Rescue crews at Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan province, locate three lost hikers after a four-day search in 2017. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]
More Chinese are taking part in dangerous sports, but a lack of experience and low skill levels are causing problems for search and rescue teams. Zhang Yi reports.
As more Chinese pursue an outdoor lifestyle, authorities are warning that the wilderness experience can cause injury or death as a result of animal attacks, a lack of experience or poor mental strength when people encounter difficulties or extreme weather.
On June 10, rescue workers in the Qinling Mountains in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, located a missing hiker, surnamed Wang, after a search lasting more than 30 hours. When he was found, Wang was semiconscious, his face was covered with blood and his right eyelid had been ripped off, exposing the eyeball.
Wang had been attacked by a black bear after venturing into the wilds alone. A blow from the bear's paw caused him to roll into a fault below the bear's lair, and while he sustained several fractures, he was spared more attacks.
The scene was not unusual, according to Yang Junli, a member of the Qinling rescue team.
"More and more people are calling for assistance. In the past four years, we have rescued more than 300 hikers and climbers," the 50-year-old said.
According to a report by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, 350 accidents related to outdoor activities were recorded last year, a rise of 20 percent from 2017. They included 40 deaths and 115 injuries, while four people who were reported missing were never found.
Feng Xukai, a cycling enthusiast from Fujian province, rides a route on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 2014. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]
Growing trend
In recent years, more Chinese have started to engage in challenging, high-risk outdoor activities, such as scuba diving, cycling across windswept, isolated plateaus and trekking through inhospitable wilderness.
In 2016, six government departments, including the General Administration of Sport, issued a guideline on outdoor activities in mountainous areas to promote the development of sports and better regulate the industry.
Activities such as climbing, hiking, camping and cycling, which take place in natural surroundings, including mountainous areas, focus on participation and are aimed at promoting physical and mental health, the guideline said.
It added that in 2016, about 130 million Chinese participated in outdoor sports in mountainous areas, and the number will continue to rise. The report also estimated that the scale of the outdoor sports industry in mountainous areas will reach 400 billion yuan ($58 billion) next year.
Wu Hong, 49, deputy head of the Nanping Mountainous Sports Association in Fujian province, said: "A growing number of people are enjoying outdoor activities because they can get close to nature and relieve the pressure of sitting in an office. These activities are different from traditional pursuits, such as taking a walk in the park or jogging, and they are more challenging because they usually take place in inhospitable places, so more skills and equipment are required."
Yang, the rescue team member, said: "Mountaineering and trekking have relatively low entry thresholds, making them more accessible to the public. That's more likely to cause people to let down their guard.
"As more city dwellers go hiking in the Qinling Mountains to enjoy the clean air and greenery, some tend to think it is an easy activity, but actually we see countless hikers getting lost and asking for assistance."
According to the CMA report, getting lost and falling from high ground were the main causes of accidents last year, and most of them occurred while people were climbing and trekking through inhospitable areas.
Climber Wu Hong tackles Changbai Mountain in Jilin province last year. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]
Mental fortitude
Wu, the climbing and hiking enthusiast, said commercial promotion has contributed to the surge in interest, but outdoor activities are not just about wonderful scenery as many ads suggest.
A lack of skills, equipment and planning, including checking routes and weather forecasts, can cause problems for careless hikers and even place them at risk, she said.
"People who encountered accidents tended to be those who acted on impulse and overestimated their own abilities," she added.
"Apart from the lack of basic skills and equipment, another indirect cause of death and injury is a lack of mental toughness. When faced with an emergency, such as extreme weather, animal attacks or losing one's bearings, many people are likely to break down psychologically."
In 2016, she set out on an inhospitable hiking route in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with four people who had formed a team via a website for outdoor enthusiasts. During the trip, the team walked along cliff paths, gravel-covered slopes and snowcapped peaks, and also waded across 30 rivers.
The route-about 200 kilometers in length and at an altitude of up to 4,000 meters-was scheduled to take six to seven days, so each person carried enough food for eight days, along with tents and clothing. In all, each participant carried about 50 kilograms.
"When you begin to tire after hiking with a heavy load, it is important to maintain a strong attitude, because any accident may break you," Wu said. On the second day of the trip, a snowstorm blew up, so the team immediately donned thicker clothes and ate energy gels to maintain body heat.
"We had to eat the gels as quickly as possible, because if we got cold, we were likely to die. Inexperienced hikers tend to be mentally affected on such occasions and they can't control their hands and feet, so they cannot respond to problems quickly," Wu said.
Having started organizing weekend outdoor activities in 2006, Wu is highly experienced and has overcome many problems.
"Once, on a one-day climb of a tough mountain, a young woman on my team was so scared halfway that she burst into tears. On a different occasion, a very overweight man insisting on joining our hike, even though I advised him not to. In the end, he got too tired to keep pace with the group, which slowed us down a lot," she recalled.
Wu and her hiking partner take a rest during a trek in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 2016. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]
Teamwork
"It doesn't matter whether you are experienced or a novice, it is important to be with a team. During the snowstorm on the Xinjiang trekking route, we worked together to get off the mountain. How could anyone survive in that situation without another person's help?" she said.
The day before the team started the trek, one member decided to tackle the route alone, and he left without telling anyone. Wu and her remaining companions completed the route on the sixth day as planned, but when she turned on her mobile phone she found a number of missed calls from the police saying the hiker who had set out alone had gone missing.
A month later, a body was found lying between rocks in a stream on the route. A DNA test confirmed the body to be that of the lost hiker, a 40-year-old swimming coach.
"It was such a shame. Hiking alone is risky, especially in the wild without a (phone) signal. Injuries such as sprained ankles are common, and partners can help each other," Wu said.
According to the Chinese Mountaineering Association's report, people who hiked alone or as part of a family group accounted for 68 percent of the accidents, while those who used professional agencies or experienced partners encountered fewer mishaps.
When recalling her trip across Xinjiang, Wu said that when her team finally reached the top of a mountain after walking though snow for six hours, they found a dead cow lying on the ground.
"Despite its covering of fur, it had just frozen to death," she said.
