it should be on your head, not in your sack, so be sure to put it on as soon as the risk of stone-fall is present. For example, the approaches to some routes negotiate gullies which can be raked by stones falling from above, so don’t wait until you are about to start climbing before reaching for your helmet.
Harness: a full body harness will give you the best safety protection for climbing via ferratas. Many British visitors to the Dolomites will already own a climbing sit-harness; but, whilst this will generally suffice for tackling via ferratas, do remember that you will probably be carrying a loaded rucksack, so if you were to take a fall you run the risk of being turned upside down. Consequently, you can either invest in a full body harness, much more popular (and available) in continental Europe than in the UK, or supplement your sit harness with a chest harness. Whatever you choose to do, it is a totally personal decision and risk assessment.
Via ferrata self-belay set: incorporating belay rope, KISA (see below), and karabiners. Like all climbing equipment, via ferrata self-belay equipment has been greatly improved in recent years with new systems appearing all the time. The obvious problem with self-belaying on a vertical run of cable is that any fall will only be arrested when the climber reaches the attaching peg below him (with a long cable run, this can mean a very high fall factor and an enormous shock loading on the system). To help overcome this, a device called a Kinetic Impact Shock Absorber, or KISA, is used. There are several different models in use, but they all function in the same way, acting as simple friction brakes which, in the event of a fall, absorb the energy generated, thus reducing the shock loading.
Two different types of KISA
The two most commonly used systems (V type and Y type) which incorporate a KISA in the belay system each contain the same components, albeit configured differently, which means that they must be used differently.
a) The older, V type employs a single rope, about 2 metres long, which passes through the KISA, and with a karabiner on each end. The KISA is then attached to the harness with rope or tape. With this system, only one karabiner should be clipped into the cable, so that in the event of a fall, the loop of rope leading to the spare karabiner is pulled through the KISA under friction, thus absorbing much of the energy generated by the fall. On reaching a peg where the cable is attached to the rock face, the spare karabiner is then clipped into the next cable run and the original karabiner can then be unclipped (note that the spare karabiner should be secured in such a way that the whole length of the spare loop of rope is available to be pulled through the KISA: this means it should not be secured to a gear loop at the rear of the harness). It is only at the moment of leap-frogging over the peg that both karabiners are clipped in to the cable; otherwise the KISA cannot function.
V-type self-belay system. Note this is a Salewa U-type Attac (photo: Salewa)
b) In the more modern, Y type systems, the karabiners are attached to two separate lengths of rope or tape, joined or stitched to form a Y-shape. There are several permutations on the theme, particularly regarding the means of attachment to the harness, and impact absorption, but the principle of how this type works is as follows. The single length of rope (the leg of the Y) is threaded through the KISA to leave a spare loop of rope which becomes part of the system incorporated in the tie on, or is attached to the side of the harness or gear loop. In the event of a fall, it is the spare loop of rope which is pulled through the KISA under friction, thus absorbing the energy generated by the fall. With this method both karabiners can be clipped into the cable: at the end of a cable run, first one, then the other karabiner is leapfrogged over onto the next length of cable.
Y-type self-belay system. This a Camp Rewind (photo: Camp)
Both methods are safe if used properly. However, whilst both types meet European standards (EN958), only the Y-type meets the more exacting UIAA standard (UIAA128), which also requires that all load bearing connections should be unalterable, meaning that systems with knots are not acceptable. For more technical information on the latest models visit a specialist climbing shop or contact the BMC www.thebmc.co.uk, or an equipment maker, for example Mammut www.mammut.ch, Camp www.camp.it, Petzl www.petzl.com, Salewa www.salewa.com. Full technical specification is defined by the UIAA, see www.uiaa.ch Energy Absorbing Systems for ‘Vie Ferrate’.
Climbers in V-type self-belay set on left and Y-type self-belay set on right. (photo: Collett’s Mountain Holidays)
In recent years, several manufacturers have devised impact absorbing systems using techniques other than KISAs, One such, the Petzl Scorpio, relied on stitched webbing which would tear progressively in the event of a fall. However, manufacture, and sale, of this type of Petzl lanyard has now ceased following an example of equipment failure. You should therefore be very wary buying such a system if you happen across one: if you are already using this type of lanyard, then maybe you should give consideration to retiring it.
A serious word of warning! DO NOT rely on a couple of slings, or a ‘home-made’ system, in place of a proper VF self-belay system. Whilst these might give you a sense of security, they could well be useless if you were to take a significant fall. Although you may see ‘made up’ VF sets in Italian Sports shops please note that a complete VF self-belay set should at least conform to EN958 and even better to UIAA 128 safety standards.
Karabiners: If you buy a ready-made self-belay set these may already be included, but not always. There are quite a few different models of karabiner available, not all of which are equally suitable. Consequently, when buying your gear, pay close attention to the karabiners incorporated which must always be the large sized karabiners to clip over some of the thicker wire protection (Type K karabiners, with automatic locking gates, are specifically designed for Via Ferrata use and should conform to EN12275 and UIAA121 standards, see www.uiaa.ch ‘Connectors’). Conventional screw gates are NOT practical for use on VFs where you will be clipping and unclipping repeatedly. One suitable model has a spring-loaded gate, unlocked by simply pulling the gate-lock back with the index finger. A variation on this type needs to be both pulled back and twisted through 90 degrees before the gate is unlocked; this can be frustratingly fiddly after a couple of hours! Small clips (sometimes already included on complete sets) are also available to thread the rope through on the karabiner; these cost next to nothing but are extremely useful for holding the karabiner on the rope to stop it spinning round and potentially falling off. Best of all perhaps, and the most expensive, are models from Salewa, Camp and Mammut specially developed for VFs, where the rope is tied through a separately formed ring at the base of the karabiner, such that it cannot then spin round. As well as being relatively light, a safety feature is that the gate is released by pressure from the heel of the thumb, naturally applied as the karabiner is offered up to the cable, making for ease of use during a long day.
Self-locking VF karabiners (photo: Collett’s Mountain Holidays)
Gloves: specially designed gloves for via ferratas are readily available from gear shops in the Dolomites. They resemble cycling gloves, with padded palms and cut-off fingers. Whether you wear gloves is entirely a matter of
