Introduction to Suspension

The knowledge, planning, and core skills you need before leaving the ground

Suspension changes everything. Once a partner leaves the ground, gravity becomes and unforgiving factor. Pressure of the rope on your partner increases, mistakes become more impactful and problems can become serious very quickly. Suspension can be an extraordinary experience, but it requires more knowledge, preparation, practice, and judgment than floor-based rope. This course provides the foundation you need before moving into more advanced suspension work. You will learn how to evaluate whether you and your partner are ready, understand suspension risks, choose appropriate rope, evaluate hard points, select and use load-bearing harnesses, attach uplines, manage uplines and frictions when connecting to a hard point, and respond when something goes wrong. You will begin with partial suspension, where you can learn to manage weight and tension with a greater margin for error, then work toward a simple first full suspension. The goal is not merely to get someone off the ground. It is to understand what you are doing well enough to do so deliberately, responsibly, with competence and control.