"Challenge" becomes "Death", why outdoor extreme sports can't keep the bottom line of safety
Our reporter Zheng Minghong and Zhu Qing
On August 25, the on-site search and rescue personnel confirmed that the two expeditioners who were trapped in the Dishuitan Waterfall in Guanling County, Guizhou Province two days ago had no vital signs. The tragedy made the outdoor extreme sports, which was originally a "niche", once again a hot topic of public discussion.
Public information shows that since the introduction of outdoor extreme sports to my country in the 1990s, after nearly 30 years of development, it has become an influential sports category. Compared with traditional sports, it not only pursues "higher, faster and stronger", but also emphasizes the sense of pleasure and accomplishment that people obtain after surmounting physical and mental obstacles.
However, occasional casualties have made this type of extreme sports with a high risk factor full of controversy.
Professionals believe that the frequent accidents of outdoor extreme sports in recent years are due to the participation of more and more people without relevant skills.
In addition, with the increase in the popularity of such sports, some professional training institutions lowered their standards and opened various crash courses, which is also one of the reasons for the frequent occurrence of outdoor extreme sports accidents.
The happiness of "niche"
When the 51-year-old Li Mingsong was still in the army, he liked to carry a backpack to explore on holidays. After being discharged from the army in 1991, he had more time to learn about outdoor extreme sports.
"I have played many projects, such as cavern, rock climbing, diving, etc." Li Mingsong said that in recent years, paragliding has been the most popular.
"Without sophisticated outdoor equipment, it is impossible to complete difficult outdoor extreme sports." In Li Mingsong's view, this type of sports can fully reflect a country's sports equipment capabilities and even its economic strength. Restricted by economic factors, outdoor extreme sports have been relatively "niche" for a long time, but with the rapid development of my country's society and economy, more and more enthusiasts are participating.
According to data from Tianyan Check, from 2010 to 2019, the total number of registrations of extreme sports related companies in my country has increased from 8,000 to nearly 30,000. In 2019 alone, there were 4,200 newly registered related companies.
Fan Qian, who has nearly 30 years of outdoor adventure and rescue experience, is one of the pioneers of the Dishuitan waterfall route. "Under the hustle and bustle of the city and the fast-paced life, people yearn for nature and seek opportunities to get close to and enjoy nature. This is a very normal need." He said.
"I first participated in outdoor extreme sports, just to challenge nature, hoping to discover more of the mysteries of the earth." Fan Qian said that as he grows older and accumulates knowledge, he enjoys the integration into nature, enjoying nature, The feeling of awe of nature, "let me know the true meaning of life".
Li Mingsong believes that outdoor extreme sports can allow participants to see the world from a different perspective. "This kind of exercise brings me fun and health, and allows me to have close contact with many magical landscapes in nature."
"Challenge" becomes "Death"
On November 8, 2017, Wu Yongning, who claimed to be the “first person in high-altitude extreme sports in China”, fell from a building in an extreme challenge, and her 26-year-old life came to an abrupt end; May 12, 2020, a woman in wing suit When the pilot was flying in a wing suit in Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie, he lost contact due to deviation from the planned route and was unfortunately killed...
"The reason why extreme sports is called the limit is because it challenges the potential of participants." Li Mingsong said that participants should carefully evaluate before starting to exercise. If the evaluation result is not satisfactory, you should give up decisively. "A successful challenge is definitely planned and step-by-step."
Yu Tianliang, vice president of the Outdoor Sports Association of Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province, said that outdoor extreme sports accidents happen every year. There are more and more participants, but lack of professional skills and knowledge is the main reason for the frequent occurrence of accidents.
"Take mountaineering as an example. Most professional training resources are concentrated in mountaineering associations at all levels. It is more difficult for ordinary people to access professional training." Yu Tianliang said that some outdoor extreme sports participants often feel good about themselves, but when they encounter unexpected situations , There is no physical strength and professional knowledge to complete the escape, "outdoor extreme sports really need systematic training."
Yu Tianliang used data to compare the gap between professional players and amateurs.
