Nobody sets off expecting it. So it is worth knowing how often mountain rescue is called out, and for what.
The numbers
Italy, 2025. The national alpine and cave rescue service ran 13,037 missions, its highest ever and 8% up on 2024. In those missions 528 people died, 9,624 were injured and 140 were missing. Falls and slips caused 45% of call-outs, medical emergencies 14%.
Slovenia, 2025. Mountain rescuers were called out 660 times and helped 767 people. 50 people died, the worst year in the twenty years these records have been kept. Most call-outs were around Triglav, the Triglav Lakes and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
Austria, 2024. 309 people died in the Austrian mountains, above the ten-year average of 284.
Switzerland, 2024. Rega flew 19,667 missions, helping an average of 36 people a day.
The part that surprised me
In Austria, the most common cause of death in the mountains is not a fall. Cardiovascular events account for around 27% of alpine fatalities. In Italy, medical emergencies are the second largest reason for a call-out, after falls and slips.
That changes what "being prepared" means. A helmet does nothing for a heart attack at 2,000 metres. What helps is somebody nearby who can tell the doctor what condition you have, what you take for it, and who to call.
What it means for a group
Two things follow from the numbers.
First, most of these people were not alone. Somebody was standing next to them, making the call, answering questions. What that person knows in the first ten minutes shapes what happens next.
Second, the questions are always the same: where are you, what happened, is the person conscious, what are they allergic to, what do they take, who should be told. A group that has agreed these in advance answers in seconds. A group that has not, guesses.
You do not need an app for that. You need it written down somewhere more than one person can reach. That is the whole idea behind Parta, and it is why the card sits on every member's phone rather than only on yours.
Sources
Parta is not an emergency service and this is not medical advice. In an emergency, call the local emergency number.
- Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico, 2025 data: news.cnsas.it
- Gorska resevalna zveza Slovenije, 2025 annual figures: grzs.si
- Osterreichisches Kuratorium fur Alpine Sicherheit, alpine accident statistics: alpinesicherheit.at
- Rega, 2024 missions: rega.ch