The Amercian Alpine Club has released a new “Universal Belay Program” that is looking to establish a recognizable belay standard with all climbers.
In the United States every club, climbing gym, school program, and climbing instructor teaches some form of belaying. They also test belaying to ensure that belayers meet a minimum standard. However, the standards to which they teach and test are not always consistent. With no national standard to discern fundamentally sound variations from dangerous variations, all variations tend to be tolerated—and that leads to accidents; some variations in belaying are unsafe. The American Alpine Club is working with institutions around the country to adopt a national standard and educate climbers on the fundamental principles that should govern all belaying in all contexts. Ultimately we hope that every American climber will have the knowledge and practice to belay in a fundamentally sound way.
Here is the first video they have released explaining the belay standard. The AAC is looking to bring a Universal Belay Standard course to local gyms and other course providers that will issue a Universal Belay Certificate to climbers.
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