A most revealing piece of research on mountain accidents was published in the 1987 edition of The Journal of the Mountain Club of South Africa. It analysed accident statistics on Table Mountain over almost the previous 100 years, and revealed a strange paradox ... |
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Easy but Deadly |
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The classic rock climbs such as Africa Crag, Africa face, Slangolie Buttress and others, have not had one single fatality. And only one or two deaths in a hundred years have occured on many of the other well-known difficult rock climbs. Yet it seems to be on the easy routes that people come to grief. Three deaths in Skeleton Gorge, three in Blinkwater Ravine and even two in the almost - but evidently not quite foolproof - Platteklip Gorge. To quote the leader article in the Cape Times of 8th August 1988 entitled Easy but Deadly, "The lesson to be learnt from these high risk areas is the need for greater public awareness of the dangers involved. Lack of proper clothing, equipment and knowledge of the area can turn a so-alled easy climb into a disastrous exercise. The foolhardy seldom venture up cliffs, but they often commit themselves with irresponsible abandon to the kloofs and gullies which even a trained climber would not attempt before taking elementary precautions. The statistics show the penalty that has all too frequently been paid." Muggings
on the mountain |
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The
Ten Commandments of Mountain Safety |
1. Never climb alone. Four is the ideal party. 2. Choose your route according to the ability, fitness and experience of the group. 3. Use a guidebook and/or good map, or go with somebody who genuinely knows the way. 4. Ensure that at least one member of the group has a fully charged cell phone. 5. Always go prepared for bad weather. 6. Tell someone exactly where you are going and stick to this plan. 7. Travel at the pace of the slowest member of the party. 8. Never split up and go in different directions. 9. Do not push on into the unknown. If you get lost, retrace your steps. 10.
If you are unsure of what to do, find shelter, especially from the
wind, Happy & Safe Hiking! |