Marking the Middle of the Climbing Rope

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FAQ: Marking the Middle of the Climbing Rope

"Has anyone used a Sharpie brand pen to mark the middle of their climbing rope? Is it safe?"

No manufacturer will condone the use of permanent marking ink on the middle mark of a climbing rope. This would require the chemical analysis of the ink (which might be different over time) by the rope manufacturer. Bluewater sells a (non-permanent) marking pen with a Ph only approved for their own ropes.

The option of marking the middle of a climbing rope with tape is also questionable. How does the adhesive in the electrical or athletic tape react over time with the materials of the rope? One climbing rope wholesale representative states that the Ph of athletic tape may not damage the rope but points out that tape can come loose quickly and slide away from the original placement.

The traditional and best way to mark the middle of the rope is to get a rope woven in two patterns in the first place. A second way is to wrap the center two inches of the rope with white nylon thread, every few wraps with a wrap carefully woven into the weave of the rope.

Beware an older rope someone has marked with tape. The tape can come loose over time and shift position even several feet. More than one unfortunate has rappelled off the short end of their rope: read about this in many of The American Alpine Club's fifty-four annual reports on Accidents in North American Mountaineering.

--On Belay, Bob Speik
Copyright© 2000-2011 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

The TraditionalMountaineers' coil

The rest of the story!
Almost a decade has passed since I first addressed this question on this website: How should you mark the middle of your climbing rope? The discussion came up again, during my recent Clinic on Steep Snow Climbing. I had purchased a special marking pen from Sterling Ropes, but it died a few years ago. Students noted that some of my Clinic ropes need to be marked or re-marked ;-))

Time has passed and the question has had reverent and irreverent attention. I decided to let you decide on your own. What am I doing? I am going to use a water based marking pen from any manufacturer I can find at my big box grocery store, following the advice from BlueWater ropes:

What is the beta on rope marking pens from BlueWater Ropes?
"Marking pens are fine to use on ropes as long as they are water based laundry markers. Years ago solvent based markers were the norm. Some of the solvents used in these old pens could reduce the strength of the sheath strands marked. These days most pens are water based so this is not as much of an issue as in years passed. We recommend a Sharpie "rub a dub" laundry marking pen."

Why does BlueWater not use factory middle marks on dynamic ropes?
"Factory middle marks are ok until one end of the rope gets chopped off. Then the factory mark is no longer in the middle. Hmmm- look at the back of any telephone book here in the great Nation of America. If an end user gets hurts because their mark is no longer in the middle what would one expect to happen? We prefer the end user to make all marks so they are intimately familiar with which of the marks on their rope is the correct center mark. This can be accomplished by different styles of marking using a series of bands so the correct mark can be identified. A unique marking also helps to better identify ownership!"

http://www.bluewaterropes.com/home/faqs.asp

Note: I purchased a Sharpie "Poster Paint" black, water based marker, Item SAN37218, from Ellsworth's Stationers in Glendora CA for $7.76. Check this out at www.ellsworthdirect.com.
--Robert Speik, Webmeister
Copyright© 2000-2011 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

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