Don't Trust found ropes, don't leave fixed ropes behind.

An example from NZ:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/12...hy29hEW__QlYqEtGyqE3cw9lbML5YGaxmI1qhHw8kkn1w

Worn fixed rope sent US climber to her death, Coroner rules
Benn Bathgate 11:43, Oct 15 2020

An American climber who died after a 120-metre fall from Castle Rock in the Coromandel would likely still be alive if she hadn’t relied on a rope that was “severely structurally compromised”.

That’s according to the Coroner’s report into the death of Lauren Kimiyo Worrell, who died after the fall on August 19, 2018.

In his written report Coroner Michael Robb said Worrell, 28, who lived in Auckland with her partner Richard Graham, had about three years’ climbing experience both in New Zealand and the United States, and that the pair had climbed Castle Rock before.

Apparently it was webbing, not rope. "Fixed rope" is mentioned here too, but here's a quote farther down in the article:

https://247newsaroundtheworld.com/n...9mXatu__Gcg_au1rmiy8suso94sHzE9ak_dz9-LC47hXc

Robb said that after Graham had called emergency services, he noticed the “heavily weathered” fixed nylon webbing she was clipped to had snapped.

That webbing was already attached to the rock, having been left behind by previous users.

Presumably the reporters in both stories don't know the difference between webbing and a rope and called it a "fixed rope" in some stories.

But yes, don't rely on fixed ropes. And check your webbing.

This from Harlan Stockman

"An untrustworthy fixed rope. In 2011, I was doing the Mack's Traverse "in reverse" (N to S) and came to a spot with a new, single fixed rope. I ignored it and started up the cliffs. In about 10' I saw another, same-colored fixed rope -- huh? When I got to the top, this is what I found. Someone had looped a rope over a small dead pine stump, and the rope got stuck enough during the pull, so it was abandoned. Down from the loop, something had chewed almost entirely through the rope. If I had grabbed it midway and weighted it, I would have been in for a nasty surprise."

Mack's Traverse is in the mountains north and west of Vegas, a bit north of Mt Charleston.