The Mountaineering Ireland Incident and Near Miss reporting system helps to promote reflection and effect behavioural change to reduce the potential for future incidents. This facility was developed by the British Mountaineering Council and is used by the four Mountaineering Councils of the UK & Ireland.
Learning from our mistakes is a characteristic of being human. These life lessons come from experience, so we must take the opportunity to learn from our and other experience. Sharing near misses and incidents are a positive outcome of a negative situation. That's where the Incident and Near Miss reporting system comes into play.
There's unlikely a climber or walker who hasn't had a incident or near miss to share; something that was formative in their development, and will forever be seared in their memory.
Since it's launch, the BMC's Incident and Near Miss reporting system has proven to be very popular, with over 150 recent and historical reports submitted. It was created as a forum to share experiences, promote reflection and effect behavioural change. Our hope is that reading about a near-miss due to a communication breakdown, or an injury from a slip, will lead to reflection in how we manage the risks when climbing, walking and mountaineering. And for for readers to make changes, however minor, where appropriate.
Mountain Guide Libby Peter and author of Mountain Training's Rock Climbing handbook agrees, "These reports are a treasure trove of life-saving golden nuggets. Often amusingly written but always with sobering content, they bring alive vital lessons for us all to learn, whether you're just starting out, or have been doing it for years."
You can search the database yourself for the full range of incidents reported. Most of the reports submitted have been for climbing and mountaineering, and we would welcome more hill walking reports. Some reports note how little could have been done differently to avert an incident or near miss. Such is the nature of our activities. It is therefore worth considering reports where alternative actions could have made a difference; actions that are often identified by the person submitting the report.
Some themes have emerged, and with the cragging season now upon us it's timely to see what lessons might be learnt from a few shining examples: