Mountain Air Rescue in the Alps

Abstract

For over 100 years, Innsbruck, Austria had been a center for Alpine and winter sports. In 1896, it became necessary to found an Alpine rescue service to come to the help of mountain climbers and skiers who were injured or stranded in our mountains. The reason for today's accidents are the same as they were 50 years ago. On the one hand, Alpine accidents are a consequence of preventable dangers, such as inadequate equipment, carelessness, and too little Alpine experience. On the other hand, they are caused by objective dangers, e.g., falling rocks, weather, lightning and avalanches. The rescue methods, however, have undergone a fundamental change over the last 3 years.