UKC

Just getting into bigger walls now and have noticed there's a scary creaking noise (like a door in a horror film) coming from my harness/rope both of which are brand new - £50 harness, £90 rope.
Can't deny it freaks me right out, feels like it's gonna snap.

Any ideas?

In reply to fraidycat:

Its probably the knot tightening

In reply to fraidycat:

If you're quite new and unsure what to look for, ask someone at a wall to check your gear over for you. Very unlikely there's anything wrong with it unless you've abused it, but for peace of mind, I'm sure someone would be happy to run an eye over it.
If all the stitiching on the harness looks sound, and it's a new harness, I'm sure it's fine.
As someone else said, it's probably the knot tightening or more of the stretch being taken up in your rope. Remember, it's a dynamic rope so it's meant to stretch!!!

In reply to fraidycat:

Sometimes get this in slightly older ropes, where i think it is the inner core slipping inside the sheath. I guess if it's a cheap rope then that might be it? As nearly all the more expensive ropes now are vibration welded (I can't remember the proper name) to make it so that there is no sheath slippage.

In reply to fraidycat: One explanation could be chalk on and in the rope from your hands, if this could be the case a solution would be to wash the end 10ft in a bucket of clean warm water and dry well in a well ventilated area away from direct heat (dont put it on a radiator or infront of the fire ) ;0)

ps.chalk doesnt harm a rope.

In reply to xplorer:

Probably this

In reply to fraidycat:


They do that, it's not unusual. New gear is very unlikely to fail in normal use.

jk

In reply to jkarran:

Ditto; stitches and webbing creak, as do rope fibres moving against each other. All normal.

A tearing sound, on the other hand, is usually indicative of imminent disaster

In reply to nniff: as is the farting sound

Thanks everyone, I first noticed this when I was about 15m up the climbing wall (yikes); I'll get High Sports (Plymouth) to check the gear but it sounds like me being a fraidycat

In reply to fraidycat:

Maybe but at least a sensible fraidycat

In reply to fraidycat: Mine always does it. Its just the knot tightening as others have said

In reply to fraidycat:

With me it's my 'balloon knot' making the noises...

In reply to xplorer:

Agree with that, seems to be more noticeable with fig 8 than bowline, probably because there's more to tighten.

Neil

In reply to fraidycat:

Seeing/hearing the knot tightening freaked me right out at the begining. You could try a few clip drops/just hanging in your harness lower down to get some faith in your gear, worked for me.

In reply to fraidycat:

It's very rare for a harness or a rope to break or fail. I wouldn't worry, as they are brand new I'm sure you would be able to replace them under guarantee if either break.

In reply to Trangia:

erm, am I the only one who spots a flaw in that?

In reply to ripper:

or possibly splat the floor with that!!

In reply to fraidycat: My DMM rope did it all the time and at first it was quite unsettling. My new Mammut rope does not do it!

Thanks all; I use a figure 8 knot. I went climbing a couple days ago and made sure my knot was pretty tight before climbing; coming down the wall it didn't make that horrible noise so phew!
Thanks for the advice everyone; I do think I need to take a few 'practise falls' to get some confidence but my climbing partner pushes too fast to the next thing and right now we're climbing a massive overhang and I don't fancy practising falling off of that!!

In reply to fraidycat:


Actually although psychologically scary it's a lot safer to fall from an overhang than from vertical or under because the risk of colliding with the rock/wall/holds below are eliminated.

In reply to fraidycat:


That's the best place to do it! Just make sure your belayer is briefed and simply locks you off (don't TAKE!!!). You'll drop gently into space with no fuss.

jk

In reply to fraidycat: exactly what I was about to say! much safer and more pleasant to take a nice soft fall into air off an overhang, than smack your ankles off a ledge on something off-vertical

Fair enough, what do you mean by 'Don't Take!'? Do you mean for the Belayer to NOT take the slack before I take my practise fall???

In reply to fraidycat:

It sounds counter- intuitive but having a reasonable loop of slack out softens a fall a huge amount. If the rope is tight you can swing in quite violently.

In reply to fraidycat:

Exactly. Make sure you're reasonably high and that there isn't a huge pile of slack out before you let go but you definitely do not want a tight rope, or the belayer pulling in slack as you fall. Doing so whips you into the wall with enough force to break ankles.

I often ask for a little slack once I know a fall is coming on steep ground, partly as a warning to my belayer (who knows what I mean) and partly because it means I fall clear away from the wall.

jk

Ok thanks everyone I'll give that a go. If I never post on this forum again you know it all went wrong

In reply to fraidycat: Rather a fraidycat than a deadycat hey?? I'd go with the knot theory too. My knees make a pretty similar noise!!

In reply to ripper: Haha nope.