Rope life

Hi all, I’ve had my 60m mammut rope for a while and have been growing worry some about my ropes behavior, I have a very good understanding of directionals and rope drag, I mitigate to the best of my abilities and the situation of each climb I use it on, but this rope seems to just wither away over time, some micro rope hairs stick the my carabiners and sometime the rock it runs along, and I’m not sure what could be causing this at all, I don’t alter my ropes, and store properly, don’t worries this rope will be retired but I’m curious is anyone’s had a similar situation happen?

thanks!

rope is 3.5 yr old btw 

Normal behavior.

If that area that is extra fuzzy also feels soft, Flat, or lumpy,  compared to the rest of the rope, it might be time to upgrade. 

John Luke Lusty wrote:

Hi Daniel - that sheath does look frayed which is totally natural over time. What's the status of the core?

No coreshots after thorough inspection 

Ropes, like slings, are expendable. Doesn't matter how pretty they are new, they all wear out. It happens faster the more you climb. Also, the more you spend on a rope, the more likely it is to get chopped. YMMV

Some things that wear them out quicker than usual:

• top roping and lowering, especially over an edge or rough rock
• a belay plate, like an ATC guide, with a worn down razor sharp edge, combined with rapping or lowering. (I keep a small file handy to smooth edges) 
• running the rope through a tight crack
• not using a rope bag when traveling
• sliding down chimneys with the backpack coil
• Joshua Tree granite
• thinner ropes have thinner sheaths

If you can get a new rope to the point where it has a soft fuzz, but before it gets any owwies, they can be bulletproof for a while.

Mark Webster wrote:

Ropes, like slings, are expendable. Doesn't matter how pretty they are new, they all wear out. It happens faster the more you climb. Also, the more you spend on a rope, the more likely it is to get chopped. YMMV

Some things that wear them out quicker than usual:

• top roping and lowering, especially over an edge or rough rock
• a belay plate, like an ATC guide, with a worn down razor sharp edge, combined with rapping or lowering. (I keep a small file handy to smooth edges) 
• running the rope through a tight crack
• not using a rope bag when traveling
• sliding down chimneys with the backpack coil
• Joshua Tree granite
• thinner ropes have thinner sheaths

If you can get a new rope to the point where it has a soft fuzz, but before it gets any owwies, they can be bulletproof for a while.

Thanks for the input and info mark!!

That's barely broken in! But seriously, some ropes are fuzzier than others.

Where the core?

Has anyone tried taking a lighter and quickly passing it along the fuzzy sections to burn off the fuzz a bit? I’ve done it but I’m not positive how it actually affects the rope 

Tal M wrote:

Has anyone tried taking a lighter and quickly passing it along the fuzzy sections to burn off the fuzz a bit? I’ve done it but I’m not positive how it actually affects the rope 

I'm no expert but I'd rather deal with a bit of fuzz than deliberately holding a flame to my rope. YGD

Cut off the fuzzy section, but what are those tufts?

Tal M wrote:

Has anyone tried taking a lighter and quickly passing it along the fuzzy sections to burn off the fuzz a bit? I’ve done it but I’m not positive how it actually affects the rope 

I believe the fuzz layer actually minimizes further abrasion.

Gunkiemike wrote:

I believe the fuzz layer actually minimizes further abrasion.

That’s why I don’t wax!