All you gearheads and safety nerds out there...we know a guy who's got you beat. Stephen Gladieux volunteers for the AAC as a delegate to the UIAA, or the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation. That means Stephen and the other AAC volunteers represent the climbers of the United States to the international climbing community. Stephen is the ultimate gear nerd because he works on the Safety Commission of the UIAA to establish international standards for safety practices and gear. Stephen says: "I am most passionate about fixed anchors (bolts) because I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about the engineering behind them, and the techniques for placement and inspection. I recently ran the accreditation process for the first UIAA accredited laboratory in North America. I also am managing a project working with IMR labs to study a number of anchor samples and connect their manufacturing and environment to their failure." Here is another example of the kinds of gear engineering problems that the SafeComm considers: "The wide breadth of friction in rope sheaths and diameters makes the reaction of assisted braking devices quite variable. If we tried to engineer that system to be more repeatable we’d likely end up with only one rope sold with each device –[but] that’s going too far." He has also helped to put safety measures in place by certifying safe backcountry avalanche shovels after multiple instances of "amazon purchased shovels" breaking during use... often leaving their users unsafe and without this necessary tool in the backcountry. You really don't want a shovel to break on you when you're in the midst of an avalanche recovery...we think the importance of gear that stands up to the task at hand speaks for itself. But he is not alone. Thank you to ALL of our AAC volunteers who serve as delegates with the UIAA. Your work is deeply important in keeping us as safe! Others include: Phil Powers, UIAA Delegate Kendra Stritch, Ice Climbing Commission Ted Vaill, Legal Commission Ron Funderburke, Training Commission 📸: @swanosaurus_rex Read more at the link in our bio-->