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Safety on the mountain

SAFETY IN THE MOUNTAINS

As beautiful as mountain sports are, they can also be dangerous. Your actions and behaviour are based on personal responsibility and you are responsible for your own actions, decisions and safety. As well as choosing the right equipment, you should always keep an eye on your own fitness and condition. Overestimating yourself has no place in the mountains! Do you know what your fitness level is? Then you've already taken the first important step towards a great mountain tour. In the second step, we want to give you a few useful tips on how you can optimise your shoe lacing or where you can get help if you need it.

PREPARED FOR AN EMERGENCY

Of course, nobody hopes that it will ever come to that. But especially in the mountains, you should be prepared for anything, as help is much more difficult to get and reach than in the city, for example.

So if you have to make an alpine emergency call, the five important W questions apply:

  1. Where?

  2. What?

  3. Who?

  4. How many?

  5. Weather?

The emergency number in Europe is 112, which you can call in all EU countries. In addition, there are also special mountain rescue numbers that are valid in Germany:

Austria: 140

Switzerland: 1414

Check material

Mountain sports are dangerous and are based on personal responsibility. You are responsible for your own actions, decisions and safety. Therefore, check all your equipment, including your shoes, for defects and damage before every tour.

Before the tour, the shoes should first be thoroughly inspected. Are all the seams in order? Are there any cracks or chafed areas in the lining? Is the leather dried out or damaged? Are all hooks, loops and eyelets in perfect condition and are the laces undamaged? Once you have successfully ticked off the points that are crucial for wearing comfort, the next step is to thoroughly inspect the sole.

The sole of a hiking boot is essential for safety. The profile of the sole should be intact to guarantee a relaxed hiking tour. If the sole is worn in many places, grip is no longer guaranteed. After a few years, so-called hydrolysis or "embrittlement" often occurs in hiking boots. This is a chemical-physical reaction that causes the sole to become porous and cracked and, in many cases, fall off. Our tip for worn soles: Shoes from the TREKKING and MOUNTAINEERING segment from LOWA can be resoled. This gives your beloved hiking boots a new lease of life and allows them to be used for several more years.

  • "Every material is subject to normal ageing. That's why you should have your shoes checked by your dealer or LOWA itself after 6 years at the latest, even if they have never or rarely been worn."

    - Günter | LOWA Head of Resoling

LACING HIKING BOOTS CORRECTLY

We've all learnt it once and we do it almost every day: tying our shoes. Most of the time we don't even have to think about it. So what's so special about lacing up hiking boots?

Even more important than in everyday life is the right fit in your shoes. Hiking boots need to fit well and firmly so that you have a good grip. Stumbling on exposed paths could quickly lead to dangerous situations. And that's really nothing new: you're more likely to trip in loose-fitting shoes!

Laces can be an additional tripping hazard. You should therefore bear the following in mind when tying your laces:

  • - Always lace up all the hooks/loops on the shoe and tie a tight bow.

    - Stow the lace loops and ends in the upper if they are too long, stick out or are not covered by the trousers.

    - With quick fasteners, there is a device on the shoe for stowing the ends.

Of course, you shouldn't tie your shoes too tightly either, as you don't want to strangulate your feet. It is always important that the tongue is centred. You should also retie your shoes after a good half to three quarters of an hour, as your feet will swell and widen a little with exertion. Or, of course, the material and the laces will give a little.

And if the shoe does start to pinch, a different lacing technique may also help.

  • TOELESS LACING

    The toeless lacing relieves pressure on the tips of your toes.

  • HEEL-FOLD LACING

    The heel hold lacing prevents heel slippage and blisters.

  • WINDOW LACING

    The window lacing increases the pressure on the upper part of the foot.

  • "Modern laces for mountain and outdoor shoes have a water-repellent coating. This prevents them from soaking up water and transporting moisture into the shoe. However, they are also somewhat more slippery as a result - especially when they are new."

    - Arthur | LOWA Head of Service Department

SPECIAL LACING AID: THE LOWA X-LACING

The X-Lacing hook on the tongue of many TREKKING and MOUNTAINEERING shoes allows the tongue to be optimally centred. This prevents the tongue from slipping during walking and causing unpleasant pressure points. The special lacing around the hook fixes the tongue both vertically and horizontally. The lacing is independent of the individual height of the instep and is therefore ideal for every foot.

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