Certifications & courses
Choosing a climbing course: questions for the trainer and the official registers
A course and a certificate are not always the same thing.
Climbing systems
What codes and training bodies say about climbing systems, tie-ins, anchors and work positioning. These pages describe the rules; they do not teach climbing.
11 pages in this topic. Each guide names its sources and the date they were read.
Getting started climbing
Open
Start here
Getting started in tree climbing: what the regulators attach to climbing work
Who may climb, what training the rules attach to it and who must be on the ground, as written by HSE, SafeWork NSW, WorkSafeBC, WorkSafe New Zealand and California.
SRT vs DdRT and system choice
Safety
Climbing systems compared: what each code and regulator names
Moving rope, stationary rope, footlocking, work positioning and rope access, as the codes and regulators in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand name them.
Friction hitches
Gear
Climbing lines, lanyards and friction cords: the standards and the ratings
What the safety codes and standards bodies say about tree climbing lines, work-positioning lanyards and friction hitch cords, and what the strength figures and markings in those texts mean.
Mechanical devices and ascenders
Gear
Carabiners, snaps, pulleys and rope devices: the standards and the numbers stamped on them
What regulators and standards bodies say about connectors, pulleys and rope devices used in tree work, and what the kN figures and the CE and UKCA marks on them are said to mean.
Spurs and gaffs
Gear
Spurs, spikes and climbing irons: where the codes say they may be used
Climbing spikes, also called spurs, gaffs or climbing irons, are treated differently by each code.
Tie-in, anchors and lanyard setup
Safety
Fall distance and slack: the numbers the codes set
How far a tree climber may fall, how much slack a line may carry and what force a system may put on the body, as written in the OSHA rule, the ICoP and the New South Wales and New Zealand codes.
Safety
Tie-in points and second attachment: what each country's code says
Where the climber ties in, when a second means of attachment is required, and what the rules say about anchors, as written by regulators in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Tool
Fall factor calculator
Type the distance of a fall and the length of rope or lanyard that holds it to see the fall factor, the ratio that climbing and rope access sources use to describe how serious a fall is.
Conditions and tree types
Safety
Climbing in wind, rain, cold and lightning: what the codes say
Which weather conditions the tree work codes tell crews to plan around, stop for or assess, from the SafeWork NSW weather section to the New Zealand, British Columbia, California and Victoria rules.