habits and be more cautious. This is what the Italian Alpine Guides recommend who have decided to provide useful information for those who face the mountain both for excursions and for skiing. And if avalanches no longer represent the only danger, we must not forget the fact that the milder autumns have extended the problem to low altitudes as well.

Improvisation and habit

The first tip is to avoid routine behavior and improvisation. “There has been an increase in hikers who practice the winter mountains with a ‘summer’ mentality or in any case little awareness – explain the guides – The presence of frozen slabs, or slopes of hard snow, is often the cause of even fatal, avoidable slips with the right equipment and a minimum of training”.

So snow crampons are fine for walking along snowy roads, but not for tackling ice, ridges where crampons are needed, the same ones used for mountaineering. Better if with the use of an ice ax as well. Equally dangerous is the very usual attitude among the more experienced to make mistakes due to familiarity, for example based on the knowledge of a previously made path. “Climate changes – explain the guides – push us to evaluate the conditions from time to time without relying too much on past behaviors”.

Hunting for “likes”

The mountain is becoming too social and this represents a big risk. The alarm raised by the Alpine Guides is clear and it is enough to take a tour of the web to understand how much, especially the most expert skiers, they go towards ever more extreme behaviors with the aim of posting videos which gather a vast consensus. There is a problem of personal risk, but also of pushing the less experienced to emulate, to compete. “The search for which more likes can lead especially the younger ones to find themselves in dangerous situations and to push themselves beyond their abilities. To take risks without realizing it”.