As one of the few non-redundant items in any climbing system, your climbing rope is a literal lifeline. As such it merits careful care, which includes drying the rope before storage and keeping it away from sharp objects that might pierce it, or corrosive chemicals that might weaken it without leaving any visible signs. But before you even consider how to care for your rope, you have to make sure you've got the right kind of rope for the activities you have in mind.
Dynamic Vs. Static
"Climbing rope" is usually understood to mean a dynamic rope, the kind of rope that stretches when subjected to the force of a fall. That stretch absorbs much of the shock of the fall. Static rope doesn't stretch, and even a short fall on this type of rope can give you a serious jolt or injure you. Restrict your use of static rope to activities that includerappelling, hauling gear, rescue work or building climbing anchorages -- not as a belay tool when climbing.
Length
Once you've made sure you have a dynamic rope in hand, the next most important criteria is rope length. Ask around or research in climbing guidebooks and reputable websites to find out the length of the average pitch in your area. You need a rope at least as long as the longest pitch, plus a few meters for belaying and setting up the anchor, to safely ascend. You need two ropes of the same length to safely descend, unless you can stop halfway down each pitch to build an anchor and pull the rope down for another rappel, in which case a single rope would do.
Thickness/Diameter
If you've spent any time in a climbing gym you're probably used to seeing super-thick, super-stout ropes. These are meant to withstand the heavy use and abuse of a gym environment, but are also very heavy. Ropes meant for outside use are often thinner and lighter. Sport climbers lean toward even-thinner cords to shave as much weight off as possible, with the thinnest of the thin measuring less than 9 mm in diameter. A rope of about 10 mm thickness is much more common, often less expensive, and better able to stand up to the use and abuse of less-extreme sport climbing. You might also use two less-than-9 mm ropes together for ice climbing or trad climbing -- these two-rope setups are called half ropes or twin ropes, depending on how you use them.
Dry Vs. Non-dry
Dry ropes come with a special coating to help keep the rope from absorbing water. A water-logged rope is extremely heavily, weaker than a dry rope and harder to manage, especially if it freezes. Dry ropes are more expensive than non-dry ropes without the special coating, which are -- somewhat confusingly, given the semantics -- perfectly suitable for use in dry conditions. The dry coating on a rope can wear off with the regular abrasion of use on dry rock, so you will usually restrict your use of dry ropes to ice climbing, mountaineering and other pursuits where the rope is likely to get wet frequently.
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