New life to an old rope?

What are your thoughts on using older ropes in certain circumstances?

I have a 10 year old Mammut climbing rope which sadly sat in the closet most of its life (college is not conducive to climbing fun) and is still in practically-new shape. That said, I know these things have a shelf life so I retired it.

I want to know if y'all think it would still be safe to use in static situations like canyoneering. Any concerns with integrity with regard to the age of the rope itself? I feel completely confident continuing to use it in such situations, but I'm reaching out in case there are considerations I'm unaware of.

If push comes to shove, I'll making a rug out of it.

Thanks for you input guys!

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;)

Jennifer L wrote:What are your thoughts on using older ropes in certain circumstances? I have a 10 year old Mammut climbing rope which sadly sat in the closet most of its life (college is not conducive to climbing fun) and is still in practically-new shape. That said, I know these things have a shelf life so I retired it. I want to know if y'all think it would still be safe to use in static situations like canyoneering. Any concerns with integrity with regard to the age of the rope itself? I feel completely confident continuing to use it in such situations, but I'm reaching out in case there are considerations I'm unaware of. If push comes to shove, I'll making a rug out of it. Thanks for you input guys!

Send it to me, i'll make sure to dispose of it properly so that you don't do something dangerous like try to use a perfectly good rope.

A couple of summers ago I went climbing with two friends and a guy I hadn't met before. This other guy brought his 10-year-old rope, and somehow I ended up leading on it. While tying in I noticed that the rope felt very stiff and not great. I asked how old it was, and then shrugged and headed up.

Then I died.

Just kidding. I finished the climb, but with less confidence than if it had been a nice, supple new rope. (This thing even looked manky, maybe just because it was a really dark, manky color). An old rope may be perfectly safe, but I'm definitely thinking it may soon be time to replace my 7-year-old still nice and supple rope, just because.

I wouldn't hesitate to toprope or canyoneer on such a rope

I toprope on rope much older than that.

Kiri Namtvedt wrote:Then I died.

Haha! Had a similar experience with a 11 mm rope I bought from an uncle. He hadn't used it much beyond a home climbing wall. I noticed that it felt stiff, but just thought that that's how the rope was and climbed on it for a couple years. Did some research on its age last summer, and found out it was 17 years old!! Makes sense because I have a picture from 15 years ago climbing on his wall with a rope that looks VERY similar to this one. I retired it immediately, but at the same time, I took some good falls on the rope and never had a problem, or died.

LOL! I just realized that the ropes (Ice floss)I use strictly for ice are almost 17 years old! (Due to knee surgery I haven't climbed since August!)Crap, thinking I'm buying new ropes at the end of the summer.

The rope is fine: almost as good as when it was new.

Anyone that says you should retire it is so risk averse they honestly have no business climbing. Fast walking at the local mall on Sunday mornings is probably a more appropriate activity for them.

(If it messes with your head that it is old, even though it is fine and your doubt is irrational, then buy a new rope. But understand that it is an *irrational* fear. I can understand that. But don't let anyone tell you that the rope is unsafe.)