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standard, such as the body of both the climber and belayer, elasticity of their harnesses and anchor materials, and friction between the rope and the belay device, and any protection pieces. Single ropes must sustain at least 5 such falls before breaking, and a rope that can sustain more than 9 falls is considered a 'multifall' rope. In practice, climbing ropes rarely if ever break due to a fall alone- all documented rope failures involve the rope being cut or damaged, for example by abrasion against a sharp rock edge. Ropes are especially vulnerable to being cut while they are weighted with the body of the climber, and moving over a sharp edge (for example if a following climber is resting his weight on the rope, or using the rope for assistance, while swinging or traversing under a roof, while being belayed from above). In general, thicker ropes will be stronger and more durable, and have a higher fall rating.
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871:(kN), under test conditions designed to simulate a hard fall; typical climbing ropes range from 9kN up to an Arborist's 24kN. The force rating is often misunderstood by climbers, because all other climbing gear is rated by the breaking strength (in kN) of the material. Whereas a higher rating (indicating greater strength) is desired for other gear, for dynamic ropes a lower rating is generally desired, as this indicates it would give a 'soft catch' that is less likely to injure the climber or break or dislodge
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and don't require a great deal of maintenance. Ropes that are frequently used are often inspected for cuts, abrasions, or frayed areas; any cut or fraying that passes into the core of the rope is cause for concern. Ropes can also be washed to clean them of any extensive dirt or grime. Ropes must also
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Dynamic ropes used for rock climbing come in a variety of lengths and diameters, with the most common lengths being 50 metres (164.0 ft), 60 metres (200 ft), 70 metres (230 ft). Lengths will vary depending on rope maintenance and age, and there are even ropes as long as 80 meters for
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Unlike most climbing equipment, dynamic ropes do not have a rated tensile breaking strength. Instead, the strength of a rope is tested by the number of standard test falls a rope can sustain before breaking. The test falls use an 80 kg weight for single ropes (55 kg for half ropes), and a
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devices, especially assisted braking devices or 'tube-style' devices operated in 'guide mode', which can be tedious to pull thicker or stiffer rope through. Lighter, thinner ropes, however, have less strength than a thicker rope and will sustain fewer hard falls. Note that some belay devices are
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of 1.7 (4 meter fall on 2.3 meters of rope). This tests simulates a very hard fall that would rarely occur. When climbing, it is possible to produce a fall factor as high as 2, however, real-world climbing situations include additional shock absorbing elements which are not included in the test
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Rope diameters are generally between 8.3mm and 11.5mm, with the different diameters used for slightly different purposes. Sport and multi-pitch trad climbers often value thinner ropes because they are lighter, and have less rope drag. Thinner ropes also run more smoothly through
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Half ropes are also used as a pair, but only one rope is clipped through each piece of protection- the climber alternates which rope is clipped through each piece. On wandering routes where protection is placed far apart on either side, half ropes can significantly reduce rope
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must meet certain standards and pass testing for
Construction, Sheath Slippage, Static Elongation, Impact Force on first fall, and Number of falls held. The force rating indicates the maximum amount of force the rope can deliver to a falling climber, measured in
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Every fall lessens the amount of impact a rope can later absorb, and hard falls can seriously compromise the strength of a rope, without showing obvious signs of wear. One definition of a 'hard fall' is a long fall (> 10–15 meters) with a
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Both twin and half ropes have the advantage of redundancy, as well as allowing a rappel along the full length of the climbing rope (by tying both ropes together), so that climbers can descend from a long multipitch route with fewer
854:(which, for example, works best with a 9.4-10.3 mm thick line) or the Faders SUM. Users must make sure to read the instructions for the device carefully to ensure safety and recognize any limitations to rope diameter.
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Twin and half ropes are used for lead climbing, and are designed to be used as a pair - they are not strong enough to be safely used on just a single strand, and they are tested to different standards as a single rope.
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greater than one. Manufacturers often recommended that ropes be retired if they sustain an extremely hard fall, even if they do not show outward signs of wear.
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than with a single rope. Some ropes are 'triple rated', meeting the standards for all three rope types, so they can be used in each configuration.
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be kept away from chemicals or seawater which may damage them, or stored for long periods in direct sunlight which can cause UV damage over time.
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Dynamic climbing ropes are classified into three categories: Single ropes, twin ropes, and half ropes (also referred to as 'double ropes').
