my poision ivy rope has a little section that must have rubbed against something wrong. Some of the fibers from the outer sheath are frayed and poking out in a bout a 1 inch section.

What do you do in this situation? It seems like a fairly minor abrasion. Is it normal to get this sort of abrasion or should I be concerned about it?

thanks,
coonrad

Abrasion happens and is normal. Are you using any kind of cambium saver? These are typically made from leather or 3/4" liquid-tight electrical conduit (designed by Dan House). Check New Tribe's web site, they carry them. Many people make their own. I'd advise buying one so you can see one that's done right.

Cambium savers extend the life of the rope and spare the tree branch from friction damage.
-moss

moss, yeah I use a cambium saver pretty religiously. Anything I can do to protect the rope (and the tree), I'm all for it.

I was reading some rope care information and it said that if your sheath is damaged to the point where you can see the core then you should retire it. This is by no means that bad.

CAn you post a picture?

Most of the time, fuzzing of the rope is inconseqential. When full pics, the braids of rope making up the sheath are cut, you have a bigger concern.

At times I'll take a scissor and snip off the longer frays so that they don't get worse.

Tom

Speaking of rope fuzzing and other well-worn gear. . .

The building I work in is 15 stories of flat plate glass, straight down.
I, like most here, am not afraid of height, I work at height, no big deal. That said, I will honestly state that I would not make a good window washer. The only way I would hop off the side of a 15 story building on a rope, is at gun-point.
(I’ll bet NickfromWi could share a few cool stories here).

Occasionally I’ll be at a meeting at work and then down comes the window washer guy. Us inside guys look at him in amazement. For me, it’s a perfect opportunity to examine a pro climber & his gear in action, and real close-up too!

So back to fuzzy rope. . .
My point is that the condition of the window washer’s gear is frighteningly worn & tattered. His gear is dirty to the point of having no color at all, just dark matte grey. The rope is fuzzy as a cat’s tail. He uses a shunt-looking device that’s twice the size of the Petzl units that I know of. I can’t determine what it is because its so worn & cruddy.

Fuzzy rope indeed!
Electrojake

EJ,

Keep a camera handy for the next photo-op.