Mountain Hazards
Ticks. Tick bites: how to protect yourself
By Redazione Published: 23/08/2017
Ticks belong to the arthropod family; in particular they are parasites of animals and of human beings, and so they are found in all those places where their so-called “host” lives, whose blood they suck…
Poison ivy, or the climber's nettle
By Dottor Kelios Bonetti Published: 09/08/2012
For some time now people have been talking about poison ivy. At our home crags there are only rumours going round, a lot like urban legends, while in America climbers recognise it on sight the…
Reading weather and avalanche bulletins
By Redazione Published: 22/06/2012
If you don't have the time, the opportunity or simply the inclination to learn to understand the signs that point to dangerous conditions in the mountains, you can rely on reading the weather and avalanche…
Why worry about avalanches in the mountains?
By Redazione Published: 14/06/2012
There have been many unfortunate and tragic events and tragedies in recent years (Ed. 2019-2020), which means it is important to think carefully and look into the causes, for example why they happened and how…
Viper bites - prevention and first aid
By Redazione Published: 14/06/2012
Vipera aspis is widespread in the Alps and the Apennines; its favourite range is made up of warm, dry places; it has a mild temperament and usually flees if disturbed.The viper, like any other living…
Avalanche definitions
By Redazione Published: 14/06/2012
By avalanche we mean a mass of snow and/or ice which, suddenly breaking away from the top of a slope, starts to roll and slide down towards the valley, dragging along with it more of…
Fog, the hiker's nightmare
By Alessandro Vittore Published: 12/06/2012
Fog is a complex meteorological phenomenon that occurs under particular conditions of temperature and saturation of the water vapour suspended in the air.You get fog whenever the water present in the air in the form…
What are avalanches and why do they form?
By Redazione Published: 12/06/2012
Why, how and when...From the moment snow touches the ground a process of transformation begins, called metamorphism. Snow is not deposited all at once and it is certainly not deposited evenly over all the surfaces…