What diameter ropes are people using on El Cap these days?
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Talked with a guy in Yosar last year that preferred 10.1 to 10.5 sterling's for el cap. Another poster here recommended a new 9.1 to jug on. I'm thinking if getting the mammut infinity 9.5 60m to practice jugging and rope soloing on, then hopefully use that same rope in 2 months attempting NIAD. |
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I fail to understand the popularity of large ropes. New ropes of small diameter have better technical specs than the larege ropes of recent years past. I wish the industry would just move on to 10mm and smaller and drop large ropes all together |
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The 9.5 infinity would be an excellent choice for NIAD as it's light & has a relatively burly sheathe. Still, I'm not sure I'd practice jugging on it. |
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gription wrote:I fail to understand the popularity of large ropes. New ropes of small diameter have better technical specs than the larege ropes of recent years past. I wish the industry would just move on to 10mm and smaller and drop large ropes all togetherThey still serve a purpose - why do you care if "the industry" offers thicker ropes? No one is forcing you to buy them. |
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I am not sure I would want to go smaller than 10mm. Jugging is hard on ropes and a thinner rope is going to take a beating and not last that long. Jugging on a fat rope tends to stretch less than a skinnier rope and a fat rope makes me feel better when watching the rope going over an edge or sharp flake; mammut supersafe is a great big wall rope. |
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Used an 9.8 for a couple trips up. Worked well with jugging over edges. No fraying. Would have loved to been on a smaller rope for weight purposes. |
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Jason Kim wrote: .. No one is forcing you to buy them.Because when my buddy shows up with one I have to drag it up the wall. |
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Poor baby. |
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Jason Kim wrote:Poor baby.FU |
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Given what you intend on using it for, I think you'll be fine with a thinner rope. If you're primarily free climbing and trying to go fast and light, a thinner rope seems a good call. However, if I were doing a burlier aid route, where you'll be fixing and doing lots of jugging on the rope, I'd prefer a slightly thicker rope. If you've got a hula skirt of gear, a few ounces on the rope will seem negligible. But when you're jugging a rope way off the deck and know the rope is running over an edge, how much is you peace of mind worth? Despite rope manufacturer's claims, I think I'd rely on the anecdoctal evidence of people on YOSAR than the results of some narrow lab test. |
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Any kind of practice - be it jugging, working a sport route or a practice run to Dolt -oughtta be done with an old fuzzy rope past it's prime. Save your NIAD rope for the big day plus a couple test pitches beforehand to get the feel for it. |
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JeffL: |