The UIAA Safety Commission unanimously adopted the snow picket standard, UIAA-155 in June.

This new standard, fills a gap in UIAA Safety Standards with requirements derived from snow anchor (dead-men) and piton standards. The requirements set forth in UIAA standards provide a baseline for the performance of climbing and mountaineering equipment.

There are 21 UIAA Safety Standards developed by mountaineers and climbers for the mountaineering and climbing community that cover ropes, slings, harnesses, helmets, pitons, karabiners, rock anchors and other climbing equipment. This makes them the most acceptable standards world-wide.  We collaborate with the European Standards organization, CEN, for harmonization of standards. In some cases, the UIAA asks for additional tests making the standard stricter than the CEN. Thus, the UIAA standards may differ slightly from the CEN standards.

The Safety Commission is also responsible for working with manufacturers listed on the UIAA website who are Safety Label holders and are allowed to use the UIAA Safety Label.

UIAA standards are tested by accredited laboratories according to defined UIAA standards.