RRC Archives

I can get rope wash at Quest Outdoors, huh?

to quote" How to Climb" bu John Long:

"Contrary to common opinion, alcohol, gasoline, and other hydrocarbon solvents do not affect the nylon of climbing ropes chemically. It is corrosives, not hydrocarbon solvents that spell instant disaster to climbing ropes"

So paint thinner shouldnt be a problem.I been cleaning my cams with it.It cleans the gunk that gets in the cam lube.I am always worried about it getting to the slings,so I wrap them up.Takes off crayon like majic if you have little artists running around your house.

dont top trees

if its in a bad location and you dont want to spend the money on having a profesional do it then just cut the whole thing down

topping will only make things worse

reasons why:
http://www.vineandbranch.net/tree/pruning.html

If you are going to cut it use a soldering iron it does a really good job. i don't wash ropes in any detergents i use a rope washer and clean water - them run it through a couple of times it does an okay job.

I would never top a tree and leave it. We were topping the tree in the process of cutting it all the way down. The tree volunteered between the back of a building and an alleyway and had grown around many electrical wires. It was pushing against the base of the building and would've really damaged the building this year. The two days of cutting down the tree is, unfortunately, far cheaper than picking up the building and moving it. Plus they heat their house with wood so it's not a total waste. All the same it is sad to cut down such a pretty tree. The only way to cut it down was to start as high up as possible and then come down the tree which is why I was belaying him. He was easily 30 feet off the ground most of the morning. I kept a hand on the rope all day (as well as various scrambling for oil caps, gas cans, and the like) while he cut off the ends of each fork and then worked his way down to ladder level. I did this while wood chips were flying in my face, it was cold and raining (snowflakes at one point), and I was standing on a metal roof covered in elm snot which resulted in some severe laserations on one hand from a fall.

Good news! The rope shows no stains or odors of any kind. I can't tell one end of the rope from the other. I'm still going to put the last ten feet or so of each end in the washer and let them swish with some rope wash. I have a good feeling that the water in the rope blocked the chain oil it may have rubbed against. The rope hasn't been used a whole lot so I'd bet that helps keep out foreign stuff.

Thanks again, everybody.

How bout this one..........

How many of you would toss a rope after a cat pissed on it (maybe one time maybe many times)??

I'm still climbing on it so I'm affriad of your responses......

I'd climb on a rope soaked with cat piss. In fact, that's what I used to mark the middle of my newest rope. I can even find (smell) it in the dark!

man it okay. i didnt the same thing this summer, but i did use my girlfriends rope.?.? god i love cutting down trees!

I dunno. Cat piss is some powerful mojo.