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Broken Rope Fall in Gym

Bill Lawry · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 1,812

I wonder how many in this hypothetical jury would be climbers. Every person I climb with - inside or outside - knows they are responsible for the care of their gear and for retiring it when warranted.

(No offense intended to the injured.)

J A · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 45

I would imagine that some of the rope manufacturers would be very interested in getting that rope, especially the parts near the break, for analysis. I would be very interested in hearing about what they find. The owner of the rope or his friends and family should make sure it is secured, kept safe and sent to someone competent to do the analysis other than the manufacturer who made the rope. While improper storage and exposure seem like the most likely cause, its not impossible that the particular rope had a manufacturing defect. An analysis could exclude the fear of such manufacturing defects or help people understand just what combination of chemical / fume / heat exposures could cause a rope to fail under body weight. Preserving the rope for analysis could be a benefit to everyone with an interest in climbing. Can anyone who knows the owner of the rope help make sure it happens? The gym shouldn’t have it or keep it. Neither should the police unless they are investigating a possible crime. (Unlikely but not impossible.)
How old was the rope and what kind of use had it seen before being stored in the trunk?

Pax B · · Atlanta · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 0

Glad no one was standing underneath him. Does the gym have liability for a ground victim? This would make me a very nervous owner. It seems like you could wiggle out of this specific accident when their personal property broke because it had been in a trunk for 4 years, versus an alternate worst case scenario: I signed my kid up for climbing camp and a lead certified climber fell on their head from 45 feet causing serious injury or worse...

This is a great gym, and I don't have any clue how to keep all people safe all the time... Even Lynn Hill forgot to tie back her figure 8 once, once is all it takes. The layout of the gym does have people standing directly underneath climbers, it is quite unavoidable with the overhangs and walking paths.

Billcoe · · Pacific Northwet · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 930

Not long back, there was a similar instance. Except the rope was newer and "Always stored in a rope bag and properly taken care of". Broke in the gym while the guy was taking the lead fall for the belayer test. Testing showed sulferic acid contamination. Rope owner could only think of a single instance where he sat it down on the ground next to his car after climbing and it was not in the bag.

I've only personally witnessed a rope break one time. Long time back, before cell phones. Isolated part of the state. Kid was rapping and the resulting compound fracture from his groundfall was pretty ugly. We splinted/bundled the unconscious pup off to the hospital and he survived.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Michael Schneider wrote:Leaking exhaust fumes and high heat or just the constant high levels of sulfuric acid fumes for that prolonged at period of time ?? This is way beyond my pay scale, any chemical engineers /rope makers care to chime in?
I'd also be psyched to hear more about this. What substance that would normally be stored in a car trunk could do this to a rope? Or are we just talking cycles of Texas sun in parking lots?
Bill Shubert · · Lexington, MA · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 55
Optimistic wrote: What substance that would normally be stored in a car trunk could do this to a rope? Or are we just talking cycles of Texas sun in parking lots?
Some cars (including mine) have the battery in the trunk. A damaged battery can leak acid. My battery has rubber tubes venting it out of the car, but my understanding is that these are to vent off hydrogen gas, and won't help if the case cracks and acid leaks out.
Zach M · · Summersville, WV · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 0
Bill Shubert wrote: Some cars (including mine) have the battery in the trunk. A damaged battery can leak acid. My battery has rubber tubes venting it out of the car, but my understanding is that these are to vent off hydrogen gas, and won't help if the case cracks and acid leaks out.
Some gyms use acid to clean climbing holds. I know of a gym that used to keep boxes of acid bottles in the lost and found area. I honestly think that's a more likely cause of equipment failure then being near a car battery.
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Zach M wrote: Some gyms use acid to clean climbing holds. I know of a gym that used to keep boxes of acid bottles in the lost and found area. I honestly think that's a more likely cause of equipment failure then being near a car battery.
Not sure that this explains the current incident...
Kent Richards · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2009 · Points: 81
Zach M wrote: Some gyms use acid to clean climbing holds. I know of a gym that used to keep boxes of acid bottles in the lost and found area. I honestly think that's a more likely cause of equipment failure then being near a car battery.
Similar incident occurred in 2006 at Pipeworks in Sacramento: caves.org/section/vertical/…

Assuming that is the real report (it's no longer on the Black Diamond website), from chemical analysis the conclusion was sulfuric acid damage.

More references to the incident:

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

Uh, are we sure this actually happened? City? Gym name? None of that has been mentioned yet.

Smells funny.

SMarsh · · NY, NY · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 37

The reddit link comments include two people identifying the site as Stone Summit in Atlanta, FWIW.

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520
SMarsh wrote:The reddit link comments include two people identifying the site as Stone Summit in Atlanta, FWIW.
Thanks, I'm reading this from a computer made by gnomes back in the dark ages.
Zac St Jules · · New Hampshire · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 1,188

Didnt stone summit at one time hold claim to being "the largest" gym in the USA

rocknice2 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 3,847
20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
Bill Shubert wrote: Some cars (including mine) have the battery in the trunk. A damaged battery can leak acid. My battery has rubber tubes venting it out of the car, but my understanding is that these are to vent off hydrogen gas, and won't help if the case cracks and acid leaks out.
The battery does not have to be damaged. Flooded wet cell batteries are vented, and those vents are not watertight. If your alternator is running a fairly high voltage, say above 14.6v, and the battery is fully charged, on a hot day it's possible for a small amount of acid to lead out of a new battery from the charging process. Also, corrosion elements typically form on the battery terminals, and the corrosive powder that forms is extremely damaging to nylon. Further, even if everything is all great, batteries emit hydrogen and possibly small acid droplets. I have seen at least one test show simply exposing nylon to the fumes produced by charging a battery is sufficient to reduce the strength of the material.

In short, climbers need to be especially paranoid about keeping any type of climbing gear, or anything that comes into contact with climbing gear, far away from batteries (all types). It takes very little acid to affect the strength of nylon and the damage may not be visible.
Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

A friend had a dead battery in her car and when it was replaced, put the old one in the trunk. Her new climbing rope was back there, too, and when we arrived at Shelf sometime later in the week I noticed a very fuzzy, white spot on the rope. I pulled some of the fibers out by hand, they were so brittle. Knowing it was probably acid damage, I tasted the frayed spot and it was very tart. I knew her car trouble during the week and put together the scenario.

A garbage bag for the battery would have gone a long way to preventing that. If you ever end up swapping out dead batteries, be very careful with contamination.

Russ Keane · · Salt Lake · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 392

Pretty frightening. Imagine the slings and chords you use as a safety at the anchors.... You weight those things and trust your life to a single one often. Would hate to think of them as compromised.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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