Cave rescuers are human too: on long weekends, we also escape from the town - we go hiking with or families, or throw ourselves into ongoing cave exploration projects. On such weekends, our duty officers always has a harder time assembling the required number of rescuers than for an operation starting on a regular weekday evening.
Fortunately, we had no such difficulties on Pentecost Sunday. Around 2 PM, we received a report and a call for help about an accident at Vadálló-kövek and an injured hiker with a leg injury. In record time—within half an hour—the first of our team members reached the injured person. Luckily they had been camping nearby around Visegrád, attending the Adrenalin Caving Association's weekend event. Soon, 29 of us gathered, including four of our doctors. This was such a rare “summit” of medical presence that we can’t even recall the last drill with so many of them in one place. Two members of the Bakony Cave Rescue Service also participated in the rescue.
We found the injured hiker with the help of Pilis Park Forestry staff, just below the cloud-covered Prédikálószék peak, on the hillside near Vadálló-kövek. The 62-year-old tourist slipped while descending a marked hiking trail. Our doctors examined her and stabilized her visibly deformed, likely broken ankle using a splint, positioning it to minimize pain. She was given pain relief and protected against hypothermia. This was especially important as the area was foggy, the weather couldn’t decide whether to rain or not, but one thing was certain—the sun wasn’t shining, and for June, it became quite chilly over time. During the medical treatment, transport and safety rope systems were rigged, leading from the injured hiker’s location to our 4x4 vehicles parked near the Prédikálószék lookout point.
From a rescue aspect, sloped terrain is among the worst obstacles—it's incredibly difficult to move a stretcher safely. The rocky trail descending from Vadálló-kövek crumbles in dry conditions and becomes slippery when wet. The narrow path is only wide enough for a single person, while safely carrying a stretcher would ideally require space for three people side by side. Additionally, it crosses steep and difficult sections where even walking without a stretcher is challenging. We built multiple anchor points (belay stations) along the route to secure the stretcher with ropes, protecting the injured person from slipping and further injury in case any rescuer lost their footing. On the steepest sections, we needed lines ourselves, and the upward movement of the stretcher was aided with counterweight hauling systems.
We received the emergency call at around 2:15 PM. After medical care and about 1.5 kilometers of stretcher transport across difficult terrain, we moved the injured person by off-road vehicle to Pilisszentlászló, where a unit of the Hungarian National Ambulance Service—dispatched from Orosháza—took over at 8:15 PM. The 62-year-old woman was transported to the Dr. Jenő Manninger Trauma Center in Budapest for further examination and care. We wish her a speedy and full recovery!
The Vadálló-kövek trail—just like the nearby Rám-szakadék—is a demanding and challenging hiking route. To alert hikers to the difficulties, Pilis Park Forestry and the Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate (DINPI) have installed several informational and warning signs asking for increased caution. Based on our experience, most of the injuries we've seen in this and similar areas could likely have been avoided if the hikers had chosen footwear better suited to the terrain. It is recommended to wear hiking shoes or boots that provide ankle support and have soles with excellent grip—even on crumbling or slippery side slopes. Proper use of trekking poles can also greatly help on slippery descents.
Dear hikers and nature lovers, take care of yourselves—so we only meet at events and demonstrations, not during rescues!
UPDATE: we had another rescue operation over the long weekend: we have rescued a lady from the Tatabánya via ferrata tracks who was unable to get off the rope on her own.
Photos: Márton Kovács
