DOLOMITES-UNESCO: APLINE RESCUE, BORN IN THE DOLOMITES
TRENTO - The history of alpinism and alpine rescue go hand in hand in Italy's stunning Dolomites mountains. The Dolomites were added to the United Nations World Heritage List by the committee's heritage panel on Friday, June 26 in Seville, Spain. Since mountaineers first starting climbing these spectacular summits in Italy's eastern Alps a tradition of spontaneous solidarity has provided important backup, manifested in the actions of voluntary guides and climbers willing to go to the aid of anyone in trouble at any hour and in any weather. Alpine rescuers have a deep-rooted sense of duty that stems from a feeling of belonging to the mountains, to the mountain community and to the larger community of visitors.
Alpine guides feel responsible for their mountains and aside from taking their professional responsibilities very seriously they also know they could easily find themselves in need of help and don't hesitate to put their own lives in danger. The first Alpine rescue station in Italy, operating since 1952 in the town of Pinzolo at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites, is the home of the Alpine Solidarity Prize. Founded in 1972 by Angiolino Binelli, a life-long dedicated Alpine rescuer, the award goes to rescuers from all over the world who risk their own lives to save others. Dolomite mountaineering and mountain rescue started in the 1800s and by the end of the century all the main climbing centres had rescue teams. The first documented episode occurred in 1898 on the Sassolungo mountain (3,181 metres) between the Val Gardena and the Val di Fassa when the famous Swedish alpinist Ludwig Norman Neruda was rescued after a fall by two Val Gardena guides.
When climbing in the Dolomites became popular in the 1950s and 1960s there weren't enough guides to deal with the influx of visitors and young Dolomite mountaineers, understanding both the need and the opportunity, began to organize. The first provincial rescue network was set up in 1952 by the Societa' Alpinisti Tridentini (SAT), founded in 1883 in Pinzolo. Two years later the SAT Alpine Rescue teams joined forces with the national Italian Alpine Club (CAI) rescue squads. The organisation has about 680 volunteers in 34 sections plus a speleological division. Helicopter rescue teams are based in Trento and can reach anywhere in the mountains in a matter of minutes.
The Catores Alpine Group (named after an alpine bird called 'coturnici' in the local Ladin language) for highly skilled mountaineers was founded at the same time alpine rescue organisations were set up in the Val Gardena. As technology and rescue techniques evolved collaboration with rescue organizations in the nearby valleys increased and in 1990 the Aiut Alpin Dolomites (Ladin for mountain rescue in the Dolomites) was founded. The voluntary association of rescue teams and helicopter rescue squads from the Gardena, Fassa, Badia, Funes, Siusi and Tires valleys, with the later adhesion of Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza, operates mainly in the Ladin areas. Aiut Alpin's helicopters can reach anywhere in the mountains in ten minutes.
The Alto Adige has 600 mountain rescue volunteers and 21 stations plus a speleological station. The CAI alpine rescue teams operating in the Belluno Dolomites, with a helicopter rescue base in Pieve di Cadore, founded the association of Dolomite Emergency non-profit organisations in 2005. The National Alpine Rescue Corp covers the Friuli Dolomites from Forni di Sopra to Montereale Valcellina and the Italian armed forces are represented in the Dolomites by alpine rescue teams from the Guardia di Finanza, the State Police and the Carabinieri.
