TY - JOUR
T1 - Review and Analysis of Mountaineering Accidents in the United States from 1947-2018
AU - Deloughery, Emma P.
AU - Deloughery, Thomas G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2022.
PY - 2022/6/1
Y1 - 2022/6/1
N2 - DeLoughery, Emma P. and Thomas G. DeLoughery. Review and Analysis of Mountaineering Accidents in the United States from 1947-2018. High Alt Med Biol. 23:114-118, 2022. Introduction: Given the popularity of mountaineering, it is important to better understand accidents related to this sport. We undertook this review of accidents to better understand the demographics and locations involved in mountaineering accidents over 71 years. Methods: Data collected from "Accidents in North American Mountaineering"booklets from 1947 to 2018 included the date, state and location of the accident, sex and age of the victim, type of accident, injuries sustained, and distance fallen if a fall occurred. If at least 10 accidents occurred in an individual state and/or location, these sites were separately analyzed. Results: From 1947 to 2018, 2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents, and 43% of these accidents resulted in death. Women were involved in 12% of cases. Falls were the most common accident (68% incidence, 45% fatal), followed by falling rock (7%, 26% fatal), avalanche (6%, 75% fatal), and falling into a crevasse (2%, 52% fatal). The average age of victims was 30 years. California had the most accidents (18%), followed by Washington (16%) and Alaska (15%). Denali had the greatest frequency of both accidents and deaths (11%, 8% of deaths), followed by Mount Rainier (6%, 7% of deaths) and Mount Hood (2%, 3% of deaths). Conclusions: Accident victims tend to be young and predominantly male, and the accidents themselves are most often falls. Avalanches were identified as an accident cause with a high fatality rate.
AB - DeLoughery, Emma P. and Thomas G. DeLoughery. Review and Analysis of Mountaineering Accidents in the United States from 1947-2018. High Alt Med Biol. 23:114-118, 2022. Introduction: Given the popularity of mountaineering, it is important to better understand accidents related to this sport. We undertook this review of accidents to better understand the demographics and locations involved in mountaineering accidents over 71 years. Methods: Data collected from "Accidents in North American Mountaineering"booklets from 1947 to 2018 included the date, state and location of the accident, sex and age of the victim, type of accident, injuries sustained, and distance fallen if a fall occurred. If at least 10 accidents occurred in an individual state and/or location, these sites were separately analyzed. Results: From 1947 to 2018, 2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents, and 43% of these accidents resulted in death. Women were involved in 12% of cases. Falls were the most common accident (68% incidence, 45% fatal), followed by falling rock (7%, 26% fatal), avalanche (6%, 75% fatal), and falling into a crevasse (2%, 52% fatal). The average age of victims was 30 years. California had the most accidents (18%), followed by Washington (16%) and Alaska (15%). Denali had the greatest frequency of both accidents and deaths (11%, 8% of deaths), followed by Mount Rainier (6%, 7% of deaths) and Mount Hood (2%, 3% of deaths). Conclusions: Accident victims tend to be young and predominantly male, and the accidents themselves are most often falls. Avalanches were identified as an accident cause with a high fatality rate.
KW - avalanches
KW - falls
KW - mountaineering
KW - trauma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132194398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85132194398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/ham.2021.0085
DO - 10.1089/ham.2021.0085
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35263173
AN - SCOPUS:85132194398
SN - 1527-0297
VL - 23
SP - 114
EP - 118
JO - High Altitude Medicine and Biology
JF - High Altitude Medicine and Biology
IS - 2
ER -