A staggering array of ropes and cord are available to the modern climber by many different domestic and foreign manufacturers. The safety record of nylon climbing ropes is excellent; in fact, no modern rope of 9 mm diameter or greater has ever been reported to fail due to a simple lead climbing fall. Given the proliferation and safety record of modern climbing ropes, it is easy to overlook the enormous improvements that have been made since rope was first used as a climbing risk management strategy (which began during an era where many top climbers did not live to see past the age of 30) [1].

Every week during the climbing season, I get a call or email from someone wondering if there are sport climbing routes at Devil’s Lake. Though I love helping folks answer their questions, I am usually disappointing the the inquiring party because they really want to go sport climbing outside.