Alpine Rescue Expert: “Too Many Deaths in the Mountains Due to Oversight”

“All these deaths in ten days are starting to be a bit too many. And according to my calculations, out of 100 accidents, 95 involve hikers. Here the institutions should do something: in Abruzzo too little is done, compared to other regions in the north we are behind, there is little communication and few controls”. Daniele Perilli, president of the Abruzzo Alpine Rescue after the discovery of the body of the German student in a place that says a lot about the inexperience and superficiality with which people too often go to the mountains, admits to being “a bit pissed off”. If you then consider that 70% of the ‘traffic’ in Abruzzo is in Campo Imperatore, Prati di Tivo and Blockhaus, a front office could be organized there, suggests Perili.

“How do you avoid dying in the mountains? With information and training. Without improvising: would you ever drive a car with bald tires? People don’t protect their lives, they don’t understand the threshold of risk they are causing, the mountains are dangerous, they are not a tennis court and instead yesterday in front of me someone with bald soles slipped risking his life – continues Perilli – There is no guardrail on the paths, if you fall it’s over, you get hurt. But the thing that these days makes me think the most, in fact, is that we go to rescue people in easy places, in Pizzo Cefalone, in Bocca di Valle”. Not only that: but recently also illnesses of elderly people, difficult recoveries that then also put the lives of the rescuers at risk, “and we are all volunteers and passionate”.

For Perilli, who in 50 years of mountains has “seen all sorts of things”, there is however a very contemporary trend, a cause to reflect on. “With Covid, the number of people going to the mountains has increased: in August 2023 on the Corno Grande Gran Sasso there were 300 people: I would say too many. Indeed, given the mass of people who stormed our peaks, in the end it even tells us well, because we have seen all sorts of things. And instead – he insists – before leaving we should all know how to dress, what to put in the backpack, look carefully at the weather, know the trails well, plan departure and return times. I have seen people who leave late and get hit by hail on the way back. Unacceptable”.
These days the Apennines, from the Sibillini down, have not brilliant weather conditions, there is fog and humidity, the paths are not very stable, it rains especially in the afternoon. “And then – repeats a determined Perilli – if someone really wants to go to the mountains, there are always companions and guides to turn to, and instead I also see people of a certain age who risk their lives…”.