Beta Giving Your Rope the Chop
Beta Beta Skill Session
Giving Your Rope the Chop Cutting off tattered ends
Illustrations by Kristin Marine
How to know when to chop
1. You can see the core coming through the sheath. 2. The rope is noticeably fatter and frayed in certain spots. 3. You can feel the core slipping inside the sheath or it has become overly soft and malleable.
Ropes wear the most in the first 10 or 15 feet on either end, because that’s where the most friction consistently occurs when you fall. Because of this fact, you’ll often find yourself with 55 good meters and just one bad section in a 60-meter rope. Cut out the bad part to keep using your cord. This method will keep your rope ends clean and fray-free.
1. Identify the bad part of your rope and measure out a spot about a foot from the tattered piece. Stretch this section across your knees, standing on either end to keep it tight.
2. Loop athletic tape around the rope three or four times, making sure to keep the tape as taut as the rope is.
3. Still keeping the rope tight, use a sharp knife to cut right through the middle of the tape mark. The tape should keep the rope from immediately unraveling.
4. Use a lighter to thoroughly melt the rope strands inside the taped end, ensuring a fray-free future.
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URBANCLIMBERMAG.COM /
Giving Your Rope the Chop Cutting off tattered ends
Illustrations by Kristin Marine
How to know when to chop
1. You can see the core coming through the sheath. 2. The rope is noticeably fatter and frayed in certain spots. 3. You can feel the core slipping inside the sheath or it has become overly soft and malleable.
Ropes wear the most in the first 10 or 15 feet on either end, because that’s where the most friction consistently occurs when you fall. Because of this fact, you’ll often find yourself with 55 good meters and just one bad section in a 60-meter rope. Cut out the bad part to keep using your cord. This method will keep your rope ends clean and fray-free.
1. Identify the bad part of your rope and measure out a spot about a foot from the tattered piece. Stretch this section across your knees, standing on either end to keep it tight.
2. Loop athletic tape around the rope three or four times, making sure to keep the tape as taut as the rope is.
3. Still keeping the rope tight, use a sharp knife to cut right through the middle of the tape mark. The tape should keep the rope from immediately unraveling.
4. Use a lighter to thoroughly melt the rope strands inside the taped end, ensuring a fray-free future.
26 /
URBANCLIMBERMAG.COM /
