How to Use Climbing Lanyards

A climbing lanyard is a length of strong fabric or rope looped through a D-shaped metal ring that will tighten around an attachment point if you fall while climbing. Whether you are climbing for recreation or for work, a lanyard is an essential safety measure. Occupational safety laws mandate them for workers who are in elevated work sites such as on high steel. For climbers, a lanyard is a choice, as some people prefer to free climb. Although hooking it to attachment points takes time, it can save your life.

Instructions

    • 1

      Buy a lanyard rated for at least three times your weight. This will ensure that if you fall, it can absorb the impact. You can buy shock absorbers that connect the lanyard to your harness and increase the lanyard's effective ability to hold weight by spreading out the sudden shock to the rope caused by a fall.

    • 2

      Put on a climbing harness that wraps around the waist and both thighs.

    • 3

      Attach a metal D ring to the waistband of the harness. Check it carefully. If the D ring does not sit at a 90-degree angle to the waist belt or cannot move freely within its fabric saddle, replace it. (reference 1)

    • 4

      Inspect the lanyard rope carefully. Look for any worn or fuzzy spots or changes in diameter. All of these indicate potential weak spots in the rope. This is especially important in older or more used ropes. (reference 1)

    • 5

      Clip one end of the lanyard to your D ring and loop the lanyard through an attachment point. On a structure this can be a metal ring or loop. If you are rock climbing, this needs to be a metal ring that an earlier climber has pounded into the rock face. Tree climbers can make use of lanyards that loop around the trunk of the tree and will tighten if they lose their grip. (reference 2) These do not need attachment points.

    • 6

      As you climb past your lanyard's attachment point, stop, unclip it and clip it to the next one up. Repeat this process to ensure that you are always attached to the surface being climbed and will not fall far if you lose your grip.