The influence of weather on fatal accidents in Austrian mountains

Projections of warmer global temperatures in fast approaching time horizons warrant planning strategies for reducing impacts on human morbidity and mortality. This study sought to determine whether increases in temperature and other changes in weather indices impacted rates of fatal accidents occurring in the popular mountainous regions of Austria with the purpose of improving mountain prevention and accident mitigation strategies. The study was based on the merging of 3285 fatal outdoor accidents reported by the Austrian Alpine Safety Board for the period 2006 to 2018 with daily meteorological data from 43 nearby climate stations during the same period. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the odds of one or more fatal accidents per station and day with weather indices as predictors, controlling for weekend effects bringing more visitors to the mountains. Separate prediction models were performed for summer and winter activities, as well as for specific disciplines. Even after adjustment for concomitant effects impacting mountain fatal accidents, the daily weather indices of temperature, relative humidity, global radiation, cloudiness, snow cover and precipitation were statistically significantly associated with fatal accident risk. In particular, a one-degree Celsius increase in temperature was associated with a 13% increase in odds of a mountain biking accident in the summer and a 8% increase in odds of a mountain suicide in the winter. An increase in global radiation by 1 kWh/m2 was associated with a 11% and 28% increase in fatal accident odds for mountaineering in the summer and touring in the winter, respectively.

Trail Use, Motivations, and Environmental Attitudes of 3780 European Mountain Bikers: What Is Sustainable?

Background: The extent to which mountain biking impacts upon the environment is largely determined by rider behaviours. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how mountain bikers interact with the natural environment and explore their attitudes towards sustainability. Methods: 3780 European mountain bikers completed an online cross-sectional survey. Results: Connection to nature was an important source of motivation and the use of mountain bike trails has increased rider’s appreciation of and willingness to protect nature, with a large majority having taken direct action to do so. Mountain bikers are prepared to contribute towards trail maintenance through the provision of labour or financially. Although most mountain bikers make use of wet trails and illegal trails, incidence of conflict is relatively low. A range of characteristics were identified as being fundamental elements of sustainable trails, both in relation to the sustainability of the trail itself and in terms of wider environmental sustainability. Conclusions: European mountain bikers care about the sustainability of the natural environment. Self-reported attitudes and behaviours suggest a willingness to reduce environmental impact and actively protect nature.

Single-Track Bike Trails in the Moravian Karst as Part of Forest Recreation

Recently, cycling has become a popular recreation activity, and mountain biking provides an experience that is sought by an increasing number of people. Bike trails constructed for mountain bikers in access areas lead mostly through the forest and provide not only an extraordinary riding experience but the opportunity to admire the surrounding nature. The reason for constructing such trails from a landowner’s point of view is to help keep bikers’ movements within a defined access area and to ensure adjacent areas are left free for other forest functions. It also helps distribute groups of visitors with other interests to other parts of the forest. This is what we call “controlled recreation”. In this example, it means that if cyclists come to the locality to use the bike trails, they should ride only along the designated trails; however, they may leave these trails and ride on the surrounding land. This article studied the movements of bikers in an accessible area of the Moravian Karst and the regulation of their movements by controlled recreation. Attendance in the area was measured using automatic counters. These were placed at the entry points to the accessible area and just behind the routes where the trails branch off. The results showed that bikers mostly stayed on the formal routes and that the trails were effective, i.e., there was no uncontrolled movement of bikers into the surrounding forest stands. We also noted the time of day that cyclists were active. These results can be used to better plan work in the forest, for example, harvesting and logging. To further the suitable development of accessible areas of the forest, we also compared the usual size of trail areas in two other European countries and the increasing width of bike trails due to the transverse slope of the terrain.

