A woman died last month in Missouri after a fall from a portable climbing wall. The accident, seen as the first fatality in the history of the climbing gyms in the U.S., occurred during a changing of the guard within the industry, during a time when a number of certain safety issues had not been addressed.

The accident was blamed on equipment failure. A tool designed to take the human element out of catching a falling climber – a hydraulic auto belay device – failed when the cable attached to the climber broke.

For years gym owners relied on the Climbing Gym Association for safety guidelines, but the organization was dismantled in 2001. In the resulting vacuum, the industry had very few places to go for information.

The American Mountain Guide Association has been around for years and is, without a doubt, the leading authority on outdoor climbing safety, but they have routinely washed their hands when it comes to indoor climbing. “The AMGA has always published industry standards,” said Doug Cosby, former CGA board member and Owner of Inner Peaks Climbing Center in Charlotte, NC. But said, “They don’t even mention auto-belay devices…”

Without a clear organization to look to for safety guidance, insurance companies are hesitant to cover climbing gyms, especially after 9/11. In a report on The Outdoor Network, Bob Richards, President of Rockreation Climbing Gym in Salt Lake City said, “Since 9/11 the availability of liability insurance has been compromised to the extreme.”

Richards, Rich Johnston from Vertical World climbing gyms in Seattle, and Nate Postma from Vertical Endeavors climbing gyms in the Midwest, are all former CGA board members that are teaming up to form the Climbing Wall Association, which will address the issues of industry safety standards and liability insurance. The group plans to re-publish accepted industry standards and launch an accreditation program.

The CWA will fill a much-needed void in the climbing gym industry. Equipment has changed since the disappearance of the CGA and even experienced guides need something more than word-of-mouth when it comes to client safety. The CWA plans to have its accreditation program up and running by 2004. This will not only give consumers more confidence in the safety of climbing walls, but it will also give the owners discounted insurance – one of the biggest costs for gym owners.


>>> The organization is sorely needed by the climbing community and will need universal backing to be effective