Time to Retire that Climbing Rope

After speaking with a close friend about my ever growing knowledge on climbing equipment, she asked a very important question.  When should you retire a dynamic climbing rope?  A VERY important question because if you DO climb on a rope that should be retired you could inflict injury or even death.  These factors/variables that decide the fate of your rope are determined by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA). Yep, the acronym really has nothing to do with the name, but it is correct.  The developed safety standards on all mountaineering and climbing gear from ropes, to belay systems, to accessory cords, to carabiners, to ice tools, to anchors, yada yada yada.
UIAA

When checking out TradGirl's site and many, many others; here is the general standard that rope companies and the UIAA have determined the time frame to be to retire rope...

• 6 months to 1 year if used heavily (guiding or lead climbing almost daily)
• Up to 2 years if used on a semi-regular basis (every weekend or every other weekend)
• Up to 4 years if used only occasionally (every few months/several times a year)

Note: These are just general time frames.  There are many variable factors.

Here is a checklist of things to do before using your rope for the season...

1.  Inspect rope for fraying and tearing.

2.  Check your daily-use log to make sure you are not over-using the rope.  Checking if it has suffered from any big falls, fast rappels, or too much time in a hot place is critical because all of these factors alone can substantially weaken the rope, not to mention all together.

3.  Check for thinning spots in the rope.  If one part of the rope feels a little softer than other parts or has an hourglass shape to it, it might be time to retire.

4.  Check for hardening spots in the rope.  Yes, check for this as well as thin spots.  Hardened spots indicate that the rope has been in the sun for too long.

5.  Check the age of the rope.  Even if it is a rope that sits in storage for 5 years, it will lose it's elasticity and durability.

Remember if you are at all in doubt of the condition of your rope DON'T CLIMB ON IT.  Your life is worth way more than $200.

So you retired your rope.  What can you do with it exactly?

There are many companies that will recycle ropes for you or even create them into rugs.  Sterling is one of them that recycle them for you so ropes stay out of landfills.  The company that makes rugs is here.