Mountaineering equipment

Product definition

Mountaineering equipment is equipment and accessories used by mountaineers when climbing in mountains. It i designed to protect the user from falling or limit the height of the fall so that the user isn’t killed or injured severely in case of accidents. The product group includes products such as dynamic mountaineering ropes, slings, connectors (climbing carabiners), crampons, rope clamps, chocks, rock anchors (pitons), ice anchors, tape, harnesses, braking devices, and others.

Protective helmets to be worn by mountaineers are discussed in the factsheet for Protective helmets.

Mountaineering equipment is designed to protect the user and is regulated under the Regulation (EU) 2016/425 on personal protective equipment.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is classified in three categories depending on the risk against which they protect. Mountaineering equipment is intended to protect against falling from a height so it falls in the most severe category, category III. This implies that mountaineering equipment is subject to mandatory conformity assessment by a notified body. More information on how to involve a notified body can be found here.

Common risks of mountaineering equipment

The manufacturer shall carry out an assessment of the mountaineering equipment in order to identify the essential health and safety requirements from Annex II in the PPE regulation that apply to it. These will address the intrinsic safety of the equipment to ensure that it doesn’t injure its user. They will also establish requirements for the intended protection so the equipment will protect the user adequately.

Below is a list of examples of common hazards that the mountaineering equipment can protect against: 

• The mechanical strength of the equipment is insufficient to withstand the (static or dynamic) load that it is exposed to.
• The equipment’s mechanical strength has decreased due to ageing or exposure to high temperatures or chemicals so it doesn’t possess sufficient mechanical strength.
• Equipment designed for carrying small accessories for use during the climb has inadequate mechanical strength so the accessories detach, fall and hit other mountaineers below.
• Products may present a risk to the wearer if they contain dangerous chemicals that cause short- and long-term adverse health effects if they exceed allowed limits.

Examples of dangerous products

Specific examples of measures taken against dangerous mountaineering equipment or accessories offered for sale in the European Union are available on the Safety Gate website. Type ‘climbing’, or ‘mountaineer’ into the free text search box (but without the quotation marks). A better understanding of mistakes made in the safety assessment of such products, or their manufacture can help avoid their repetition.

Main applicable legislation

These products are regulated mainly by the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation (EU) 2016/425. The legislation lays down requirements for the design and manufacture of PPE that are necessary to allow these products to be sold and used in the EU market.

Other guidance is also available:

• PPE Regulation guidelines, which includes a categorization guide with examples.

Applicable standards

“Harmonised standards” exist in the EU for equipment and accessories for mountaineering. A product claiming a particular level of protection and complying with those harmonised standards is presumed to be in conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in the Personal Protective Equipment Regulation if the standards are cited in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Further information on, and the list of harmonised standards for PPE is available from here.

Note: The site of CEN (the European standardisation organisation) provides links to the national standardisation bodies’ websites. In addition, the China Standards Information Services Network can be used to access European standards.

The following harmonised standards can be applied to equipment and accessories for mountaineering:

EN 564:2023

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for accessory cords (i.e. cords that are intended to withstand forces but not absorb energy).

EN 565:2017

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for tape used in mountaineering and climbing for protection of hands and fingers inter alia.

EN 566:2017

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for slings (devices used for linking items in safety systems).

EN 567:2013

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for rope clamps (devices that are designed to clamp under load in one direction and to move freely in the opposite direction).

EN 568:2015

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for ice anchors (i.e. screws and ice pitons to be used in icy areas).

EN 569:2007

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for pitons designed to form an anchor when inserted into a rock crack by means of a hammer.

EN 892:2012 incl. A3:2023

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for dynamic mountaineering ropes designed to arrest the free fall of a person with a limited peak force.

EN 893:2019

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for crampons intended to be mounted on footwear to prevent the user from slipping when used for mountaineering on snow or ice.

EN 958:2017

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for energy absorbing systems for use in via ferrata climbing by people weighing between 40 kg and 120 kg.

EN 12270:2013

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for chocks (devices that are wedged in cracks or cavities in the rock and able to withstand a load).

EN 12275:2013

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for connectors that may form part of the safety system that protects the climber from falling.

