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.
5 pages in this topic. Each guide names its sources and the date they were read.
Getting started climbing
Open
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.
Tie-in, anchors and lanyard setup
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.