Valais authorities react to record number of mountain fatalities

View from Bettmergrat ridge in the canton of Valais: professionals stress the importance of telling those around you before setting off on a hike, as well as bringing the right equipment and enough food and water. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The mountains in canton Valais, southwestern Switzerland, have seen a record number of deaths this year: 20 climbers and seven hikers have lost their lives. As a result, the cantonal police have decided to reinforce their rescue unit.

This unit is responsible for going out into the field to investigate and then notifying the families of the deaths.

Pascal Gaspoz, a rescue guide, is the new head of this intervention group, the Groupe Montagne. He told Swiss public television, RTSExternal link, about the consequences of rapid temperature changes: “In the space of a few days, we go from an isotherm at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres to snowfall at an altitude of 2,000 metres. This means that hikers and mountaineers have to adapt to the conditions they encounter.”

+ Mountain accidents in Switzerland: the figures

But Pierre Matthey, Secretary General of the Swiss Mountain Guides Association and a guide for 30 years, also points the finger at a lack of preparation.

For him, the primary danger lies with the people themselves, who either overestimate themselves or underestimate the conditions and therefore have no control over the situation. The key is to “adapt to the conditions of the day”.

+ What you need to know about hiking in Switzerland

Mountain professionals stress the importance of telling those around you before setting off on a hike, as well as bringing the right equipment and enough food and water.

Stève Léger, spokesman for the Valais cantonal police, deplores the fact that over the past 15 years, the canton has suffered the deaths of an average of 14 mountaineers and ten hikers each year.

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