page_title: Rope
section_title: Rock climbing ropes
hierarchical_section_title: Rope / Usage / Rock climbing ropes
caption_attribution_description: English: Internal structure of 10.7mm dynamic kernmantle climbing rope. This nylon rope is composed of a 40 strand "two-over-two" braided sheath and a core made from seven 3-ply yarns with a single green tracer strand running parallel to the core yarns. Note that four of the seven core yarns are S-twist (left-handed) and three are Z-twist (right-handed). In this image the three plies of the left-most core yarn are spread apart. Sample from trimmed end of a used climbing rope.
context_page_description: A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibers or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, string, and twine.
context_section_description: The modern sport of rock climbing uses so-called "dynamic" rope, which stretches under load in an elastic manner to absorb the energy required to arrest a person in free fall without generating forces high enough to injure them. Such ropes normally use a kernmantle construction, as described below. "Static" ropes, used for example in caving, rappelling, and rescue applications, are designed for minimal stretch; they are not designed to arrest free falls.  The UIAA, in concert with the CEN, sets climbing-rope standards and oversees testing. Any rope bearing a GUIANA or CE certification tag is suitable for climbing. Despite the hundreds of thousands of falls climbers suffer every year, there are few recorded instances of a climbing rope breaking in a fall; the cases that do are often attributable to previous damage to, or contamination of, the rope. Climbing ropes, however, do cut easily when under load. Keeping them away from sharp rock edges is imperative.
  Rock climbing ropes come with either a designation for single, double or twin use. A single rope is the most common and it is intended to be used by itself, as a single strand. Single ropes range in thickness from roughly 9 mm to 11 mm. Smaller ropes are lighter, but wear out faster.  Double ropes are thinner ropes, usually 9 mm and under, and are intended for use as a pair. These ropes offer a greater margin or security against cutting, since it is unlikely that both ropes will be cut, but they complicate belaying and leading. Double ropes are usually reserved for ice and mixed climbing, where there is need for two ropes to rappel or abseil. They are also popular among traditional climbers, and particularly in the UK, due to the ability to clip each rope into alternating pieces of protection; allowing the ropes to stay straighter and hence reduce rope drag.
  Twin ropes are not to be confused with doubles. When using twin ropes, both ropes are clipped into the same piece of protection, treating the two as a single strand. This would be favourable in a situation where there was a high chance of a rope being cut. However new lighter-weight ropes with greater safety have virtually replaced this type of rope.
  The butterfly coil is a method of carrying a rope used by climbers where the rope remains attached to the climber and ready to be uncoiled at short notice. Another method of carrying a rope is the alpine coil.
caption: Dynamic Kernmantle rock climbing rope with its braided sheath cut to expose the twisted core yarns and core yarn plies.
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