Half ropes in 50m or 60m? Dont see the argument for 60...
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Getting a set of half ropes and read through lotsa forum posts on 50 vs 60m like here .
What am I missing? |
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Sometimes you run into bolted belays or rappels that were equipped for 60m ropes. Having two 50s kind of sucks in that instance. I can only think of one route I've climbed off the top of my head that actually required two 60s to rappel, but a few more that had 55m pitches between bolted belays. |
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50m pitches can be short; may not be able to use the rope to build your anchor. |
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You'll be fine with 50s except when you won't be. Just suck it up and buy the 60s. If you have them for a few years and really hate them just chop them shorter. Voila. |
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@Phil: Yeah you're kinda right there =) I hadn't thought about just chopping em later which is actually a good idea if it turns out 60 isnt necessary. Thanks |
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SwabianAmi wrote:@Phil: Yeah you're kinda right there =) I hadn't thought about just chopping em later which is actually a good idea if it turns out 60 isnt necessary. ThanksOther than you're paying extra money for nothing. If you want 50m, buy 50m. I dont know what the routes in Germany are like so I cant say. In the USA dual 50s would get you up most climbs. If you're the type that doesent really care what you climb as long as you're climbing something, there will probably be many options for 50s. If you are the type that's set on climbing a specific climb no matter what, then you might be stuck with borrowing a rope or building additional belays if the route requires 60s. |
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@20kN: Yeah I'm happy just to be climbing something fun and be outdoors. I just wanted to get one last round of feedback before pulling the trigger. But I think for my purposes and location, 50 oughta be fine. |
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I've always used 70 m single ropes because of how they get me around where I live and because if/when chopping the ends becomes necessary (rock fall, over use, etc.), I still have a viable rope shortening it to a 60 or 55m. |
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totaly depends on what grade you are climbing. here in the US 5.9 and most often 5.10 and under you are almost certainly climbing old routes that were established with 45m ropes and usually have short pitches. most often you can run those short pitches together with a 50m rope. Many guides in the tetons use 40m ropes. The last set of 50m half ropes that I had were super handy and long enough for any moderate in the east that we ever experienced. Ice is a whole different game and the reason i switched to 60m and 70m ropes. |
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If you are going to stay on established rock routes you are probably okay with 50m twins. But if venturing off into the alpine ice 60m twins are the way to go. I have a 100m rope that I use for ice. Great rope but every once in a while I wish I had 60m twins (then my partner could carry half the weight, too). That rope is soon to be retired and when it is retired I will be getting 60m twins. |
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I've used 60mm half ropes for many years now, much of the time in places that work fine with shorter ropes. I only own one set of ropes and use what I have for everything. True, sometimes I'm pulling up half the ropelength at belays, but by and large I'm happy with the versatility. |
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woah- 100m rope! Sounds incredible! |
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It sounds like you're pretty set on the 50, you should be fine. |
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If you don't need 60 then 50 will be lighter and you can take a bit smaller rack too. |
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I know nothing of the alps. |
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The weight of the rope really only matters for hiking in. You will not notice a difference in the weight while climbing. It all depends on where you plan on climbing. Where I live I would never recommend a rope shorting than 60m and some areas you really need a 70m even though you can get by with a 60m. If you had a 50m in these areas it would not work. |
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50 doesn't leave much room for error. |
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Having learned to climb in the days of 45m being normal and 50m being "long" I think it depends so much on where and what you climb. Almost all of the older "classic" routes will go just fine with 50m ropes - especially considering that you have 2 of them come time to descend. I had 50m doubles for years and now have a pair of 60m doubles and seldom have they been "needed" - but are of course nice to have on occasion. If you want 50s then that's what you should buy, next time I plan to go back to 50s. Longer ropes require bigger racks and more weight - an issue in the mountains - especially those with long approaches. |
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highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: Most route developers are using at least 60m ropes. This is dependent on rock terrain of course but don't be surprised if a bolted rap route has anchors every 59m.60m single ropes, not two 60m ropes. Most climbs do not require 120m of rope to get down. Depending on the area, often a single 70 is enough and even a single 60 can be enough depending on the area. What's particularly annoying is when a climb does require two ropes, but only for one or two pitches, the rest of which can be rapped with a single rope. Talk about a waste bringing an extra rope for one pitch... If the climb has a separate rap route, typically there is a higher chance you'll need two ropes compared to a climb that raps the climbing route. |
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If you know the area and can get away with 50m ropes it a ton les rope to drag arround. |
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70m halfs is where its at. Not even kidding. |