Safe Summer...

Hi ! Adventure lovers .

The Summer's just begun ....and with it the adventure camps too...

Here's some thing you need to do before you go out on any adventure.

Before you go out with any one please check out if they have the relevant experience to conduct the activity. See if you can find out if the outdoor experts too are experienced to handle the activity.

Most of the adventuress don't have any idea of the gear used, its shelf life, whether the gear is of standard quality, etc.. All of the gear used for the adventure activities has some standard specification set by the UIAA (its an international body). But most of the time the standard gear is not used here for such activities.

In case of an accident , please ask if a back up plan is in place before going out for such adventure activities.

You can always make sure yourself of the gear used before you do start the activity. Here what you can do :

Check out if the Gear is clean , Especially the Ropes, ( A static Rope Line is used for the rappel and dynamic rope for the belay). See if there are and cuts or nicks on the rope, if any kind of adhesive tapes are used on the rope ( They might just be hiding a cut). A 9 mm Rope for rappelling is usually preferred, and a9.5mm and above for the belay(safety). 

The harness should always be clean, metal parts should not be rusted, Even if the harness has a 2mm of cut ,discard it. A de colourised harness is also an indication that it has to be retired .Check out the certification tag on the harness.

The harness come in a variety of sizes, it should fit you comfortably, neither too tight nor too loose.

The Metal gear too should be checked out to see if there are any deep grooves on the metal due to extreme usage. Check out if the gear is deformed, or any loose screws present. All the metallic gear has its breaking strength engraved on it ( not printed). Also the minimum breaking strength has to 22 Kn( kilo newton , Approx 2.5 tons).

The whole system ( All the gear used - right from anchoring points , harness, rope line , other metallic gear etc...) must have a breaking strength of 22 Kn.

Helmets : See for any cracks, the chin straps..... see for knots. The helmet must fit snugly , and not come over your eyes or go back on your neck.

Most of the time during retreval of the gear it is tied to the end of the rope and pulled up the rock face thereby damaging it, you need to check out that this doesn't happen.

You may feel that this is the responsibility of the organiser but think again it's your's too.It hardly takes not more than 5 min to do the above check. When you go out for buying your clothes you spend hours checking out if they are stitched properly, whether they are torn, the brand , the stitching , the zipper etc...and they are just clothes. And even if you do buy something defective it's not a threat to your life. And what we are talking about is something more dearer to your life. A slight defect in any of the adventure equipment may cost you your life.

Keep above points in mind and have a fun filled adventurous summer