Mountain Safety Council urges a safe start to the new year

20 January 2015 – Summer is a busy time of the year in New Zealand’s outdoors and the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council is encouraging people to be proactive about preventing slips, trips and falls, and to remain aware of their location and surroundings.
Mountain Safety Council Acting Operations Manager Nathan Watson said every year too many New Zealanders get lost outdoors or injure themselves in avoidable accidents.

“Many common injuries caused by slips, trips and falls are easily avoided. Slips can occur on wet rocks or logs, or while crossing streams, rivers and other waterways. Avoid standing on wet rocks and, if it’s safe to do so, walk through the water instead – wet boots are better than broken bones.

“Scree slopes can also tricky to navigate. Be careful, keep your knees bent and weight forward – use hiking sticks to help provide stability.”

While New Zealand’s terrain could be challenging, travelling in a group could help to minimise the risks, Mr Watson said.

“Travelling in a group can greatly improve safety. If someone is injured, other members of the group can assist with first aid or go and seek help. A group can avoid poor decisions that a solo tramper might make and, if something goes wrong, they can pool their resources and ideas.”

However, while there are advantages to travelling with a group, Mr Watson cautioned against becoming complacent.

“Don’t just follow the group; you should know where you are and where you are going at all times. That way, if you get separated from the group, you’ll know roughly where you are and how to get where you want to go. Create a mental map of your journey before you go and use landmarks and significant geographic features to keep track of your location.”

Knowing how to read a map and use a compass were useful skills, he said, and GPS devices could also come in handy. However, it was critical that people made sure someone knew where they were headed and when to expect them back in case they found themselves in trouble.

“The Outdoors Intentions form on the Adventuresmart website makes it easy for people to record where they’re going, who they’re with, how well equipped they are and when they expect to return. They can then email or print and pass on to a trusted friend or family member.”

Mr Watson also encouraged people to check out the five simple rules of the Outdoor Safety Code – plan your trip, tell someone, be aware of the weather, know your limits and take sufficient supplies – before heading into the outdoors in 2015.

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