70m rope for Front Range

Moving to Boulder in the fall and can get a good deal on a 9.0mm 70m rope now. I already have a 9.1mm 60m, Is it worth getting a 70 for linking pitches? Looking to climb 5.10+ range

If you have to ask...

yup, get it

Chris tophwrote:

yup, get it

Okay Chris, just where around Bo'da do you really want a 70?  I can't think of a single route in Eldo where a 70 wouldn't just be a hassle.   You can link XM to Outer Space with a 50m.
Maybe if you do the Third Flatiron. Most pitches in Lumpy can be linked with a 60 and a shitload of drag. And maybe we should tell the OP that he needs to carry more gear... unless he's gonna run it out a lot, in which case he doesn't need a rope, eh? If he goes to Rifle or Sinks that 70 will be handy, but that's not "linking pitches" is it?

He's "moving to Boulder".  Has he any experience climbing out here?  The fact that he has to ask what rope to buy says no, and his focus on the rope specs confirm it.   He hasn't a single tick of a 5.10 lead, all his 10s are on TR.  He's 20 with big plans and a massive To-do list. 

He doesn't need a 70m rope.

There are a lot of single pitch climbs on the Front Range that require a 70m to lower safely. If you ever plan on climbing them, it's a good investment. Little Eiger in CCC for example is a popular area for new climbers and has a lot of climbs requiring a 70.

Prav Cwrote:

There are a lot of single pitch climbs on the Front Range that require a 70m to lower safely. 

He said he wanted it for "linking pitches", which is something you do when Trad climbing.

I've lived and climbed in the front range since 1973. Love my 60 and will replace it with the same. On the very rare occasion when a 70 is best we use my partners rope. Almost everyone has one or two. If I'm rope soloing and need a longer rope to get down I use a short tag line.

FWIW when I first moved here I bought a 70 and made use of it constantly. I later replaced it with a 60 which was also great. I generally just make sure 1 out of me and my partners have a 70 so I replace it with the length relevant. It’s easy to find folks with a 70 but having one is nice. Especially if you’re going to be top roping often, because you’re gonna tear up your rope way faster than you would leading and it gives you some wiggle room for length as you keep cutting it down.

P.S. John you link pitches climbing sport multipitches as well. If there’s anyone out there climbing the multipitches at devils head without linking pitches…just let me know next time you’re out there so I can make sure I don’t end up behind you. 

One of my climbing partners has an 80 which is a pita to carry and deal with. We often look at the where the middle mark is and note that we could be using a 40. We keep using it hoping something happens to give us an excuse to shorten it.

John Byrneswrote:

If you have to ask...

John, I get the impression that you're jaded and tired of reading repeat questions.  There was a lot of useful information in your second post. You had the opportunity to inform and mentor someone younger, unfamiliar with the area, and less experienced than you. Instead, you chose what came across as sass and attitude -- I dunno, tone in text is hard, and maybe you were trying to be funny. This is a forum, and it is an appropriate place for questions. If you want to make a point about searching past posts, then link them, and teach the new forum user how to use the search function. Or, copy/paste your own words, where you've kindly answered this same question before. I leaned on Mountain Project quite heavily when I was learning, and I asked a lot of questions, and I'm sure many of them were dumb. I appreciated having this resource, and I hope you'll continue to contribute to it, because you have useful things to say.

4433407 kwrote:

John, I get the impression that you're jaded and tired of reading repeat questions.  

You are right, I'm tired of what Mountain Project has become.  And the laziness that social media promotes and rewards.  And I get rather disgusted with the blind leading the blind.  

There was a lot of useful information in your second post. You had the opportunity to inform and mentor someone younger, unfamiliar with the area, and less experienced than you. Instead, you chose what came across as sass and attitude -- I dunno, tone in text is hard, and maybe you were trying to be funny. This is a forum, and it is an appropriate place for questions. 

I've responded to comments like yours for decades.  Yes, this is a forum.  A place for questions.  I have no problem with questions that are thoughtful and previously researched (as you say), or can be answered with a simple search or (Heaven forbid!) reading a book.

If you want to make a point about searching past posts, then link them, and teach the new forum user how to use the search function. Or, copy/paste your own words, where you've kindly answered this same question before. 

So you want me to reward their laziness by doing the work for them.  

I leaned on Mountain Project quite heavily when I was learning, and I asked a lot of questions, and I'm sure many of them were dumb. I appreciated having this resource, and I hope you'll continue to contribute to it, because you have useful things to say.

When MP first started, I too learned a lot from many knowledgeable people.  Not necessarily by asking questions but by reading posts on topics I was interested in.  I also answered a lot of questions when I had first-hand, experiential knowledge.  But so many of those knowledgeable people, and I humbly include myself in that group, now shun MP because of the issues I mention above.   How many people with 30 or 40 years of climbing experience are answering those "how do I mark the middle of my rope" questions?  

If you’re keen on a route that needs a 70m, get a 70m. Otherwise get a 60m for day to day cragging. My 70m mostly collects dust.

Some routes need a 70m, especially flatirons sport routes in the harder grade range (5.12 and up). Many flatirons routes, and thousands of other routes in Eldo/Boulder Canyon, can be climbed with much less than 60m of rope. Point being you have a years of routes to climb with a 60m.

A 70 is great for lots of routes on the FR in places like Eldo it can reduce the number of raps needed to get off of a formation. Example: I climbed on Shirt Tail today and it was two raps with a 70, it would have been three raps and a down climb with a 60. A 70 is great for Creekside Slab routes in Clear Creek, you can link pitches with the 70 and do less raps on the way down. Modern thin 70m ropes are always a nice thing to have.  

