If so, why is it that noone l ice climb with thinks twice about it?They're always sharpening their ice tools, then tossing them in the trunk, right on the ropes or slings, etc.Personally, l file my tools at home, and then wipe them clean.l mean, if dirt can get into the ropes and cause damage, l would think metal filings would too.Anyone have knowledge or links about this?

l know absolutely Nothing about ice climbing. however, you're concern to me would seem like common sense considering safety is on the line. word of advice: never use your friend is ropes

l think that it probably all in the course of normal ''wear'' on the rope.but of course a dirty rope is more likely to be retired sooner (or be damaged) than one that is cared for.

l would worry about throwing a rope in the trunk - no telling what else might have been in there before. l recall an article in the newsletter of the American Alpine Club about rope failure thought to have been from someone putting a rope in their trunk in which they had also carried a car battery in the past. Sulfuric acid from the battery was transferred into the trunk, & then onto the rope.

Wayner makes a good point about ''What else has been in the trunk?'' l know l treat my ropes & the ropes we use with the scouts like gold. So l am really careful about not placing the ropes in any situation where they can be damaged. To me, the metal shavings would be like laying the rope in broken glass. Why risk it?

l grew up climbing under the BSA regulations, which r overkill by UIAA & USMGA standards, but good rope care is a fundamental no matter where u learned or who is standards u go by.

l never transport my ropes in vehicles' trunks because various things that can be or have been in the trunk can damage the rope. These things include various solvent-type chemicals & fumes, metal shavings or filings, battery acids, & other substances. In addition, tossing a sharpened ice tool onto ropes & slings as a matter of habit seems to me to be a really bad idea. l do not know if anyone has been killed or injured because of this (or whether we would know if they had, as opposed to being injured or killed from a rope failure from some unknown cause), but l do know that ropes r safer if they r protected from damage. l carry mine in a bag in the passenger compartment of my car, & the ice tools in a separate container.

I'd say they would be pretty bad alright, but then would ya really get that much in one spot on the rope? l only found out that the reason you're not supposed to stand on the rope is to try and avoid getting grit into it a few weeks ago. Have there been any tests to show the effects of grit in the rope done?

l belive that metal filings are worse for a rope than dirt because metal filings are like a thousand little knives and dirt particles are just little sharp rocks.