Blog - The Raven Speaks
Belay Competency - The gold standard.
September 16, 2011
Who is the BCCTR and what is the belay competency drop test?
The British Columbia Council of Technical Rescue (BCCTR) has developed a procedure to reliably test the safety and effectiveness of a rescue belay. The Belay Competency Drop Test specifies a 1 meter drop onto 3 meters of kernmantle rescue rope with less than 1 meter of travel and generating a peak force less than 15Kn. For a general use rated device/system a 280kg load and 12.7mm rope are typically used. For a light use device a 200kg load and11.1mm rope are used. Both the MPD and the tandem prusik belay are examples of belay systems that meet this criteria although there are others. Both systems also pass the “whistle test” as well. This simply means that in the event the belayer suddenly lets go of the system for what ever reason the belay should still be effective. Join us on one of our Rope Rescue courses for more information about belay systems and techniques.
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