The rope can be carried either as a hoop round the shoulders, or, more conveniently, hung over the shoulder-straps, as a cushion between the rucksack and the back. If it is wet or heavy, it is best to put it in an empty sack, or to fix it, by means of string or its loose ends, upright between the shoulders, like a rucksack.
If the rope is new, and has got wet, it is well to uncoil it in the evening and suspend it, neither strained nor taut, round the banisters or looped along a wall. It is wrong to strain a wet rope, as many climbers do. It stretches the twist and weakens the resilience which is its strength.
If a rope has kinked during a climb, or from being left wet in coil, in order to clear the kinks it is not necessary to untwist them with the hand. The rope need be only grasped some distance from its end with one hand and swung round circularly in the direction opposed to the twist of the kinks. They work themselves free, and the hand can then be shifted farther up the rope, and repeat the swing for another section.
The rope should never be dried in the sun or near a fire.
The rope should be examined after every ascent, and at intervals during the day, for bruises or frayed strands. A single frayed strand justifies the cutting or rejecting of the rope. An old rope should never be used. Guides are careless in this respect.
Suitable Lengths.
Some parties prefer to have their rope in lengths of 45 to 55 feet. Each climber is roped separately, and the middle men thus wear two waist-nooses. This method allows of rapid changes of order, of easy separation into parties of two, and so on. For most rock climbing a length of 60 feet is all that is required for the leader. A rope of 100 to 120 feet is sufficient for three. For parties of four, one length of 60 feet for the leader, and one of 90 to 100 feet for the rest, are generally found correct. For parties of two, the length depends on the character of the climb in prospect. But the leader requires more initial allowance for absolute security, since it is awkward, with only two men, for one to unrope in critical positions and give his leader more as he requires it. In larger parties this is less risky.
A run-out of 50 to 60 feet is usually accepted as the maximum which a leader should allow himself, and most sound climbs on rock offer good stances within or at this distance. A few exceptional climbs need 80 or 100 feet; but their supposed number is constantly being reduced, as later parties at their greater leisure discover adequate anchorages at shorter intervals. At distances of 100 feet, or even less, the rope ceases to be even a moral reassurance to the leader, and its drag alone diminishes his security. If he has a following on such climbs who cannot get up without the help of the rope, to carry it coiled, and let it down when he reaches his remote platform, may be the safer course.
Funicula.
Our first lesson is to learn how to knot the waist-loop quickly, and how to untie ourselves. Our second, to unravel expeditiously the entanglements that invade the rope during the extra manœuvring which the presence of inexperienced climbers entails. The best end-man knot can be made with a single continuous movement of the hand. The methods of roping and knotting are dealt with elsewhere; but we must remember to re-examine waist-knots frequently, for ourselves and the inexperienced. The noose sometimes slips down or becomes dangerously loose amid the confused disarrangement of garments which stiff rocks excite. Cases have occurred where men, slipping on rock or into a crevasse, have all but fallen out of their careless waist-nooses, and have remained suspended by one armpit. Theoretically we always rope round the chest; but round a large chest or tapering ribs the rope will not stay up, unless it is too tight to be comfortable. Consequently many men, and all women, prefer to rope round the waist. Anyone who, like myself, prefers to keep the rope up round the chest, will find a convenient device is to pass the end of the rope, after tying the knot, over one shoulder, and knot it lightly on to the noose again behind. This prevents the weight of the rope, especially in the case of a leader, from pulling down the noose round the false chest.