Mountain bikers' attitudes towards mountain biking tourism destinations

<p>This thesis, grounded in consumer culture theory, delves into the sociocultural dynamics involved in tourist attitude content and formation. It addresses gaps in special interest tourism, sports tourism and tourist attitudes towards destinations literatures and further knowledge of mountain biking tourism, a niche, but growing, market. Qualitative methods grounded in interpretivism were used to understand how mountain bikers purposefully traveling to mountain bike tourism destinations form attitudes towards these destinations. Twenty-five mountain bikers from Wellington who qualified as serious leisure participants and had previously travelled for the primary purpose of mountain biking were interviewed. Social influence – through social ties, interactions and subcultural involvement – plays a central role in the respondents’ travel motivations and information search process, and thus influences attitude formation, strength and content. Therefore, the respondents are grouped based on centrality of mountain biking identity and subsequent desire to align with the subculture, and differences in attitude formation processes are highlighted. The respondents hold positive attitudes towards most destinations, emphasizing the need to investigate attitude strength and degree of positivity. Four main evaluative dimensions of attitudes are detailed (adventurous, natural, social and utilitarian). It is established that attitudes towards tourism destinations are (1) a qualitative evaluation of the experience anticipated or enabled rather that a quantitative appraisal of attributes, (2) continuously adjusted from the point of naïve awareness onwards, and (3) most relevant and revealing when operationalised as holistic summary evaluations rather than interrelated components. Based on an increased understanding of attitudes towards mountain biking tourism destinations, their formation and mountain biking subculture, recommendations are drawn to better design, maintain and promote sites.</p>

Mountain bikers' attitudes towards mountain biking tourism destinations

<p>This thesis, grounded in consumer culture theory, delves into the sociocultural dynamics involved in tourist attitude content and formation. It addresses gaps in special interest tourism, sports tourism and tourist attitudes towards destinations literatures and further knowledge of mountain biking tourism, a niche, but growing, market. Qualitative methods grounded in interpretivism were used to understand how mountain bikers purposefully traveling to mountain bike tourism destinations form attitudes towards these destinations. Twenty-five mountain bikers from Wellington who qualified as serious leisure participants and had previously travelled for the primary purpose of mountain biking were interviewed. Social influence – through social ties, interactions and subcultural involvement – plays a central role in the respondents’ travel motivations and information search process, and thus influences attitude formation, strength and content. Therefore, the respondents are grouped based on centrality of mountain biking identity and subsequent desire to align with the subculture, and differences in attitude formation processes are highlighted. The respondents hold positive attitudes towards most destinations, emphasizing the need to investigate attitude strength and degree of positivity. Four main evaluative dimensions of attitudes are detailed (adventurous, natural, social and utilitarian). It is established that attitudes towards tourism destinations are (1) a qualitative evaluation of the experience anticipated or enabled rather that a quantitative appraisal of attributes, (2) continuously adjusted from the point of naïve awareness onwards, and (3) most relevant and revealing when operationalised as holistic summary evaluations rather than interrelated components. Based on an increased understanding of attitudes towards mountain biking tourism destinations, their formation and mountain biking subculture, recommendations are drawn to better design, maintain and promote sites.</p>

MTBalance

Mountain Biking (MTB) is an increasingly popular outdoors activity which offers a unqiue connection to nature along with the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Yet, complex MTB technique is an entry barrier that often prevent novices from enjoying the sport. Developing interactive systems, which can support developing MTB proficiency can augment the outdoor experience and make the sport available to a larger group of users. To that end, we designed, implemented and evaluate MTBalance - a system which provides body posture feedback for beginner mountain bikers. Based on inertial tracking, MTBalance informs the user about how to correct their posture to improve MTB performance. We conducted a study in which we compared different feedback modalities for MTBalance. We observed that the system increased perceived balance awareness. Our work provides insights for designing body awareness systems for outdoor sports.

Incidence of Injuries, Illness and Related Risk Factors in Cross-Country Marathon Mountain Biking Events: A Systematic Search and Review

Background Cycling is a popular global sport and method of transportation and a significant contributor to admissions to hospital emergency units following an injury. Mountain biking events present additional challenges with remote venues and isolated courses, for which on-site medical care is often provided, for both injury and illness occurring during races. National health data may not represent these unique events, and specific data on incidence of injury and illness in mountain biking events are essential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the available injury and illness literature, reporting methods and risk factors in cross-country mountain biking. Methods Search engines PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Scopus, PEDro and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched, and a grey literature search was performed. Narrative analyses of the types, severity and area of injuries and illness type and severity were performed as pooling of data was impossible due to insufficient high-quality studies with the same injury and illness definitions. Results Seven studies comprising 28,021 participants were included for analysis. Four to 71% of participants sustained an injury in a cross-country mountain bike event. Injuries to the skin were the most common, followed by bony injuries and concussion. Five to 47% of cyclists reported the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms post-event. The prevalence of illness during events ranged from 0.5 to 23.0%. Conclusion The injury and illness definitions were varied and prevented clear comparisons between studies. Injury and illness present a concern in cross-country marathon mountain biking and should be investigated further to provide the true burden of these during race events. Registration: This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (No: CRD42019134586).