EN 12276:2013

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for frictional anchors (devices that can be placed in a parallel-sided crack in the rock and which can withstand a load due to friction between the device and the rock).

EN 12277:2015+A1:2018

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for harnesses (full body harnesses, small body harnesses, sit harnesses and chest harnesses) for use in mountaineering.

EN 13089:2011+A3:2023

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for ice-tools that may also be used as a buried anchor for protection against falls.

EN 15151-1:2012

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for braking devices with manually assisted locking designed to be used for abseiling with speed regulation.

EN 16716:2017

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for avalanche airbag systems to reduce the risk of being buried by a snow avalanche.

EN 17520:2021

This standard describes safety requirements and test methods for personal belay lanyards (device connecting the climber’s harness to the belay stance and designed to absorb energy in case of a fall).

Other legislation of relevance

While manufacturers need to familiarise themselves with all the laws which apply to their specific products, the following summarises some further key applicable laws:

• The REACH regulation restricts chemical substances in goods. REACH stands for “Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals”, and it places responsibility on the industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide safety information on the substances. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) maintains a list of substances of very high concern (the “SVHC list”). According to article 56(1) of the Regulation, manufacturers shall not place products containing any of the substances on this list on the market. The updated list of substances of very high concern can be found on ECHA’s website.
• Please note that every product must be safe for the consumers. If a particular safety aspect of a piece of PPE is not covered by the PPE regulation, then the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) applies.

Mandatory labelling & warnings

The following are obligatory:

• CE Marking is obligatory for all PPE. The conformity assessment of PPE CAT II and CAT III requires the intervention of a notified body. Mountaineering equipment is PPE category III, which means that a notified body must carry out the conformity assessment. This in turn implies that its number should be affixed after the CE marking and at least on the EU type examination certificate and instructions.
• Before marking the PPE with the CE marking, the manufacturer needs to classify the product and identify all the applicable legal requirements, verify the conformity of the PPE with these requirements using the appropriate conformity assessment procedure, compile a technical documentation that evidences this and create a written declaration of conformity. When this has been done, he should affix the CE marking on the product. Refer to the factsheet on CE marking.
• Information on the manufacturer and the importer in the EU is obligatory.
• Warnings and instructions for use need to draw attention of users to the inherent hazards and associated risks and how to avoid injury. Safety warnings are obligatory for many types of helmets, and the specific wordings which may be used are provided in the relevant harmonised standard applicable to the type of product.
• All specific labelling recommended by the standard.

In addition, the following information must be provided with the PPE:

1. Instructions for storage, use, cleaning, maintenance, servicing and disinfection. Cleaning, maintenance or disinfectant products recommended by manufacturers must have no adverse effect on the PPE or the user when applied in accordance with the relevant instructions;
2. Performance as recorded during relevant technical tests to check the levels of classes of protection provided by the PPE;
3. Where applicable, accessories that may be used with the PPE and the characteristics of appropriate spare parts;
4. Where applicable, the classes of protection appropriate to different levels of risk and the corresponding limits of use;
5. Where applicable, the month and year of period of obsolescence of the PPE or of certain of its components;
6. Where applicable, the type of packaging suitable for transport;
7. The significance of any markings;
8. The risk against which the PPE is designed to protect;
9. The reference to the PPE Regulation and, where applicable, the references to other Union harmonisation legislation;
10. The name, address and identification number of the notified body or bodies involved in the conformity assessment of the PPE;
11. References to the relevant harmonised standard(s) used, including the date of the standard(s), or references to other technical specifications used;
12. The internet address where the EU declaration of conformity can be accessed.

The information in points (i), (j), (k) and (l) need not accompany the product if it is supplied with a copy of the EU declaration of conformity.

General safety requirements

To ensure the safety of mountaineering equipment, there is also a range of general requirements to be fulfilled. These are explained in the following factsheets and need to be read in conjunction with this factsheet:

• CE marking
• Conformity assessment
• Declaration of conformity
• EU consumer protection
• EU market surveillance
• Product safety checklist
• Recall procedures
• Risk management
• Safety Gate/RAPEX
• Selling online
• Technical documentation
• Testing
• Using a third party