70 meter ropes MANDATORY???? WTF???

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Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Dec 12, 2012 - 04:42pm PT

Having the second trail a cord is the worst of all possible options, a recipe for an epic anyplace where the wind blows...

I like doing traditional multipitch with 8.5x60M doubles. 200 ft pitches seem like plenty, 200 ft raps are great.

Seems like there's two different arguments here for the 70. On the one hand there is the business of linking or doing longer pitches. Yeah I saw Mat Samet and Mike Reardon do Atlantis (a 4 pitch 5.11 Needles classic) in two pitches with a 70. Extra drag etc was not a factor for them since they put in about two pieces on each pitch. I don't tend to climb like that, and the regular belays on that route are fine with me. And with my doubles if it rains I am off way faster than with one 70.

On the other hand there is the business of setting up routes with a bunch of 35M pitches to rap with a 70. In some cases this might make sense as dictated by the features of the route but in a lot of cases this just makes a four pitch climb into seven or so.

My .02 is that if you want to set up your sport climbs for long ropes more power to you. Think twice about the multipitch though, in a lot of cases you're actually making artificially short pitches to avoid the need of two ropes (assuming the best descent is by rappel.)

LuckyPink

climber

the last bivy

Dec 12, 2012 - 04:57pm PT

the point being missed:
the whole rope this or that is a marketing decoy to get you to buy more and more expensive ropes. You can get an excellent 9.8 60m rope for just under $100. I spent $85 on my last one a month ago. It will be sturdy and wear well. You can get a bicolor double dry 9.8 70m for $250-$290, you will get much less time on it before it wears. I've stopped buying them.

Edit: +1 for doubles

TFSTFU

Trad climber

Utah

Dec 12, 2012 - 05:10pm PT

85 bucks? What did u get a used static that was found on the "real nose"?

LuckyPink

climber

the last bivy

Dec 12, 2012 - 05:15pm PT

nope, brand new spanky Eldrid.. do your research, bud and save a few bucks

Enthusiast

Sport climber

Port Townsend WA

Dec 12, 2012 - 05:43pm PT

One person mentions sport climbing and this becomes a total bitch fest.

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Dec 12, 2012 - 06:02pm PT

I climbed the Polish route on the hulk in 3 pitches with no drag thanks to my 80M rope. 80 meters brings you exactly to perfect belay ledges each time. It was effing awesome.

I say bring on the nano-engineered dental floss- 300M of feather weight line that self-untangles, tells you how much rope is left in a sexy voice, and advises you when to runner a piece. I'm going to set all sorts of routes with it, and all of you are going to get panty-twisted all over again.

Captain...or Skully

climber

Dec 12, 2012 - 06:04pm PT

Sport climbing is lame, anyway. Non issue.

cowpoke

climber

Dec 12, 2012 - 07:12pm PT

Conspiracy, perhaps?

Mandatory retirement age for judges in PA = 70!
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/11/14/pennsylvania-judges-sue-over-mandatory-retirement-provision/

Mandatory IRA distributions = age 70!
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2011-03-28-april-1-ira-deadline-your-rmoney.htm?csp=34

Mandatory 70 mpg movements!
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=546_1218617246

And, now, climbing rope length...just sayin.

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Dec 12, 2012 - 08:12pm PT

My first rope was a 40m Goldline.

When I bought a 90m 9mm Edelrid bicolor in 1974 I felt like Superman.

Nick

climber

portland, Oregon

Dec 12, 2012 - 09:25pm PT

Seems to me it all depends. Most of time I have been really happy to climb on a 70. Smith has all these really fun multi-pitch sport routes that you can climb with a rack of draws and a 70 then rap off after after 4-7 pitches of fun. At most of the traditional places I climb ,I like the extra rope to extend a pitch to a nice ledge, link pitches, use the rope for setting up all the anchors or set up a top rope on nearby stuff just to put in some miles. (Guy remember doing all the routes around the great circle on a 70?) On routes that require full length raps to get off, doubles are the tool of choice, although I find them a pain in the rear. For alpine or long routes with plenty of ledges a 60 is great, hell even a 40 would work. Lots of those old routes were put up with a 120 ft goldlines.
Come on up Guy and we can pull out the good stuff.

