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Mountain rescuers in the Swiss Alps: Around 62,000 people injure themselves every year while doing winter sports (archive image)
Photo: JurgaR / Getty Images / iStockphoto
At the start of the ski season, the Swiss Advice Center for Accident Prevention (BFU) warns to be particularly careful shortly before the lunch break: There is an accumulation of accidents resulting in injuries, said spokesman Marc Kipfer of the Swiss broadcaster SRF.
There are two reasons for this: “On the one hand, there are a lot of people out and about at this time, both early risers and those who arrived a little later.
On the other hand, there are already signs of fatigue, ”he said.
"You might be hungry, but you still drive two or three times before you get a meal and take a break."
Every year around 62,000 people injure themselves during winter sports on Swiss slopes, 4,000 of them so seriously that they cannot go back to work after three months.
Doctors have already called on winter sports enthusiasts to be particularly careful because hospitals are at their limit due to a high number of Covid patients and only a few intensive care beds are free.
Compared to a soccer game, winter sports are less dangerous, said Kipfer: “For every hour of soccer, the risk of injuring myself is five and a half times greater than when I go skiing.
Snowboarding is a little more dangerous than skiing, but even less than football. "
Kipfer said injuries to the knee, lower leg and shoulder are particularly common when skiing, and also to the wrists when snowboarding.
His tip: always wear a helmet and have ski bindings adjusted professionally every season.
According to the BFU, more than 90 percent of accidents on the slopes are self-accidents. The causes are therefore different. Distraction, overconfidence, excessive speed, lack of physical fitness or poor equipment all play a role. Around six people die each year as a result of a slope accident. Overall, however, the level of security has increased. The risk of injury has been halved since the 1970s.
In Germany, the statistical evaluation center for ski accidents (ASU) determines how many people are injured each year while doing winter sports. According to the ASU accident analysis for the year 2019/20, around 38,000 skiers were injured so badly in Germany that they had to be treated by a doctor. The corona pandemic and the early closure of the ski areas had only a very minor effect on the overall numbers, according to the ASU.
Due to the corona situation, most of the European ski resorts have now introduced rules for lifts and restaurants.
In Austria, for example, the 2G rule applies in ski lifts and huts.
In Switzerland, a mask is required nationwide, and a full vaccination is required for overnight stays in mountain huts.
In Italy the 3G rule applies, in Germany the different regulations of the federal states apply.
Since France and Switzerland, for example, are now classified as high-risk areas, those returning who are not fully vaccinated or have recovered have to be in quarantine for ten days and can only get rid of it with a negative test five days after arrival at the earliest (read here the rules in which winter sports areas apply).
kry / dpa