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UID:pretalx-nss-convention-2026-QJHFPJ@talks.caving.dev
DTSTART;TZID=EST:20260709T090000
DTEND;TZID=EST:20260709T094500
DESCRIPTION:The 1970s through 1980s was a golden era of cave exploration ac
 ross the U.S. Cavers typically use static kernmantle ropes which are remov
 ed after a cave has been explored\, but instances exist where rope is left
  permanently rigged. Today caves across the country have a rope of unknown
  and potentially questionable histories permanently rigged. In 2023 in Wes
 t Virginia's Shoveleater Cave a pre-rigged rope broke while a caver was de
 scending a 9m pit. Luckily the fall was minor and the caver was only jarre
 d\, but the incident raised curiosity within the caving community about th
 e strength of permanently rigged ropes.\n\nAn informal study was conducted
  on 13 permanently rigged ropes removed from caves in the Southeastern Uni
 ted States at Pigeon Mountain Industry's rope production facility in Lafay
 ette\, GA. No history was known about the ropes. Ropes in the study were m
 anufactured from an estimated 1988 to 2018. Damaged and intact ropes were 
 pulled to failure and the failure point noted. Ropes that showed no visibl
 e signs of damage broke between 10kN and 20kN. An additional three samples
  which exhibited signs of severe rope wear also broke at 10kN to 14kN\, fa
 r below their Minimum Breaking Strength (MBS).\n\nThe study shows that old
  ropes can be strong but visual inspection alone is not enough to gauge a 
 rope's strength. The most important factor that diminishes a rope's streng
 th is use\, not age.
DTSTAMP:20260826T232144Z
LOCATION:254
SUMMARY:An Investigation of Permanently Rigged Ropes - 
URL:https://talks.caving.dev/nss-convention-2026/talk/QJHFPJ/
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