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Dec 12, 2012 - 09:32pm PT

Kris, had you used them on any of the routes in PC that you enjoyed, that would have been the biggest clusterfk and shet wrapped up in the small pinions and other bushes after each pull that, welll ...

Rick,

I did not suggest using the doubles there. I said "multipitch trad."

McHale and I did use them on 3 Hour Arete (it's what we had,) if you go back and find my post upthread you'll see that we did have a rappel hang up.

Guangzhou

Trad climber

Asia, Indonesia, East Java

Dec 12, 2012 - 11:19pm PT

I haven't been climbing so long, but I remember hearing people complaining when ropes norms changed to 50 meters. A lot of people were unhappy when routes that used 60 meters ropes became the norm, but now, just about everyone owns a 60meter. In some places, buying a 50meter rope is almost impossible.

Changes changes changes.

Eman

guyman

Social climber

Moorpark, CA.

Topic Author's Reply - Dec 13, 2012 - 12:29am PT

Wow... good to see ya Nick and Kris... and everyone else.

So, yes this topic started out as a little bitch of mine. When Kris told me he returned from Pine Creak and had done these fab climbs, but you need to have a 70m ... I started thinking cause its time to purchase a new cord because nobody will use mine! Ropes cost a lot, but I don't mine paying but I don't wish to buy 3 different set ups.

Lots of you have advocated 70 because you can do long pitches, and this is true.... to a point of nonsense.(3,100 ft cord for the Nose)

It was pointed out that a x.x 70m is light.... I agree, how can you argue?

Also, the fact that at Multi-pitch sport areas 70 is standard.

What has not been pointed out is this: Longer pitches means fewer Belays that take up valuable time to set up, break down.

The "cons" seem to be that a 70 will not allow one to do the raps needed.

This is my major issue

So after reading every post I reckon I have learned this:

Not one rope length, or diameter is best, rather different ones will do a better job given the situation.

So that being said, I hope that the folks doing FA's will be kind enuf to inform the public about what length cord they used.

Because it will suck when I try to get off something when I have my 2 70m cords and the FA's used 2x 100m ropes to get down.

Oh yea This is my vote for the best reply to this topic.

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Dec 13, 2012 - 01:09am PT

Not a clusterf*#k, a brief delay but less than optimal none the less.

When you rap 3 Hour with a 70, do you rap from the top of the route to the top of P2 in one go? If so the same thing could happen with a 70 as happened to us. One end fell across into the gulley on the far side of the arete and got caught on something there. We never saw what it stuck on because Dan pulled it free with some effort.

We got off in two raps, the top of P2 to the ground pulled easily with a bit of care to avoid the bushes up there.

They are very fun routes and the best way to do them, as designed, is with a 70.

Oh, I'll take a tit over a tat any day..;-)

MisterE

Social climber

Dec 13, 2012 - 01:13am PT

86 is the new 70.

Yer slackin' with the rope-wah.

Greg Barnes

climber

Dec 13, 2012 - 01:30am PT

Thought this would be about some new runout multipitch slab routes put up with 220' pitches...then it would be "MANDATORY" not just inconvenient...

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Dec 13, 2012 - 09:29am PT

Use the appropriate length for the climb you're on. More interesting to me have been the advances that have led to smaller diameter ropes. I now use an 8.9 single for sport and a 9.2 for trad multi pitch. Length is all about preference, diameter changes are a function of improved technology.

pyro

Big Wall climber

Calabasas

Dec 13, 2012 - 12:05pm PT

regardless of what diameter Stoney point could always use a good rope donation.

my first rope was a bluewater which was 50m.

guyzo donini has said good stuff.