Anybody know if repeated (proper) use of ascenders on a static rope significantly shortens the lifespan of the outer sheath?
My wife and I had fun practicing with a pair of tiblocs this weekend. Pretty cool to be floating 50 feet off the deck, going up to the top of a cliff. I imagine that teeth digging in would add to the normal wear on a rope… -Joe
Tom Jones
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “JoeB” wrote:
Anybody know if repeated (proper) use of ascenders on a static rope > significantly shortens the lifespan of the outer sheath? > What he said. And…
As ascenders go, Tiblocs can be hard on the rope, but mostly if you are getting slippage.
In general, ascending the rope will put some wear on it, but not much. AND all the wear is on the outside where it is easily visible.
Tom
Stan McQueen
I’ve never used tiblocs, but I have static caving ropes that have been ascended (cumulatively) dozens of times by various cavers including myself using jumars, gibbs, and petzl croll ascenders with no noticeable wear. Rubbing on rock surfaces caused by the rhythmic oscillation of the rope during a long ascent can result in serious wear, so most cavers use rope pads and rebelays to avoid contact between the rope and the rock. Of course, in caving, the rope is very rarely pulled down (only in the case of a through trip), so that source of wear is not normally present in caving. Also, all my caving rope is 11.5 mm whereas my canyon rope is 9 mm. The larger diameter may be better for ascenders to grip without tearing.
Stan ======================= Photography by Stan McQueen http://www.smcqueen.com —–Original Message—– From: Yahoo Canyons Group [mailto:Yahoo Canyons Group]On Behalf Of JoeB Sent: Monday, June 26, 2006 7:28 AM To: Yahoo Canyons Group Subject: [from Canyons Group] ascenders and rope wear? (run-of-the-mill tech question)
Anybody know if repeated (proper) use of ascenders on a static rope significantly shortens the lifespan of the outer sheath?
My wife and I had fun practicing with a pair of tiblocs this weekend. Pretty cool to be floating 50 feet off the deck, going up to the top of a cliff. I imagine that teeth digging in would add to the normal wear on a rope… -Joe