Escala de dificultad para senderos de Santander

Abstract

Introduction: Trekking is a physical activity that is being carried out by groups of people from the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, the level of difficulty for the itinerary or trails is pertinent for the security contribution of the people that practice it. Objective: To characterize the levels of difficulty in the trails of Santander, Colombia. Materials and methods: Transversal analytic study, samples in 20 trails of Santander were taken and a total of 118 trekkers (59 women, 58 men) experts with inclusion criteria from 24 months practicing trekking. The data was analyzed using the software IBM SPSS Statistics versión 25. A descriptive analysis from each of the groups that walked the paths was carried out. The frequency of the categorical variables was described in absolute and percentage values. From the discrete variables, the medium and the interquartile range (IQR) were described. The H de Kruskal-Wallis statistical test was applied in order to find statistically significant differences among each of the fixed variables and the random variable. The level of significance was established in p < 0,05. The Rho de Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the relationship between the physical difficulty level score from each trail and the medium of level of effort perceived by trekkers. The significance was established in p < 0,05. Results: The route with the highest trekkers participation was Las Hortensias trail, with 35 trekkers participating (n=35) and, the route with the lowest participation was Mensulí-El Tope’s with 4 trekkers participating (n=4). In 11 of the trails, more men participation was identified in the next routes: (Pescadero-Cepitá ruta 1, Zapatoca-Guane, Misiguay, Los tutos, Tona-Charta, Charta-California, Los Santos-Jordán y Cañón de las Iguanas) and in 6 of the trails more women participation (Las Hortensias, Pescadero-Cepitá ruta 2, La Ceba, Pirita-Charta, Umpalá y Mata Alta). In the other 3 trails both women and men participation was equal (Las Tres Judías, Laguna de Ortices y Mensulí-El Tope). The average age: 59,50 years old (IQR 13), was registered in the group that walked the Pirita-Charta trail, and the lower average age: 44 años (IQR 17), was registered in the group that walked the Zapatoca-Guane trail. The positive correlation was determined between the physical level of difficulty – SENDIF and the medium of level of effort perceived by each trekker group (p < 0,05). Conclusions: When comparing the difficulty level results following SENDIF scale with the level of effort perceived following Borg scale, it is concluded that the results with equivalents with a statistically significant difference. In this sense, the criteria stipulated by the SENDIF scale can be used to rate the level of difficulty in Santander trails.