Founded in 2009, VRS was created to serve as a knowledge and resource hub for those who work at height. Our Train-the-Trainer programs and study materials have helped many professionals become certified vertical specialists and improve safety standards across the industry. Over time, VRS also made online theory classes, training curriculums, and study materials available to the PMI Certified Trainer network. 

With a growing number of well qualified trainers in the industry, VRS is excited to now expand on our original mission by maintaining a prime training facility with advanced structures and professional equipment. Beal-PMI is opening this facility for collaboration with trusted training organizations and professionals who share our commitment to safety and education. The first collaboration begins with ENSA, a respected name in safety training and a long-time partner of PMI, chosen for their credibility and shared values. 

“ENSA is excited to collaborate with PMI in Denver to continue using the existing facility for safety and technical training, ensuring the location remains an active part of supporting the industry workforce,” said Maureen Solenberg Director of Operations ENSA. 

Since 2010 , PMI’s Denver Training Facility has hosted professionals and organizations from fire departments, tower companies, and research teams, as well as students and community members, through programs such as Open Ropes Night. This new collaborative direction will continue that legacy and create more opportunities for trainers and safety professionals to work together. 

VRS continues to develop new resources and programs to connect everyone involved in work at height, from trainers and administrators to field technicians, engineers, and rescue teams. The mission is to bring these groups together, share knowledge, and strengthen the community that keeps people safe above the ground. 

“VRS was created to connect people and share knowledge,” said Loui McCurley, CEO of Beal-PMI, Inc. “Opening our facility to collaboration keeps that spirit alive and expands opportunities for professionals to train, teach, and grow together.” 

PMI and VRS remain fully committed to supporting safety education and professional development in the vertical environment. VRS continues to grow and improve to help more people gain access to quality training and reliable information. 

For collaboration opportunities or facility inquiries, please contact verticalrescuesolutions@pmirope.com. 

An Invitation to Help Make the World a Better Place

There’s no denying it—over-regulation can be a nightmare. Sometimes, it feels like the more rules we have, the harder it is to actually do the job. And when it comes to fall protection and rescue safety, not every situation can be solved by a simple regulation or blanket rule.
As experienced safety and rescue professionals, we know that each worksite, each rescue, and each worker is different. When real-world scenarios and physics fail to read the books that the standards-writers used, we have to use our best judgment to make sure everyone stays safe.
Safety is about more than just wearing the right gear and checking the ropes. It’s about experience, knowing what works, and using that knowledge to keep people safe. But where should we draw the line? How far should standards go?

A Seat at the Table—Before Someone Who Actually Likes Standards Takes It

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when my boss, Steve Hudson, first asked me to get involved in standards development. I had a lot of thoughts, none of which were particularly positive about spending hours in meetings discussing regulations. But I’ll never forget what he said:

“This is an opportunity. If you don’t step up, someone else will—and they might actually like standards.”

At the time, I couldn’t help but wonder, who likes standards? But looking back, I realize he had a point. Standards are essential—they provide a baseline for safety and ensure that everyone is on the same page. However, at the other end of the spectrum are those who use the regulatory process to redirect the industry toward their biases or preferences.
Somewhere between the lowest common denominator and the self-righteous dominator is a balance that promotes safety without stifling the flexibility we need in real-world situations.

A World Without Standards

Have you ever considered what our world might be like if stop signs didn’t mean STOP? Or if electrical outlets were all wired to deliver an arbitrary output? Or how big a “cup” of sugar should be?
When I first began participating in NFPA 1983 a few decades ago, there was a specific requirement for how strong a rope should be. However, there were big gaps in defining test methods, sample lengths, terminations, and interpretation of results.
Under this scenario, manufacturers could publish test results in wildly different ways, leading to confusion and inconsistency in safety ratings. This lack of standardization was one of the reasons I reluctantly conceded that standards do have a place in safety equipment.

How Far is Too Far?

