GB 08 A BEAL INITIATIVE Nevertheless climbing also involves technique, training, discipline, respect and much responsibility. But nowadays, having said that, it is impossible BY PATRICK EDLINGER to stop there. Climbing is in some ways a victim of its own success. Victim because this way of life has become commonplace, a sport, a leisure The constraints on liberty activity which generates problems of overuse on certain crags. We know it well: vehicles parked everywhere, ground trampled, litter left, and so on… It is not for me to lay down the law with regard to climbing. I learnt an intuitive regard for nature along with my parents. We did not For me, the choice is clear, and always has been: it’s forbidden to forbid: need to question the need to respect the environment. It was normal. climbing is above all the realm of freedom. It is to break free of constraint, It’s more complicated today because of the frequent transition direct from to meet your desires, express your strength, your agility, your instincts. indoor walls to natural cliffs, with a lack of recognition that climbers have It is precisely the reverse of a world regimented by white lines, artifi cial passed from one world to another. It must be said again: crags don’t just rules and a catalogue of prohibitions. belong to climbers, around them one meets walkers, hunters perhaps, BEAL, for more BEAL, for more security: durability: Lower impact force and higher number of falls held, so better security Dry Cover sheath treatment is standard, 1The more the impact force is lowered: 2 for better abrasion resistance. • The more your fall is cushioned. • The more you protect your anchor point (particularly important A Dry Cover protected rope is: if it is questionable). • More resistant to dust and to the wet. • The easier it is for your second to hold you. • More resistant to abrasion. Golden dry Bonus OUTDOOR CLIMBING I N D O O R Major routes CLIMBING Occasional Sport High level Adventure climbing Joker 9,1 mm Stinger 9,4 mm Booster 9,7 mm Tiger 10 mm Flyer 10,2 mm Edlinger 10,2 mm SINGLE ROPE Top Gun 10,5 mm Apollo 11 mm Wall Master 10,5 mm Wall Cruiser 10,4 mm Top rope Ice Line 8,1 mm Cobra 8,6 mm Pro Mountain 8,8 mm HALF ROPE If you are not a guide, mm If you are not a high level climber Verdon 9 or mountaineer, Ice Twin 7,7 mm ROPE TWIN If you need advice. Rando 8 mm 2 the smell of a tree, the feel of the stone, it’s the path to the crag, it’s the mushroom pickers… And then again cliffs, and the places you park to people you meet. reach them, are often on private property. We must give ourselves the means for climbing to preserve its freedom. There is a real risk that sites will be banned, access charged for, or that These means, far from being constraints, are a real opportunity for us. they will just become rubbish tips. This risk can easily be defl ected. The chance to climb in harmonious places, the chance to be considered And it’s not an arsenal of laws, tables of prohibitions, it’s not ‘do this, as responsible, the chance to be proud of oneself. Climbing Attitude is just don’t do that’, no, it’s just commonsense, know-how and good manners. (and it’s already much) a method of use as it exists for using a descender. It is in fact very simple, it is exactly how, when roped together, you respect No diffi culty, no constraint, nothing but the pleasure of executing the right security techniques, because they safeguard the lives of your mate and moves. yourself. Today, faced with environmental issues, climbers can no longer It’s just what I have wished to say always, since the fi lm ‘La vie au bout be content with words and pious statements. It needs the engagement des doigts’ (Life at the fi ngertips), and it is, I’m certain, what we all of all, all the time, to safeguard our sites, to be clean with nature, and appreciate: to respect those who, like us, appreciate it, but for different reasons. Climbing in the natural environment has, for me, never been a succession The opportunity to have the most beautiful playground open to you: Nature. of holds, a naming of grades. Climbing is also the colour of the rock, the sound of a stream, the clouds, Join us! www.climbing-attitude.org BEAL, for more BEAL, more durability: services : The individual n° of ropes and harnesses reported • Better long-term running of ropes through on www.beal-services.info gives access to numerous services on line. belay devices. 