Fixed line on Twilight zone at the cookie cliff.

Has anyone been on this line in the last few weeks? Its fixed at the top of twilight zone but seems to have been used to mini-trac cookie monster also. Someone told me the line went up around late December.
Some scary shit.

Not sure if it's the same line, but there was a fixed rope on twilight zone at least as far back as October.

Probably is the same rope. It would make sense that it was there for a good few months.
So, I climbed twilight zone two days ago on that fixed line. When I topped out, much to my horror, i saw that the rope was completely core shot. Zero sheath left. I counted 11 core strands with some of them alrwady fraying.
There is a Choke stone at the top of twilight zone where the crack ends that the rope had been rubbing against. My guess is that if you were pulling the rope Over to climb cookie monster, because of the position of the anchor, the rope would always end up rubbing against the Choke stone.
I am curious how many people have been on this line without topping out twilight zone to where you could look at the anchor.

I hope you chopped it and did not leave a death trap for the next person

Why would you climb a fixed line that you know nothing about?

That rope has been in the sun,rain,and snow for the past month. Sounds real smart to jump on it.

wow, I climbed that thing a few weeks ago, didn't know the top was in such bad shape!! jesus.

There is at least one rope up on the Cookie almost every winter because locals fix it and use it to run laps. I'm not saying their ropes are always safe (they are clearly not), just that its not that surprising to come across a jank fixed rope at the Cookie (or Arch) this time of year.

Not the smartest thing i have ever done, I grant you that. But in saying that i have climbed the lines at the cookie for a number of years. They are usually well maintained by the person who puts them up and i was drawing upon my experience of having solid safe lines installed when i clipped into that one.
Failure of trust really. If someone is installing a fixed line in a public crag like the cookie i think it is fair to say that someone else will use it at a certain point. There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with placing something that a persons life depends on.
I was the sucker in this case and was lucky i never weighted the rope and got to test the strength of naked core strands. However, if i was a mangled corpse at the base of the crag would the person who installed the line be completely free of guilt??
Mpech what route did you climb?

I climbed twilight zone (among other climbs at the cliff).

I didn't top out the climb, so I had no idea the line was in such bad shape.

best,
matt

Some things aren't smart. Some things are just plain stupid.
This would fall under the later!
You don't ever climb a fixed line you have not inspected.
The life you save may be your own...or better yet a loved ones.
Saying I thought is was good won't mean much after the fact.

Meaningless thoughts:
a) why didn't you remove this obviously dangerous situation?
b) Did you isolate the core shot section? A knot works fine.
c) Does anyone really jump on an unknown rope hanging from an unknown anchor? REALLY? What if it was just hung-up, and....
d) What's a choke stone?
e) Elanor?

Muscrat wrote:c) Does anyone really jump on an unknown rope hanging from an unknown anchor? REALLY? What if it was just hung-up,...

paddyrock wrote:If someone is installing a fixed line in a public crag like the cookie i think it is fair to say that someone else will use it at a certain point. There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with placing something that a persons life depends on. I was the sucker in this case and was lucky i never weighted the rope and got to test the strength of naked core strands. However, if i was a mangled corpse at the base of the crag would the person who installed the line be completely free of guilt??

Marc801 wrote: Gee, where's all this personal responsibility that supposedly lies at the heart of climbing that I keep hearing so much about?

ckersch wrote: Lying in a mangled, bloody heap at the bottom of some crag, no doubt.

I dont believe in all that Darwinian nonsense. Is it not obvious that God allowed me to live so i can troll the internet and warm anyone else who climbs fixed lines at the cookie cliff.

:}

joking a side. I really just want to avoid an accident. The last day i was there at least 7 people were there running laps on 4 different fixed lines.
A lot of people trust the people who put them up and i am simply asking for that trust not to be broken.

Yeah yeah don't trust random fixed lines we get it. Maybe come climb at the cookie sometime

I can't ever remember seeing a line on twilight zone in the few years I've been going down there. I guess I'd probably not feel super psyched on it just based on that..and yeah, the fact that tz is simply not on as clean a wall as say the nabisco (the line on that wall usually even has some protection around it at the top) is not as inspiring. seems best to stick to the usual stuff. And the mini trax doesn't get in the way on tz?

Brian Prince wrote:Yeah yeah don't trust random fixed lines we get it. Maybe come climb at the cookie sometime I can't ever remember seeing a line on twilight zone in the few years I've been going down there. I guess I'd probably not feel super psyched on it just based on that..and yeah, the fact that tz is simply not on as clean a wall as say the nabisco (the line on that wall usually even has some protection around it at the top) is not as inspiring. seems best to stick to the usual stuff. And the mini trax doesn't get in the way on tz?