Ascenders on ropes

How much damage does one Petzl ascender do to a dynamic rope? Would you climb with a rope after using ascenders on it?

As long as we're talking about jumaring up one, no significant body weight drops onto it, you are fine. Wall climbers jumar on dynamic ropes all the time, sometimes using the same lead line to jumar and lead on, as in Pete Whittaker's solo of El Cap. I have led on ropes after jumaring on them. They were fine.

I'm sure Petzl has done studies to determine the damage caused to ropes by using ascenders on them. I used to have a pair of Gibbs ascenders and I used them without concern. In my humble opinion, they did less damage because they have no teeth. Using ascenders on a rope never stopped me from using it. My friends had ascenders, and I led on their ropes. I lost my Gibbs and replaced them with Petzls. I like them. Perhaps Petzl, Jumar, and other ascender makers could release results of their studies. Or is there a cover up going on ?

Collin Farley wrote: How much damage does one Petzl ascender do to a dynamic rope? Would you climb with a rope after using ascenders on it?

Folks doing multi pitch (or single pitch) aid climbing don't retire their ropes after their partner cleans a pitch...

No problem with normal use. I think the rope will get fuzzier quicker, but certainly not after one use. I don't do much multipitch, but I have done a fair amount of fixing the rope so a photographer could jumar up it for a photo shoot, and also use ascender as a belayer to aid in boinking the climber back up to the rock after a fall on an overhanging route.  

Collin Farley wrote: How much damage does one Petzl ascender do to a dynamic rope? Would you climb with a rope after using ascenders on it?

I´ve put over 400 pitches on a dynamic rope with a Petzl ascender AND lead them all on the same rope as well.

Auden Alsop wrote:Re big wall climbers:" sometimes using the same lead line to jumar and lead on"

That probably should read: normally using the same lead line to jumar and lead on.

Observation:

Climbers have been posting their unfounded concerns online about teethed ascenders for years (see any solo TR thread), but the only people concerned are the ones with no experience on the subject at hand.

David Coley wrote:

That probably should read: normally using the same lead line to jumar and lead on.

It really is the norm on El Cap and the like.

Oops! My bad