3• Identifi cation service: rediscover your rope with individual notice on line in the Beal Dry Cover added to Golden Dry treatment traceability system. of the core gives: • Diagnostic service: an aid to rope wear. • More resistance to ice and to water. • Management service: aid to the management, control and overseeing of PPE by means • Reduced weight gain in wet conditions. of free downloadable software. Golden dry Bonus ALPINISM HIKING Snow route Mixed route Ice falls Hiking Glacier walking Joker 9,1 mm Stinger 9,4 mm Booster 9,7 mm Tiger 10 mm Flyer 10,2 mm Edlinger 10,2 mm SINGLE ROPE Top Gun 10,5 mm Apollo 11 mm Wall Master 10,5 mm Use 1 strand Use 1 strand Ice Line 8,1 mm Cobra 8,6 mm Pro Mountain 8,8 mm HALF ROPE Verdon 9 mm Ice Twin 7,7 mm ROPE Rando 8 mm TWIN 3 THE BEAL , TRACEABILITY FOR LIFE BEAL has not waited for regulation to give its ropes and harnesses a system of guaranteed traceability for life and an infallible information key to its products. The fi rst generation of ropes and harnesses integrating this service has been born. In effect, each product posesses a unique individual number from its manufacture which allows identifi cation at any time. It’s partly its DNA code, we have thus baptised this identifi cation system for Identifi cation Number. THE , QUALITY GUARANTEE The BEAL IdN encapsulates BEAL’s commitment concerning: • Identifi cation of the types of treatments. • Adherence to the commitment to ISO 9001 internal traceability. • The 3 year guarantee against any manufacturing fault. • Respect for CE standard requirements for external traceability. • The 10 year maximum period of use. • Control of the manufacturing process. • The 15 year maximum storage period. • Knowledge of the date of manufacture of your rope or harness. • Identifi cation of the batches of materials used. THE BEAL , A GUARANTEE OF SERVICES IDENTIFY SUBSCRIBE Free identifi cation service. Free notifi cation service. In entering your individual IdN number and its key (present In registering you on line, BEAL will advise you directly and personally on the end of the rope, reel sides, and on harnesses) in the data base (by e-mail) of the following points: of www.beal-services.info you obtain: • The date of ending of the 3 year guarantee against all manufacturing • The guarantee that your rope or harness has come from BEAL. faults. (to be verifi ed by purchase receipt if required). • The guarantee that the model purchased conforms to the model • The theoretical date of end of life based on the intensity of use presented by BEAL, with its type, its name, its length, its diameter, as indicated by you. its options, and its advised uses. • A reminder of the date of inspection control of each BEAL • The date of manufacture of your rope or harness. rope or harness. (You may choose the frequency yourself). • The theoretical end-of-life date depending on frequency of use. • BEAL may advise you of eventualities which come to light concerning • The possibility to download the user notice and advice on care precautions in use, extensions of guarantee or lifetime, new usage and maintenance. advice, changes in standards. • All the information on its CE certifi cate of conformity, with its test requirements. CONTROL MANAGE Free apprenticeship Service for inspection of PPE Free management service for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). (Personal Protective Equipment). • Presented for your use on the site www.beal-services.info, sheets • Put at your free disposal on the net, software on the management to print out concerning the different inspections and maintenance of PPE: BEAL Software, a valuable aid to control of a store of PPE. to be made on PPE ropes and harnesses. • BEAL warn you regularly of the state of your stock and may remind • Presented free for your use on the net: Video of training in the control you of the inspection dates either by email or directly on the software. and management of PPE ropes and harnesses. (aid to decision making). LIFETIME OF BEAL DYNAMIC ROPES AND ACCESSORY CORDS BI COLOR Lifetime = Time in storage before fi rst use The rope must be retired earlier: + lifetime in use. • if it has held a major fall, approaching fall factor 2 60 % • if inspection reveals or even indicates damage to the core 50 % Lifetime: • if the sheath is very worn • Intensive and daily use: up to 1 year • if it has been in contact with any active or dangerous chemicals 40 % • weekly and intensive use: up to 2 years • if there is the slightest doubt about its security. 30 % • daily in-season use of average intensity: up to 3 years The lifetime depends on the frequency and the type of use.