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A film documenting the first flash ascent of El Capitan by BD Athletes Babsi Zangerl...
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the life expectancy will likely be greatly diminished. Always inspect your gear, and when in doubt, it may be time to retire it.
Climb safe,
How it Works
There are no two ways about it—falling on a via ferrata would be bad. The way the system is designed to work if you were to fall is when the carabiners hit the last anchor point, the lanyards extend, and as the load increases to a certain point the EAS starts to tear (in the case of BD's) or slip intentionally (in other designs) absorbing the energy of the fall. The EAS continues to extend, absorbing energy as the climber slows and eventually stop
Before any piece of Black Diamond gear makes it on to the shelves, it spends months, sometimes years getting put through the wringer by our Director of Quality, Kolin Powick, and his team of Quality Assurance engineers. Through extensive and meticulous testing, both in the lab and in the field, KP and his team help ensure that you can count on your BD gear to be as durable, reliable and as strong as possible every time you head into the mountains or out to the crags. Our QC Lab posts aim to answer some of climbing's most common gear-related questions.
In early August there was a fatal accident on a via ferrata in Austria where a climber fell and both lanyards on the energy absorbing system broke.
This accident did NOT involve Black Diamond Equipment products.
There was an investigation by the manufacturer as well as by the German Alpine Club, which discovered that the particular design, after excessive use, failed to meet the standard requirements. Subsequently, the manufacturer of the particular model of via ferrata set, as well as other manufacturers incorporating similar designs, issued recalls for many of their products.
NOTE: NO BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT PRODUCTS ARE OF A SIMILAR DESIGN, NOR ARE THEY AFFECTED BY THESE RECALLS.
The German Alpine Club issued a warning to its members to inspect their equipment and ensure that it is not affected by the recalls. To read the warning, CLICK HERE.
There was an emergency meeting of the UIAA Safety Commission, which resulted in a press release to the same effect:
To a true rock climber, a via ferrata may not sound like much, but let me just tell you from first-hand, former-naysayer experience—don't knock it until you try it. They are surprisingly fun. You take minimal gear, there are no belays so you're constantly moving, and you are able to cover and see all kinds of great terrain. It's a total blast.
In normal climbing, the rope absorbs energy in the event of a fall. However, while climbing a via ferrata, you typically aren't using a rope, therefore, in order to be able to relatively safely ascend the route, a climber uses a via ferrata "set" to absorb energy in the unlikely event of a fall. Black Diamond Equipment currently manufactures and sells two different models: Iron Cruiser and Easy Rider.
Components of a Via Ferrata Set
Before talking about how and what a Via Ferrata Set does, first we'll talk about the components:
1. Carabiners
2. Lanyard arms
3. EAS (energy absorbing system)
4. Attachment loop
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