Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1912 — ROPE FOR ALPINE CLIMBERS [ARTICLE]

ROPE FOR ALPINE CLIMBERS

It Is of Bpecial Manufacture and Combines Strength, Flexibility and_ Lightness. The rope used by Alpine climbers Is of special manufacture, combining as far as possible the differing qualities of strength, flexibility and lightness. Three qualities are in general use, being made from Sisal, Italian and Manilla hemps respectively, and occasionally, when cost is not considered, of silk. The latter, though very light and strong, is not so durable as the others. That which finds most favor among British mountaineers is known as Buckingham’s Alpine rope; it is made of tbe best Manilla hemp. In the year 1864, Mr. McLeish recalls, a committee of the Alpine club made tests upon- a number of ropes suitable for mountaineering. Of the two that were approved one was made of Italian hemp and the other of Manilla. They both had a breaking strain of two tons and sustained the weight of a twelve stone mats after falling from a height of ten feet. Non-mountaineers have sometimes considered this insufficient, but it is highly problematical whether the human anatomy could survive the sudden compression of,a thin rope arising from any greater fall.—Fry’s Magazine.