A safe visit to the mountains begins at home, with good preparation, a sensible and well-planned itinerary, and an honest assessment of one’s own psychological and physical fitness and experience. These are things that mountain rescuers are keen to emphasise as the autumn hiking season gets under way. By the end of September, they had responded to eight heart attack emergencies in the mountains or on difficult-to-reach terrain. Defibrillators are a huge help when it comes to acting quickly and ensuring the safety of visitors to the mountains – which is why we have helped fund the installation of three new devices at mountain lodges.
Although the summer hiking season is largely behind us, autumn remains one of the most popular times for visiting the mountains. While good weather and pleasant temperatures lure hikers to the mountains in large numbers, those same conditions can quickly become an issue. Mountain rescuers recommend that anyone who intends to visit the mountains should be properly prepared, make an honest assessment of their psychological and physical fitness and experience, and choose an itinerary that matches their abilities and level of preparation.
In the same period last year (i.e. to the end of September), mountain rescuers responded to eight instances of heart attacks, and a total of nine across the whole of the year.
Those with chronic health conditions should be particularly careful when tackling the mountains. According to the Medical Commission at the Mountain Rescue Association of Slovenia, it is extremely important for those people suffering from chronic heart or cardiovascular disease, for example, or those at risk of developing heart disease, to prepare extra well for any trip into the mountains. According to the Commission: “You should take your regular medications with you, or at least a list of those medications, as well as any medications for cases of sudden deterioration. It is a good idea to consult your doctor – all the more so if you are not a regular hiker or are starting to hike again after a period of inactivity. You should never hike alone, and you should inform the people accompanying you of your health condition, and advise them on what to do should your condition deteriorate during the trip.”
New defibrillators at three mountain lodges
AEDs, or defibrillators as they are more commonly known, increase the safety of those staying at or hiking near mountain lodges. In cases of heart attack, speed of response is decisive – and it takes a lot longer for mountain rescuers to reach you compared to those who are called on to respond at lower altitudes. This year, in collaboration with Ljubljana-Matica Alpine Club, Zavarovalnica Triglav has helped install new defibrillators at three mountain lodges: Dom na Komni, Koča pri Triglavskih jezerih and Koča pri Savici. All three are ready for use.
“Defibrillators are available at all our lodges and huts, and we already had an occasion to use one at the Kredarica lodge a few years back,” says Aleš Jenko from Ljubljana-Matica Alpine Club, adding: “The equipment is extremely important for the safety of visitors to our mountain lodges.”
Zavarovalnica Triglav is stepping up its efforts to expand the defibrillator network across Slovenia. In the last two years, it has helped fund the purchase of more than 50 devices for a variety of organisations. According to those organisations, the devices have already been used on more than ten occasions.
Safety in the mountains is everyone’s responsibility
Support for the installation of defibrillators at mountain lodges is part of the company’s wider efforts to make the mountains safer for visitors. “For a number of years, and in cooperation with partners, we have been supporting prevention-focused activities to make mountain visits safer, from restoring and repairing hiking trails as part of the ‘Best Hiking Trail’ campaign to raising the awareness of hikers, walkers and mountain visitors in general,” explains Maša Čeplak, head of Zavarovalnica Triglav’s Social Responsibility and Events department. “Safety at mountain lodges is an important part of these efforts, which is why we support measures to reduce risk and improve readiness to respond to emergencies. Among other things, we have, in the last few years, helped put systems in place to measure and assess electrical wiring in mountain lodges. Now, with these new defibrillators, we are helping to speed up the response to health emergencies in the mountains.”
This year, Zavarovalnica Triglav also helped Ljubljana Mountain Rescue Service purchase two electric bikes, which will enable rescuers to get to the sick and injured even more swiftly and effectively. Over the last few years, the insurer has co-funded the purchase of seven electric bikes for use by mountain rescuers.