The first edition of NFPA 1983 in the late 1980s was five pages long. Today, NFPA 1983 is part of the 245-page NFPA 2500 Standard. Have we improved industry safety with these additional pages, or have we just made equipment more expensive and complex?
Some questionable requirements include:
– “Life Safety Rope shall be constructed of virgin fiber.” European EN standards allow recycled fiber—why doesn’t NFPA?
– “All load-bearing buckles must be proof-loaded to 11kN.” Does this genuinely improve safety, or just increase costs?
– “Soft goods must be retired no more than ten years from manufacture.” Shouldn’t storage conditions and actual use be considered?
While quality is imperative, we must ask: Who is really benefiting from these increasingly complex standards?

“Consensus Means Everyone’s a Little Bit Unhappy”

When he was teaching me the ropes of standards development, Steve used to like to say:

“The true definition of consensus is that everyone is a little bit unhappy!”

At first, I thought that sounded like a terrible motto. But after being part of a few discussions, I saw the wisdom in it. There’s no perfect solution for everyone. It’s about finding the best compromise that ensures safety without over-regulation.
That’s why having experienced technicians at the table is crucial. Field technicians know what’s practical, what’s not, and what’s downright dangerous. Engineering, manufacturing, training, and testing professionals are essential, but so are those who work with the equipment daily.
Without this balance, we risk creating impractical standards that don’t work in real-world applications.

Why You Should Get Involved

If you don’t get involved in standards development, someone else will. And if you’re not there to advocate for practical solutions, we could end up with standards that make your job harder, not necessarily safer.
Yes, attending meetings and discussing regulations might sound dull. But being part of the process ensures that standards make sense for the people who rely on them daily. If we don’t take that opportunity, we’re leaving it to someone else—someone who may have an entirely different agenda.
Remember: “True consensus means everyone is a little bit unhappy.”
And that’s okay. Because in the end, it’s about ensuring that safety doesn’t take a backseat to bureaucracy.

Get Involved: Standards That Matter

If this has piqued your interest, here are some key standards in our industry you might want to consider contributing to:

• NFPA 2500 (Operations & Training for Technical Search and Rescue, Life Safety Rope & Equipment)
  • Next edition: 2027
  • Committee Application
• NFPA 1006 (Technical Rescue Personnel Professional Rescue Qualifications)
  • Committee Application
• ANSI Z359 (Fall Protection Code)
  • Committee Interest Form
• ANSI Z459 (Rope Access)
  • Next edition: 2027
  • Committee Interest Form
• ANSI A10.48
  • Next edition: 2029
  • Committee Interest Form

If you’re in this industry, your experience matters. Join the discussion and help shape the standards that affect our work every day.

”Beginning”

To begin with, OSHA regulation does not address harnesses other than those used for Industrial Fall Protection and Construction Fall Protection (including those used in confined spaces.) The regulatory language in these standards describe harnesses as being part of a fall arrest system that permits up to 6’ fall on a dorsal attachment – something that is generally not acceptable in rigging for vertical rescue operations, due to the increased hazards that would be imposed on rescuers.

“Harnesses for work at height and harnesses for rescue are two very different things”

Sometimes those who are trying to make decisions without the full scope of information can misunderstand this… Harnesses for work at height and harnesses for rescue are two very different things… just as shoes for industrial safety and shoes for mountaineering are two very different things.

Outside of Confined Space operations, OSHA does not actually address rescue, other than to say that a worker who has fallen into fall protection must be rescued promptly. Even in the realm of confined space, which is the only place they really talk about rescue in any detail, OSHA does not address rescue equipment (see interpretation letter which states there are no specifications for rescue equipment.)

OSHA may someday address rulemaking for emergency services responders, but as of now, the few references smattered throughout regulation are inconsistent and out of date (see link). As rescuers we should defer to their own acknowledgment of this and look elsewhere for guidance.

“Best Practice can be a bit subjective”

At present, we are best served to consider Industry Standards (ASTM, NFPA) and Industry Best Practice (what you see happening in real life) as a guide for how to best equip emergency services responders for rope rescue. Industry Best Practice can be a bit subjective and specific to application, environment, or even local custom, so here we will focus on decision-making processes and related standards.

