Harness, via ferrata set, helmet: in the partner check you inspect each other’s gear before starting. How the Alpine Club’s four-eyes check works.
What is the partner check on a via ferrata, and why do you need it? The honest answer: you and your partner inspect each other and before the first step harness, via ferrata set and helmet, with eyes and hands. The Alpine Club calls this the four-eyes principle [1]. It takes a minute and catches the error you cannot see on yourself.
The risk is real. In Austria there were 1,684 via ferrata emergencies in 10 years, of which 62 (3.7 %) ended fatally. The most common cause of death was a fall while climbing unsecured, and mortality was highest in easy sections (grade A 13.2 %, grade B 4.9 %), exactly where you feel safe [3]. The authors write: correct use of equipment could prevent the majority of these deaths [3]. Yet many know the rules poorly: in a survey of 332 via ferrata climbers in Tyrol they answered four questions on via ferrata risks only 46 % correctly on average, and only 76 % did a partner check [2].
The check itself is simple. After two or three tours it runs automatically.
Check on your partner: does the harness sit well above the hips, is it tightened and the buckle properly closed [1]? Legs and waist: both fit snugly, nothing flaps.
Milestone: you spot a wrongly closed buckle in under 10 seconds.
The set must be tied directly with an anchor hitch (no carabiner!) into the harness tie-in point [1]. Pull on it, check the knots, look at the energy absorber: no tear, no damage [1]. The carabiners on the lanyard arms (and on the rest sling, if your set has one) must have automatic locking and close by themselves [1].
Milestone: you can show the anchor hitch on your own set and explain why no carabiner may sit between.
The helmet sits firmly and comfortably, chin strap closed [1]. Only 92 % of via ferrata climbers wore a helmet in a study, 86 % of women and 96 % of men [2].
Women’s helmet use of 86 % lay below that of men [2]. Whether man or woman, beginner or pro: the helmet belongs on your head before you touch the rock.
Milestone: you check helmet, harness and set in one order without forgetting anything.
At the start: who goes first? Only one person may be between two anchor points. The second person keeps distance because in a fall the via ferrata brake gives a few metres [1]. Agree on passing and breaks.
Also clarify the exit: where are escape routes, when do you turn back, who sets the pace? Planning is part of safety: the Alpine Club advises checking difficulty, length, approach and descent, weather and conditions beforehand and matching the tour to the group’s ability [1].
Milestone: you jointly name the first anchor and who leads.
Make the check a fixed choreography: always the same order (harness, set, helmet, carabiners), always spoken ("harness closed, hitch there, helmet tight"). Whoever ticks off aloud overlooks nothing. For groups: the check applies to every person, not only beginners.
Harness buckle and fit above the hips, via ferrata set with anchor hitch directly in the tie-in point (no carabiner), energy absorber without tear, helmet firm with chin strap closed [1].
Before every start, also on easy routes. In Austria mortality was highest in technically easy sections [3].
Possible, but without a partner check the four-eyes principle is missing, and in an emergency nobody is there. The Alpine Club recommends accompaniment and training for beginners [1].
According to the Alpine Club at most 10 years. If the energy absorber is torn, the set must be replaced immediately [1].
The Straight-Arm Technique on a Via Ferrata: Save Energy with Long Arms