[Fiend]

Been doing some essential fall practise recently indoors. Have a single mammut rope (the cheapo one) in used but reasonable condition. After taking a couple of short (3-4m) falls on it, the area where the rope has run through the upper quickdraw has gone slight hard, flattened, and plasticy - as if it has melted slightly. The sheath is intact and there's no hot spots of particular damage, just this "singed" section over a metre or so.

So...

Is this is a problem?

How much will it decrease the lifetime of the rope by?

Shouldn't ropes be designed to resist that sort of effective, especially given these are very clean falls onto standard quickdraws?

Is there anything that can be done about it, either with the rope usage / care, or falling technique?

Advice appreciated cheers.

[Control freak]

I wouldnt have thought that a few short falls would cause the sort of damage you are talking about, like you say, this is what they are designed for. However if you have any doubts at all over the ability of the rope to hold a fall, either chop off the offending section or get a new one.

[Bonjoy]

I've had this problem a lot with ropes in the last year or so. I put it down to me belaying Fiona (who is lighter than me) with a grigri and her taking falls fairly close to the ground whilst working sport routes. This combination means a surprisingly high impact force at the quickdraw on even short falls. All I can suggest is that you use DMM Revolvers on clips you expect to fall onto repeatedly or heavily, avoid using gri-gris on climbs where you are likely to take lots of lobs, practice dynamic belaying (i.e springing up slightly to absorb force, rather than taking in and jumping back, which is the natural instinct for a belayer used to belaying on trad routes) and then cutting off the rope ends when it gets knackered. A bit of minor glazing of the sheath from one fall is not cause enough to cut the rope IMO.

[Fiend]

Cheers for the reply.

The falls I've been taking have been from the top of indoor walls, so a reasonable amount of rope out, and with a belayer of varying expecting-me-to-fall-ness, but I think you're right that he'd be locking off as soon as I was falling - I was thinking that might be the problem.

Can't use Revolvers, but will try to do more dynamic belaying. Also might take some longer falls (gulp) so it wears a different bit... And I will be chopping the ends off....although this is a 44m or so rope already, and getting shorter  :wink:

[SA Chris]

Someone once told me it's a good idea to let the rope "recover" if you have taken a big fall on it i.e. leave the end that's been fallen on unweighted for a bit.

No idea if it's true or bollocks though.

[Fiend]

Chris, yeah, I heard that, the idea is for the end that was fallen on to recover it's elasticity. Makes sense to me. I alternate ends when doing falling practice.

[Sypeland]

You never know you might win a new rope!
(unless Bonjoy come out of the hat)