Important Safety Information

Climbing is an inherently dangerous and potentially hazardous activity. Please Climb Safe!

The following information and warnings are provided to help insure climbers’ safety. Please read the following carefully and feel free to contact any vendor to address your questions.

IMPORTANT: CLIMB SMART!

• Climbing is dangerous. Always review the rules of the facility.
• Use equipment according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Seek qualified instruction if you are unfamiliar with any aspect of climbing.
• Double-check your safety system before leaving the ground.
• Climbing or bouldering on any climbing wall can result in falls. Falling from any height can result in serious injury or death.
• Remember, your safety is your responsibility. Stack the odds in your favor, climb with caution.

STAFF & OPERATIONS

• Be sure all staff members are appropriately trained and supervised for their duties. Ongoing and retraining is important as conditions change or memory fails. Never use untrained or under trained staff to run a climbing wall.
• Be sure to qualify and document all new and ongoing employee training.
• Provide appropriate warnings at your facility.
• Check all gear. Retire gear early or when it is showing wear. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
• Perform all maintenance and routine checks on the wall and all appropriate equipment (e.g. anchors, auto belays, lead bolts, quickdraws, belay bars, floor anchors, etc.).

AUTO BELAY WARNINGS

• The Nicros Auto Belay Safety System^TM (patented) is an add-on safety device that provides a warning when a climber forgets to attach to the auto belay.
  Note: Always remember to clip in!
• When using an auto belay, it is your responsibility to perform the double-check on yourself. If you do not feel confident in your ability to perform this task, you must have someone else perform your double-check for you.
• For additional information on the Auto Belay Safety System^TM or auto belay equipment and setup, please visit www.nicros.com or call 800.699.1975.

PETZL WARNINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS

• Petzl’s GriGri, GriGri2, Rig and I’D are similar products with separate applications.
• Common factors in operating these devices include but are not limited to: 1) The break hand is the primary belay mechanism and should never leave the rope 2) have an auto locking feature that is intended to be used as a backup only 3) should be used as standard belay devices, not as automatic devices
• Proper operation of these devices is elaborated upon on Petzl’s here. 

HARNESS WARNINGS

• Never clip into or tie into any position on the harness other than the “strong points” or belay loop of the harness.
• Nicros strongly recommends removing gear loops from the harness in order to help reduce the risk of clipping into the wrong place. Please consult with the manufacturer before removing any gear loops or making alterations to the harness.

HANDHOLD INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE

• Please refer to your handhold manual.

PRODUCT RECALLS & MANUFACTURER RESOURCES

• Petzl America Recalls all GriGri 2’s with the first 5 digits of the serial number between 10326 and 11136.
• Spectrum Sports has issued a Maintenance and Safety Directive to inform owners and operators of their responsibility to replace all pulley bolts and to maintain cables and hardware on all climbing walls for safety reasons.
• See the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
• See common safety recalls here. 

DATED PRODUCT RECALLS (prior to 2007)

• Recalls have been announced on the following products prior to 2007. Please consult the manufacturer for more information.
• Petzl M34 BL Am’D Ball-Lock and M36 BL William Ball-Lock carabiners with metal locking sleeves; MSA Climbing Wall Descenders; Liberty Mountain Edelweiss Challenge Sit Harness with Para Buckle System

INDUSTRY INFORMATION & RESOURCES

• Join the CWA, obtain their “Industry Practices” and implement them.
• American Mountain Guide Association

This document is not intended to be all inclusive. Nicros strongly recommends reviewing the manufacturer’s website for proper use, application, inspection, maintenance and retirement in accordance with the equipment manufacturer’s guidelines.

© 2013. This document is the property of Nicros, Inc. and is protected under U.S. copyright laws and should not be duplicated/ published in whole or part without permission and is not to be sold or published for commercial gain under any circumstances.