The Bavarian mountain rescue service had to rescue more dead people in the Alps during the summer season this year than last year. Between May and November, 72 people died in the mountains, last year there were 61 in the same period. “Nevertheless, there are fewer mountain deaths than in the Corona record year of 2021,” said Roland Ampenberger, spokesman for the mountain rescue service, classifying the numbers. At that time, the mountain rescue service counted 85 deaths.
The restrictions during the pandemic, when travel and leisure options were not possible as usual, led to a large influx of guests in the mountains.
According to the spokesman, 32 of the people who died had accidents while hiking and mountaineering. “In addition to falls, circulatory failure and heart problems are the main causes of death in the mountains,” explained Ampenberger.
The mountain rescue service also recorded an increase of seven percent to 3,448 missions in the summer this year compared to the same period last year. More than a third of the missions took place in the hotspots of the Allgäu High Alps, Berchtesgaden Alps as well as the Wetterstein Mountains and Karwendel. Last September was the busiest month for mountain rescuers with 673 missions. Good weather attracted a particularly large number of people to the mountains, said Ampenberger.
In around 54 percent of cases, the mountain rescue service was alerted because hikers and mountaineers were in distress. Rescuers responded to accidents involving mountain bikers 650 times. The start of the winter season was unusual for the mountain rescue service. Rescuers were also called upon during the snow chaos at the beginning of December. In the districts of Rosenheim and Miesbach they went on several missions outside of their original area of operation. “We were on the road several times to provide patient care in the valley for the rescue service,” explained Ampenberger. “We don’t normally travel in rural and urban areas.”