Source: China Youth Daily
Recently, the Chinese agricultural mountaineering team was on the way to climb Mushtag Peak. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Before climbing, the climbing team members are undergoing climbing technique training. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Summer is the peak of wilderness activities, and on July 16, 11 "donkey friends" went up the mountain to play, two were separated on the way back, and nine others suffered flash floods. After receiving the alarm, the fire and rescue personnel took turns to rescue them for more than 7 hours before rescuing them to a safe area. On July 12, Jiang Ye, a well-known travel blogger, was killed after walking into Bogda Peak in Xinjiang.
The top priority for outdoor activities is safety. So, how to embrace nature and enjoy the process of outdoor activities while ensuring your own safety? The first thing you need to understand is that outdoor activities often come with many risks and accidents.
Anticipate risks and do what you can
Risks encountered in outdoor activities generally fall into four categories: natural risks, equipment risks, man-made risks and mixed risks. Yan Cheng, the climbing team leader of the mountaineering team of China Agricultural University, who has 4 years of outdoor experience, said: "Before doing outdoor activities, we should prioritize how big the combined risk of the first 3 risk mixes is, and if it is large enough, we will give up." ”
Natural risks refer to earthquakes, high temperatures, thunderstorms, windy weather, flash floods, geological disasters, etc. Pay close attention to the weather conditions on the day of departure before departure, and if you encounter the above natural risks, cancel or interrupt your trip, and do not risk traveling.
Lv Zhonghong, the leader of the Green Field Rescue Team, one of the earliest non-governmental organizations in China to carry out outdoor public welfare rescue activities, believes that to avoid human risks, you must first understand whether your physical condition is suitable for outdoor work, and do not be stubborn. Secondly, we must master the necessary wild travel skills, such as how to walk in the wild, how to keep warm, how to protect against the sun, and how to prevent heat stroke. Before embarking on an outdoor hike, you need to stock up on a lot of knowledge and not fight unprepared battles.
Lv Zhonghong once rescued a donkey friend who was trapped on the edge of a cliff, "He was just too confident, saw that many people had climbed to the top of the mountain, felt that he must be fine, and went without doing too many strategies." After receiving the distress call, Lu Zhonghong and his teammates took a rope, bypassed the top of the mountain, and took him down the mountain road.
"Like us college students, we may usually save a little money, but we must not save on outdoor equipment and do not buy cheap products." Yan Cheng said that equipment risks are also potential risks, and good equipment can ensure life safety.
In his years of rescue experience, Lv Zhonghong often advises outdoor athletes to equip themselves with basic outdoor equipment, such as hiking shoes, trekking poles, magic headscarves, sweat-wicking underwear, etc. He took quick-drying clothes as an example, "An ordinary cotton thread dress is not easy to dry after sweating, and when the wind blows again, hypothermia may occur."
In fact, many accidents are not caused by a single risk, but mostly due to the mixed risk of three types of risks. When doing outdoor activities, be sure to understand natural risks such as weather, be in awe of nature, and set up emergency routes to avoid potentially dangerous areas caused by extreme weather; Learn ahead of time and practice wilderness survival and first aid skills; Don't save money for a moment to buy inferior equipment so as not to cause a catastrophe in outdoor activities.
Scientific training, advance planning
At 8:20 a.m. on July 13, Yan Cheng's climbing team from China Agricultural University successfully climbed the 7,546-meter-high Mushtagh Peak in Xinjiang. To this end, the team members underwent a semester of preparatory planning and scientific training.
Yan Cheng introduced that before departure, the mountaineering team underwent a lot of training. "We did up to 3 months of physical training. In daily training, 10 kilometers is not a long-distance run. "Wild training is also necessary, and the climbing team members will go hiking, climbing and camping in the mountains of Wutai Mountain in Shanxi Province or the suburbs of Beijing to train their field skills. After a series of trainings, they also undergo field training before climbing. "Unqualified members are absolutely not allowed to go up the mountain."
According to Lv Zhonghong, the mountaineering team of the Tsinghua University Mountain Association will also organize students to climb the snow mountain every summer. Therefore, when the spring school year starts, they have already begun physical training and learning about the outdoors. "In the wild, the danger will escalate." For example, Lv Zhonghong said that in the city, you can go to the hospital with your feet, but you may not be able to move when you are in the wild, especially when you are alone, so it is very necessary to have wild survival and first aid skills.
The reporter learned that the mountaineering team of China Agricultural University will often invite domestic professional mountaineering training companies to conduct professional and technical training for team members. In recent years, Lv Zhonghong's Green Field Rescue Team has also often conducted training for outdoor clubs in some universities in Beijing, such as Peking University Mountain Eagle Club and Tsinghua University Mountain Association. "These club members will be the main force of outdoor sports in the future, and they should start with young people to cultivate their outdoor safety awareness and ability." Lu Zhonghong said.
