why the hell do my friggin ropes keep snapping off?

I just duct taped some washing line to the ends, used tht as handles instead.

 

Same here. It's because the thing in the handle that's supposed to rotate with the rope doesn't actually rotate, so the rope wears from friction.

 

Oil the rotating thingy. Or just get a large piece of clothes line and replace it with that so you can at least keep the handles. That's what I do.

 

Is it a plastic rope and you skip in the cold? Plastic ropes break in the cold.