373 mountain bikers in distress were recorded in the SAC's mountain emergency statistics in 2020. This is an increase of over 61 percent compared to 2019 (231 emergencies) and 36 percent more than in 2018 (273). It should be noted that the SAC not only counts accidents, but also medical emergencies such as cardiovascular problems. Every year, heart attacks account for a significant proportion of deaths in the mountains.

The published statistics do not include fatal accidents involving mountain bikers in the Alps, Pre-Alps and Jura as, according to the SAC, they are not a classic mountain sport. When asked, Bruno Hasler, Head of Training and Safety, announced the number of 13 mountain bikers who died in accidents, nine of them in pre-alpine terrain and four in alpine terrain. He also qualifies that there could be more, as only those victims who were rescued by Alpine Rescue or Rega are recorded. If a rescue team from the local emergency service was there beforehand, the SAC does not receive a report. The number of mountain bikers involved in accidents throughout Switzerland is collected by the bfu, but their accident statistics are not published until April.

Just as there are more accidents in years with an above-average number of sunny days in the mountains, it is logical that the number of victims also rose in the corona summer with its bike boom and the run on the mountains. This is by no means intended to relativize the fate of every accident victim and their relatives. Rather, it is important to remember the safety rules, such as those established by the SAC and the bfu.
Mountain emergency statistics SAC

An ambulance for the Uetliberg

Schutz & Rettung Zürich, meanwhile, is equipping itself for medical missions in areas that are difficult to access. The All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) presented this week weighs 1640 kilograms and is only a third as heavy as the other ambulances in use. The focus is on Zurich's local mountain, the Uetliberg, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year and where people repeatedly have accidents or get into medical emergencies. If this happened in the middle of a trail or one of the many narrow footpaths, the emergency services often had to reach the scene of the accident on foot from the nearest forest road. Even some well-developed forest roads have a weight limit that is well below the weight of conventional ambulances.

The ATV will not reach every spot on the sometimes extremely steep slopes of the Uetliberg. But the paramedics will definitely get there faster and get closer. It's fitting that the all-terrain rescue vehicle is stationed in the Triemli station right at the foot of the Uetliberg (one of three locations of Schutz & Rettung Zürich). For the most impassable areas, Rega is still an option if it can get to the scene of an accident faster than all the other rescue services.

One thing the ATV does not yet have is a bike rack or any other device to carry an accident victim's mountain bike. "The space in and on the vehicle is very limited," says Schutz & Rettung Zürich on request. Nevertheless, it is not out of the question that something of this kind could be added at a later date. The media officer also reports that in practice, passers-by or companions often provide first aid, instruct the emergency services and then take care of the bike. In other cases, the police, who have also been called out, have recovered the bike. The emergency services, on the other hand, concentrate on the injured person and transporting them to the nearest hospital. This sensible upgrading of the rescue service should not be seen as an invitation to let things crash regardless of losses. The less the 100,000 franc vehicle is used, the better.