CRG Highline incident and consequences on webbing lifetime recommendations
Thomas Buckingham2024-08-18T10:19:18+02:00CRG Highline incident and consequences on webbing lifetime recommendations On April 20th, 2024, there was a mainline and backup failure at Cosumnes River Gorge (CRG), California, United States of America. The failure occurred during a spontaneous tandem session, with the main snapping during a leash fall and the backup failing as it engaged. Both highliners fell but had only minor injuries given the circumstances. Up until now the lifetime recommendations for non-PES (Polyester) and non-PA (Polyamid/Nylon) webbings were summarized as "high-tech/low stretch" webbings in our highline gear standards. Due to the CRG incident the ISA Safety Commission decided [...]
NEW UV Tests on Highline Webbing
Thomas Buckingham2024-08-18T10:23:44+02:00Effects of UV on breaking strength of polyamide and polyester highline webbing Members of the ISA Safety Commission have performed comparative two year degradation tests of some commonly used webbing materials used in highlining . These tests were performed at extreme weather conditions in a high alpine environment to evaluate the highline webbing safety standard ISA:41 and to provide further data for evaluating highline webbing lifetime around the globe. The high-altitude Jungfraujoch research station offers a perfect venue for installing an array of frames with different webbing samples for a long-term, combined weathering and solar radiation study. Not [...]
NEW Highline Backup Fall tests
Thomas Buckingham2024-08-18T10:25:12+02:00Highline Backup Fall: Experiment and simulation Members of the ISA Safety Commission have performed highline backup fall experiments and compared results to the simulator that is available on the ISA website. The results were in a range which justifies recommending the usage of the backup fall simulator. We organized a series of experiments to test a range of parameters in a backup fall and compare them to the simulator. We were able to conclude that the simulator is accurate enough to be used as a prediction tool: it generally overestimated peak forces in the system in our experiments, [...]
Highline System Standard updated!
Thomas Buckingham2023-05-22T15:20:09+02:00Update of the Highline System Standard ISA:21 After publishing the first ISA Highline System Standard we recieved feedback from our Slackline Safety Partners, Members of the UIAA Safecom and independant third parties. All their feedback has been reviewed and incorporated into the new version of the standard. Summarzing, the most important points: Enables Highline Systems that fulfill this standard to be used in workplace situations if maintenance checklists are utilized. These workplace situations may include, but are not limited to: shows, courses, competitions and festivals, etc. Expanding the scope of the standard, allowing the use of [...]
Backup fall simulator
augustin2023-04-18T11:11:02+02:00New Backup Fall Simulator released! We created a model which will tell you all the relevant forces and heights in a defined highline system: Choose your webbings Customize your setup Rig it to your spot and desired tension Choose the position of the slackliner, and even the bounce size! Be aware, this is a beta version, it requires refinement! We are also looking for a frontend developer to make it look nicer. Try the Backup Fall simulator yourself Why would you need it? This model is not going to help you rig well, it will [...]
High-Altitude Highlining World Records- where is this heading?
Thomas Buckingham2023-03-01T21:30:53+01:00High-Altitude Highlining World Records- where is this heading? The new record has huge implications on altitude highlining, it means that the final frontier now is the Himalaya, since this is one of the highest possible lines in the Andes mountain range! There remains the possiblity to rig a line on Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, but since this a very commercial mountain the permits are expensive. Male Highline Altitude World Record The Highline Altitude World Record has been broken by a large margin, now [...]
Look at old Fail Friday Posts
Thomas Buckingham2023-01-22T22:55:16+01:00All the Fail Friday posts in a single place! By sharing a story where something went wrong, we can learn from other people's mistakes, avoid common mistakes and encourage best practice. All fail fridays are now available on a single page on the ISA website. If you want to share your story of incident, near miss or injury, here is the SAIR form. If you think others can learn from it, we could share it as a Fail Friday All fail Fridays
Webbing lifetime and freestyle highline warnings
augustin2024-08-18T10:41:55+02:00Webbing lifetime and freestyle highline warnings With the popularity of highline freestyle rising in today’s highlining world, permanently rigged lines (or perma-rigs) are becoming the norm rather than the exception. This intensive use and long exposure of the webbing can lead to critical weakening and failure. In these publications, we adress the main factors we are aware of, abrasion and UV degradation. We also give some recommendations on what to do to avoid critical failure, the first of which is always to rig redundantly. We are constantly updating the ISA 41 Highline Webbing standard to be consistent to [...]
Language Update: Nouvelles publications en Français
Thomas Buckingham2022-03-07T18:08:54+01:00Language Update: Nouvelles publications en Français L'ISA organise et coordonne régulièrement des tests de matériel et techniques de slackline. Nous cherchons à mieux définir nos standards de sécurité, et à promouvoir de meilleurs techniques d'installation et d'utilisation. Ces tests donnent lieu à des publications pour donner accès aux informations au plus grand nombre. Deux de ces publication ont récemment été traduite en Français. La première concerne des tests de charges cycliques de bloqueurs de sangle. En slackline, le matériel est soumis à des charges changeantes. Le tests de ruptures en une traction pure ne sont pas toujours une [...]