UKC

Having hammered a Beal Edlinger as a wall rope for the last year I decided that it was time to replace it. Yesterday I bought another Beal rope just the same. Having had two sessions where the rope has taken maybe three or four falls there are quite serious signs of wear. None of the falls were very high factor but were all taken at least 6 or seven clips up with a really soft catch. It hasn't had repeated falls in the same spot from working moves. The rope shows scorching marks with a very rough feel which run from maybe 2.5 metres from the end of the rope for a couple of metres or so.

We checked the quickdraws for sharp edges and could find none. It can't be a belay device as there is no damage anywhere near where this could operate. If it was a few months old then I would just think wear and tear and would buy another but after two sessions? Has anyone had a similar experience or could come up with a possible cause for this?

James

In reply to james mann: Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert on rope safety!

I've had the exact same thing happen, but to a sterling rope a few years ago, again on the first use, at a wall and with several large but low factor falls.

Firstly, if whatever caused scorch marks was hot enough to scorch a rope then I suggest the durability of the rope can't really be called into question. If it was hot enough then it would have burnt any rope, they are after all made of the same stuff (well close enough that melting temps won't be vastly different).

Like you I ruled out the belay device as the melted rope was in the wrong places. It had to be the top QuickDraw where the heat had built up. This had never happened to me before, despite nothing in my climbing habits changing that night. I ended up concluding (rightly or wrongly) that it had occurred due to the rope being new, as a new rope holds it's shape far better it would be focussing more energy onto a smaller surface area and therefore building up heat quicker. At least once that night I had been lowered off reasonably fast after a lead fall (like you from quite a high clip) I'm guessing that the combination of all this plus the new rope being slick could cause sufficient heat to accumulate on the top draw. Like you I was very alarmed to find patches where the core was exposed and a melted sheath. I've since "bedded" my ropes in more on first sessions and haven't experienced the problem again.

In reply to james mann:

I've got the same rope. It's worth adding that it's one of the least expensive ropes. Although it is still rather new (about 9 months old), it has taken seriously beating (I climb 2-4 times a week, but had used it 6 times a week as well) and has seen some stuff outdoors (that's why I needed to wash it) for shunting and some leading. My climbing partner used to do clip-drop training (although I wasn't that happy about it!) and it's not uncommon for some of my partners/me to skip the lower off. Still no flat spots and it handles quite well!

In reply to PPP:

Thanks for the replies. I wonder if anyone with any technical expertise has any more ideas. I wonder if any one working at a wall has seen anything like this before?

James

In reply to james mann:

Is it an overhanging route? Sometimes rope rubs against the wall and that might be a reason - my rope sometimes also smells like it's burnt, but there are no marks/roughness.

Is there a significant weight difference between climber and belayer? Have you also checked whether the first quickdraw is sharp? If there's any rope drag, some quickdraws are sharp mid-route as well. How far away from the wall was belayer?

In reply to james mann:

Have you asked Beal, or gone back to where you purchased it yet? Those would now be my options. If there is a fault in the rope/manufacture the makers will be interested, if it is a usage fault, they will advise you on how to prevent it. From my knowledge, Beal are a fairly responsive organisation.

In reply to johncook:

We checked the quicksand really carefully and could find no sharp edges. The wall is steep and the rope doesn't run over any features. I left the rope at the wall where it was bought so they could have a look and talk to Beal. In 20 odd years of climbing I have trashed a few ropes but always have been able to understand why it has occurred and never at the wall. Read today that Beal have stopped treating the sheath on the edlingler. Wonder if this could be a cause?