To establish some background for this post, I (the author) have been a member of an active mountain rescue team in the front range of Colorado since 1985. I have also served with two fire departments over the course of my career (plus the Yellow Jackets wildland crew, which doesn’t really apply here…) and have been involved in research, testing, and standards development related to rescue since 1987. I presently serve with NFPA 1983, ASTM F32, and ANSI Z359 standards committees (among others) and am CEO of PMI. We manufacture and distribute life safety rope and equipment, and offer related training through our Vertical Rescue Solutions training arm, for a wide range of work and rescue applications, ranging from Fire-Rescue to Industrial Fall Protection, Mountain Rescue, Caving, and more.

In short, the general approach taken by most responding agencies (and standards developers, for that matter) is that emergency responders should be protected to at least the same level of protection as would be appropriate for the person(s) whom they might be called to rescue. If responding to a confined space emergency, they should be equipped with appropriate confined space PPE and equipment.  If responding to a cave emergency, they should be equipped with appropriate caving PPE and equipment. If responding to an industrial fall protection emergency, they should be equipped with appropriate emergency fall protection PPE and equipment. If responding to a mountaineering or climbing emergency, they should be equipped with appropriate mountaineering or climbing PPE and equipment… the list goes on, but you get the idea.

You will notice the phrase above, should be protected to at least the same level of protection… Let’s expound on that a little bit because there is a tendency in our society to lean toward a philosophy that “more is better” – which could erroneously lead to the idea that a full-body harness is better than a seat harness because there is more material there.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

“a very limited range of features that are unique to each type of harness”

Harnesses are designed for different applications with much, much more than just the “seat vs full body” question as consideration. For example:

• some of the more robust rescue harnesses will have a large, supportive waistbelt and a high front-waist attachment, to facilitate greater comfort in suspended operations.
• A caving harness, on the other hand, has a thinner, lighter waistbelt and a VERY low front-waist attachment, so that it adds minimal girth to the caver and works well with a chest harness to facilitate a range of ascending systems.
• A climbing harness will be somewhere between the two, with a front-waist attachment somewhere at or below belly-button level so that the body rotates around the center of gravity in the event of a lead-climbing fall.
• Industrial fall arrest harnesses have as their primary connection point a Dorsal D ring, for compliance with fall protection regulations, and a great deal of heavy metallic D rings for connection…
• and the list goes on.

So far we have addressed only a very limited range of features that are unique to each type of harness, but again I’m sure you get the idea.  I hope that you are also beginning to see that what is good for one application is, very specifically, often contraindicated for another.

So, depending on what the rescuer is doing, different types of rescue harnesses might be most appropriate.

>> Read Next Part

We got to try out my new 11mm Max Wear yesterday. It wasn’t a bad rappel or climb, but definitely not Sport Ez, Talon, or Extreme Pro. For what it’s designed for, ruggedness and durability, I think it shines; time will tell. Rope is on my mind this morning. Trying to pin down “the one” I like the most; and that’s a tough one.

11mm Extreme Pro– rappel is like butter! Super smooth through the rack; very easy to get over the lip with; but yet you need to be aware of just how easy it feeds. Definitely a fast rope to rappel on, and very smooth! The climb…… meh. Not my favorite to climb on. Very stretchy. I’m not a fan of the “bungie cord bounce” when climbing. The longer the drop, the more the bounce. It’s so lumber that to start climbing is a pain in the butt. Once you get 20’ ish off the ground it gets better from rope weight. Then ya bouncy bouncy bounce until you hit the 100’ ish mark and the stretch isn’t too bad and the bounce chills out; making the climb much better.

11mm Max Wear. It’s a beast. Ready to be dragged through caves, over rocks, through water, and just abused is it’s design. The rappel wasn’t bad, but certainly not “butter smooth”. A much stiffer rope, it doesn’t feed through the rack very good when going over the lip; gotta feed the rack some. Once over and free hanging it does fine. The climb? It’s “ok”, not as much stretch/bounce as the Extreme Pro, but close. The longer the drop, the more boing! Boing! You’ll go. It’ll work good for what I got it for; caving and dirty pit bouncing.

