with a black sharpie. see you all at my funeral.

YER GONNA DIE!!!111




At least you won't have to hear that anymore.

I usually put 3 notches in it with a knife. That way I can feel it in the dark.

stitch it with a piece of ribbon or two. works a lot better and is easier to see.

Dirty motor oil.......

Wow, lots of great ideas here. Greg, I might have to add a few notches, don't know why I didn't think about that before! The dirty motor oil and battery acid are also good suggestions, might as well use them too in case the marker wears off.

Tying a knot in the center always helps me find the middle of my rope. Makes climbing harder, but I can always find the middle.

Two words: Teeth marks.

Cheaper and faster than all the above methods except for Cushman's, who is obviously a lunatic.

John, don't waste that extra electrolyte on your rope. It can help replenish your body's electrolytes when you get dehydrated out in the desert.

I know that everyone has been humorous and funny, but one tried and true method that I have used is this: Basically use a needle and thread an opposite color and just sew in the thread into your rope. Not only is it identified by the color but I can feel it with my fingers. This has worked great for me, Peace Stephan.

dental floss??

Or just cut the rope in the middle and now you know; crap, now I've got 2 middles; damnit, now 4 middles; they're like rabbits.

Problem solved....

Use a Sharpie T.E.C. (stands for trace element clear or something like that).

A friend of mine called Bluewater about marking ropes and that is what they recommend.

i bought the described sharpie marker from the campmor catalog. it's basically a laundry marker that won't destroy or adversely react with the nylon. i marked the middle, and also about 10 feet from the ends. now, i've just gotta remember to put the rope in my pack and use it!

Has there ever been a reported accident due to Sharpie's deteriorating a rope's sheath? If anybody has info on an accident report, please post the link.

Center mark is now the least of my worries. I dragged my rope through some Flatiron bushwhacks and now, 2 days later, I'm blossoming in poison ivy/sumac blisters. All over my forearms, legs and a nice big ugly breakout on the back of my neck from coiling. Lunch break was a chamomile errand and now I'm covered in the stuff.

Time to search for "how to wash your rope" thread.

And Cowboy, I don't think you're very familiar with Mic. From what I've gathered, he rarely has ropes to tie knots in.

Ryan- Back in the 70's there were a few foolish enough to use a regular magic marker on the middle, but as it dried, the sheath got so brittle that you could feel the death soaking in (hopefully, these ropes were quickly retired). I've never heard of anyone actually burning through the rope with a marker- it'll be interesting to see if there's any historical account. I went with white tape for marking for a long time, which seemed good enough if you were replacing ropes with any frequency. But, I started to worry about the glue, and researched and like the specialty sharpie. As far as washing for PI, many like the tumble (not agitator) washers with a liquid detergent. I've had success- and less spagettii tangle- soaking it in the tub.

I believe woolite or some NON-detergent liquid soap. Detergents tend to degrade fabrics.
oh yeah, and color safe bleach.