Provo Fire and Rescue personnel have shared how citizens can be safe while participating in outdoor activities such as hiking, rappelling and rock climbing, especially as spring and summer arrive and more people participate in these activities.
According to Utah’s Department of Public Safety records, around 100 annual cases of rescue missions. In 2021, there were 101 cases with 132 victims.
Sergeant Taylor Knight, the Mountain Rescue Team Leader at Provo Fire and Rescue, shared a few insights about trends in rescue data.
“Typically, there are more cases in warmer months like April to June,” Knight said. “And usually, they are young college students.”
When asked what the most common cause of injury was, Knight had a simple answer.
“I would say overconfidence,” Knight said.
He further explained that when people begin to feel comfortable with certain trails or paths, they underestimate the terrain and begin to take more risks, such as taking an unfamiliar shortcut, or they split from their groups, causing them to either get injured or lost.
“What looked possible becomes very impossible quickly, and you’re unable to return the way that you came,” Knight said.
Knight also mentioned that overconfidence can also appear in inadequate equipment, as even experienced hikers and climbers engage in their respective activities despite not having adequate equipment to do so.
Jackson Moses, a student at BYU studying business, had recovered from a foot injury but was back in a boot. His injury was a result of rock climbing at Rock Canyon.
“I was trying to position myself to clip into a bolt, and while I was moving around up there, my right hand slipped,” Moses said. “My other hand didn’t have a good grip on the wall, so I just fell off, and I swung down, smacked the wall once, popped out, and smacked the wall again, and that’s when I hit my ankle.”
Though Moses was not happy with the incident, he shared that he was happy that “it didn't end up being too bad.”
Moses, like many other hikers and climbers who get injured, considered himself well-versed in rock climbing, having done it from a young age with his father. While he shared that he believed smaller injuries when rock climbing tend to be inevitable, his recent injury was preventable.
“I went up the wall, and I didn’t have a whole lot of chalk in my chalk bag, and I ran out halfway up,” Moses said. “My hands were just really sweaty, and that’s probably the main reason why I slipped.”
Multiple government sources from Utah have emphasized the importance of proper equipment and preparedness. Utah State Parks’ Climber Code of Ethics published a segment on safety. It stated that one should be responsible for their own equipment and one should “pay attention to the age and use of equipment and use good judgment when climbing.”
In terms of how to be safe while engaging in outdoor activities, Chris Blinzinger from Provo Prepared, a department of Provo’s Emergency Management, shared some safety advice, especially for people who are unfamiliar with the scale of the Utah mountains and weather changes.
“Always have water and a jacket and let someone know where you are going and when you will return,” Blinzinger said. “Try to return home before dark because everything changes when it gets dark, and it is much more difficult for a rescue.”
He also shared the importance of making sure to have a full phone battery.
Knight also shared similar advice on how citizens could prepare themselves for hiking and climbing.
“The first thing when I reach out to somebody who’s stranded or lost is I ask them, ‘Hey, what’s your phone battery at?’ Most of the time it’s below 40%,” Knight said. “So if you’re going outside, go enjoy nature. Stay off your phone. Conserve that battery.”
Knight also shared that it could be helpful to download a map of the trail you are planning to hike or climb because “...without service, the map that you are using isn’t any good.”
With that being said, Knight, Blinzinger, and Moses all advocated for outdoor activities and shared their love for hiking.
“I like to be outside, and I love to rock climb,” Moses said. “I want to climb down in Zion. It’s just beautiful, and they’ve got a whole variety of options down there.”
When asked for his favorite hiking trail, Knight answered that, locally, he enjoyed a trail that branches out from Y Mountain.
“There’s a trail at the top of the Y that takes you around and links you to Rock Canyon. That’s a good hike if you’re prepared for it.” Knight said.
When safely done, fun, beautiful memories can be made hiking in Utah.