11mm Sport Ez– I didn’t think I would like this one as much as I do, now. It’s a good all around rope; and it’s actually one of my favorites now. We sell a ton of it; and during the Spring through Fall we make thousands of feet of it daily. The rappel is nice. It has a great happy medium getting over the lip and dropping. It feeds through the rack very well, and is nice for tying knots/rigging. Smooth rappel and makes it very smooth to control you bars; doesn’t give you that herky/jerky when using your bars to adjust your descent. The climb isn’t bad at all either. It has a little stretch at the start, but you can quickly get climbing after a couple steps. Has a ‘little’ bounce too it, but tolerable; for me…. Again, I didn’t think I’d like this one as much as I do. Turns out, I like it a lot. Definitely a “go to” rope and I bring it every time. 

11mm Talon* (available by special order) – I don’t think I’m as impressed with it as I am the 10mm Talon. I love my 10 mil. The 11mm I thought would of been better. Rigging/knot tying it does good, easy to use. Fairly smooth going over the lip and it feeds through the rack well, no “feeding the rack” with this one. Just sit yer butt back and go. Once on the free hang, it rappels nice; but, not as nice as I thought it would. Sport Ez and Extreme Pro are better; which surprised me. Where this rope shined is the climb. No stretch (at least at the 100’ level so far; it’s the biggest drop I’ve rigged it with, yet…), and the climb is fast and smooth. No bouncing, just flying straight up! There is no fumbling around on the first step either. You simply just get ya movin’!

I have a couple more ropes to make and try out. Definitely going to get some ISO Static in the 13mm and 11mm. Have a short 11mm and it handles very well on rappel and climb; just need to try it on a bigger drop. And the Access Pro… would like to try that. But for now, I do believe my “go to rope” would be the Sport Ez in the 11mm. Definitely Talon in 10mm.

I’ve lost track of how many feet of rope I have now, it has become a little addicting, but I enjoy getting to make these products AND get too use them. When your butt is hanging on a thread, it’s comforting to know where and how that rope was made. It’s also nice to be able to make custom colors and patterns. Seeing so much daily helps out with coming up with patterns. Love my Red/White/Blue colors and patterns, but I just might have ya get our standard Old Glory rope made, just to have one. Be a good add too the mix. 

Anywho….. I felt like yammering about rope since I got too try out the Max Wear yesterday. Going to switch to bagging my ropes (minus the max wear and pit ropes, still coil those), to save some wall space, and it’s a better way to stow them. Honey; we’re going to need a LOT of bags! 

I would also like to thank my wife, for not killing me for buying/making all this rope; and…… future, ropes…… While she does “face palm” and shake her head; she hasn’t killed me yet! 

As we are still rolling along in this undetermined stretch of home time and physical distancing… so the mind and body need even more maintenance and care. It is is super easy to get lazy, depressed and sad with so much uncertainty. I for one find it hard to not know when I will be able to see friends and family again… when I will get to roam freely and when I will get to do all of the outdoor activities that I love so much.

I have created a list of things that can help us all to stay healthier mind and body. I hope you find it helpful.

Get up and get Ready!!

I am finding it super important these days to get up and get ready. The idea is to not float about in your PJ’s all day, which will make us feel less productive. We need to get up, make the bed, get dressed and get on the day as if we would without this pandemic going on. All humans thrive much better with a schedule. It is a proven fact. So think about coming up with a plan for your days. If you are working from home, come up with a time frame with scheduled breaks for outdoor activities and yoga/training. This will help make your days more productive and you feel much better overall.

Get Outside Ideas:

Getting outside is super important, not just for the physical aspect but also for the mental benefits. As our boundaries get more closed in with the Stay in Place laws sweeping the nation we need to get more creative in our own backyards.

Running:

Running is a great way to get some air in the lungs, improve the mood, and stay healthy! If you find running boring, check out my ideas below to perhaps spice it up and make it more fun!

