Assessing rope wear

[OpenTrackRacer]

I took a close look at my ropes today while I packed them in new rope bags. They looked to be in good shape but in some spots the sheath is slightly abraded and fuzzy. I'm wondering how much of this type of wear is acceptable? The rope is PMI 11mm pit rope.

Thanks!

[Stridergdm]

I took a close look at my ropes today while I packed them in new rope bags. They looked to be in good shape but in some spots the sheath is slightly abraded and fuzzy. I'm wondering how much of this type of wear is acceptable? The rope is PMI 11mm pit rope.

Thanks!

Some fuzziness is to be expected. It's sort of why the mantle is there.
Take some time at some point to run the entire rope through your hands, feel for places where the core feels "wrong". Like a chunk is missing, or a kink in it, etc.

Now, if you can SEE the kern through the mantle, then yeah, you're way beyond "slightly abraded" territory. (search for my trip to Ellison's and the fixed rope in there I encountered.

[Tim White]

On Rope states in the 1996 edition, on page 36: “Examine the fibers bundles. If, in these bundles over a majority of the rope, there are more than 50% of the fibers broken, it is time to retire the rope.”

[OpenTrackRacer]

Thanks for the feedback. From that information it looks like the rope has plenty of life left in it.

Speaking of life, one of our guys just retrieved his old rope from a closet. It's 150' of Edelweiss 11mm dynamic climbing rope. It's only been used a few times and looks excellent. However, it's 15 years old. Would anyone dare use this or should it be cut up and tossed?

[knudeNoggin]

The old dynamic rope could be used for TR.
(UIAA once pronounced aged ropes safe for that until the sheath
wears through -- and they'd tested some that were twice as old.)

*kN*

[OpenTrackRacer]

What about for rappelling? The loads would seem to be similar or less.

The old dynamic rope could be used for TR.
(UIAA once pronounced aged ropes safe for that until the sheath
wears through -- and they'd tested some that were twice as old.)

*kN*

[BrianC]

The old dynamic rope could be used for TR.
(UIAA once pronounced aged ropes safe for that until the sheath
wears through -- and they'd tested some that were twice as old.)

*kN*

I believe all dynamic ropes have a fall rating! 9 fall etc... Their structure is different than static rope! If you don't know the history of a rope I would cut it to usable tie down lengths and utilize them in that manor!

[OpenTrackRacer]

One further comment about the rope history... it's only been used for rappelling and has never taken any falls.

So, safe to still use for rappelling or...?

Thanks!

[NZcaver]

One further comment about the rope history... it's only been used for rappelling and has never taken any falls.

So, safe to still use for rappelling or...?

Have you (or will you) use it for ascending too? Take a few closeup pictures and post them here. Then we can all debate it some more!

My rule of thumb is fuzzy ropes are OK. But if you can see core fibers and/or feel irregularities, lumps, kinks etc as you run your hand along the rope or bend the rope in a loop... then it might be time to retire the rope. Or you could cut it where the problem spots are, and keep using the shorter lengths of rope for a couple more decades (like I do).

If you're really concerned, find a way to test (break) a few pieces of your rope to determine the MBS.

[OpenTrackRacer]

The picture would be boring. It looks like a new (if slightly dirty) rope. It was never used for ascending. The guy who owns the rope used to rappel into shafts using a figure-8 and then people on the surface would pull him back out! He once did this in a 2,000' shaft.



We would not be ascending on the rope either. The mine we're going to this weekend is quite deep (600'+) and has a number of pitches. That means that even though we have a lot of static rope it's not in short enough lengths to be enough. The mine also has ladders so we'll be rappelling in and climbing back out (using our Crolls for safety). I'm guessing from what everyone has said that it's perfectly safe so we'll put it to good use.

Our static rope is fuzzy but not too much. There are a few irregularities if you run it through your hands but they're very minor.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[wyandottecaver]

I dunno about dynamic rope, another French death machine I'm sure, but I don't rock climb

So far as Static rope, I retrieved a piece of used 11mm bluewater that had been hanging in an intermittent waterfall (in-cave) for over 30 years. Upon pull testing it broke at about 70% of its rated strength brand new. Not bad. Since that climb had not been done more than 2-3 times in those 30 years, might not get climbed again for another 30 and was exposed over a 100' pit, I replaced it with new 12.5mm Maxwear. I debated a lot about sticking to a standard 11mm but in the end went with the fudge factor. Of course in 30 years we will be using ascenders for 6mm ropes and only us old timers and prusik climbers will be able to use it

[Chads93GT]

Nothing wrong with dynamic rope wyandott. Its the same as static rope only the core is coiled to streach like a bungee cord, unlike static core which is straight. Other than that, its the same, and its not bad ascending on except you bounce like crazy ;)

[NZcaver]

The guy who owns the rope used to rappel into shafts using a figure-8 and then people on the surface would pull him back out! He once did this in a 2,000' shaft.

Hey, I did the same thing maaaaaany years ago in a 60 foot shaft. First and last time I tried that!

From what you said, the rope sounds fine. But if you're worried you can donate it to me or any number of other people for further assessment.

[OpenTrackRacer]

I'll tell you what... if it breaks, I'll have the survivors send you the two halves.

[wyandottecaver]

Chads,

Not to patronize you, but others may misinterpret your comments.

I own over 800 feet of dynamic, a thick sheath big wall rope, several thousand feet of static, and a few hundred feet of semi-static, from 5 different makers and including nylon, polyester, and mixes of the two, plus old-style "greenline". I assure you there is a BIG difference between static and dynamic.... and it can kill you.

As you said, dynamic will elongate a lot to absorb energy...generally from falling. The first thing this means is that when you get off rope at the bottom of a deep pit a static rope will "suck up" a little...maybe as much as a few feet. A dynamic might shorten 6-10 feet or more...If you dont have a lot of extra rope on the bottom this becomes an issue if you aren't expecting it....

The extra "bounce" in dynamic ropes also means you may expend more energy climbing the same distance, and worse, if your rope is in contact with a wear point it will "saw" much more agressively which leads to the main difference...

The more serious problem is that dynamic ropes almost without exception much less hardy than static ropes with respect to abrasion and keeping grit out of the core.

So, if they are well protected from rubbing, have ample length, and dont make you sick yo-yo ing...yes they can be just fine. But in general are not suited for cave applications except lead climbs.

and yes, I'm a rope junkie