Four Xi’an girls under the age of 20 went missing in the Qinling Mountains a few days ago and were rescued by police after a near-death experience. In recent years, safety accidents in outdoor sports have frequently made headlines. At the second national mountain rescue technology training event held recently in Xi’an, experts said that outdoor hiking is becoming the first choice for many domestic enthusiasts, but the inherent dangers pose unprecedented challenges, both to the hikers themselves and to civilian mountain rescue teams.
The Whole Family Goes 'Adventuring'
Ms. Shang, a Xi’an resident and an outdoor exploration enthusiast with five years of hiking experience, finds her two QQ accounts buzzing every weekend. “They’re all outdoor teams notifying me of their hiking plans for the weekend,” Ms. Shang said. Backed by the Qinling Mountains, Xi’an boasts unique outdoor resources, so every weekend morning, the departure points of several local outdoor adventure clubs are bustling with activity — from fully equipped professional hikers to casual tourists in high heels carrying pet dogs.
And it’s not just Xi’an. In recent years, a wave of enthusiasm for outdoor sports has swept across the country. It is understood that the current number of people in China participating in outdoor activities such as hiking has reached 50 million, with several million seasoned 'hikers' who regularly hit the trails.
However, as the number of participants in outdoor sports has rapidly expanded, their awareness of safety precautions has not kept pace. Chen Zheng, an influential professional mountaineering coach in Shaanxi, said that in some treacherous areas of the Qinling Mountains, it’s common to see families all venturing out together. “Some people are carrying children while supporting the elderly, tottering along mountain paths less than a meter wide. With dense forests on both sides, any mishap could endanger more than just one person.”
“With the National Day holiday approaching, various outdoor adventure teams for viewing poplar forests, traveling the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, or going to Yunnan are beginning to accept registrations. Some popular routes even organize two trips during the holiday,” Ms. Shang said. She still feels uneasy about activities organized by these hiker-led groups. Early last autumn, she went to Gannan, where the leader’s weak safety awareness and failure to communicate with local guides nearly left the team stranded in the mountains.
“Mountain terrain is complex, and communication is inconvenient. Some hikers unfamiliar with the area often take risks. A wrong turn at a fork can easily make it impossible to find the way back. Most general hiking enthusiasts lack the conditions and experience to spend the night in the wild. If trapped in the deep mountains for more than seven hours, they may experience both physical and psychological fear, with unimaginable consequences,” Chen Zheng said.
Civilian Rescue Varies Widely in Quality
“Hikers” lack self-protection awareness, and even professional rescue teams may not be the 'guardians' when mountain accidents occur.
It is understood that many people currently involved in mountain rescue in China started as 'hikers.' Initially, they learned simple rescue knowledge just for self-protection, and later gradually began rescuing others before joining rescue teams.
“Equipment like ropes, harnesses, and descenders costs only two or three thousand yuan to equip fully, so the barrier to entry is very low. That attracts many hiking enthusiasts who are not very skilled in rescue techniques but are full of enthusiasm and physical strength,” said Li Fang, a backbone member of a professional mountaineering rescue team in Xi’an and an Asian ski-mountaineering champion.
The expansion in scale inevitably leads to mixed quality among teams. Li Fang said that at its peak, Shaanxi had as many as 15 civilian rescue teams, and it was not uncommon for them to undermine each other. Many team leaders in Shaanxi originally split off from an initial semi-official team.
“Saving lives is an extremely urgent matter. A wrongly tied knot could cost someone their life. Some rescue teams even waste time arguing over which knot to use. That’s why we need standardized rescue skill training and to expand the number of professional rescue teams,” Chen Zheng said.
The trend of profit-seeking in civilian rescue is becoming increasingly evident. Coach Jia Tinggui, an international-level instructor from Shenzhen who attended this training, has deep experience with this phenomenon. He said that most members of mountain rescue teams are amateurs, and being able to gather regularly based on a shared hobby means there’s no need to involve too many profit-driven topics. “Our job is simply to rescue people from the mountains — there’s no more lofty ideal, so there shouldn’t be any other motives either. If individuals in the team want to make money or gain fame through rescues, it will definitely cause discord.”
At the second national mountain rescue technology training event, which concluded on the 22nd, several international-level professional coaches from Beijing and Shenzhen provided nine days of closed training for 24 participants from all over Shaanxi.
Luo Shen, director of the Mountain Expedition Department at the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, said that the current shortage of professional rescue teams in China remains significant, and the poor self-rescue ability of hiking enthusiasts has become a major hidden danger in the development of outdoor sports in China.
Mastering 'Self-Rescue' and 'Rescue of Others' Skills
According to incomplete statistics, from 1957 to 2000, there were 33 deaths in China due to mountaineering (limited to alpine expeditions). From 2001 to 2011, the cumulative death toll over 10 years was 259, and in 2012 alone, 45 people died from mountaineering and outdoor sports. These shocking figures are worth serious reflection.
In response, the Chinese Mountaineering Association has launched a national tour of mountain rescue technology training lectures, targeting mainly members of professional mountaineering teams, climbing clubs, and university outdoor societies from various provinces. Through these participants, who have a certain foundation and experience, the goal is to cultivate a professional mountain rescue echelon. This will gradually emulate advanced countries to achieve 'standardization' in both technology and philosophy, ensuring consensus in teamwork and enabling timely responses in common mountain accidents as well as natural disasters like earthquakes and mudslides.
Additionally, public welfare lectures on mountain self-rescue knowledge will be conducted nationwide. It is reported that the Chinese Mountaineering Association initially plans to promote outdoor rescue knowledge to the public through publications such as the 'Outdoor Sports Safety Manual,' aiming to raise general travel safety awareness and basic self-rescue capabilities. This will guide hikers to avoid risks and stay calm in the early stages of a crisis.
Wang Yongfeng, vice chairman of the Chinese Mountaineering Association, said: “Professional mountain rescue technology training, combined with public welfare lectures on mountain self-rescue knowledge, extends from the top to the bottom of mountain rescue activities. By building a comprehensive safety assurance system for China’s mountaineering sports, we can truly make mountaineering and outdoor sports a sunny, fashionable, and safe fitness activity for all.”