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Twin ropes are used by treating the pair of ropes as a single rope, clipping both ropes through the same carabiner at each piece of
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under load. Greater elasticity allows a dynamic rope to more slowly absorb the energy of a sudden load, such from
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has, because of its superior durability and strength, replaced all natural materials in climbing rope.
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Single ropes are designed to be used alone, and are by far the most common, and used for top-roping,
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better suited for different rope diameters. This is particularly relevant with
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attempt due to being only slightly longer than a standard rope length.
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is the most common type of dynamic rope now used. Since 1945,
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specialized ascents on routes that would normally require a
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Sterling Rope Guide to Rope
Engineering, Design, and Use
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All modern rock climbing dynamic ropes rated by the
151:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
993:Alpine Exposures FAQ- Climbing Ropes explained
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211:Learn how and when to remove this message
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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45:Please improve this article by adding
1035:"Rope care – Looking after your rope"
1010:"Mammut: Standards for dynamic ropes"
735:is a specially constructed, somewhat
227:Internal structure of 10.7mm dynamic
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149:adding citations to reliable sources
16:Rope designed to stretch under load
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136:needs additional citations for
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47:secondary or tertiary sources
892:Modern ropes are made from
850:devices, such as the Petzl
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768:arresting a climber's fall
1059:"Mammut Rope Care Manual"
888:Rope care and maintenance
1118:Mountaineering equipment
229:kernmantle climbing rope
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34:relies excessively on
858:Standards and testing
762:that has only slight
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835:multi-pitch climbing
828:Length and diameters
145:improve this article
955:"Sport - Petzl USA"
276:Piolet d'Or winners
1113:Climbing equipment
980:2013-08-10 at the
915:Climbing equipment
758:—in contrast to a
742:used primarily in
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310:Eight-thousanders
300:Historical events
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160:"Dynamic rope"
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162: –
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156:Find sources:
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134:This article
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99:December 2017
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60: –
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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26:
21:
20:
1073:. Retrieved
1066:the original
1053:
1042:. Retrieved
1039:Access Ropes
1038:
1029:
1018:. Retrieved
1014:the original
988:
949:
899:
891:
877:
875:or anchors.
861:
839:
831:
818:
785:
748:ice climbing
733:dynamic rope
732:
730:
653:First ascent
555:Roof hacking
545:Rock hopping
461:Alpine style
207:
201:January 2011
198:
188:
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174:
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143:Please help
138:verification
135:
105:
96:
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79:
72:
65:
53:
33:
930:Static rope
925:Fall factor
903:fall factor
881:fall factor
869:kilonewtons
760:static rope
603:Redpointing
579:Key actions
550:Rooftopping
501:Other types
490:Hillwalking
478:Dry-tooling
449:Via ferrata
389:Traditional
367:Competition
348:Multi-pitch
317:Terminology
1102:Categories
1075:2014-11-12
1044:2021-10-21
1020:2014-11-12
936:References
873:protection
807:protection
782:Rope types
764:elongation
630:Techniques
625:Traversing
530:Commercial
510:Buildering
485:Scrambling
418:Top roping
355:Bouldering
171:newspapers
69:newspapers
36:references
639:Key terms
588:Abseiling
515:Canyoning
456:Himalayan
427:Types of
411:Rope solo
401:Free solo
326:Types of
288:Equipment
978:Archived
909:See also
610:Jumaring
593:Belaying
360:Highball
343:Big wall
271:Climbers
247:Climbing
239:a series
237:Part of
1087:Sources
822:rappels
756:dynamic
737:elastic
598:Leading
535:Parkour
185:scholar
83:scholar
852:Grigri
794:, and
750:, and
648:Anchor
439:Alpine
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1123:Ropes
1069:(PDF)
1062:(PDF)
941:Notes
894:nylon
843:belay
813:drag.
776:nylon
690:Pitch
685:Guide
675:Route
670:Grade
565:Slide
525:Grass
520:Crane
444:Mixed
384:Sport
372:Speed
293:Knots
262:Lists
192:JSTOR
178:books
90:JSTOR
76:books
864:UIAA
740:rope
680:Beta
663:FFFA
570:Tree
560:Rope
540:Pole
396:Solo
379:Free
164:news
62:news
658:FFA
473:Ice
338:Aid
147:by
38:to
1104::
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999:^
963:^
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731:A
241:on
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