• I like to find a couple of rocks that I can pinch while I run. Find two that are similar in size and weight that is sustainable for at least 15 minutes. If you only have one rock you can switch from hand to hand every 5 minutes.
• Run 1/4 mile, ten push ups, run 1/4 mile, 10 push ups (repeat for set distance), or add in handstands!
• Try adding in bursts of speed—20 to 30 seconds of faster running followed by at least a minute of slower running. Or, find a hill and run up it quickly, then slowly jog back down. Start with two to four bursts or hills, then build up week by week. Besides making time pass more quickly, these short, hard efforts boost your heart rate and help reduce your injury risk.
• Music and podcasts can really make the time and the miles fly by.
• Focus your mind. Though training partners and music may serve as welcome distractions, actually tuning in to what you’re doing can also help you enjoy it more, notes Mackenzie L.Havey, a Minneapolis runner and coach and author of Mindful Running. “Research shows that mindful athletes tend to exhibit greater optimism, higher self-confidence, and less anxiety,” she says. To start, spend the first few steps of your run doing a full scan of your body, mind, and the world around you, she recommends. Notice the feeling of your feet hitting the ground, the sound of birds chirping, the top three thoughts in your head. If you notice your mind wander—and you will—gently bring it back to the present moment. “You’ll find that fully immersing yourself in the run by focusing on your environment, body, and mind boosts enjoyment, even on the days you’re feeling less than inspired to work out,” she says.

Games!

We aren’t allowed to meet up with friends, however, a lot of us have at least one other person in the house with us. Why not engage in a fun outdoor game to play together? Bocce ball is an easy one and can be played with rocks that you have around the yard. How about frisbee… Corn hole… What other games do you have laying about?

Gardening!

Digging in the dirt is one of my favorite things! It is also so good for you to connect to the earth and get dirty. So get the seeds out and start planting. If you live in the mountains and have a shorter growing season, now is a great time to plant the starts to get things rolling for planting time! If you need any gardening tips please email me! I love talking dirt!

Garden projects!

Beyond planting veggies and flowers… maybe you want to enhance your yard with a rock wall or fountain or paths. So many fun things to do out there!

Have a picnic!

Changing up your perspective is a great way to change your mood. Try packing up dinner and walking to the local park to have dinner outside.

Inside Ideas:

I am spending so much more time inside than I likely ever have. I am a nature girl and love the outdoors, so that is typically where I spend the most of my time. However, now that we are on shelter in place orders… I am being forced to chill out a bit. Which honestly is a really good thing! Turns out I have a lot of indoor life things to catch up on. Some ideas:

Online Classes to improve your business or to learn a new skill. I am currently taking an online communication class through DailyOm. Always work to be done in communication!

Anchor and skills Practice!

This is a great time to get dialed in on your technical climbing skills. Anchors, hitch knots, raising and lowering systems. Rescue practice. The AMGA has some great videos online for rock, alpine, ski, and ice.

Hang board if you have one!

Or build something our of some scraps of wood to hang on. So many homemade hang board ideas. We have found this app pretty helpful to keep us motivated!

House projects!

Time to clean out that basement, garage, or closet. Paint a highlight wall inside the house? Or something bigger. Cleaning out those places in the house that we forgot about. Replanting those plants that have been needing it for years. Now is the time!

Get Artsy!

There are so many fun ways to get creative. So take a minute to figure out what you like. Is it writing, photography, learning an instrument, sewing, jewelry making? Or maybe you might want to try making a vision board? This is a great way to put your dreams all into one place and helps to make them a reality.

Cooking!

I like to see what’s in the fridge and then figure out what to make…now that is more important than ever. It’s fun to find different recipes to fit our ingredients and make due with what we have. There are so many awesome online cooking blogs! This is a fun one.

Online chats with friends and family for happy hour! We just had a zoom and Netflix Party last night for my sister’s birthday. It was super fun! Zoom dance parties are coming this week!!

Yoga and meditation practice!

I have a yoga for climbers course online that is currently being offered for free:

• Yoga for Climbers: Code BEWELL will get you free access for one month and the code expires 5/15.
• Also, I will be teaching a series of classes every Tuesday evening starting April 14th from 5-6 pm on Instagram live. This will be focused on flexibility, health, and overcoming stress for athletes.

I bet you have a lot more ideas. Feel free to share them in the comments! And please keep in touch! I would love to hear from all of you!

Be well and stay healthy out there!

Big love,
Heidi