Thoughts on Dirty Ropes

Is a "dirty rope" anything like a "dirty gas pump?"

haha i think he meant repercussions

Phil Esra wrote: The link within the BD report no longer works--it would be interesting to see what is known about other acid-induced failures. Especially "how much acid" and "for how long." Your typical trailhead parking lot isn't exactly covered in pools of battery acid.

Probably this article:
theuiaa.org/upload_area/fil…

My rope is going to get beaten up from gear, rock, and karate punches before the dirt has much of an effect. I might wash mine two or so times a year and I put a bit of effort into keeping it clean but honestly projecting routes and people TRing on it is probably going to do more damage... or maybe I am an idiot and going to end up in a very bad spot

Damn squeamish sounds bad ass. I wonder if I will ever be as cool as bearbreeder. He is so TRAD!

clay meier wrote:Damn squeamish sounds bad ass. I wonder if I will ever be as cool as bearbreeder. He is so TRAD!

squamish is only for bad azz zombays ... we died from using durty ropes ...

now if we can only be resurrected as MP intraweb toppu roperu tofu guys that preach over irrelevant things that wont kill ya like ... while ignoring things that will

that will be a true miracle

LOL

;)

bobbin wrote: Probably this article: theuiaa.org/upload_area/fil…

Ooh, interesting read, thanks!

@20kN, sorry, yes, I agree that dirt does NOT break ropes. I was making a side point, I guess--that ropes do break. According to that UIAA article, quite a bit more often than I realized (tho still rare). And apparently in all but one of those cases nobody could figure out how the sulfuric acid might have gotten on the rope.

Test has begun! The remaining piece of "control" webbing will continue to be stored as usual. Both will be tested to failure using a hydraulic floor jack. Any predictions?

mountainproject.com/images/…

Phil Esra wrote: Any predictions?

Everyone dies.

Jonas Salk wrote: Everyone dies.

Yes, that is what I suspect also. *ESPECIALLY* the passengers, and anyone nearby with dirty hands.

Rebeccah H. wrote:Dirty ropes are like dirty assholes, they won't kill ya , but surely are a turn off.

Trollenor

Locker, was it you that saw a guy throwing an almost new rope in the trash at Jtree, and heard his wife explain that the rope was "dirty" and "no good?" I remember hearing this story here or at ST, just cannot remember if it was you that told it.

The point I was trying to make was that
A) dirt does effect the rope whether significant or not and I see most people agree that it effects the hardware. If there is a way to minimize that I'm all for stacking the odds in my favor.
B) as a measure of someone's character I look at many things including the condition of the gear they climb on. There have been a few times when I preferred climbing on my gear to a partners I just met. Call me crazy.
C) if the manufacturers and UIAA are suggesting to wash ropes every so often, again, I'll take there suggestions over some random clown on the Internet.

Lastly, are people really bashing me because I prefer to climb with a clean rope I replace every year? Look at the amount of used ropes I've sold on this forum(I also buy one every couple years). It has to be two dozen. I sell on average about 60-80 dollars each. NEVER has anyone complained about the quality of my used ropes because I care about and maintain them. I throw another 20-30 to it(I get pro deals) and I've got a new rope that I have nothing to worry about. It's a numbers game to me, just makes sense. To the haters, climb on your shitty rope I could care less. Will it kill you, I hope not (and the odds seem to be in your favor) but I'd rather not.

Let me get this straight, you use a rope to the point where you no longer feel it is safe for you to use, then you sell it to someone on here? How is that supposed to make us respect your opinion?

I wash my ropes because I don't like the feel of a dirty rope or dirty hands.

How did you interpret me selling my used rope as me giving someone an unsafe rope? I do it because I can get a new rope for another 20 dollars. I get rid of it when it still has plenty of life left. If I sold it when it was bad it would have no value. Obviously people who have bought them don't feel that way. Besides when you buy a USED rope what do you think that means. I keep my shit cleaned and dialed. Ask anyone on here who has climbed with me which is a good portion of the regulars.

I'm not going to continue to justify my opinion which I'm entitled too. I live a life you armchair climbers would only dream of...

I'm just feeding the troll. It sure seems like you are, too.

Touché. Clearly bearbreeder got under my skin...

Ryan N wrote:I live a life you armchair climbers would only dream of...

Looooooooooool.

Not sure if troll or just completely delusional.

Phil Esra wrote:Test has begun! The remaining piece of "control" webbing will continue to be stored as usual. Both will be tested to failure using a hydraulic floor jack. Any predictions? mountainproject.com/images/…

UPDATED!
mountainproject.com/v/for-s…

I don't see why dirty multi-pitch ledges are getting so much blame here. If the ledge is that dirty, why not just coil the rope over your anchor or leg? It's not that hard to keep a rope off the ground/dirt when it's right in front of you.

That being said, a rope can easily get filthy from any climb. As useful as a rope tarp is, those 5x5ft squares don't catch every bit of rope when you're pulling it after cleaning on a windy day. Sometimes you're lucky just to get a few feet to land on the tarp, and some areas seem to be really fucking dirty. Ten Sleep, for example, seems to have this silty sand that makes ropes pretty filthy.