speloman wrote:I have a question. Are fixed ropes common? And what is the porpose ( I know dumb Question )? I have never encountered this in any cave I have been in and I think this could be a dangerous thing. I for one I like to know the history of the rope if possible. A fixed rope that is left in the cave; who knows who used it last, or even if it was shockloaded and all the other horrible things that shorten the life of ropes. Maybe I read this wrong but I am under the impression that this is a rope left in the cave that any visitor, caver, or spelunker has accsess to. Am I correct? I have seen fixed ancors such as bolts and sometime they are questionable. I know I got a little off topic but this is a curiosity thing for me. There were times where I have gone in a cave and a webbing would be left as a ancor but I chose to use my own because I didn't know the history. plus being in the cave for years it hasent received the proper care and storage.
Well, you know an important thing about the fixed rope--it's been in the cave. A cave is a much better environment for a rope than most surface environments (other than proper storage).
Typically fixed ropes are used when either (1) there are drops that are accessed from below, so accessing the top without a pre-rigged rope would be a project, perhaps an aid climb, or (2) there are so many drops in the cave, it would severely hamper efficiency to have to rig them for every trip.