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nthusiastj
Mar 29, 2006, 7:22 PM
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Has anyone out there continued to use their rope after taking it to Thailand?
I would be more interested to hear if any companies have actually done testing on a rope after moderate use in Thailand. If you have heard anything let me know.
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bandycoot
Mar 29, 2006, 7:29 PM
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What's the concern? Does it rain battery acid there? Why is Thailand any different from anywhere else? :?:
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rmcclmbr
Mar 29, 2006, 8:25 PM
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enthusiastj,
Don't know if any companies have done any testing there, but I'd be more than happy to do it for them! :D I went to Thailand over Christmas, and I've used my rope for top roping, and I'm going to use it indoors this weekend for lead climbing. I don't think it really affects your ropes all that much. I think if you were to clean it after coming back from Thailand, it would be fine. Even if you didn't clean it, I don't think it'll affect it enough to break on you. Maybe just lose some stretch. This is just from experience, I'm not a credible source with any empirical data. just another climber with an opinion :)
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raymondjeffrey
Mar 29, 2006, 8:33 PM
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I took my rope over there in June of 2004. One day before I was to come back to the states I just sold my rope (which was in good condition) for 40.00 dollars. I bought that rope about 2 years before going to Krabi so I figured that I had gotten enough usage out of it. I would have retired it around August of 2004 anyways so selling it helped me buy the boat ride and taxi ride to the airport.
Carry On,
Jefro
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jimdavis
Mar 30, 2006, 3:29 AM
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In reply to: enthusiastj, I don't think it really affects your ropes all that much. I think if you were to clean it after coming back from Thailand, it would be fine. Even if you didn't clean it, I don't think it'll affect it enough to break on you. Maybe just lose some stretch. This is just from experience, I'm not a credible source with any empirical data. just another climber with an opinion :)
What is this "it" you speak of?
Salt, climbing on Uranium... what?
Jim
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nthusiastj
Mar 30, 2006, 2:29 PM
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Thanks for the replies guys.
For those that don't know, Thailand has the harshest environment for climbing gear. The water and air are more salty than most places and the air also contains a little bit of chlorine gas (not enough to hurt humans). The environment routinely trashes gear and bolts. Bolts are barely lasting a year or more before rusting out of the wall.
Anyway, I've washed all my gear and the rope I took. We had planned on leaving our rope there for the replacement of anchors. Most of the guides said they would use it to climb on though, so we kept it.
The rope isn't too bad. I just wondered if anyone had heard of a company that had done testing.
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heiko
Mar 30, 2006, 10:09 PM
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I've climbed on cliffs directly above the sea and the stainless bolts, which have been there for years, are in perfect shape. If bolts are only good for a year in Thailand, the material they're using must be total crap.
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alpine_chris
Mar 31, 2006, 8:52 AM
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not all the material they are using is crap. in fact, the rock there must be kind of special as it sort of speeds up corrosion on bolts even on first class material such as petzl and fixe. a couple of years ago, petzl sent over a team of experts after long discussions on that issue. apparently, the rock is kind of "aggressive" - sorry i am not a geologist.
BTW, Beal sells a rope brush. great tool to clean your rope after having climbed in sandy areas. no problem on keep on using ropes after having been there.
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geotracker
Mar 31, 2006, 10:30 AM
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I still use the rope and draws I took over there from a couple of years back. The draws aren't as shiny as they used to be, probably because of the salt in the air but they still work fine. The rope hasn't shown anything other than normal wear. If you inspect it and feel good with your gear then use it.
The rock over there is limestone and I do wonder if it causes issues with the bolts after combining with the saltwater.
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heiko
Mar 31, 2006, 12:13 PM
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In reply to: not all the material they are using is crap. in fact, the rock there must be kind of special as it sort of speeds up corrosion on bolts even on first class material such as petzl and fixe. a couple of years ago, petzl sent over a team of experts after long discussions on that issue. apparently, the rock is kind of "aggressive" - sorry i am not a geologist.
Wow, this sounds quite interesting. Thx for the info.
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nthusiastj
Mar 31, 2006, 12:50 PM
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Thanks for the info Geo and Chris.
I still use my draws from my trip there 2 years ago too. I just replaced the "draw" portion after getting back. I probably will again this time too.
I'm aware of the bolt problems they've had. It seems like the Titanium glue-ins may be the best solution. I am hoping that the same harshness that causes the metal to corrode so quickly doesn't carry over to the fibers of my rope.
I'll just make it my trad rope. Try not to take any loong whips on it.
BTW, if you are planning a trip to Thailand buy the green guidebook by Sam Lightner Jr. All proceeds go toward the rebolting efforts. You can get it in the states and also at Hot Rock on Railay west.
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geotracker
Mar 31, 2006, 1:00 PM
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Just thought of something, does anyone know if the bolt hanger and the bolt itself are of 2 dissimilar metals? Cause if they are the exposure to saltwater and air will cause them to corrode at an incredible rate. Some kind of electrolysis effect if I remember right. The new glue in bolts are nice, didn't seem to be a problem at all.
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granite_grrl
Mar 31, 2006, 2:12 PM
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The biggest problem I've heard of ropes used for a while in Thailand is getting sand in them from climbing on the beach all day long.
geotracker - I believe that when many of the bolts that were failing in Thailand they were indeed because of having a seperate bolt and hanger. I think that they do try to use glue ins (Ti?) now, but I haven't heard how well these hold up.
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gbmaz
Mar 31, 2006, 2:37 PM
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The ASCA (American Safe Climbing Association) has an excelent article on their site about issues with bolts on sea cliffs. It was also published in one of the climbing mags a few years back.
http://www.safeclimbing.org/...tion/deepbluesea.htm
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ambler
Mar 31, 2006, 2:41 PM
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This is an important article that describes both the technical problem of Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking of stainless steel bolts, and the most workable solution so far -- Ushba titanium bolts, specifically designed for the purpose. (Cheaper alternatives such as placing many stainless-steel bolts close together and stringing them together with rope as a single protection point, or drilling holes to thread fixed rope segments through the rock, make a mess and are less likely to be safe.)
The problem can be serious -- stainless-steel bolts just a few years old have broken unexpectedly under less than body weight, sometimes with near-fatal results. Carabiners are susceptible as well; leaver biners on Cayman Brac often fuse shut, so they can't be opened again without tools.
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danieladaniela
Apr 2, 2006, 4:20 AM
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Stainless steel bolts are the worst choice in such environments, much worse than non-stainless, which will corrode but not be so prone to unexpected ruptures at low workloads.
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