During the busy summer season, many visitors and residents spend their leisure time exploring Cape Town’s beautiful mountain trails. To help make their hikes easier and safer, the City has compiled a list of safety essentials. Read on for more details:

• Never hike alone. The ideal size for a hiking party is four members
• Always take enough water and food with you
• Choose a route that matches the experience, ability and fitness of the group members
• Go with someone who knows the way, or carry a guide book, map or description of the route from someone who has done it before
• Keep to the straightforward routes on well used paths until you know your way around. Follow the same route down, or an alternative one that you know well. Always heed signs advising danger, and do not take short cuts or go down unknown paths
• Inform someone else of your exact route and expected time of return; stick to this route and plan
• Every hiking party should have a leader, especially larger ones. Keep together and travel at the pace of the slowest in the group. Do not split the group or venture in different directions
• Always be prepared for bad weather. Take along proper weather-proof clothing and wear good footwear (strong boots or takkies with non-slip soles)
• Carry a backpack to store extra clothing, food and supplies so that your hands and arms are free
• Watch the weather and the time. It is important to give yourself enough time to get back, especially in the case of threatening bad weather
  

If you find yourself in an emergency situation due to bad weather conditions, stay where you are. Do not try to force your way down a mountain in darkness, mist, or a storm. Instead, find yourself a shelter that will protect you from the wind.

If you get lost or find yourself in an area that looks unsafe, retrace your steps. Do not venture into unknown territory. If you cannot find the path you were on originally, look for a safe route, preferably down broad, open slopes, ensuring that you are able to retrace your steps at all times.

In the event of an accident, it is important that everyone concerned stays calm and remains together until the full extent of the problem has been ascertained. If someone has been injured, attend to their injuries to the best of your ability and do not move them unless it is necessary to do so for safety reasons.

When reporting an accident, dial 021 480 7700 from a cellphone. If you don’t have one with you and a member of the party needs to retreat down the mountain to report the accident, they should try to identify landmarks on the way down so as to easily describe the exact location of the accident or guide a rescue party to the scene. When reporting an emergency from a land line, please dial 107.

The above tips have been adapted from a pamphlet issued by the Search and Rescue Committee of the Cape Town Mountain Club.