I was wondering if anyone has been out climbing and then was inadvertently caught in a rain storm?

This question arose when I was rescueing a cat at night in the rain. It was only light rain so my ropes didnt get too wet.

If you have been caught out in the rain before, how did your hitches react and perform on a wet rope AND are there any safety issues with climbing on a completely saturated rope?

Thanks

BKS

Hitch keeps on working, sometimes it seems to grab harder but release faster once you get moving. Take it slow to figure out how your particular hitch/rope is behaving, then make whatever adjustments you need to. Hitch will squeeze water out of the rope on descent, more an inconvenience than anything else.
-AJ

had this happen a few times, never had any issues other than slipping around on smooth sycamore limbs - slick as snot I say!
the hitch will certainly "ring out" your climbing rope, which helps with drying time... for half of it anyway

I've had some close calls with storms, but I'm pretty sure I've always managed to get out of the tree before the heavens opened.
BUT I did once accidentally soak my rope in a swamp. Descending a soaked rope with a Blake's...once was enough for me...By the time I was on the ground, I had a pool of water in my lap. But other than getting soaked, everything worked fine

Hitches are definitely "twitchy" in wet weather, but the old stalwarts like the Blake's seem to still function OK. Hardware (rack or Gri-gri are what I have the most wet time with) also get twitchy (grab harder and slide a bit freer when moving) but not enough to matter.

Snow is another factor. Dry snow (temps in the teens or below) doesn't cause much trouble because it just blows/falls away from hardware. Wet snow can clog ascenders - a phenomenon Joe told me about but I didn't run across until recently (we've been having a pretty wimpy winter so far up here - although that's about to change). Definitely need to keep an eye on mechanical hardware when you have snow and "warm" (to northern climbers, that means "almost freezing") temperatures. Knots don't seem to care about snow much, although I haven't done much on iced-up ropes - that might get genuinely interesting.

While climbing in the rainforest wet ropes are the norm. During a typical four week session my ropes will almost never go completely dry.

Different people have told me different things regarding loss of rope strength when ropes are wet. I have been told that nylon ropes will lose five percent of their strength when wet. I have also been told that nylon ropes will lose up to twenty percent of their strength when wet. I have never tested the ropes to find out who to believe although it is widely accepted that ropes of almost any kind will lose "some" strength when wet. I don't really worry about this because the safety margin that we incorporate when climbing is enough to "cover" these losses of strength.

One of the problems that I encounter is that ropes will become a bit "moldy" if not dried properly. My problem here is that it is almost impossible to dry them in the environment where I'm working. I will flake them out and give them as much air as possible between climbs, but that really isn't enough in an environment with really high humidity. I have found that a couple of "speed" descents, using a rack, is usually sufficient to remove any evidence of moldiness. I was told by Bruce Smith (On Rope) that the moldiness is mostly an aesthetic issue rather than a safety issue.

The biggest single issue with wet ropes is that wet ropes can act inconsistently and this is particularly noticeable during descents. The rope will almost never flow at a steady rate through either a knot or descending device. The climber who relaxes and does not prepare for inconsistencies in rate of descent will have some exciting moments as knots tend to first lock up, then suddenly let go. An exciting and uncontrolled ride to the ground is more likely on a wet rope than on a dry rope.

And as already pointed out, the rope is being "squeegied" during descent and climbers will get a face full of water as they go down.

For those of us using the smaller diameter nine and ten millimeter ropes the inconsistencies can be even more pronounced. Descending on dry nine millimeter rope is exciting enough! Add water and it becomes almost deadly. On nine millimeter wet rope I would never descend without backup and a good solid grip on the downrope.... And the descent will have my undivided attention!

Joe, having climbed with you in the rainforest I can certainly relate to what it's like to climb on wet ropes. I don't think those ropes ever dried out.

You forgot to add that in the wet the ropes always seem to get muddy every time they touch the ground and that makes rinsing them out necessary and just makes them even wetter.

It was the wet-rope-experience that has convinced me that I don't really want any of that 9mm stuff.

You climb on 9mm wet and "you are the man!" Sorry Moss, but I couldn't resist!

RR3rd, I certainly yield to Joe's experience on wet 9mm rope. But, he makes adjustment and still climbs on it. Having said that, I don't blame you one bit for being reluctant to climb on it.
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Speaking of Joe, although I razz him every chance I get, Joe is the only professional rope access trainer for tree climbing I know. And in Joe's case, it is not only professional training but expert training based on years of 'been-there-done-that experience. There is a vast difference between professional and expert - Joe is both.

I don't mean any slight to those that teach tree climbing, I know some of us get paid to teach in structured and controlled environments and that's top class. But Joe is a in-field professional trainer. It is easy to loose sight of that. He trains people to climb large trees in their natural habitat - where if things go wrong there is no 911, there is no road for the emergency vehicles.

I have only climbed on wet rope one time and it was pouring down rain. I did not experience any problems with the soaked ropes. In fact I was showing a first-time climber how to climb and when the rain started, she refused to quit. We weren't having any problems and we weren't going high, so we kept at it.

But what I take away from all this is if Joe says 9mm is tricky to descend on when it's wet - I have no doubt whatsoever that it's true. That's not to say I wouldn't do it, I'd just do what Joe teaches - take precautions, use a backup, pay attention to the process. Of course that's not bad advice for any descent on any wet rope, especially when the advice comes from a professional, experienced trainer.

Whoaaa! Ron...I appreciate the flattery...it's always good for the ego, especially on a rainy Saturday morning with lots of weather-related gloom and doom in the air.

I will allow myself to enjoy it for fifteen minutes, then I have to revert to the reality of being myself...an ordinary tree climber...and go lead a program climb-work, in other words- if it doesn't start pouring down rain again. If it does rain again, while we are trying to lead a climb, then the weather related climbing issues can become a reality. This could be a messy afternoon for SwampFox and myself.

Thanks for the flattery, but you need to get real!

Just tellin' it like it is Joe - it isn't flattery - it's factual.

After last night's storms, I hope there are some trees still standing you can climb.