Why climb with a 70 meter in the Gunks?

Hey all,

A friend of mine is purchasing a new rope and is planning on getting a 60 meter as he would be exclusively climbing in the Gunks. Is there an argument for purchasing a 70 meter for the Gunks? What can you do with a 70 that you can't do with a 60? I'm looking for specific examples. The only one that comes to mind is you'd be able to link pitches (like doing Bonnie's Direct as a single pitch).

Thanks,

Sean

If you eventually have to cut your ends, you wont be short on a lot of stuff. You can also rap horsemen with a 70m, not advised to with a 60...

You need a 70 to top rope or rap Alphonse in the nears. A 70 also gets you down from Son of Easy O in one rap. There are a couple of popular rap routes in the Trapps where a 60m just makes it to the GTLedge and trimming the ends will leave you short. You also need a 70 to link pitches to top of the wall in some areas, but I'm having trouble remembering the route names where that was the case.

I think a skinny 70m is the best rope for all around trad climbing in this locale. If you venture out to the Dacks or North Conway it will save you from needing a second rope in several places. I don't plan to buy a rope shorter than 70m ever again.

Worth it just to be able to lead son of in one pitch and be lowered to the ground.   I also really like being able to link up pitches without worrying about rope length. 

And, a lot of the climbing on the east coast benefits from having a 70, not just the northeast.  

I think everything will be OK, life will go on, with a 60.

tons of places where a 70 is a complete and total waste of time and energy. You should have at least 10 ropes in your quiver for all the different locals. When I am road tripping I usually bring doubble 60s. a single sixty, a single 70 and a 6mm tag for starters... 

Hear that guys?  We’re all supposed to have 10 ropes. Lol!

Climberdudewrote:

Hear that guys?  We’re all supposed to have 10 ropes. Lol!

I would imagine many climbers have multiple ropes, multiple shoes and multiple packs. Not so unusual or laughable.

60m is fine for the Gunks. A few climbs, such as Double Crack, require a 70m, but otherwise 60m is okay. Sure, you can’t do Son of Easy O in 1 pitch, but it’s still a good climb if you break it up into 2 pitches.

Mike Climbersonwrote:

60m is fine for the Gunks. A few climbs, such as Double Crack, require a 70m, but otherwise 60m is okay. Sure, you can’t do Son of Easy O in 1 pitch, but it’s still a good climb if you break it up into 2 pitches.

Even a 70m won't get you down double crack if I remember. Pretty sure you need doubles.

FrankPSwrote:

I would imagine many climbers have multiple ropes, multiple shoes and multiple packs. Not so unusual or laughable.

I have 2 shoes. A right and a left

You can just just make it to the ground if tenny face with a 70 and then you can skip the other bolts. 

You can still link many pitches, including son of easy o with a 60, you just can't lower to the ground and have to rap twice. 

And with some shenanigans you can swing over and get down from double crack.

Also with a 70 you can lower from the top of pitch one of carbs to the ground. 

A pair of 60m half ropes gets you up and down everything,

My guess is that 50m halfs get you up and down everything. 50m half are a great system for most eastern multi pitch climbing. 

I like double 60s for the Gunks. Most places that also allows one rap back to bottom. Bottom line, it all depends on your style of climbing which rope to get. 

Bonnie's direct in one pitch is worth the [70m] price of admission alone!
The rap from the top of MF is also 35m, and nice to do in one go.

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

My guess is that 50m halfs get you up and down everything. 50m half are a great system for most eastern multi pitch climbing. 

I've done Birdland in one pitch with my 60's.  My impression is that I wouldn't have made it all the way with 50's, but I haven't tried so that's just a guess.  Linking pitches in the Gunks is kinda silly anyway, and the idea of buying an extra-long rope just to link a few ptiches here and there strikes me as even more silly,  Bottom line is you don't need a 70m rope for the Gunks.  If you need it for something else and want to use it in the Gunks, fine.

Linking pitches, a few raps and being able to cut the ends after a season and still have a 60 is a great reason for a 70

M Mwrote:

Linking pitches, a few raps and being able to cut the ends after a season and still have a 60 is a great reason for a 70

So every Gunks season you cut 10m off your ropes?  Or do you only use 'em for two seasons?

rgoldwrote:

So every season you cut 10m off your ropes?  Or do you only use 'em for two seasons?

Its either cut or get a new one. Eventually they become a 30m gym rope after about 2-4 seasons. Falling a lot really works the core about 10-15' out. 

And I have rapped Double crack with a 70, you just dont come strait down.

M Mwrote:

Its either cut or get a new one. Eventually they become a 30m gym rope after about 2-4 seasons. Falling a lot really works the core about 10-15' out. 

And I have rapped Double crack with a 70, you just dont come strait down.

Good to know. We walked off to the high E rap stations. A bit of a vegetated scramble, definitely better to rap.