Hi

So wil you climb on a rope after its been used to tow a car?

My initial instinct says NO.
As I figure the weight of the car and the stops and starts would effectively maximum load the rope multiple times.. thereby its as if a large number of factor 2 falls have been done.

Am I correct in this or am I being stupid?

my logic is the rope is made for 80kg human.. not 1000kg car..
So pull car and you get alot more stretch and higher forces than rope is meant to have.

yes this is also funny.. but not so funny now that a new rope is needed as that hurts the money pocket

thanx for info/replies

Don't do it!

You are correct, Retire the rope.

Chop it into tiny bits so no-one else can use it.

Well, it's either R1500 or your life.
Retire the rope asap.

Your instincts are good.
By towing a car with your climbing rope, you in effect remove most of the stretch from the rope (turning your dynamic rope into a static rope)

Imagine a big fall on a rope with no stretch 'somethings gotta give' - this could be the rope, the anchor, your harness or your back).

So you are not being stupid (although calling the AA might have been a good idea!?)

The question now is: what rope will you get?

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Climb ZA - Administrator

This makes for an interesting question:

Yes, leading on that rope is so uit soos bok naa....
never mind.
Just don't.

But what about using it to toprope?

yes you can go up first and attach it to the top anchor

Probably not a good idea in case it picked up oil along the way. Just not worth the chance!

On the up side: you have a great rope for towing cars now

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Climb ZA - Administrator

...or tie up <ahem> people.......

I'll rather not post a pic again

Was it the whole length of the rope or just an end that was used to tow the car?

If by some luck it was just the end, then you may just be able to cut off that end, but if not.... cut it into 3m lengths and sell if off as skipping ropes to help fund your next one.

You could have a crack at one of these;

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/threa ... _id=298197

Definitely ditch whatever section of the rope was used for towing (If a large section was safely tucked away in the car this can be rescued for gym use or really short crags). Ive actually snapped a climbing rope towing a car before!! so dont mess about with the used rope.

Interestingly oil and grease have zero effect on nylon and do not affect the strength of the rope. You can safely wash off oil or grease with washing up detergent. What does damage nylon is any form of solvent as well as all acids or strong alkalines. So battery acid, petrol, acetone etc. as well as any cleaning agent that uses solvents (ammonia is particularly damaging to nylon) are dangerous for your gear. Even tiny amounts of solvent (the damage may not be visible) will trash a rope.

Or you can send it to my mom, she recycles ropes in Pietermaritzburg. She'll cover the cost to mail it from anywhere in SA and you'll know that your rope wont end up in a landfill or become a tool for someone else to kill themselves on.

Contact me for more info if you'd like.

only end of rope was use.
We gonna cut 10meter of ..
50meter should be enough for half of the routes out there as well as gym.

thnks for replies guys.

What does she do with it?

She makes dog leashes and things of that nature out of the rope for resale. Its a very green process and a recycling program as well.

If you or anyone wants to recycle a rope please let me know. A free leash is provided for every 60M that is recycled and should you request more than one there is a discount.

Remember I see a site where they show how to make a doormat from a old climbing rope, looke quite cool.

I googled it and see there even videos of it.

http://www.summitpost.org/so-you-want-t ... -eh/263578

W

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Climbing Off route doesn't exist; it's called a first ascent!

Better than a mat !

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Climb ZA - Administrator