Citation

Soulé B, Lefèvre B, Boutroy E. Eur. J. Sport Sci. 2017; 17(7): 931-939.

Affiliation

Confédération Recherches Interdisciplinaires en Sport (CRIS, FED 4272) , Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 , Lyon , France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17461391.2017.1324525

PMID

28537784

Abstract

In France, there is a growing enthusiasm for outdoor sports and recreation. In the meantime, the risk of both severe and frequent injury associated with active pursuits in mountain areas is acknowledged. This paper tackles accidents related to mountain sports, with a focus on three critical activities: hiking, mountaineering and ski touring. The aim consists of estimating the actual number of accidents (whether they entailed deaths or injuries) in the three above-mentioned activities. In order to align the information collected, then provide estimations based on the reasoned crossing of these secondary data, we consulted and summarised all the databases available on the French territory.

RESULTS address the trauma-related mortality in absolute values, and a comparison with the death rate of other sports. The calculation of a mortality index, including secondary mortality, is then provided. Elements of mountain sports accidentality are also presented, intending to clarify how many casualities occur each year in the French mountains. Last, a focus on the particularities of each mountain sport is provided. Highlights Hiking, mountain-biking, mountaineering, and ski touring entail most fatalities while recreating in mountain areas (winter sports are excluded from this study); concluding that these activities are the most dangerous would nonetheless be simplistic, since we don't have sufficient information as to the respective number of participants. Each type of participation in mountain recreation exposes differently sports enthousiasts, depending on whether they hike on or off-trail, or whether the terrain is rocky, snowy, or icy while mountaineering. Death due to avalanche, a particularly feared event, accounts for less than 20% of deaths. In terms of accidentology, establishing the relationship between a reliable number of mountain accidents and an accurate parent population is difficult in the French context; this lack of comprehensiveness entails limits both in terms of risk analysis and preventative injury measures for mountain sports.

Language: en

Keywords

Mountain recreation; accidentology; accidents; risk