Mortality in Via Ferrata Emergencies in Austria from 2008 to 2018

Abstract

Although the European Alps now have more than 1000 via ferratas, limited data exist on the actual incidence of fatal events in via ferratas and their causes. This retrospective study analysed data from a registry maintained by the Austrian Alpine Safety Board (n = 161,855, per 11 all persons involved in a via ferrata-related emergency were included (n = 1684), of which 64% were male. Most emergencies were caused by blockage due to exhaustion and/or misjudgement of the climber's own abilities. Consequently, more than half of all victims were evacuated uninjured. Only 62 (3.7%) via ferrata-related deaths occurred. Falling while climbing unsecured was the most common cause of death, and males had a 2.5-fold higher risk of dying in a via ferrata accident. The mortality rate was highest in technically easy-to-climb sections (Grade A, 13.2%/B, 4.9%), whereas the need to be rescued uninjured was highest in difficult routes (Grade D, 59.9%/E, 62.7%). Although accidents in via ferratas are common and require significant rescue resources, fatal accidents are rare. The correct use of appropriate equipment in technically easy-to-climb routes can prevent the majority of these fatalities.

Rock Climbing Emergencies in the Austrian Alps: Injury Patterns, Risk Analysis and Preventive Measures

“…The overall case fatality rate was rather low, namely 4.7%. This is comparable to similar studies of climbing-related rescue operations in specific regions like Boulder County (5.5%), but is higher than that for other sports (canyoning 1.9%, via-ferrata climbing 3.7%) [21,38,39]. Mortality rates from 18% to 28% have also been reported in previous climbing studies [4,20].…”

“…Taking the 1523 people injured in this study into account, an estimated 20-50 million hours of rock climbing and a mortality rate of 0.003-0.007/1000 h of climbing can be calculated. This is comparable to mortality rates of 0.02/1000 h in similarly conducted studies of canyoning, and 1 per 10 million hours of via-ferrata climbing [38,39].…”

Canyoning Accidents in Austria from 2005 to 2018

“…Some of these data relied on the same national registry as our study. For the Austrian Alps, fatalities per year can therefore be summarised as approximately 110 for mountain hiking, 20 for rock climbing, 6 for via ferrata climbing and 5 for mountain biking [18,19]. With 0.7 canyoning-related deaths per year in the Austrian Alps, the absolute mortality is not far away from in the figure for being struck by lightning (0.4 deaths/year) [20].…”

Editorial on the Special Issue on “Mountain Sports Activities: Injuries and Prevention”

“…Thus, the prevention of such events is of utmost importance. Four studies (two reviews and two original papers) focused on available data on the death risk when performing mountain sports primarily practiced during the winter [ 1 , 2 ] or the summer season [ 3 , 4 ]. With the exception of ski touring the death risk turned out to be low across different winter sports (0.3–0.8 deaths per 1 million exposure days).…”

“…In contrast, death rates for mountain sports in the summer season varied dramatically, being much higher in high-altitude climbing, mountain, rock and ice climbing, and paragliding, when compared to mountain hiking, trekking, or mountain biking (below 1 death per 10,000 persons at risk). Mortality rates were also relatively low for climbers using via ferratas, where the death risk was highest, but preventable, for those climbing unsecured easy-to-climb sections [ 4 ]. Traumatic events like falls were predominant causes in climbers and downhill skiers, avalanche burial and/or high-altitude illness in ski tourers and in high-altitude climbers, and non-traumatic events like sudden cardiac death in sports with high participation of older individuals (downhill and cross-country skiing, and hiking).…”