A fall arrester for use in a climbing protection system to protect a user of a ladder, a platform or the like from falls wherein the fall arrester is adapted to be used with, and to be movable along, a guide rail having catching stops engageable by the fall arrester in response to a fall by the user, the fall arrester comprising: a body configured to be movable along a guide rail ; a pawl comprising a pawl tooth , the pawl mounted to the body for movement relative to the body between an engaging position wherein the pawl tooth will engage a catching stop in the guide rail and a disengaged position wherein the pawl tooth will not engage the catching stops in the guide rail ; a connecting element operably connected to the pawl and configured to transmit force to the pawl from a user attached to the connecting element ; wherein the pawl and the connecting element are operably connected to each other such that: (a) the pawl and the connecting element rotate in a common direction as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaged position in response to a first predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a first direction, and (b) the pawl rotates away from the connecting element as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaging position in response to a second predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a second direction that is different than the first direction, and wherein the connecting element and the pawl are pre-loaded against each other, the pawl is mounted to the body to rotate about a first axis between the disengaged and the engaging positions, the connecting element is mounted to rotate about a second axis spaced from the first axis , and the pawl rotates about the first axis in response to the second predetermined force being applied to the connecting element in the second direction. a body configured to be movable along a guide rail ; a pawl comprising a pawl tooth , the pawl mounted to the body for movement relative to the body between an engaging position wherein the pawl tooth will engage a catching stop in the guide rail and a disengaged position wherein the pawl tooth will not engage the catching stops in the guide rail ; a connecting element operably connected to the pawl and configured to transmit force to the pawl from a user attached to the connecting element ; wherein the pawl and the connecting element are operably connected to each other such that: (a) the pawl and the connecting element rotate in a common direction as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaged position in response to a first predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a first direction, and (b) the pawl rotates away from the connecting element as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaging position in response to a second predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a second direction that is different than the first direction, and (a) the pawl and the connecting element rotate in a common direction as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaged position in response to a first predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a first direction, and (b) the pawl rotates away from the connecting element as the pawl moves from the disengaged position to the engaging position in response to a second predetermined force applied to the connecting element in a second direction that is different than the first direction, and wherein the connecting element and the pawl are pre-loaded against each other, the pawl is mounted to the body to rotate about a first axis between the disengaged and the engaging positions, the connecting element is mounted to rotate about a second axis spaced from the first axis , and the pawl rotates about the first axis in response to the second predetermined force being applied to the connecting element in the second direction. <EOS>