Some time ago, he participated in the speed climbing competition of Sichuan Siguniang Mountain Dafeng (5025 meters above sea level). Starting from the ticket office of the scenic spot, he took 3 hours to climb to the top and 1 hour and 37 minutes to go down the mountain, all in less than 5 hours.
"For ordinary people, this distance often takes two days, and it is not very easy." He said.
The reporter's investigation found that after the popularity of social media, outdoor extreme sports have more channels and ways to display them into the public's field of vision. However, some netizens often see others easily complete a certain extreme sport, ignoring the effort behind it, thinking that they can challenge it even after simple training.
In some videos, some extreme athletes deliberately make exaggerated actions in order to attract attention, which will also mislead netizens.
"It's no problem to like outdoor extreme sports, but you should have some knowledge and physical fitness reserves. At what level you have reached, you can participate in the activities corresponding to that level and do things that correspond to your own abilities." said Wang Yi, the leader of the Guizhou Blue Sky Rescue Team.
In fact, on August 23, Fan Qian also led another expedition to the Dishuitan Waterfall. After arriving, Fan Qian found that the water volume of the Dishuitan Waterfall was too large that day, so he gave up the waterfall activity, "I must be responsible for the lives of the participants."
In Li Mingsong's view, Fan Qian is wise. "The amount of water at the time was at least twice as large as when I went to the rescue. In that case, even if the route chosen by the victims is not a problem, the waterfall should not be carried out. The most correct option is to cancel the activity."
Li Mingsong is also one of the developers of the Dishuitan waterfall route. For safety reasons, he did not promote it. "This line is very beautiful and spectacular, but crossing this line requires the participants' abilities to be very high and requires a good leader."
Skills seeking "crash"
The reporter found that after the gradual marketization of outdoor extreme sports training, chaos such as the blindly opening of "crash courses" by training institutions appeared, threatening the healthy development of such sports.
"It's easy to mislead participants and make them think that outdoor extreme sports are simple." Li Mingsong said that the level of outdoor extreme sports relies on long-term training, and the crash course is just a way to inform.
Fan Qian suggested that when participating in outdoor extreme sports training or related activities, you must choose a professionally qualified organization or club.
According to his observations, some outdoor extreme sports clubs on the market currently have the "three noes" chaos without relevant qualifications, professional leaders, and complete emergency plans. Some of the choices of routes, times and locations are not standardized, and there are even situations where insurance is not purchased or invalid insurance is purchased.
Public data shows that in recent years, more than 20% of extreme sports training companies in my country have experienced business abnormalities, and nearly 3% of related companies have received administrative penalties.
Yu Sanzhong, director of the Shanyue Emergency Rescue Center in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, said frankly that the so-called "passing gang" is also worthy of vigilance compared to the crash course.
"Some'big guys' or'masters' have brought a lot of apprentices. These apprentices are often unwilling to spend time on studying systematically. They think that they can master the skills by playing with the'master' for two days. In fact, they have mastery of equipment, technology and theory. Lack." Yu Sanzhong said worriedly.
A total of "safety rope"
On June 16, 2019, 59 fellow travellers were trapped in Twelve Peaks, Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province. They were all rescued after various rescue forces.
In August 2019, Xu Tingxiu and Yin Qihe, members of the Shenzhen Blue Sky Rescue Team, were rescued by mountain torrents in Baima Mountain, Huidong County, Guangdong Province, when they were rescued from the river. They were eventually killed...
Li Mingsong believes that more than one accident has shown that blindly participating in outdoor extreme sports not only easily causes a waste of social resources, but even endangers the lives of rescuers.
As a practitioner of outdoor extreme sports, you should tell participants how to properly participate in outdoor extreme sports through personal experience, so that they learn to respect nature and fear life while participating in such sports.
Fan Qian and other industry insiders suggested that outdoor extreme sports, as a new industry, has huge room for development in the future, but it should not become a "stumbling block" to saving social public resources. It is urgent for relevant departments to issue laws and regulations to regulate development.
"Domestic outdoor extreme sports are already on the fast lane, and will not stop due to individual accidents, so it is particularly important to speed up the standardization of outdoor extreme sports." Fan Qian said.