Hiking

Is hiking safe?

For most people on most trails, yes. The best estimates come from Austria, where Martin Burtscher and colleagues put the annual death rate at about 0.04 per 1,000 mountain hikers in 1986–1992, and later work suggests it has roughly halved since. With about seven hiking days a year, that works out to about 3 to 6 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per day in the mountains. That is about the same as a 400- to 600-mile drive in the US and far below a day of mountaineering.

A walk in a national park is safer still. The US National Park Service counted 0.11 deaths per 100,000 recreational visits in 2019, about 1 micromort per visit, and that includes car crashes and drownings.

So why do hikers top the death tables? Volume. Hiking is the biggest mountain sport by far. In Austria it accounted for 127 of 309 mountain deaths in 2024, and in Switzerland for 36 of 98 in 2025. Per person and per day, it is one of the safer things you can do in the mountains.

What kills hikers

Two things, in roughly equal measure: falls and the heart.

Falls. About 75% of hiking falls happen on the way down, according to a 2020 review by Faulhaber and colleagues of Austrian police data. Most are slips on grass, rubble or wet rock rather than on snow or ice, and more than 70% happen below 2,000 metres. Tired legs, worn soles and a relaxed mind after the summit are the usual ingredients. In 2014, 32 of the 733 people involved in hiking falls in Austria died.

Heart and circulation. Sudden cardiac death accounts for about 44% of hiking deaths in Austrian data. In 2024, 53 of the 127 Austrian hiking deaths were heart or circulation emergencies, most in people aged 51 to 80. Men who are not used to hard exercise and set off on a long, steep climb are the group most at risk.

Getting lost, exhaustion and being caught out by weather or darkness cause many rescues but fewer deaths. In Switzerland in 2025, falls caused 39% of hiking emergencies, being stuck or exhausted 35% and illness 16%.

Men, women and age

Men die far more often. In Switzerland, 79 of the 98 people who died in mountain sports in 2025 were men. Women have more non-fatal falls in the Austrian data (an odds ratio of 1.84 compared with men) but a lower chance of dying from one (0.58). Age matters most for the cardiac deaths, while fatal falls are spread across age groups.

Trekking at altitude

Multi-day treks to high altitude are a different risk. Studies of trekkers in Nepal in the 1980s and 1990s found about 0.14 deaths per 1,000 trekkers, which with an average 14-day trek is about 11 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per day. Trauma, illness and altitude sickness each played a part, and the average trekker has been getting older. Ascend slowly above 3,000 metres and turn back if you get the symptoms of altitude sickness; going down is the treatment.

How to hike more safely

1. Pick a route that matches your fitness, and check its length, height gain and the time it takes in the guidebook or app, not just the distance.
2. Get a check-up before you take up hard mountain walking if you are over 50, have heart risk factors or have not exercised for years. Build up with shorter hikes first.
3. Take the descent seriously. Slow down, use poles on steep ground and stop for food and water before your legs give out.
4. Wear boots or shoes with good grip and replace them when the tread wears smooth.
5. Check the weather and turn back early. Afternoon thunderstorms are a summer pattern in the Alps and the Rockies.
6. Carry a charged phone, a headtorch, a warm layer and water, and tell someone your route. Alone, those matter more.
7. Know the emergency number: 112 in Europe, 911 in North America. In Switzerland, 1414 calls the Rega air rescue service.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (76) reflects about 3 to 6 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per mountain hiking day, less on easy trails and more on high treks. Injury risk (75) and controllability (78) are good: most falls happen on routine descents and are partly avoidable. The environment (65) is the weak point once you are far from a road. For comparison, rock climbing carries 3 to 7 micromorts per hour, not per day, and skiing under 1 per day on the pistes.