Broke a 30 year old climbing rope on a dead oak last month and had to rappel down on my lanyard

Thought the rope was still good since it looked fine on the outside, but after I hit a sharp branch it snapped right above my tie-in point, and now I check every rope for internal wear with a magnifying glass before I trust it, anyone else had a rope fail on them out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

samjohnson25d ago

30 years and it snapped like that? That's terrifying, man.

kim69324d ago

Heard a mechanic say those older cables can hide internal rust for years, scary stuff for sure.