Mountains · ARCHIVE
Mountains - archive
Everything that has moved off the section page over time. Nothing is deleted - a news item or an article simply stops being the first thing you see.
fact-checked
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RUBBING SNOW ON FROSTBITE - the old advice is to rub frozen fingers with snow to get the circulation going. The Wilderness Medical Society guidelines say the opposite: frozen tissue is not to be rubbed with anything, because it is fragile and rubbing destroys it further. The correct treatment is rewarming in water at 37 to 39 degrees. And one thing that is rarely heard: if rapid rewarming is not practical, it is better to let the part thaw on its own than to freeze and thaw it repeatedly.
20 Sep 2026
Wilderness Medical Society, the frostbite guidelines ↗
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WALKING IN FOG - hiking lore has it that a lost person walks in circles because one leg is longer or stronger than the other. Researchers handed people a GPS and sent them off to walk in a straight line for hours through a German forest and across the Sahara: when the sun or moon was visible they walked almost straight, and when cloud covered it or night fell they began to veer and cross their own tracks, sometimes repeatedly. The difference was not in the legs but in whether there was an outside point to steer by.
15 Sep 2026
Current Biology, the original paper on walking without landmarks ↗
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VENOM SUCTION - folklore and outdated manuals often advise cutting the wound with a knife or sucking out venom using mouth or commercial suction pumps following a poisonous snakebite. Experimental measurements in emergency medicine show that suction pumps remove less than 0.1 percent of injected venom, while cutting the wound causes further tissue damage and introduces dangerous bacteria. Official medical guidelines explicitly forbid cutting and suction, recommending limb immobilization, rest, and immediate hospital transport as the only correct first aid.
14 Sep 2026
Annals of Emergency Medicine, the original paper ↗
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COTTON KILLS - the phrase cotton kills is frequently used in hiking circles to warn against wearing cotton clothing on mountain treks. Thermal loss measurements in textile physics demonstrate that wet cotton loses over 90 percent of its insulating properties by trapping water in its fibers. Water conducts heat away from the body 25 times faster than air, which combined with wind causes rapid cooling and dramatically increases the risk of hypothermia.
10 Sep 2026
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FOUR LITERS OF WATER - a rule frequently circulates in hiking circles and on social networks that it is mandatory to drink at least four liters of water daily for good hydration during physical exertion on the trail. Official guidelines from leading sports medicine organizations completely reject fixed numbers and emphasize that ideal fluid intake depends solely on an individual's mass, air temperature, and sweat rate. Forcing excessive intake of plain water without adequate electrolyte replacement can trigger a life-threatening condition of hyponatremia, so experts advise drinking primarily according to thirst.
9 Sep 2026
American College of Sports Medicine ↗
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MOSS ON THE NORTH - It is frequently claimed that moss in forests grows exclusively on the north side of trees and rocks, making it a foolproof natural compass for wilderness navigation.
In practice, forest biologists and ecologists from the University of Idaho point out that moss, as a non-vascular plant, does not possess an internal compass but simply grows on any moist, cool, and shaded surface. Although the north side of trees in the Northern Hemisphere does receive the least direct sunlight, in a dense forest canopy other trees, rocks, and topography cast shadows in all directions, allowing moss to grow on any side of a tree and making it highly unreliable for navigation.
8 Sep 2026
What has been measured, and how firmly. Not advice.
older news
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TRAIL MARKERS - at a course run by the Croatian Mountaineering Association's trails commission on 19 and 20 September 2026 in Rakitje and the Samobor hills, 41 new trail markers from 18 mountaineering clubs were trained for Medvednica and the Samobor and Žumberak hills. The course was co-organised by the Pinklec club from Sveta Nedelja, and alongside lectures on waymarks, signposts and tools the trainees renewed markings and cleared paths in the field. The association's register lists more than 1,660 active trails, over 7,380 kilometres in total.
23 Sep 2026
Croatian Mountaineering Association, the report on the trail marker course ↗
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HPS - the first European conference on mountain huts will be held in Samobor, from 23 to 25 October 2026. It was started by the European Mountaineering Association EUMA and is hosted by the Croatian Mountaineering Association, under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport and in cooperation with the City of Samobor. The subject is huts and shelters, the thing hikers depend on most and talk about least.
