The UIAA Safety Commission marks fifty years of its existence in 2025 and has organised a series of events from 13-17 April to mark the occasion.
In 1975, the UIAA combined two existing entities – the Ropes and Belaying Methods Commissions – to create what is now commonly referred to as SafeCom. Throughout the past fifty years, SafeCom has spearheaded the research and delivery of a vast number of international safety standards for climbing and mountaineering equipment from static ropes to avalanche beacons, from carabiners to harnesses.
The alumni of former SafeCom members and Presidents is impressive. A number of legendary climbers and mountaineers as well as pioneers in safety techniques have formed part of the Commission. These include Vitaly Abalakov, Yvon Chouinard, Reinhold Messner, Werner Munter, Karl Prusik, Pit Schubert and Jean-Franck Charlet.
To mark its fifty years, SafeCom has created a programme of events around its traditional biannual spring meeting. Significantly, it will all take place in Chamonix, France, the very location where the UIAA was founded in 1932. In addition to its plenary session with representatives from equipment manufacturers worldwide, internal and working group meetings, there will also be a dedicated workshop on bolting and rebolting, a subject the UIAA has dedicated significant resources to over recent years. A dedicated website page traces the work which has been delivered and the information available.
Perhaps most significantly there will be two public events, under the guise ‘UIAA SafeCom World Congress’ on the evening of Tuesday 15 April and Wednesday 16 April. These are being organised in close collaboration with ENSM, National School of Skiing and Mountaineering of France (Ecole Nationale des Sports de Montagne), and will take place at ENSA’s (Ecole Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme) HQ.
Across both evenings there will be a presentation of the UIAA’s work and heritage in climber safety as well as contributions from ENSA and from FFCAM, la Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne, a founder member of the UIAA and a close supporter of the event. The centrepiece of both evenings will be round table discussions led by UIAA Safety Commission President Lionel Kiener.
The themes of the two evenings are:
15 April, 20:00: Climbing-mountaineering and equipment innovation: a common evolution?
Speakers: Michel Beal, CEO Beal, Denis Pivot, CAMP/CEN Commission President, Alain Maurice, Head of Bureau d’étude at Petzl, Jean-Franck Charlet, professor at ENSA, former UIAA SafeCom President and SafeCom Honorary Member
16 April, 20:00: UIAA and EN standards history, research, updates and future developments
Speakers: Denis Pivot, CAMP/CEN Commission President, Jean-Franck Charlet, professor at ENSA, former UIAA SafeCom President and SafeCom Honorary Member, Marco Bonaiti, CEO Kong, Julia Janotte, DAV (German Alpine Club) Sicherheitforschung (Safety Research Centre/DAV)
Experts include members of the UIAA Safety Commission, leaders from the field of climbing equipment as well as well-known climbers and mountaineers. The UIAA will be represented by President Peter Muir, General Secretary and former SafeCom President Amit Chowdhury and CEO Andre Von Rotz.
Entry to the event is free, and will be on a first come, first served basis. Further information is on the official event page and poster. The UIAA will offer some short-form content from the event on its social media channels.
To help manage entry numbers, anyone wishing to attend is welcome to express their interest by completing the following form.
For specific questions, please contact Philippe Quintart.
Further Information
