Ice climbing
Ice climbing is a special field within climbing. Instead of rock, ice climber’s object of desire is frozen water. Ice climbing is divided into alpine climbing, where the main goal is mostly reach a summit and ice climbs are part of the route, water ice climbing where the technical challenge is climbing on frozen water flows, waterfalls or cliff runoff and mixed climbing. The difficulty of the disciplines depends on the characteristics of the ice and varies with weather conditions.
The other big issue in ice climbing is the water itself. Nylon tends to absorb water which makes the rope stiff. In addition, absorbed water that freezes creates sharp particles that harm the load-bearing core. Hence, ice climbing and alpine travel ropes are dry-treated to become water repellent. The MAXIM Endura DRY treatment protects our ropes from water in multi-stage process. Standard dry (STD-dry) ropes have a dry treated core while 2x-DRY treated ropes also have a dry treated cover for even higher water resistance.
For ice climbing, glacier and crevasse climbing, MAXIM recommends:
Airliner
Pinnacle
Unity
Glider
About MAXIM Dynamic Ropes
Dynamic climbing ropes are the most important piece of gear you have, because they keep you from hitting the ground. Their high elongation absorbs most of the shock in a fall, thereby taking the load off of your body and your anchors. MAXIM ropes are made of 100% high quality nylon and feature a kernmantle construction with twisted nylon cores and a braided nylon cover. MAXIM’s long lasting dynamic climbing lines are designed as a compact rope with high-energy absorption. Each of our dynamic climbing lines offers excellent handling, superior abrasion resistance and high durability.
Special features of MAXIM dynamic ropes
The core of every dynamic MAXIM Climbing rope is dry treated with our special Endura DRY treatment process, including our indoor gym ropes. This is for the ultimate level of safety protection since nylon loses a lot of strength when wet. In addition, for maximum water-repellency, selected models also feature Endura 2x-DRY and have both a dry core and a specially treated dry cover. Those ropes fulfill the requirements of UIAA water-repellency.
Our Pinnacle and Glider series also feature MAXIM’s TPT (Twill Pattern Technology) which aligns the sheath yarns with the direction the rope moves through your protection. This dramatically reduces rope drag and provides for buttery rappels.
The Chalk Line gym ropes also feature our Str8 Jacket technology, in which we tightly weave the sheath around a mid-sheath which grips the core. These are the longest lasting gym ropes on the planet.
Standards for dynamic climbing ropes
Dynamic climbing ropes are generally certified in three categories; single ropes, half ropes and twin ropes. All of them are certified to the European Standard EN 892 and the international standard UIAA 101. Within these standards, the rope’s construction, sheath slippage, static and dynamic elongation, maximum impact force at first fall as well as the minimum number of falls a rope has to withstand are regulated. Please find more information on climbing rope types and requirements of the standards in our Tech info section.
"MAXIM sets the standard for durability of climbing ropes in the industry. In the end, a rope is our lifeline, and for many years now I've felt 100% confident trusting my life to thee amazing cords. "
Jonathan Siegrist