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Posted by FMD on July 13, 2007 at 7:46:13 am EDT
In reply to Re: Beginning climbing posted by Tom D on July 12, 2007 at 7:11:47 pm EDT

Tom D.

Sounds like you been around diving for a while. If you remember back in the 1980's, OSHA wanted to regulate the recreational diving community. The larger angencies got together and formed the RSTC and got ANSI invovled using Z375 to make a standard training protocal for all OW divers agencies and the diving community became self regulating for themselfs and OSHA backed away from created standards for the recreational divers. I was raised in Fort Lauderdale Fla. and I was never asked for a C-card for buying air back before the mid 1980's. However once I moved to Hawaii in the late 1980s, I was asked for a C-card to buy a regualtor, BC, tanks, air or to do a boat dive. This is because of the RSTC recommended practices. Basically all of the training agencies has a training standard on how they train thier OW divers according to the RSTC (ANSI) rules. Once you reach the divemaster and above levels the standards will change more from agency to agency due to the fact that the RSTC was created to keep accidents down with beginner divers to keep OSHA from regulating the recreational diving agnecies. Interesting enough, NAUI was one of the last ones to conform to the RSTC rules. I forget the details, but it was something with how they trained the US astronauts (underwater training).

Where my thought process came from is that I recently took a TRSM course with Adam Fox and I was thinking that the AMGA is in place with standards and protocals already. Why not be proactive and set in place training guidelines for climbing in state and Nat'l parks and with buy climbing gear? I dare not mention this at a climbing crag for I will more than likely get beat tar pitted by the the local climbers for even whispering this. The Nat'l parks and many state parks are already enacting training mandates with with guiding services now. The SCUBA industry didnt like the RSTC (NAUI fought it for years)when it first came out but it is now been in place for so long, its a normal and not thought about much standard. So why wait for a goverment agency to enact thier rules and just be proactive as a climbng community.

You mentioned that SCUBA is a dangerous sport, but more people are hurt in activities such as football and bowling (people drinking and bowling is the reason) than in diving. I am not sure what the stats are for climbing, but I would venture to guess that climbing has a higher injury and fatality rate per capita than that of diving.

I was just wondering what some peoples feelings are on enacting training protocals in the climbing community. Again, I wouldnt dare mention it face to face at a local climbing crag. Its a little safer on a forum to bring it up. :}

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