I recently took a short fall (about 6 feet) on a relatively easy lead climb (5.8) and wanted to know how to rate it for my rope log so I can factor that in to when I need to retire the rope. I've looked around on this site, rockclimbing.com, and the UIAA web site without really finding anything helpful. Any information on how to record this fall would be great.

I'm glad that I down climbed a little before the fall, otherwise it would have been more like 15 or 20 feet. The route should really be more like a 5.9+.

Thanks for any help you can give.

The most simple formula for fall factor is:

(distance fallen) divided by (amount of rope in system)

Examples:
You're 30 feet above your belayer. You're 3 feet above your last piece. You fall 6 feet. Fall factor is 6/30= 0.2

You're 10 feet above your belayer. You're 3 feet above your last piece. You fall 6 feet. Fall factor is 6/10= 0.6

You're 3 feet above your belayer on pitch 2. You have no protection in besides the belayer's anchor. You fall 6 feet. Fall factor is 6/3= 2.0

I wouldn't view a 6 footer as an issue.

In the future for a larger fall, what I'd look for is your manufacturer's info; I view the UIAA as a set of standards. I think you'll find the dyanmic ropes on the market are made to exceed the UIAA.

I don't think the fall factor is the issue here??

Contemporary climbing ropes (10mm) can take countless falls. I wouldn't worry too much about keeping a "fall journal" for your rope. Just keep an eye out for the obvious signs of wear and tear (flat spots, cuts, etc), keep it out of the dirt, store it out of direct sunlight and you'll be all right. Switching lead ends for sport stuff helps too.

I was pretty sure it wouldn't be much of an issue, but I wanted to make sure as it was my first fall and I just didn't know. Thanks for all the info, guys.

This Beal page has some useful info.