Via ferrata sets: the standard and the 2012 to 2013 recalls.

Why a via ferrata set has an energy absorber

The BMC text that the UIAA distributes with its connector standard (2001) explains the problem the set is built to address. When a person is attached to an anchor only by karabiners and slings, nothing in the system absorbs energy, and the text reports that forces above 25 kN are possible, enough to break a karabiner with its gate closed. It points to energy-absorbing lanyards made for via ferrata cables. That is a description of the physics the standards respond to, not guidance on how a set is used.

The standards

EN 958 is titled "Mountaineering equipment - Energy absorbing systems for use in klettersteig (via ferrata) climbing - Safety requirements and test methods". Standards Norway lists the 2017 edition as published on 1 June 2017 and withdrawn on 26 June 2024, replaced by EN 958:2024. The 2017 edition applies to users weighing at least 40 kg without equipment and no more than 120 kg including equipment. What the 2024 edition changed was not found in our research.

The UIAA's matching standard is UIAA 128 Energy absorbing systems, at version 5 (November 2025). The UIAA also publishes UIAA 171, a standard for the construction of via ferrata routes themselves (version 1).

Related standards cover the other parts. EN 12275:2013 has a class K (Klettersteig) connector for via ferrata, which SATRA's summary gives a minimum major-axis strength of 25 kN, a gate-open strength of 8 kN and a minor-axis strength of 7 kN in the laboratory test. Catalogue listings say EN 12492:2025 helmets also cover via ferrata. See carabiners and helmets.

The 2012 failure and the first warning

The UIAA issued a worldwide warning to users of via ferrata sets on 13 September 2012. It followed a fatal accident on 5 August 2012 near Walchsee, Tirol, Austria, in which a climber fell several metres and both lanyards of the energy-absorbing set broke. The UIAA said the maker's investigation found the lanyard's strength had been dramatically reduced after intensive use because of its construction and material, and that the set had met the UIAA standard.

The UIAA Safety Commission met on 6 September 2012 in Bern with delegates, 16 makers and UIAA laboratories from France and the Czech Republic. It decided to review UIAA 128, last revised in 2008 when a wet test was added, to include fatigue testing.

The BMC, reporting in February 2013, said later tests showed that used lanyards from several makers might not hold a fall, leading to a mass recall in autumn 2012 of sets with elasticated arms.

The 2013 recalls

According to the BMC (Daniel Middleton, 26 February 2013), further testing found serious ageing problems not only in tear-webbing sets with elasticated lanyards but also in traditional rope and brake-plate designs, which prompted a second round of recalls. The BMC said the UIAA Safety Commission held an emergency meeting on 6 February 2013 attended by almost 20 makers, and that makers and the UIAA issued a joint press release on 25 February 2013 announcing recalls and new guidance on the lifetime and obsolescence of some sets.

The UIAA's own release of 25 February 2013, issued from Bern after a Safety Commission meeting in Munich, said testing of used or aged rope-friction sets showed that some can fail in a fall, with higher impact forces and reduced lanyard strength possible and severe injury or death a possible consequence. It said whether a set was recalled depended on its model, and that changes to UIAA 128 were proposed for the commission's May 2013 meeting.

The two accounts differ on detail. The UIAA release names Munich as the meeting place without a date; the BMC dates the emergency meeting 6 February 2013 without a place. They may describe the same meeting. Our research did not reach the UIAA's table of affected models, so this page does not list brands or models.

What the BMC expected to change

In February 2013 the BMC expected EN 958 to be revised so that:

• Sets with elasticated webbing lanyards pass a breaking-strength test after cyclic loading that simulates use.
• Non-elastic webbing is risk-assessed or age-tested.
• The strength required after the drop test rises.
• The user information covers rental use, users under 50 kg, inspection and retirement.

That was the BMC's expectation at the time. Which of these points the 2017 or 2024 editions adopted is not confirmed by our research.

A later recall

Black Diamond's voluntary recall for inspection announced on 13 April 2016, as the BMC reported on 20 April 2016, included its Easy Rider and Iron Cruiser via ferrata sets alongside camming devices and ascenders. The recalls page lists this and other notices. The maker's current notice is the authority on whether a particular set is affected.

Lifespan

The 2013 joint release, as the BMC described it, brought new guidance on the lifetime and obsolescence of some sets, and the episode showed that a set meeting the standard when new could lose strength with use and age. Regulation (EU) 2016/425 requires makers to state, where applicable, a period of obsolescence for their products (European Commission guidelines, October 2025). The maker's instructions and a competent person decide when a particular set is retired. The gear lifespan page explains how makers state lifespans in general.