Rope wear - Lead vs Top Rope

I have a debate going with my partner.  I have always felt that TR'ing is harder on a rope than leading.  She doesn't think so.  Now I know there can be a lot of variables but cutting out any extremes what's the consensus on here or has any read any tests ever done?

My reasoning in my head.  In my 14 or so climbing years I see people's ropes that are beginners to intermediate climbers ropes look worse or wear out faster than my ropes have.  I have always been a predominate leader.  90% of the time I push till I fall.  After a fall I pull back up to my fall point and go indirect, rest and push on. The majority of time my belayers give nice soft catches.  Over the years I generally frown and deter people from TR'ing on my rope.

For TR, I see more wear and abuse.  The rope is always running through anchors, weighted or not.  Most of the time people that TR are hanging, getting pulled up or being assisted in their climbing which puts more weight on the rope running through anchors and any directional draws on route.  If a route has any bulges/ledges the rope is running over it constantly twice while the climber climbs and has more drag.  

Even if all things equal climbing a slightly steep route with no wall drag.  a leader goes up with no fall, sets anchor and say gets lowered.  Part or most of the rope runs through the anchors once.  For TR, the rope gets wear as the climber goes up and then as they are lowered.

I guess if the same climber climbed a route on lead clean and TR clean the wear difference is very minimal so maybe TR just seems rougher on a rope to me because generally those climbers are newer to intermediate and then experience/technique come in to play.

Just like to hear others thoughts.  If MP convinces me enough I guess I will have to start letting my partner TR on my rope  

Top-roping is harder on the sheath, for the reasons you mentioned: there is just more of the rope rubbing against the rock. Lead falls on the other hand are much harder on the core, they tend to happen in the same area and you get flat spots around 2 to 4 meters past your tie-in. If you really wanted to maximize the longevity of a rope, you would only lead without falling and always rappel rather than lowering. But you certainly realize that this would not maximize the fun you have while climbing, so don't worry too much about, extend your top-anchors to avoid sharp lips, switch which side you are leading on frequently, and change your rope when it needs changing.

Alan Rader wrote:

I guess if the same climber climbed a route on lead clean and TR clean the wear difference is very minimal so maybe TR just seems rougher on a rope to me because generally those climbers are newer to intermediate and then experience/technique come in to play.

This.  Also, the level of care a newer climber is likely to give their rope is likely lower than that of a more experienced climber.  A lot of new people (myself included when I was new) don't even use rope tarps.

All my lead ropes get relegated to top ropes when they get old

I feel (without any quantitative data to support this) that lead ropes get predominantly worn out on the ends (20-25ft segment close to each end), while the ropes used for TR get wear more evenly distributed throughout the entire length of the rope.

A lot of people TR what they cannot lead, so there is a lot more time the rope spends rubbing against the rock under tension. 

I’m guessing ; Lead a climb with no falls and walk off, hardly any wear. Lead multi pitch and rap on doubled rope, probably less wear than lowering off on TR. Lead with a bunch of falls, harder on the rope than tr falls. 

Mammut had an article on their website years ago, simply titled “Rope” that dealt with many issues about climbing ropes.

There was one small mention of rope wear and retiring ropes:

”Rope log - Of particular use for commercially used ropes. A rope log simplifies the maintaining of the usage history of the rope. The entries include the number of days used, the number of meters climbed (multiplied by 0.33) and the rappelling, lowering or top rope meters (multiplied by 1.66). From this the total usage meters can be calculated. Ropes with 5-7 standard falls can usually be used for about 1500-5000 meters, those with 7-9 standard falls 5000-10000 meters and those with more than 9 standard falls 10000-20000 meters.”

From this usage equation it would appear that Mammut feels than rappelling, lowering and top roping  is 5 times as wearing/abrasive as just climbing.

Alan Rader wrote:

… After a fall I pull back up to my fall point and go indirect, rest and push on. The majority of time my belayers give nice soft catches.  Over the years I generally frown and deter people from TR'ing on my rope.

