A climbing harness is a piece of equipment used in certain types of rock-climbing, abseiling or other activities requiring the use of ropes to provide access or safety (e.g. industrial rope access, working at heights, etc.). A harness is used to secure a person to a piece of rope or an anchor point.
In its simplest form, a harness can be made from a length of rope or a nylon webbing tied round the waist. More sophisticated harnesses exist in many patterns, designed to give greater comfort and security, and more options for carrying equipment. Among the most popular hand tied harnesses are the Swiss Seat and Studebaker Wrap.
While harnesses can be improvised it is more common to use harness commercially produced which often include built in padding and amenities such as gear loops. Most commercial climbing harness meet the guidelines and manufacturing standards of organizations such as the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme or European Committee for Standardization. More expensive harnesses are not necessarily better as individual body types and activities are best suited to different types of harnesses, despite the price range.
Famous quotes containing the words climbing and/or harness:
“To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
“Is my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)