On June 2, "Black Horse," the leader of the 110 Polaris Rescue Team, which has participated in multiple mountain rescues in Xiamen, said that in places with high outdoor activity density such as Sichuan and Qinghai, there are generally local outdoor sports associations or mountaineering associations. When hiking groups plan self-driving trips or mountain climbs, they usually need to register with the association. The association will review the group’s planned route, as well as the physical requirements and outdoor experience of participants.
Fashionable mountain hiking turns perilous as hikers get stranded; outdoor sports lack regulation
"Black Horse" said that registration offers many benefits. First, it allows authorities to know the travel route so that in case of an accident—or even communication failure—rescue efforts can follow the previously known route. In addition, it helps vet the quality of the team leader, the participants, and their equipment. There is also the opportunity to provide necessary training before departure. "Black Horse" believes that a registration system could effectively reduce the occurrence of outdoor sports accidents.
Current Situation
With summer arriving, outdoor activities—especially mountain hiking—have gradually become a trend, but hikers getting stranded in the wild has become a problem troubling all parties.
Conflict
Rescue experts suggest implementing a registration system and strengthening relevant oversight. However, due to a lack of related laws and legislative regulation, the registration system lacks enforceability, and oversight is not feasible.
Solution
Only when national and local laws and regulations continue to improve, club certification applications become standardized and orderly, and professional training for outdoor adventure enthusiasts is strengthened, can outdoor sports move onto the right track.
Yesterday, this newspaper reported on the incident where 61 hikers from Quanzhou were stranded in the Wangqian Gorge in Tong’an the day before, once again drawing attention to the issue of safety regulation in outdoor sports. Some have suggested that outdoor sports should strengthen the registration system, and relevant departments should increase oversight.
Yesterday, follow-up reporters discovered another awkward situation—because outdoor sports have only emerged in recent years, there is a legal vacuum in this area. Some have suggested that regulating outdoor sports requires improvements through legislation.
Suggestions
Implement a registration system
Can reduce accidents
Some suggest that a registration system should be implemented for outdoor sports, especially mountain activities involving a certain number of people.
Dilemma
Associations lack enforcement power
Hikers do not follow guidance
Although having associations conduct vetting seems to offer many benefits, there are numerous difficulties in actual practice. According to "Black Horse," most associations are self-organized and cannot enforce the registration system. Many hiking groups do not heed the guidance of associations.
"I’m just climbing a mountain—why should I report to you?" Some hikers even think this way.
This sense of "management helplessness" is not limited to the work of associations elsewhere. In February of this year, Xiamen also established a municipal mountaineering association, but follow-up reporters learned that due to a lack of binding force, even in areas such as cracking down on "unlicensed guides" and cultivating a "regular army" for outdoor sports services, there is still a long way to go.
Suggestions
Implement a registration system
Could reduce the number of accidents
Some suggest: a registration system should be put in place for outdoor sports, particularly mountain activities involving a certain scale of participants.
Dilemma
Associations lack enforcement power
Hikers ignore guidance
Industry insiders believe that only when national and local laws and regulations continue to improve, clubs operate in a standardized and orderly manner from business application to qualification certification, and professional training mechanisms for outdoor adventure enthusiasts are well-established, can outdoor sports truly be put on the right track.
Links
Major outdoor sports accidents in China in recent years
Date: August 20, 2011
Location: Ruichang, Jiangxi
Seven "hikers" got trapped while exploring a cave in Henggang Town, Ruichang City; six were safely rescued and one died.
Date: December 12, 2010
Location: Huangshan, Anhui
Eighteen Fudan University "hikers" got lost and endangered in Huangshan; all were rescued, but police officer Zhang Ninghai died during the rescue.
Date: July 11, 2009
Location: Tan Zhang Gorge, Chongqing
Thirty-five "hikers" were caught in a flash flood in the Tan Zhang Gorge area of Chongqing; 19 died and 16 were rescued, in what was called "the biggest disaster in the history of Chinese outdoor activities."
Statistics
Nearly 10 incidents in 4 years involving over 10 hikers stuck in groups
Yesterday, reporters tracking the issue made an incomplete tally showing that from 2010 to this year, within a span of four years, there have been nearly 10 incidents in which hiking groups with more than 10 people got trapped in mountain rescues in Xiamen, with a total of nearly 300 people rescued.
Among them, on July 4, 2010, 22 hikers were rescued after getting stuck on Yunding Mountain in Tong’an; on May 22, 2011, 24 people were trapped in Ao Stream, Tong’an; on April 3, 2012, 56 hikers were stuck in Shanji Nei, Tingxi Town, Tong’an; on September 7, 2013, 20 people were trapped in Butterfly Valley, Tong’an; and just three days ago, 61 hikers from Quanzhou were trapped in Wangqian Gorge...
Although thanks to the efforts of the police and civilian rescue teams, all these trapped hikers were rescued in time without any major casualties, the frequent outdoor rescue calls reveal a message—summer has arrived, and outdoor sports, especially hiking, have become a trend, but various problems associated with it are gradually coming to light.