Using A Rope From The Unknown

Andrew Shoemaker wrote: I work at a place that gets them donated to be re-purposed. Usually they are clearly retired ropes

Well if it was turned in to be re-cycled, obviously someone deemed it bad to use.

They could be wrong, but if you don't know I wouldn't play that game. Maybe they realized they had laid it on the ground where they parked their car the day after changing a battery on the same spot.

Not the type of thing that I'd be messing with.

I once saved a rope from the elements after some dufus left the thing way up in the hills for some project and forgot about it (I made a habit of checking on it every few months for over a year before removing it, after putting it in a very meticulous position).

It showed some wear but didn't stretch much when I test weighted it. I found myself climbing on it when I took a huge whipper last summer and it held!

However, I'm still temped to retire it. Is it really worth it?

Yeah, you can get away with a lot, with Lady Luck on your side. Including climbing on a rope of unknown history or suspect quality. The real test comes when you take a hard fall (say, factor 1 or greater) over an edge. An edge that wouldn't damage a rope in good shape. Is that a chance you want to take?

Just because you can't afford a good rope, I wouldn't want to take a gamble with my life or my partner's life. Or you could just make sure you never take any lead falls. :)

Do you really want your tombstone to read:
"Here lies a climber, couldn't afford a good rope, took his chances. No climber, no more."

Even though climbing is "inherently dangerous," I like to stack the odds in my favor. With good equipment, among other things.

Total BS...you don't know the history don't f'n use it. This is right up there with all the stupid used ropes that are bought and sold on this site. Jesus I can't beleive this discussion is even happening.

Flame on!

my .02...

the rope might be fine. it might not. if I am trusting my life to a single piece of gear, i want to have a higher probability than "might" that it is in good shape.

there are lots of things that could cause a rope to look good and still not be safe, so visual inspection is not 100%. they are not that common, but they exist. unless i knew the history of the rope, there is no way that i would climb on it. it very well might be fine, but to me the risk that it is damaged is not worth it.

Roots wrote:Total BS...you don't know the history don't f'n use it. This is right up there with all the stupid used ropes that are bought and sold on this site. Jesus I can't beleive this discussion is even happening. Flame on!

Why does the idea of someone else doing something you are afraid to do make you so emotional? lol

Anyone out there personally know of a total rope failure? Cut over an edge, broke, chopped and the whole team plummets to the deck? Whatever. Who PERSONALLY knows a good story to tell us in which someone died because their rope failed?

Most deaths occur because of human error or objective dangers such as rock fall. Not because the rope broke.

I really find it humorous that some people are so paranoid about ropes. Same sort of climber that backs up their belay loop with a piece of 5m cord to make them "safer". Not that I mind. I'll keep buying those 'just getting broke in' ropes off of MP for a fraction of the price you suckers are paying for your new cords!

...and my life is only worth about 94 cents at this point and it's devaluing fast so I don't really spend a lot of time worrying about my rope breaking. Of course I actually inspect my rope occasionally, which is something that many climbers rarely bother to do.

Yarp wrote: Of course I actually inspect my rope occasionally, which is something that many climbers rarely bother to do.

Why do YOU bother since you seem to be implying that ropes never fail?

A climber fell to his death in Eldo last (?) summer when he took a lead fall and his rope scraped across a sharp edge slicing it completely.

We all know it's bad practice to buy used gear [pro]- especially used ropes. I don't even need to list why - infact the OP knows and that's why this thread was started in the first place...

And before one of you climbers with nothing better to do goes and digs up a past post of mine - yes, I did buy a used Bro once but only because it was such a big piece of metal I assumed it was safe. Then even that gave me doubts and I wouldn't use it.

I don't know..........when you are almost at the end of a long run out on sketchy terrain and you look at the rope you are tied in to and you begin to wonder about the history of that rope you have to ask yourself the question, "so punk. Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya"?

Buy a new rope.

I would use it, but that's just me. You could certainly retire it to TR only use. That's what I do with my old, sketchy ropes.

Yarp wrote:...Most deaths occur because of human error or objective dangers such as rock fall...

Couldn't making the decision to climb with a questionable rope be defined as human error?

Richard Radcliffe wrote: A climber fell to his death in Eldo last (?) summer when he took a lead fall and his rope scraped across a sharp edge slicing it completely.

At least according the report in Rock & Ice, there was human error involved as well.

So after reading through this thread and coming to my senses I have cut the rope up into 4 sections and will retire it to be used as a rug for my bathroom. I still think the rope was in perfect condition to climb on but you guys are right...totally not worth risking my life over $200. I'll just keep falling on friends ropes : )

Noooooooo!

EdAsh wrote: If you need a rope, I will give you one... A GOOD ONE. cheers

If your giving away good ropes...I do need one...I'll take you up on that.

EdAsh wrote:ok brother, meet me at the BRC (my second home)... I think you should just buy a new one... but I will give you some ropes with caveat's for sure! cheers

I'll be there Friday eve...

EdAsh wrote:I will leave them at the desk.... I still recommend you buy new ropes and not trust strangers... I have stories to tell... I have bad feelings about this, I climb on them... but it's a risk I take... I am not sure I can pass this risk onto you... Buy new ropes and use mine for less risky stuff... ok? cheers,

Eh..idk they don't sound as good as you originally made them out to be. Sounds like I'd been just as well off climbing on the rope I just cut up. I think I'll pass

This thread is a good reason for everyone to somehow mutilate their unsafe climbing equipment, even if you are sending it in to get recycled or whatever.

Posted on another forum: "a buddy brought his Petzl 9.4 x 70 down to Red Rocks last month, and despite being relatively new, it was a total POS. Total P.O.S. First, despite being relatively new, his has stiffened: much like a steel cable. Certainly much much more than my old 9.4. Not a good trait. But worse than that, much worse and perhaps even life threatening in this case was the fact that it kinked badly. By badly let me say that in 38 years of climbing I've never seen one kink that bad."

Petzl ropes seem pretty shoddy. Another user said his was core-shot after a week of use. Sounds very questionable. And why was only 10m cut off of one end?

Loren Trager wrote: And why was only 10m cut off of one end?

No idea...