Resumen de Mountain accidents associated with winter northern flows in the Mediterranean Pyrenees
Ramón Pascual Berghaenel, A. Callado
The Mediterranean Pyrenees, at the eastern end of the range, is a very popular area. Its highestpeak is at 2900 m a.s.l. and there are numerous peaks above 2000 m, with rounded relief andsparse vegetation on the latter height. One of its significant winter climatic features is the sud-den entrance of cold air with violent northern winds, drop in temperatures and very low windchill values. Such advections are established after the passage of a snowy cold front and, con-sequently, there is abundant transport of both new and existing snow that reduces horizontalvisibility. The post-frontal conditions at high altitudes represent a serious threat to humans. Thereview done shows that the hikers immersed in an environment of low visibility, strong windsand very low temperatures can quickly become disoriented, suffer frostbite and hypothermia andslip on the ice. The characterization of a series of accidents occurred in this geographical area,identified in the press, shows in this paper that the phenomena associated with northern win-ter advections is an element of danger to be considered in the evaluation of natural hazards inthat area. In addition, the multiple character of many of the events suggests that there is highvulnerability to such dangers. The climatological analysis presented suggests that such weatherconditions are not uncommon in the winter, although the most serious accidents have been reg-istered under especially strong and cold flows. The conclusions recommend that the weatherconditions described, locally called torb, should be known by the visitors to these mountains inthe winter, and its appearance should be announced in weather reports, which in turn must besufficiently disseminated in the areas of greater abundance of tourists and hikers.