Regardless of rope wear, studies have shown that using the term  “go indirect”  is 90% more wearing on the nerves than say, using actual legitimate English or real climbing terms. 

Please don't assume top rope=being hauled, or hanging a lot. That isn't true for all of us.

Also consider that lead climbs have rope running through carabiners, especially the first draw, if it's a sport climb. Edulrid bulletproof carabiners/draws for top rope anchors and first draw help tons with keeping ropes cleaner. I'd also sing the praises of an agitator less top load washer and rope soap. Custom designed for washing ropes! Okay, maybe not, but that's sure the first thing I thought when I was shopping for a new washer, lol!

FWIW, my first rope was purchased in 2018. I only just bought the second rope (same rope) after the first one started getting beat up this season. Most of that damage is to the sheath, not too bad, and it's still usable, but it's looking kinda beat up, like it's owner, lol!

That damage?

Was largely caused by a trip to City of Rocks with a climber who insisted on cleaning and rappelling, to "save the hardware".

Even though mussy hooks are going in.

And, apparently hasn't climbed much in areas where it's windy. Pulled the rope and got it wedged in stuff more than once.

Generally, though, yeah, top rope would help spread out wear, lead would tend to focus wear toward the tie ins, I'd guess?

As to rappel or lower? 

Human parts are extremely expensive to fix or bury.

Ropes are a consumable item, budget for it.

Hardware is replaceable.

Get your end of year donations in to ASCA, or better yet, sign up for an ongoing donation!

Best, Helen

Alan Rader wrote:

I have a debate going with my partner.  I have always felt that TR'ing is harder on a rope than leading.  She doesn't think so.  Now I know there can be a lot of variables but cutting out any extremes what's the consensus on here or has any read any tests ever done?

My reasoning in my head.  In my 14 or so climbing years I see people's ropes that are beginners to intermediate climbers ropes look worse or wear out faster than my ropes have.  I have always been a predominate leader.  90% of the time I push till I fall.  After a fall I pull back up to my fall point and go indirect, rest and push on. The majority of time my belayers give nice soft catches.  Over the years I generally frown and deter people from TR'ing on my rope.

For TR, I see more wear and abuse.  The rope is always running through anchors, weighted or not.  Most of the time people that TR are hanging, getting pulled up or being assisted in their climbing which puts more weight on the rope running through anchors and any directional draws on route.  If a route has any bulges/ledges the rope is running over it constantly twice while the climber climbs and has more drag.  

Even if all things equal climbing a slightly steep route with no wall drag.  a leader goes up with no fall, sets anchor and say gets lowered.  Part or most of the rope runs through the anchors once.  For TR, the rope gets wear as the climber goes up and then as they are lowered.

I guess if the same climber climbed a route on lead clean and TR clean the wear difference is very minimal so maybe TR just seems rougher on a rope to me because generally those climbers are newer to intermediate and then experience/technique come in to play.

Just like to hear others thoughts.  If MP convinces me enough I guess I will have to start letting my partner TR on my rope  

The answer is: it depends. Regarding TR, if someone is TR on my rope at a level above theirs and falls repeatedly at the same place thereby swinging and sawing my rope, I may offer them a limited number of goes on my rope. Try and be nice about it. I bet someone was nice to you when you started out. Other than that, I don't care about lead or Tr. Be generous if you can afford it and always check your rope perennially. 

All this soft catch dogma makes me queezy. Sure, a soft catch provided it is the safest option, otherwise keep tight, or even run backwards. Also, only soft catch if you have space to jump/move/won't trip/hit head and only if you master the belay device. It's hard enough to get belayers to hold the rope sometimes and stand in the right place. Soft catching is not the first goal.  

Jugging overhangs is worse than both

Yannick Gingras wrote:

extend your top-anchors to avoid sharp lips

Do this and the difference in wear between TR and lead is not significant 

Top Rope has more wear -- Around there there is lots of sand stone and running the rope over some non vertical stuff.