The molecular weight of a polymerized molecule is huge (such as vulcanized rubber and adhesives) and the whole molecule is just too large to lift into solution. Hence, when trying to describe and predict the behavior of polymerized materials with solvents, a chemist (or chemical engineer) will consult the "solubility parameters" of materials. A solvent with similar solubility parameters to a large polymer can swell the material to several times its original size and will weaken its tensile strength considerably but won't dissolve it.
The solubility parameters incorporate hydrogen bonding ability, dipoles present within the molecules themselves, and the non-polar effect of random dipoles of electron movements in molecular orbitals (van der Walls interactions) of the molecules. If anybody is still with me here: small molecular weight alcohols such as methanol and isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) are very high in hydrogen bonding ability while polymerized rubber has next to no hydrogen bonding ability. However, there are some dipoles present in it, Hence solvents such as ethers, chloroform and acetone will make it more sticky as is swells the surface. (Ethers are not commonly available to the general public as exposure to oxygen will create explosive peroxides.)
Modern adhesives tend to be polyurethanes which are very high in dipole interactions and hence more affected by the solvents mentioned above. Depending on the adhesive it may have some hydrogen bonding ability and hence adversely affected by alcohols. Most of the effect of the alcohol is probably to clean the surface very well and leave little residue. I am not a climber, but I would think a dishwashing detergent would do a better job of removing grease/oils, leave very little residue if properly removed and would not affect the rubber or the adhesives nearly as much.
