I dropped my rope in a cactus...

My rope slipped off of a belay ledge and landed squarely in a giant cactus. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to get all of the quills out. I have tried soaking and cleaning it and I've tried running it through a gri-gri. It seems like the stupidest reason ever to have to retire a rope, so if anyone has any ideas on how to get these damn things out it'd be much appreciated.

Are they spines (thorns) or glochids (tiny hair-like slivers)? Thorns are bigger and although they can puncture skin, they don't irritate it. Glochids usually cause burning and irritation. I don't have any suggestions but they are organic material and will break down over time. 

The only way to get those out are one by one with tweezers.  Total pain in the ass, but doable.

Agitating the rope while washing it and running it through a gri gri may have made the job harder, because you probably broke most of them off flush with the rope surface, making them harder to see and grab.

Feel and pinch along a section with your fingers to find those little suckers

Kyle Elliott wrote:

Are they spines (thorns) or glochids (tiny hair-like slivers)? Thorns are bigger and although they can puncture skin, they don't irritate it. Glochids usually cause burning and irritation. I don't have any suggestions but they are organic material and will break down over time. 

Unfortunately they are definitely the irritating ones...

find some 5 year old kids and pay them a quarter for each needle they find

Same thing happened to me in portrero. I just spent a long time going end to end feeling the rope with my hands and using pliers to pull them out. Patience is key.

F all that buy a new one

Now it is the rope which requires leather belay gloves for handling.  

sandrock wrote:

find some 5 year old kids and pay them a quarter for each needle they find

This, and for only $250 you'll have a rope that is somewhat less annoying

Gently...gently shave it with a triple blade disposable razor. Did I say carefully? It is magic.

Good luck, Rob

Saw that happen to a colleague's long underwear. The answer was to use scissors to cut out big chunks of fabric where the pokers resided.

Elmers Glue?  It works wonders on cactus spines on skin.  Maybe get a gallon and mix with rope, let dry, then peel off.    ???

Otherwise, buy a new rope.

I wonder if you could use one of those rubber pet gloves to remove the hairs  

You could try brushing it?

I just wait, eventually they'll all come out on your palms.

Take it with you the next time you get your back waxed.

If it is really bad rappel and belay with gloves for a while, they will eventually come out.  This happens to some extent all the time in the desert.