In 2018 alone, the Red Cross had more mission in the early Easter week than this year. Richard and Bernt Inge are ready to sit in the Red Cross cabin at Svarthammaren outside Tromsø.

– It’s been quite busy. So far this Easter we have had 82 missions. Since reporting started in 2008, the results so far have only been beaten by 2018’s higher figure, Roy Worum, a member of the national board of the Red Cross, told VG.

Among the assignments, the largest number of retrieval assignments have been registered – most of them related to injuries suffered by people in the mountains.

– What stands out is that more than 50 percent of injuries are related to fractures and sprains. Either a bad sprain, a hamstring or an obvious fracture, he said.

Alert with family

Worum said that there were less than 1,000 Red Cross personnel on high alert throughout Easter week, spread out over some 150 cabins.

Among those poised to help people in need were operations managers at the Red Cross Relief Corps Richard Skogheim and Bernt Inge Hansen, who celebrated part of Easter in the Red Cross cabin at Svarthammaren above Tromsdalen.

– It’s great here, but of course we wish the weather was better, Richard Skogheim told VG.

He had taken his two children to the cabin, while his partner had taken his two children and his wife to the mountains. The four children are aged 7 and 11 years.

– First of all, we will be on Maundy Thursday, then we will see if a new one appears and replaces us, or if we will be here longer, he said.

He was expecting a quiet Easter in Troms, after some serious mudslides last weekend.

– Easter started in a terrible way. I hope to believe that there will be no major new events now. The warnings have calmed down, Skogheim explained.

He reveals that they had tacos for dinner at the Easter cabin – and took lots of sweets up the mountain. In the middle of the dinner table was an emergency contact – just in case Richard and Bernt Inge had to go on a mission.

Busiest legacy

– Why do you think so many people hurt themselves this year?

– We’re a little unsure. At the same time, there are reports of massive exoduses in most parts of the country, so there may be a lot of people leaving, said Red Cross national council member Roy Worum and added:

– The busiest part of Easter remains ahead of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil.

A serious avalanche event in Troms this weekend added to the stats in the chart above.

Previously had Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen among other things, it is written about a ski tourist who had to be rescued from a mountain due to snow blindness in the hot sun.

This type of case isn’t the most common, says Worum — but it can happen.

– And it is clear that when the sun peeps out, at least on Easter days with a strong sun, there is a danger of sunburn, especially on the tip of the nose.

– Are people being taken out because of sunburn?

– No, basically not. But at the guardhouse we get enough people looking for the Red Cross with everything from abrasions to sunburns, he said.

Check the mountain regulations

But the most common injuries are fractures and sprains — in addition to a number of cuts and wounds.

– For example from falling with steel rims on skis, he explained.

Otherwise, many assignments deal with other types of disease incidents where people need assistance getting transported to passable roads.

– The weather forecast looks good for the coming days, so we hope people go out into nature with caution. Feel free to look at the mountain weather rules, and then we hope that people will have a pleasant journey on Easter Mountain.