You hope that stain on it isn t from battery acid, or worse.
Climbers are notorious cheapskates, or better yet, dirtbags.
There are plenty of stories about how this or that person lived in a cave at Yosemite for 4 years and scrounged leftovers from the tables in the cafeterias. Ropes are the most important piece of climbing equipment that you can buy. Climbing has broken out into several very specialized disciplines. Rope manufacturers make specific ropes for each of the different disciplines. By understanding all the rope industry's cryptic phrases, like impact force, static elongation, sheath slippage, and falls held, all of which are useful in rating a climbing rope.