How To Take Care Of Your Rock Climbing Rope

How should I take care of my rock climbing rope?

Ropes are very durable in the modern age. But it's still a good idea to use a rope bag or a tarp at the bottom of a climb, where your excess slack goes, to keep it from rolling around in the dirt. It keeps the sheath cleaner. Traditionally, the idea was if you got dirt on your rope and you stepped on it you could grind in granules of sand into your rope which would shorten the life of your rope perhaps and compromise some of its integrity. However, most modern ropes have coatings and treatments on the outside that almost mitigate that completely. However, it's a great idea to always keep your rope out of the dirt and to try to clean it off if you can when you're done using it and storing it in a clean butterfly or mountaineer's coil is going to keep it from kinking and when you take it out to use it it's going to be a lot smoother.