Big Fall. looking for critique

I am surprised no-one has mentioned this: consider leading ice with skinny double ropes instead of a single. Skinny doubles have a LOT more stretch and MUCH lower impact loads on your pro than singles do (all other things being equal).

Also, don't use short (<16cm) screws unless the ice is shallow. The effort in placing a screw is primarily in finding a good portion of ice, cleaning it if necessary, and getting the screw started. Once you're spinning it in, the extra few turns for a longer screw make no difference in work, but allow your screw to reach better ice, deeper in. (this is all assuming you are using modern screws, with cranks, and in good shape, i.e. very sharp)

Eric and Lucie wrote:I am surprised no-one has mentioned this: consider leading ice with skinny double ropes instead of a single. Skinny doubles have a LOT more stretch and MUCH lower impact loads on your pro than singles do (all other things being equal).

That depends more on the particular rope than whether it's a half or single.

Remember that the testing for half lines is done with a 55kg mass, while singles use an 80kg mass. For example, the triple rated Beal Joker tests at 7.9kn single, 5.6kn half, and 9.1kn twin. It's not that the rope magically changes, it's just a different test. Comparing UIAA impact forces of halves and singles doesn't yield meaningful results.

Dobson wrote: That depends more on the particular rope than whether it's a half or single. Remember that the testing for half lines is done with a 55kg mass, while singles use an 80kg mass. For example, the triple rated Beal Joker tests at 7.9kn single, 5.6kn half, and 9.1kn twin. It's not that the rope magically changes, it's just a different test. Comparing UIAA impact forces of halves and singles doesn't yield meaningful results.

Clearly.
Still, thin ropes generally produce lower impact forces because they stretch more, and climbers are generally willing to use thinner ropes when climbing on doubles rather than singles.
But yes, do not simply reply on impact load comparisons from UIAA tests since the test mass is different for the different rope types.