WHY DO I NEED TO FILL OUT THIS LOG BOOK EVERY TIME I USE A ROPE?

The following has been put together from current British Mountaineering Council (BMC) guidelines and outlines implications for both Imperial College Union (ICU) Outdoor Club and its members who use club ropes.

GUI !"I#!$ Current British Mountaineering Council (BMC) guidelines for where a rope pool is maintained, such as in a climbing club, say. detailed logs of (rope) use should be maintained, all ropes should be individually identified and checks should be made after every period of use for external or internal damage and the log sheet annotated
(Quoted from BMC Technical eries! "opes, #$$%)

&' duty of care e(ists between clubs and their members. Clubs should ensure that rope users, i.e. its members, familiarise themsel)es with good practice, such as logging the use of ropes, and be aware of rope degradation mechanisms*
(Compiled from BMC Technical eries! "opes, #$$%)

IM%"IC&TIO#$ +i)en this ,C- .utdoor Club should! inform all club members of the information contained in this document ensure all usage of club ropes is documented. permanently display notices in club store rooms detailing when a rope should be retired, disposed of and/or ta0en out of ser)ice. The .utdoor Club 0eeps a uni1ue log boo0 for each rope. These are 0ept on the rope rac0s in stores with the rele)ant ropes. "ope use forms should always accompany a rope i.e. when a rope is signed out a rope use form must be ta0en with the rope. The form should be filled out by the user and returned with the rope. The information from a rope use form should then be written up in the rele)ant rope use log boo0, which is 0ept in the club store. Meanwhile members ha)e a duty of care to other members to ensure they understand and familiarise themsel)es with the information displayed on notices in stores and adhere to them. Members should follow standard operating procedures regarding rope use, which include logging rope use and minimising rope degradation where e)er possible e.g. using rope bags when transporting ropes. '(O)$ *!$%O#$IB"!+ The BMC says In any environment where a duty of care exists, a demonstrably competent individual should be responsible for monitoring rope use. his person need not be a recognised !technical expert" such as a suitably #ualified mountain instructor or guide, they can be $ust an experienced climber with comparable expertise. his person need not be responsible for the routine checking of ropes but should oversee and approve of the systems in place for e#uipment monitoring.

(2rom BMC Technical eries! "opes, #$$%)

The .utdoor Club interprets this as follows -1-

WHY DO I NEED TO FILL OUT THIS LOG BOOK EVERY TIME I USE A ROPE?
3 3 3 the day to day chec0ing of ropes should be done by the user and is therefore the club members responsibility. This should be documented by logging the rope use. e(perienced climbers with comparable e(pertise are responsible for the routine chec0ing of ropes (recommended at least once a term) determining when a rope should be downgraded or retired. club e1uipment officers are responsible for ensuring e1uipment monitoring is properly and thoroughly underta0en. 41uipment officers should do this by o)erseeing and appro)ing the systems in place for monitoring e1uipment.

I#,O*M&TIO# Below is some basic information regarding rope management which the .utdoor Club belie)es all members should familiarise themsel)es with. Their is no definiti)e answer on when a rope should be retired or how long a rope should last as there are too many )ariables for such a simplistic answer. The following has therefore been put together to assist in ma0ing such as decision. Independent of fre-uenc. of use/ a rope should be disposed of 0 retired if The rope comes in contact with chemicals, particularly acids. The sheath is damaged and the core is )isible. The sheath is e(tremely worn, or particularly fu55y. The sheath has slipped noticeably. trong deformations are present (stiffness, nic0s, sponginess). The rope has been sub6ected to e(treme loads (e.g. hea)y falls, clearly o)er fall factor #). The rope is e(tremely dirty (grease, oil, tar). 7eat, abrasion or friction burns ha)e caused damage.

The following table gi)es reference )alues for a ropes appro(imate lifespan gi)en #O#! of the abo)e ha)e occurred! ,*!1U!#C2 O, U$! 8e)er -sed "arely -sed! twice per year .ccasionally -sed! once per month "egularly -sed! se)eral times per month 2re1uently -sed! e)ery wee0 Constantly -sed! almost daily &%%*O3IM&T! "I,! $%&# #9 years ma(imum -p to : years -p to ; years -p to < years -p to # year =ess than # year

The abo)e information has been compiled from the Mammut rope information boo0let. .nline at http!//www.mammut.ch/mammut/uploaded2iles/seilfibel>9<9?#:343@A2(B).pdf

To help prolong the life of club climbing ropes and for your safety, whene)er possible newer ropes should be preferentially used for leading and older ropes used for scrambling, top roping, abseiling and on glaciers. +i)en the fre1uency with which ,Cclubs use their ropes newer ropes are typically classified as less than <yrs old, while older ropes are ones which ha)e been downgraded either because they are degraded or because they are more than <yrs old. +i)en this and the abo)e information all .utdoor club ropes should be retired after a ma(imum of fi)e years. 7owe)er in short when you start thin0ing it may be time to get a new rope then it probably is. -2-

WHY DO I NEED TO FILL OUT THIS LOG BOOK EVERY TIME I USE A ROPE?
2or specific information pertaining to the recommended lifespan of ropes see the BMC Care C Maintenance +uide C the BMC "ope boo0let together with the manufacturers instructions, 0ept in the filing cabinet.

-3-