The early morning of April 19, a group of athletes was preparing to participate in the Miafafí Ultra mountain race in the Mérida state. A competition qualified by its organizers as the “highest and most beautiful in Venezuela.”
This is one of the most iconic trail running in the country that runs through the Merideños moors of the cylinder head and Mifafi. The competition is part of the national running circuit with routes of 38 and 19 kilometers and heights ranging between 2,900 and 4,400 meters above sea level; In addition to temperatures that can reach 2 degrees Celsius, it is a demanding and beautiful race in its route.
The game took place in two batches: first the ultra, which began early Saturday, April 19; while those who ran the shortest distance left a few hours later.
Nevada mortal
But an unexpected snowfall hit early, many of competitors returned when the conditions became adverse, and groups sought to other runners. The Nevada erased the route and changed the Andean landscape, the brands ended up under the snow. The road disappeared and the cold wreaked havoc.
The storm isolated six corridors: Leonardo Pérez (62), José Sequera (61), Randy Cabrera (37), Deisy Salmorrera (55) and Jesús Lugo Gallo (43) found a refuge to protect themselves, but Luis Gerardo Sánchez Useche (59), disoriented, was trapped in the storm and died a product of a hypotermia.
A dozen athlete deaths
The tragic death of Luis Gerardo Sánchez Useche is the most media of a group of deaths of hikers, mountaineers and adherents to the roads and mountain races that occurred last year.
According to Sabatino, a rescue and rescue specialist and Airelibre Adventures, since June of last year he has been able to account for 12 deaths of people in this type of activities throughout the country.
The deceased belong to a broad spectrum that goes from high -level athletes to those who had little physical training, which suggests that the cause of death is not exclusively due to physical conditions, there are factors that must be taken into account.
The figure is a sub -registration, since there are no official statistics that allow analyzing the reality of deaths linked to these activities.
Fatal decisions
Gilbert González, a member of the Caracas Rescue Group (GRC), highlights that the mountain activities impose natural challenges to which the environmental and physical conditions of the participants are added.
“Most rescue events and documented accidents do not occur by the land itself, but by decisions taken by those affected. Many occur due to lack of knowledge, due to overestimation of personal physical conditions and abilities, as well as by decisions of hikers,” he says.
The analysis of the historical data of the GRC shows that the most frequent precursor factors are: lack of prior planning, not to notify relatives about the activity to be carried out, not register in visits books, deviate from the planned route, underestimate the duration or physical demand of the route and not carry the appropriate basic equipment, among others, González underlines.
Technological contributions
González highlighted the importance of the implementation of technologies that allow you to monitor visits to the national parks, including the Digital Visits, of the Caracas Rescue Group (GRC), a registration of visitors that allows the follow -up of the people who visit the Ávila, analysis of historical data and prevention to identify risk patterns in the Waraira Repano National Park.
This tool can be crucial for risk management in protected natural areas when establishing a verification protocol that activates a quick response if the return of the hiker that had been recorded in advance. It also establishes constant communication between GRC and hikers, allowing orientation and anticipation of problems.
The data collected can be analyzed on a georeferenced map that allows identifying areas of high influx and anticipating critical situations and finally, with this georeferencing, hikers can mark their location, entrance, route and exit, something crucial in case of loss.
For the GRC, the future in the prevention tasks in the mountain focuses on the advanced analysis of data and artificial intelligence, which will allow optimizing search and rescue operations and convert this type of visits books into essential tools for the safety of mountaineers and hikers.
Prevention. The keyword
Both Sabatino, and Gilbert González agree that a word must become mantra for adepts to hiking, mountaineering, trail running and other activities: prevention.
Rescue and rescue specialists recommend as fundamental measures, do this type of activities accompanied, carefully plan each exit, know and respect their own physical limits and the group, take the appropriate equipment, inform yourself about the weather and record the visit to the national parks.
They recommend preparing to act in case of emergencies with first aid kit and knowledge of first aid. “The prevention, criteria and responsibility when exploring natural environments are essential,” they agree.
For those who begin they advise starting with simple routes with people with experience.
Sabatino also recommends having a basic equipment that includes water, coat, flashlight, kit, whistle, map, communication and GPS/compass.
As for clothing, it must be striking colors and appropriate to the season if it is heat, rainy, or cold. Footwear with good grip should be weed, having sun protection and some essential energy food.
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