In 1978 a serious accident occurred in the Anarisfjällen with eight deaths as a result. This was the starting point for the Swedish mountain safety work. the government appointed an inquiry whose proposal was that the state should have overall responsibility for the area. And already in 1979 the Swedish Mountains safety council saw its light. One of the important findings was that the lack of leader and leadership was one out several reason for the incident. According to a government decision in 1984 the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency become responsible for coordination, training, information of mountain safety. In 2001 the council started a work with quality assurance of the training for mountain guides, and the mountain leader norm took its shape. The purpose of this work was to establish a national minimum level for commercially active guides. So the norm was set with 16 including moment, Since that time there have been few if any changes of the training. This has been discussed and lift up in the Swedish Mountain Safety Council and there has been some work with it, but we stand still at the moment. So why is this a so important issue for me personally? Well, many want to become a Mountain Leader, but few don’t understand or ignore the responsibility that follows with the role. A nice day at the Jämtlandstriangle is really nice, but guiding at Kebnekaise the south trail in dark and fog is something quite different and which you as a guide claimed to master. The guide and the guides standard is that settles the standard of mountain safety, that why its so important to me. I will never fold one inch for the mountain safety. The guides must be the role model, the knowledge of safety must be the badge of novelty for a guide. So this work will constantly going on, I never getting bored of it!
This is one of the SFLO’s most important work at the moment. This and establish the IML as a standard…
Today I will start to review a backpack from Lundhags, the new Padje Light 45. This is a backpack for gram hunters. With its 45L I thing it has good space. The weight 1.09kg so it is very light. But still got a frame of 8 mm aluminum, so it is very stable.
It has the option to vary the length of back, so it can suits you right. The hip-belt is comfortable and it got a lot of ways to add equipment outside the sack. The mesh pocket brings you up to 11L more, and can be used for drying cloth if the sun is shining. At my first test i really like the frame and how the carrying system is built. There is a gap between the back and the sack, that seems to be fine, for reducing the heat. So I will come back one I got more to say…
The next gear to check is the Garmin Foretrex601. This is a military/tactical developed product from Garmin. It shall be easy to use, and will be the prefect tool to define your spot, and get you back to the starting point or to a ”way point”. It suits the arm perfect, and the buttons is easy to understand fins and use. But I will come back with more info when I have test it in the field…..
See ya soon…
Great blogg Bergman. The work with the leader safaty standard is important and good that you combine your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm in this feild