There's no need to go looking for unnecessary risk. A handy guide is the Ten Rules for Staying Safe in Mountain Terrain published by the Czech Mountain Rescue Service. There's no point copying them out here – they're easy to find online (you'll find them, for example, on the official website of the Czech Mountain Rescue Service – editor's note). Seasoned mountain hands can test how many of the ten they get right "first go", and in general it's no bad idea to refresh your memory of them now and then.
Even with the best will in the world, though, you simply aren't in control of everything. You know the feeling – the lure of heading into the unknown and touching the limits of what you can do. But every so often it lands you in a situation that paralyses you. In a place that lies beyond the edge of your skills or strength.
What exactly do I mean? Say a storm rolls in while you're hanging on the steel cable of a via ferrata. Or you get stuck in the middle of a rock face where the only way on is a move that's too hard, and you seem to have no strength left for it. But "silly" things happen too, like a stone shooting out from under your foot on a narrow path winding above a drop, and suddenly you're sliding down. With a bit of luck it ends without serious consequences and you just gain a new experience at your limits.
Sometimes, though, it doesn't end well. You find yourself in a life-threatening, extraordinary situation. Whether it affects us or someone else, our body reacts automatically. In the first phase, energy is mobilised. Your nervous system raises your heart rate, your breathing speeds up, you start to sweat and the muscles in your limbs get flooded with blood, preparing the body for two primal strategies – fight or flight. Each of us reacts differently, but mostly we try to somehow cope with the situation and get to safety quickly. Even then, fortune favours the prepared. Carrying a first-aid kit, knowing first aid and knowing whom to call for further help – automatic responses cut down the consequences of panic-driven mistakes and lead to dealing with the situation more effectively. So it's no bad idea to take a first-aid course every so often. There are now even courses specialising in first aid in the mountains.
I had a fall in rocky terrain fairly recently. I ended up with a laceration on my leg, a bruised hand and a mild concussion. Nothing extreme – ten stitches, draining a haematoma and some rest sorted it out. All good, you might say. But not quite. For a good few days, a thousand and one thoughts were racing through my head. What could and should I have done differently, better, in that moment? What else could have happened? I was caught in a vicious circle of the same thoughts going round and round. I found it hard to concentrate and harder to fall asleep. My conversations kept turning back to the accident. It only lasted a week, but it scared me quite a bit. Until a psychologist friend had to remind me that this is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation I'd been through. Even if you aren't seriously hurt, or only witness an accident, it numbs your soul for a while. It's not just the body that needs time and care to get back together.
Unlike first aid, though, this isn't talked about much. And yet a few simple steps can help:
If things don't improve and it drags on for longer, it's wise to contact a professional – a psychologist or psychotherapist. After serious accidents or a close brush with death, post-traumatic stress disorder can develop, which needs considerably more care. And remember, seeing a psychologist is no stigma – quite the opposite.
An experience at your limits, or even one "over the edge", that you live through and work through is a great enrichment for the rest of your life. Only when you take on bold things do you live an authentic and fulfilled life.
