Rock Climbing Emergencies in the Austrian Alps: Injury Patterns, Risk Analysis and Preventive Measures.

To elucidate patterns of and risk factors for acute traumatic injuries in climbers in need of professional rescue, a retrospective evaluation was performed of the Austrian National Registry of Mountain Accidents regarding rock climbing incidents over a 13-year timeframe from 2005 to 2018. From 2992 recorded incidents, 1469 were uninjured but in need of recovery, mainly when alpine climbing. Acute traumatic injuries ( = 1217) were often classified as severe (UIAA ≥ 3; = 709), and commonly involved fractures ( = 566).