Mountain rescue needs to rescue fewer and fewer people

The number of people who need to be rescued by Fjällrädningen is getting fewer and fewer, according to recent figures from the Police.
A reduced number of tourists is the reason, according to the Police.
– After the pandemic, we see a downward trend, says Stefan Källström, business developer for mountain rescue in Norrbotten.

The police’s mountain rescuers rescue a total of a couple of hundred people every year in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland and Dalarna. The vast majority of rescue missions take place in Kirunafjällen, more specifically at Kebnekaise.

– Many people who want to climb Kebnekaise need help sooner or later. They become too heavy to lift, they do not have sufficient physique and perhaps too little equipment. Up on the mountain, the weather often changes for the worse in a different way than in the valleys, and that can create problems, says Stefan Källström.

The most common injuries that require mountain rescues and sprains and sprains of various kinds when people fall and hurt themselves. Other common reasons are lack of equipment and people not being prepared for the physical effort or bad weather.

Reduced number of rescue missions

Until the pandemic, the number of mountain rescue missions per year was at a stable level for several years in a row. During the pandemic, the number of rescue missions increased during the summer seasons. An increased number of homebound Swedes without mountain experience is believed to be one of the reasons.

After the pandemic, a downward trend can be seen in the number of rescue missions. Stefan Källström believes that it is connected to the fact that the homestay trend in the mountain world has waned and that inflation has made mountain stays more expensive at the same time that the Swedish Tourist Association has reduced the number of cabin beds in the mountains.

– The number of rescue missions naturally follows the number of tourists. We know that tourism has decreased during these years, but we believe that tourism is returning in some way, that it is increasing again and thus that the number of rescue missions will also increase, concludes Stefan Källström.