John Byrneswrote:

Okay Chris, just where around Bo'da do you really want a 70?  I can't think of a single route in Eldo where a 70 wouldn't just be a hassle.   You can link XM to Outer Space with a 50m.
Maybe if you do the Third Flatiron. Most pitches in Lumpy can be linked with a 60 and a shitload of drag. And maybe we should tell the OP that he needs to carry more gear... unless he's gonna run it out a lot, in which case he doesn't need a rope, eh? If he goes to Rifle or Sinks that 70 will be handy, but that's not "linking pitches" is it?

He's "moving to Boulder".  Has he any experience climbing out here?  The fact that he has to ask what rope to buy says no, and his focus on the rope specs confirm it.   He hasn't a single tick of a 5.10 lead, all his 10s are on TR.  He's 20 with big plans and a massive To-do list. 

He doesn't need a 70m rope.

it's what, 5 extra pounds in your pack and you never have to worry about having a rope that's too short? You can lower off darkness til dawn, you can climb the bastille in two pitches, you can do fewer rappels in many different scenarios, you can do all sorts of stuff. 

My least favorite thing about mountain project is people being huge curmudgeons about random inane topics. i can't believe anyone would care this much about someone using a 70. I have one, I live here (you're in Ft. Collins, right?), and I use it all the time. Partially because I just prefer never to worry about whether I have enough rope or not. It’s also very useful for sport climbing in the flatirons. I have an 80m too, and I use that a lot. Either way, he’s got a discount code so why not get an all around rope that’ll let him do whatever he wants? Bizarre diatribe you’re on, man. 

70m ropes are the norm 

I have a fairly large book collection and can’t seem to find one on rope length recommendations 

70m’s needed? no 

I am fairly certain you will not regret climbing with one

be safe

peace

There are somewhere around 85387 pitches in the Front Range vicinity. For 85312 of those, there is zero advantage of having a 70m rope. For every pitch you do, you will end up hauling up 10 extra meters of slack setting up your belay. For me, a 70m is seriously annoying in this neighborhood. 

The number of pitches that you can link with a 70m, but you cannot link with a 60m is miniscule. The number of pitches that you would actually want to link is even more minisculer.

Many rapell lines in the Front Range are set up for a 60m rope (so a 50m is seriously outdated). Occasionally you need two ropes up in the alpine, and a single 70m will still not make it. I'm not aware of a single instance of a rapell line set up for a 70m rope (except for a few single pitch sport lines mainly in Flatirons/Clear Creek that are clearly labeled as such in all guide books).

I would bring a 70m when travelling to for example Indian Creek or Devils Tower.

I think a 70 is necessary even for no other reason but rappel convenience and peace of mind knowing you have the extra 15 feet to get down if you need it. 

Okay, don’t the Flatirons have a bunch of classic sport lines that require a 70 to lower safely?

Every other year I hear a story of a new climber getting lowered off the rope at Catslab.

Is it worth getting a 70 for linking pitches? No

Is it worth getting a 70 for peace of mind when getting familiar with the area? Yes

Comparing the two rope length/diameters you are adding 1 pound for the approach to Little Eiger.

Since we threw in Eldo, there are plenty of places a 70 makes things more convenient. If you hangout there enough you'll even catch members of the ACE board with 100M ropes. 

Back when I used to sport climb a lot, I'd buy 80s, and always thought the advantage was that an 80 would eventually turn into a 70 and then into a 60, and then into a gym rope.

OTOH, I can see why a dragging an extra long rope up multi pitch trad would be a pain.

PS -John, weren't you Lord Slime bitd? Not sure your crustiness is a new feature...

Chris tophwrote:

it's what, 5 extra pounds in your pack and you never have to worry about having a rope that's too short? '

10 meters of rope is probably 1 extra pound, but that's not why it's a hassle.  The hassle is from having to pull up all the excess rope and somehow stack/loop/manage it at the end of every pitch.  

And I have to wonder why anyone would "worry about having a rope that's too short".  Didn't you check out the topo and route description before heading up?  You should know whether you have enough or not enough rope. Unless you're doing a first ascent...

My least favorite thing about mountain project is people being huge curmudgeons about random inane topics. i can't believe anyone would care this much about someone using a 70. 

You miss the point.  I don't care if someone uses a 70.  My point was perfectly illustrated by "PB", above, when he said, "Many flatirons routes, and thousands of other routes in Eldo/Boulder Canyon, can be climbed with much less than 60m of rope. Point being you have a (sic) years of routes to climb with a 60m." So telling a newbie to buy a 70m rope so he can "link pitches" is poor advice.

So I guess I'm a huge curmudgeon.  I've been through these transitions several times; when we moved from 45m ropes to 50m, then 60m and then 70m.  I even had an 80m rope for a few seasons when I was working some very long routes in Rifle.  But I never used anything longer than a 60 for trad routes because if it's anywhere near your limit, you need to protect it and that means a lot more gear to carry.  THAT'S where the extra weight comes in.  In addition, few routes have cracks that vary enough to use your entire rack's size range.  Most cracks only take a certain size range and when those are all gone, you gotta belay, whether you have rope left or not.  

 I'm pretty sure every trad route in Eldo can be climbed with a 45m rope.  And for a newbie, doing more pitches provides more experience so that when it's time for a new rope, he/she knows what to get next time.  

Bizarre diatribe you’re on, man. 

Yup. And probably pointless because I expect no one who reads this thread will do anything different, and there's the rub.