Choosing A Climbing Rope

9) Options

Many rope models are available both with and without certain features such as dry treatment, bicolor, middle markings and the like. The desirability of these features again depends on the intended use.

Dry treatment is very useful in snow and in the mountains - even though the dry treatment adds a little bit of weight, a sodden rope is even heavier and its strength and performance are somewhat compromised. Freezing temperatures can make a stiff unmanageable cable out of your rope, and the dry treatment becomes even more worth it in these conditions. Dry treatment is obviously less advantageous in cragging contexts.

Bicolor ropes have a change in pattern or in color halfway along the rope. This is particularly useful in sport climbing or single pitch climbing where the leader will be lowered off of a top anchor to the ground. The change in pattern alerts the belayer when the halfway point is reached, so they won't come up short or lower their partner off the end of the rope by accident. Even so ALWAYS tie a knot in the end of your rope when lowering a climber!

1) Alpine climbing on rock and mixed terrain

A 50 meter single rope that is reasonably light in weight, with a soft hand, will facilitate moving quickly due to easy and efficient rope handling. Mountains make for hard use though, so durability is desirable. You want a dry treated rope for the mountains.

On routes where long rappels are necessary, you must choose between using a single rope in combination with a lighter, narrower haul line (6 or 7mm) which is carried or trailed on the climb and used on the rappels, or alternatively, to use half or twin ropes. When climbing, rope handling is easier and more efficient with a single rope. When rappelling twin or half ropes are easier to manage. Other considerations are weight: the single/haul line combination being probably slightly lighter; and protection against rope damage over edges or from rockfall, where half and twin ropes are better. This latter problem may or may not be a significant consideration depending on your area or your use.

For many alpine rock routes, lengths of even less than 50 meters are often preferable. For example, on the Matterhorn, which involves more than 4000 feet of 3rd and 4th class scrambling up and down, and a few short pitches of 5th class climbing, I bring only a 30 meter rope. In general, extra length in ropes makes the rope handling more cumbersome and adds weight.

2) Long alpine ice routes or faces

On alpine ice routes, such as many in the Canadian Rockies or the Alps, a longer rope might be useful, 60 meters or even longer. On this type of route the terrain is smooth and uniform with good visibility and consistent climbing. A longer rope allows you to run out longer pitches with fewer belay stances, saving you time.

3) Glacier travel

For glacier travel, with no significant leading on technical ground, you can and should go with a half rope (not twin), as weight can be saved and the rope is still strong enough for this purpose. Dry treatment is very desirable. In order to allow plenty of rope for complicated crevasse rescue haul systems, you will want 50 meters.

4) Waterfall Ice

For waterfall ice climbing, many climbers like twin ropes, while others prefer the simpler rope handling of a single rope. 50m and 60m lengths are both popular among ice climbers, and dry treatment is highly recommended.

5) Rock Climbing

In rock climbing, the picture gets a bit more complex as different needs conflict:

Pure top roping, no leading: With no leading going on, a static line is arguably best, since it doesn't stretch under body weight, so a belayer can hold the climber without them falling at all. This would be a specialized use of the rope since you can't lead on it, so most people might not want to buy a separate rope just for this purpose. Most other features such as weight, stiffness etc. won't matter much for this use.

Sport climbing: For sport climbing people often like to use a long rope, 60 meters or even longer. The added length allows climbers to be lowered to the ground from top anchors, on increasingly long pitches. If you intend to use your rope a lot in this context, look at how long the pitches at the area you will be climbing, and how much of your climbing will be in this area. Other features to look for: for working a route, taking repeated falls and rests, go for a medium weight and medium durability rope. For doing your hardest red points, weight will become more critical, so buy light. Finally, as I mentioned above, bicolor ropes can be really helpful in sport climbing, to reduce the risk of lowering your leader off the end of the rope or being caught hanging.

Multi pitch rock climbing: It's hard to generalize about multi pitch rock climbing, but usually 50 to 60 meter ropes of around 10 mm diameter will work well in most areas. One of the main considerations would be how long you think the pitches are going to be on the routes you'll be doing. Some routes (a small number of them, admittedly) go better with 60 meter ropes because of where the belay anchors are. An increasing number of rappel routes are set up for 60 meter ropes. There are several examples of this in the Shawangunks, for instance.

Summing up

In conclusion, always ask yourself where you'll be climbing and what kind of routes you'll be doing. Because there are so many different kinds of climbing in so many wonderful environments, you will always have a good excuse to buy another rope. Eventually, if you stick with it long enough, you will end up like me, with a closet full of ropes and the perfect match for every route and for every outfit! They make really cool colors and patterns these days too. Happy shopping!

Kathy - Mountainwoman.com

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