With the May Day holiday approaching, various mountain climbing and outdoor activities are becoming increasingly frequent, but a sword of safety also hangs over the heads of outdoor sports enthusiasts, serving as a reminder: “Engage in scientific fitness and advocate safe outdoor activities.”
On April 25, reporters learned from the Xinjiang Mountaineering and Outdoor Safety Management Promotion Meeting that according to the China Mountaineering Association’s mountain accident investigation report, the number of deaths from mountaineering and outdoor accidents in 2012 reached an unprecedented 45, including 4 missing and 3 deaths in Xinjiang.
Surge in Numbers, Frequent Accidents
Chen Zhongliang, director of the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the Xinjiang Sports Bureau, said: “In recent years, the number of people participating in outdoor activities in our region has grown explosively. It is estimated that about 3 million people take part in outdoor activities each year, with over 1.2 million regularly engaging in outdoor sports in mountains, valleys, deserts, and high-altitude areas. While the outdoor sports community continues to grow, the lack of guidance and management—especially the insufficient awareness of risks and lack of knowledge about outdoor activities—has led to frequent accidents. In 2012 alone, there were over 20 cases of getting lost or slipping with no serious injuries, and 4 incidents resulting in fatalities due to a lack of professional knowledge and non-standard operations, claiming a total of 7 lives.”
Xinjiang currently has three official and spontaneously formed professional rescue teams: the Xinjiang Outdoor Sports Rescue Team, the Xinjiang Mountaineering Friends Rescue Team, and the Xinjiang Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team. At the promotion meeting, the Autonomous Region Sports Bureau awarded the “Xinjiang Mountain Outdoor Rescue Contribution Award” to these three teams. An Shaohua, captain of the Xinjiang Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team, who had just returned from rescue operations in Ya’an, Sichuan, accepted the award and warned “travelers” and unqualified “leaders”: “Don’t take on work you’re not equipped for—you need professional training.”
Review of Rescue Incidents
Jin Yingjie, deputy director of the Mountaineering Sports Management Center of the Xinjiang Sports Bureau, recalled: “From 2007 to 2012, our region experienced 6 mountaineering and outdoor safety accidents.”
According to the review, in 2007, one South Korean mountaineer died while climbing Muztagh Ata. In 2008, one Beijing mountaineer died on Muztagh Ata. In 2010, one German mountaineer died on Muztagh Ata. Rescues were carried out for all these incidents. In 2011, Lin Shubiao, a Ph.D. student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, went missing during the descent from installing an atmospheric physics observation station at 5,900 meters on Muztagh Ata. A joint rescue team of 29 members was formed, including the Autonomous Region Outdoor Sports Rescue Team, the China Mountaineering Association’s Extreme Adventure Mountaineering Team, the Qogir High Altitude Exploration Service Co., Ltd., and the Kashgar 119 Fire Special Task Force, conducting an 11-day rescue search in the high-altitude mountain area at 5,900 meters.
First Hikes Shouldn’t Exceed 5 Hours
Chen Zhongliang advised travelers: “For those participating in outdoor activities for the first time, try to keep each hike under 5 hours and within a distance of 10 kilometers.”
He stated that outdoor activities require careful planning and strict management. Before heading out, one should understand the weather, terrain, and the physical condition of participants, and avoid organizing activities beyond one’s capability or those lacking certainty. He recommended that travelers purchase outdoor insurance before departure.
Zu Long・Kelimu, deputy director of the Autonomous Region Sports Bureau, put forward requirements for relevant management departments. He said that the Autonomous Region Mountaineering Association, as the management body for mountaineering and outdoor sports in Xinjiang, should promptly develop plans and measures to mobilize all sectors of society to promote and popularize knowledge and concepts of scientific and safe outdoor activities through various means, ensuring the idea of “being fully prepared before setting off” becomes ingrained among all participants. Zu Long・Kelimu added that efforts should be made to establish a mountaineering and outdoor rescue training base in Xinjiang as soon as possible, and that local rescue teams should actively join the national mountaineering and outdoor rescue alliance.