Mountain Clients

Apparently, there is shock and horror (November 2006) over the fact that a climbing harness broke, plunging one of America’s finest climbers to his death. Climbing harnesses have broken before and climbers have ‘fallen-out-of’ their climbing ‘sit harnesses’ to their deaths. But it mattered not and climbers have continued to refuse to follow the harness manufacturer’s guidelines. After this latest fatality, climbers will continue to climb in a potentially dangerous manner. It matters not, that the sport has its own inherent dangers, as if that was not enough, dangerous practices still continue. Each evening thousands of young British, so-called climbers, attach themselves to the ‘belay loop’ on the front of their harness via a single karabiner (the loop that broke recently) whilst top-rope climbing and not, as per the manufacturers instructions (threaded through the harness properly). What has the representative but would be governing body of British climbing, the BMC, done about this suicidal practice over the years? Nothing…

An additional; a simple sling draped over head and shoulder then clipped into the harness  would have saved lives. In fact, less strain would have come onto the faulty, nylon loop, and it would not have broken. An additional ‘safety rope’ tied through the harness (as per the manufacturers instructions) would also have saved lives. It is not rocket science. And yet, Sport England still throw money at the BMC. The reception for the BMC, apparently at the Peak of its Profession, at No. 10 Downing Street on the 8 October, 2008, where the ‘great and good’ will be able to show-off their prowess, is set to coincide with the governing body bid for more cash even though, in 2007, the BMC squandered 10,s of 1,00′s of pounds when it bought and introduced 10,000 expansion bolts into the UK climbing scene. Not a single bolts will reduce the number of harness related deaths, or abseiling fatalities in fact, it will increase them.