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Date of Incident
18/09/2018
Country
France
Area
Route
Activity
Summer walking
When
Descending
Injury
Serious injury requiring medical treatment
Incident
On the descend from the Col de Serradets, I tripped over in a rocky/scree area because I was not paying attention! (Admiring the view.) I was tired and did not react quickly enough. Although the route was not difficult, I was not very fit at the beginning of the holiday; (this was just the second day, and I had realised the previous day, on an shorter, lower level walk, that I was not that well prepared...) But the weather was excellent, and we had to make the best of it. Also, wanted to keep my partner happy; (he always wants to do "bigger" things than me!).
Lessons
Don't think the fitness will return miraculously when you go on holiday, if you haven't done much exercise in the months beforehand. Because you used to do 3000-metre mountains years ago, doesn't mean you can still do them without training. And if you want to admire the view, stop! (as Wainright said)
Causes
Slip, trip or fall
Anonymous?
Yes
Reported By
Participant
Wearing Helmets?
Rescue Services Involved?
I broke my wrist in two places and a little finger. Other people in the area agreed that I would not be able to continue the descent, because there was still some un-scrambling to do (the Cascade du Glacier du Taillon), so they called Mountain Rescue. The helicopter of the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne des Hautes-Pyrenees took me to A&E at Tarbes Hospital, where they x-rayed me and put my arm in plaster.
Author
3 August 2019 at 18:23:18
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