Cao Chunli, the leader of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, recently rescued most of his donkey friends who were trapped in the wild due to getting lost, falling injuries, and heat stroke. In this regard, he said that it is necessary to plan ahead. First of all, you must familiarize yourself with the route in advance and know whether there are any withdrawal points or supply points in the middle of this outdoor line you are hiking; Secondly, it is important to understand the team leader, in the outdoors, the experience, seniority, and sense of responsibility of the team leader are very important; Finally, prepare plenty of supplies, such as a spare battery for your phone, a professional hiking kit, enough drinking water (you can sweat a lot in summer and drink sports drinks to replenish electrolytes), food, and warm clothing.
Cao Chunli especially reminded not to bring warm clothes because of sunny days, "Sometimes you may encounter an emergency in the mountain, fail to go down the mountain at the expected time, and it is easy to have hypothermia at night in the mountain." In addition, Yan Cheng reminded that outdoor activities should not rely too much on navigation, and be sure to download an offline map of the destination before departure. So that when the phone has no signal, it will not get lost."
Once you've made your plan, stick to it. Lu Xiaoshi, a former member of a university's mountaineering team, said that in hiking, you must follow the planned route, do not go to explore the road on a whim, or think that the scenery here is good and want to stay here for a while, which is very risky. "For example, I originally planned to go out before dark, but I didn't go out before dark, so I had to walk in poor light at night, which is dangerous. If it's snowy mountains, the problem can be even worse. ”
Work as a team and stay calm
Most of the situations encountered by Lv Zhonghong in the rescue were single or multiple outdoor novices who had accidents on foot. He also remembers that two years ago, a donkey friend climbed Xiangshan alone and lost contact, and the rescue team searched back and forth for a month but did not find it until the following year. Lu Zhonghong and other rescuers speculated that she was lost and tried to slide down the mountain, but the slip fractured, no one found it, and died of hypothermia at night. "It's a pity, in fact, such an accident, you can completely avoid following the leader."
The climbing team of China Agricultural University is about to climb the Gangshka Snow Mountain, and 50% of the veterans are members. Team size is important for outdoor safety, "The more people you play outdoors, the more complex the situation and the higher the risk. According to Yan Cheng, the ratio of new and old members of its mountaineering team is basically maintained at about 1:1 every time it is active.
"You can't leave an order, that's the most important thing." Zhang Qingsheng, a volunteer member of the Green Field Rescue Team and a leader with many years of outdoor team experience, often plans routes for the team members to ensure their food, clothing, housing and personal safety. He believes that outdoor activities cannot be done alone, and everyone should pay attention to teamwork and division of labor. "The team leader may not be the strongest in the team, but he must have the most outdoor knowledge. When there are many people, it is inevitable that there will be disagreements, so be sure to follow the arrangements of the tour leader. ”
A few years ago, Zhang Qingsheng led the team to climb Wutai Mountain, because the snowy road was very difficult, some people in the team shouted tired and refused to continue walking. "I told him to keep walking, and he was about to hit me. I told him, first, that if you stay here, there is only one result, and that is death. Second, whether you want to hit me or sue me, you have to go down the mountain with me first. ”
Yan Cheng took the mountaineering team as an example, there are 3 captains, climbing captains and logistics captains in the mountaineering team, shouldering different responsibilities, all team members should listen to the arrangements of the relevant captains in different projects, and the captain has absolute authority, "to avoid team members from taking unnecessary risks due to lack of experience or overconfidence." ”
Lv Zhonghong said that outdoors, most mountain roads are not signposted, so be sure to follow the leader or someone familiar with the route. During the rescue, he often found that some people dare to go directly after downloading the map on the Internet, "Once lost, the heart will be very panicked, and it is easy to slip or break your feet." ”
Lu Xiaoshi once encountered a dangerous situation on the way to climb. One member of his team suddenly fell into a coma with cerebral edema, "the symptom is not waking up in the morning, which is a reaction to mountain sickness caused by lack of oxygen, and the situation is very dangerous." More than a dozen teammates carried the team member down the mountain and sent him to the hospital for rescue before he regained consciousness. If it is a solo operation, the consequences are unimaginable.
Zhang Qingsheng said that emotions in outdoor activities are also very important, and it is important to maintain stability and calm. "If you get lost, don't panic, you still have to follow the road, don't cut corners, the closer the place is steeper, and the lower down may be all small cliffs."
When Yan Cheng climbed Ukuchu Snow Mountain in 2021, as the captain, he needed to be the last to retreat. On the way down, he got lost, his phone ran out of battery, he couldn't see the road, and after eight hours of continuous snowstorming, he was soaked. "I was scared at the time, there was a crack area below, there might be a layer of floating snow on top of the ice crack, if you stepped on the air, it would fall, and there was no salvation." He told himself to be calm and emotionally stable. He started walking up the hill, to a place with a wider view, found a route, and after two hours, he finally came out.
For some outdoor "little whites", Yan Cheng said that outdoor activities are not as beautiful as expected, and the process is full of hardships and difficulties. "If you just think that the scenery on the mountain is very good, or it is cool to do this thing, and you want to get a certain sense of accomplishment, you still need to assess your psychological condition and physical condition, otherwise it will be very dangerous."
"Life is very important, there is only one life, the mountain can't go up once, you can go up a second time." Zhang Qingsheng said.
(Trainee reporter Chen Xiao, Tan Sijing)
(Source: China Youth Daily)