Safe Mountain Walking in the Alps!

The alpine season has now started and alpine huts are opening their doors. These 10 tips from the Österreichischer Alpenverein will help make your alpine walking tour safe and enjoyable.

1. Mountain walking is an endurance sport, so get fit before you start and set yourself realistic goals. Start your tour gently, with shorter distances and a slow enough pace so that no one in your group gets out of breath. Make sure that you eat and drink enough.
2. Careful planning: use maps, guide books and internet information to determine the distance, height difference and difficulty of your route. Pay particular attention to weather reports for rain, snow, wind and cold.
3. Proper equipment: choose equipment suitable for your undertaking and pay attention to the weight of your rucksack which should contain clothing for rain and cold, sun protection, first aid equipment, mobile telephone, maps and GPS.
4. Suitable footwear: good walking shoes (or boots) protect your feet and improve surefootedness! When buying footwear look for waterproof and lightweight shoes with perfect fit and non-slip profile soles.
5. Surefootedness! Falls from slips and stumbles are the biggest cause of accidents. Surefootedness and concentration are greatly impaired by tiredness and by walking too fast; keep enough energy in reserve for your descent or the last part of the day. Watch out for stone fall and don't create any!
6. Stay on marked paths. The risk of accident and getting lost is much greater off marked paths. If you get lost, walk back to the point where you left the path. Don't take short cuts. Steep and old snowfields are particularly dangerous.
7. Regular rest stops with food and drink allow your body and concentration to recover, so that you can enjoy the scenery and environment. Isotonic drinks, muesli bars, dried fruit and biscuits are easy to carry.
8. Responsibility for children. Watch out for changes in a child's performance and behaviour. Exposed routes require one adult per child. Don't set the performance targets too high!
9. Small groups offer greater flexibility and mutual self-help. Stay in your group and watch out for anyone wandering off on their own.
10. Respect nature. Don't leave rubbish behind or create noise, and stay on the paths. Don't disturb wild or grazing animals. Don't pick plants and observe protected areas. Use public transport or share private transport.

Mountain walking in the Totes Gebirge
Photo by Martin Haydon

Return to the top of this page, or to the complete Index, or to this section's Index.