Snow Space Salzburg: Innovative Piste Rescue System Reaches Injured Skiers In Three Minutes
Snow Space Salzburg Bergbahnen and the Red Cross have developed a tailor-made piste rescue system to ensure rapid and professional medical care after skiing accidents. In the 2022/23 winter season, 1,388 operations have been necessary so far.
By mid-March, exactly 1,388 piste rescue operations were logged in Snow Space Salzburg in Flachau, St. Johann/Alpendorf and Wagrain in the 2022/23 season. That's an average of only seven accidents on 100,000 ski runs. Ten percent of the missions are flown directly from the runway to the surrounding hospitals by helicopter. The intensive cooperation between the piste rescue service, the Red Cross and the resident doctors ensures a rapid and continuous rescue chain for the ground-based evacuation. A total of 1.9 million skiers were counted in the ski area this year, who completed almost 20 million runs.
Five years ago, the Pongau premium ski area, together with the Red Cross, set up an independent rescue system that consists of several modules. The piste rescue team of the cable cars with trained paramedics plays the central role in emergency care. In addition, there is an emergency paramedic from the Red Cross on each of the three mountain flanks, who can take the first emergency medical soft site measures in the event of serious injuries before the emergency medical team arrives, in consultation with the doctor who is rushing to the site.
The piste emergency call in Snow Space Salzburg is controlled by the Red Cross. If an emergency call is received via number 144, the Salzburg rescue control center takes over the coordination of all rescue services. The location of the injured guest is located via the mobile phone and transmitted directly to the piste rescue service patrolling the ski area via radio link. On average, it only takes three minutes from the time the emergency call is received until the first emergency services arrive at the scene of the accident.
The evacuation of the injured is carried out by the piste rescuers of the mountain railways with specially equipped rescue Skidoos. In Flachau and Wagrain, an ambulance is ready to transport the injured to the surrounding general practitioners or to the hospital without any loss of time. There are designated landing sites in the ski area for helicopter operations. "In this way, together with the Snow Space Salzburg Bergbahnen, we guarantee a high quality of care on the ski slopes," explains RK state rescue commander Anton Holzer. The level of cooperation between the Red Cross and the mountain railways is unique in the entire federal state.
For Wolfgang Hettegger, CEO of Snow Space Salzburg Bergbahnen, a perfectly functioning rescue system has the highest priority. "A top infrastructure is a prerequisite for a first-class winter sports experience for our guests. This also includes rapid medical care after an accident. Our specific chain of rescue would be impossible without the collaboration of the Red Cross.”
In most cases, outpatient care for skiers who have had an accident is provided by the general practitioners in the region, for example in the practice of Dr. Harald Breitfuss in Flachau. A fully digital accident x-ray and ultrasound are available there for quick and efficient diagnostics. "The accidents treated in Flachau often involve minor injuries such as bruises, minor wounds, and even splints/casts for uncomplicated fractures," explains Dr. widefoot. He praises the well-functioning rescue chain in Snow Space Salzburg: “There is a very good triage of the degree of injury to the skier who had an accident in the ski area. These guarantee rapid evacuation and enable timely medical care.”
