Dear Gear Guy: Why do climbing ropes cost so much?

Answer: When you are 2,000 feet up El Cap, whipping off the lip of the Great Roof, would you rather fall onto a $25 rope, or a $250 rope?

Climbing ropes are actually CHEAP when you think about what is asked of them. Every single climbing rope has to be absolutely perfect, which makes them unique. Think about it. If a rock shoe delams or breaks a lace, or your pack zipper blows out or your shell jacket leaks, you are annoyed but you don't actually die. All other items of climbing gear can be flawed and break in use, while a climbing rope must never break, and this despite being chucked in the dirt, cut, abraded and generally treated like trash for years on end.

The fact that no modern climbing rope has ever broken in normal use is absolutely amazing, and points to the extreme level of engineering,  manufacturing and quality control that goes into constructing a rope. Consider as well that climbing ropes have a (much) better safety record than even spaceships, I think you will agree that they are a bargain at any price.