Trendy climbing habits perhaps better for Joe-stud than average joe?

Rope technology is so much better now. Thinner is better. They will not snap.

I had the understanding all the ropes have the same core, the only difference was the sheath and how long it would last and how much abuse it would take.

I have two 8.5 Mammut doubles & 9.5 Mammut single. Like the lighter weight, especially if the trad rack is a bit fat. Don't use the 10.2 as much.

Russ Keane wrote:"Rope technology is so much better now. Thinner is better. They will not snap."

If you read through the first couple of web sites I posted in the first post of the thread the authors thought super skinny ropes were more prone to cutting, not breaking.

From the Petzl web site:

"Each year there are multiple incidents in which the rope is cut. For example on sharp rock edges, from rockfall or on fixed carabiners with sharp edges from excessive wear..."

A fatal accident below from a cut rope. Ropes do cut.

rockandice.com/lates-news/r…

^^ Re. the above article about a rope cutting in Eldo-

Certainly this is frightening. The article does not mention the diameter of the rope in question. I wonder how much difference there is between a 9.1 and a 9.8 in the event of a sharp edge and a pendulum swing/fall. In other words, if the rope is going to get sawed, any rope thick or thin will get sawed in that instance.

Just thinking aloud.

Russ Keane wrote:^^ Re. the above article about a rope cutting in Eldo- Certainly this is frightening. The article does not mention the diameter of the rope in question. I wonder how much difference there is between a 9.1 and a 9.8 in the event of a sharp edge and a pendulum swing/fall. In other words, if the rope is going to get sawed, it's going to saw any old rope, thick or thin. Just thinking aloud.

I remember other climbers telling me that there was a climbing accident on high exposure that involved a the rope being cut back in the day when people climbed with 11mm ropes.

Russ Keane wrote:^^ Re. the above article about a rope cutting in Eldo- Certainly this is frightening. The article does not mention the diameter of the rope in question. I wonder how much difference there is between a 9.1 and a 9.8 in the event of a sharp edge and a pendulum swing/fall. In other words, if the rope is going to get sawed, it's going to saw any old rope, thick or thin. Just thinking aloud.

There was another accident in the Valley a few years ago where a climber's lead line was cut by rockfall and he fell to the end of his (static) haul line, which was fatal. Cut ropes are extremely rare, but they do happen, and there's certainly going to be a difference in sharp-edge resistance between a 10mm cord and a 8.9 mm cord.

^^^
That was a climber on a multi-day ascent of the Muir Wall. There, I would assume that folks would take a burlier rope given the wear and tear that walls exact on ropes. I don't know the specifics of that incident other than what I've mentioned. I'm definitely fine with a skinny rope when free climbing, but if I'm on a wall (for more than one day, where fixing and jugging is involved), I'll always go with a heavier line. I figure my second would appreciate that as much as the leader.

Another fad I don't really care for is simul rapping.

I can sort of see the need for it when you really, really need to get down RIGHT NOW!, but really, how often does that happen?

It takes one of the more dangrous aspects of climbing and simply makes it even more dangerous.

Mark Hudon wrote:It takes one of the more dangrous aspects of climbing and simply makes it even more dangerous.

If both parties know what they are doing, I'd argue it's no more dangerous and the benefits are large. I dont know how many times I've simulrapped an entire route to find myself on the ground when the party directly behind me was less than halfway done with their raps. Then of course it started raining and I was hiking to the car while they were stuck with six more pitches to rap. If you have the technique wired it's really quite straightforward and it saves a lot of time.

Jimmy Sledd wrote: There was another accident in the Valley a few years ago where a climber's lead line was cut by rockfall

That's happened in the Valley many times actually. More than once in the same month even. I personally know of someone who is very lucky to be alive after a block chopped the entire sheath and about 50% of the core strands on his rope. He was hanging by only a few strands four pitches up a popular trade route on El Cap. The rope was a 10.5mm that was brand new. I've even had the sheath of a fixed 11mm static line fail on El Cap as well. I have a friend who had a brand new Sterling Nano completely desheath while lowering over a sharp edge. I also know of a girl who had the sheath of a rope fail on a rap and she fell to the ground. I can think of additional examples as well. Ropes do get cut and while it is uncommon I would not call it very rare. Death by a cut rope is probably rare, but simple rope failure, partial or otherwise, is not exceedingly rare. The Unicore technology that Beal and a few other companies uses can really reduce the risk in some cases, and it would be a large benefit if all companies adopted that tech.

My friend had a partner that died because the rope was cut. I wouldn't think a sheath would fail in a rappel, but if it damaged before the rappel I can see it happen. Maybe it is worth the extra money for the Uni Core

Mark Hudon wrote:Another fad I don't really care for is simul rapping.

Useful in places like potrero where multipitch sport abounds and the magaritas just stay frozen back on the ground for so long.