15 Sep 2026
HPS, the announcement of the Samobor conference ↗
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HPS - The Executive Board of the Croatian Mountaineering Association approved a new mountaineering infrastructure management plan for the upcoming project period on September 7, 2026. In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, funding totaling 400,000 euros was secured for procuring and distributing materials, tools, and equipment to local hiking clubs. The new investment will focus on maintaining and improving the safety of hiking trails and renovating mountain huts across Croatia.
14 Sep 2026
HPS, the news item on the new investment ↗
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NP KRKA - the national park administration published results on September 2, 2026, from long-term underground fauna research confirming the presence of the Dalmatian olm in cave systems along the Krka River. Genetic and morphological analyses revealed that this population adds a vital scientific dimension to karst subterranean conservation. Expert teams will continue regular monitoring of watercourses and cave habitats to protect this highly sensitive stenoendemic species.
10 Sep 2026
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HPS - The Croatian Mountaineering Association marked on September 1, 2026, the ninety-fourth anniversary of the founding of the global climbing and mountaineering governing body UIAA. The historic founding assembly of nineteen national associations took place from August 21 to September 3, 1932, in Chamonix, France, at the foot of the highest Alpine peak, Mont Blanc. Among the founding members was the national mountaineering association of the time, which integrated the historic Croatian Mountaineering Society into the global organization.
5 Sep 2026
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HPS - nine Croatian alpinists completed a series of hard climbs in the Ak-Suu valley in Kyrgyzstan. The Alpine Commission expedition spent its first two weeks in the Pamir Alay range, putting up demanding routes despite difficult conditions and one minor fall. It is one of this year's most significant Croatian high-mountain expeditions.
3 Sep 2026
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MOUNTAIN NATURE GUARDIANS - the Croatian Mountaineering Association's nature protection commission is running a course for mountain nature guardians together with Risnjak National Park, over two weekends: 26 and 27 September and 3 and 4 October 2026. Places are capped at 25, the fee is 30 euros per person, and applications close on 7 September 2026.
2 Sep 2026
the Croatian Mountaineering Association ↗
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HPS - on 31 August 2026 the Croatian Mountaineering Association called hikers to an organised walk for the 18th Učka Fair on Sunday, 6 September. The gathering is at Liganj by 10 a.m., from where a guided ascent sets off over Poklon, led by the Knezgrad mountaineering club from Lovran.
2 Sep 2026
the Croatian Mountaineering Association ↗
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NORTHERN VELEBIT NATIONAL PARK - from 1 September 2026 the opening hours of the visitor facilities change. The Kuća Velebita visitor centre in Krasno and the main Babić Siča entrance are open every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The notice was published on 26 August 2026.
2 Sep 2026
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HPS - after the large wildfires, six mountain trails on Dinara and five on Omiska Dinara have been closed until the damage can be surveyed and repaired. All mountain huts were reportedly saved, but as of 26 August the fires on Dinara were still burning, with underground combustion causing rockfalls; the association asks that all planned trips in the burnt areas be postponed.
1 Sep 2026
the Croatian Mountaineering Association ↗
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VELEBIT - a free-standing 60-metre antenna mast with an equipment container has gone up beside the Zavizan road, a few metres outside the boundary of Northern Velebit National Park, on a footprint of 155.25 square metres. The permit was issued on 7 October 2025 and, under the Croatian rules on simple structures, no full building permit is required; the Croatian Mountaineering Association has voiced concern because the site is one of the last habitats of the capercaillie in Croatia, close to the Hajducki i Rozanski kukovi strict reserve and the start of the Premuzic trail.
1 Sep 2026
the Croatian Mountaineering Association ↗
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HPO - logbooks for the Croatian Mountaineering Trail will not be stamped between 1 and 15 September 2026, as the officer in charge is on leave. Stamping resumes at the usual pace from 16 September.
1 Sep 2026
the Croatian Mountaineering Association ↗