1
My climbing rope snapped on a big oak in Springfield last Tuesday
Was about 40 feet up doing a removal. Heard a pop and dropped maybe 15 feet before my secondary caught me. Rope was only 8 months old, a Sterling HTP. Checked it that morning, looked fine. Had to finish the job with my backup line, took twice as long. Anyone else have a rope fail way before its time?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
aaron_perry2mo ago
Used to think a visual check was enough before a climb. Your story shows it really isn't, even with newer gear. Makes me want to add a proper hands-on feel to my routine now.
2
tessadavis2mo ago
Yeah, I learned that the hard way too, aaron_perry. My gear looked fine but felt like it was made of wet paper.
6
logan_mitchell1mo ago
I mean, @tessadavis is totally right about that wet paper feeling, that's usually when the stitching is about to go. What I started doing was running my thumbs along every seam and edge before a climb, even if the webbing looks clean. Just takes a few extra minutes but catches those soft spots before they become a bigger problem.
5