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ElGreco
Mountain climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 21, 2018 - 03:54pm PT
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What is your material of choice to set/back up rappel anchors in the alpine?
Webbing? Nylon cord? High-strength cord (e.g. Sterling Power Cord)?
Have used various things over the years, but haven't found a lot written on the topic, except this piece by Andy Kirkpatrick: https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/rap_tat
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Jun 21, 2018 - 06:13pm PT
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Polyester, not nylon, is what the rust-pickers use because it has better UV resistance. The static nature of polyester cord isn't an issue for a belay or rap anchor.
A cord's strength is mostly in the core, not the sheath that degrades faster. Cord has less surface area than webbing, reducing how fast UV attacks it.
Super-Fiber is sometimes polyethylene, which generally degrades quite rapidly in sunlight. The manufacturers claim that this is not the case, but I was alive when Enron was alive. Noam Sane?
Webbing and Super-Fiber are, maybe, kinda st00pid.
My 3 cents.
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mikeyschaefer
climber
Sport-o-land
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Jun 22, 2018 - 08:07am PT
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I think there are more variables in the equation besides "alpine." Are you talking about high traffic front country alpine like the Hulk or the Diamond? Or proper low traffic backcountry alpine climbing like the east face of Torre Egger or the North Twin? I wouldn't bring the same cord on those missions.
If the rappels and route are fairly high traffic my standard would be 6mm cord, which is also used as my cordallete. If the route is high traffic I'd assume most of the anchors are in decent conditions and only a few might need upgrading. So two 18ft cordelettes would go pretty far and isn’t too heavy.
A lot of people in Patagonia use 5mm cord which doesn't seem to last as long but is lighter and strong enough. The wind wrecks most cord pretty quickly regardless of what is used. The 5mm a good call for when you will need more than what you will be using as cordelettes. It’s not that strong, so you need to pay attention how this stuff is rigged.
If I am going on a new route where I'll be having to build all of my rap stations and I doubt it will be repeated or weight is a major concern I use a braided sheathlessTechnora rope from Samson Rope that is 3mm. The downside of this rope is since it is so skinny and doesn’t have a sheath I don’t trust it for more than single use and care needs to be taken on sharp rock. It is perfect for tying off two pieces, like a nut and pin. Not so great for tying off horns unless it is doubled up. I brought 200ft of this on a new route in Patagonia and used all of it building 40 new rappels! Left a lot of gear on that mission. It took my partner a few rappels to get use to the stuff as it does look really skinny and scary!
Here are some stats comparing the 3 options I use.
3mm Tech 12
Strength: 2500lbf,11.1kn
Weight: 8.92g/m
Price $.40ft
5mm nylon
Strength: 1371lbf, 6.1kn
Weight: 15.8g/m
Price: $.35/ft
6mm nylon
Strength: 2000lbf, 8.7kn
Weight 25.1g/m
Price: $.40ft
And as far as Sterling Power cord goes I’d say it is too expensive at $1.35ft
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Jun 22, 2018 - 08:25am PT
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Great insight Mikey. Thanks for the intel.
I still love the old skool "Supertape".....thick old flat webbing tied with a water knot/ring bend. It just instills confidence and I don't mind the weight of like 20' of it in the bottom of my pack.
I assume I'll have enough fancy dyneema or skinny alpine length slings on my shoulder to make due if I get in a bind.....but having that wad of "leaver sling" in the bottom of my alpine pack is always reassuring.
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COT
climber
Door Number 3
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Jun 22, 2018 - 08:45am PT
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I have used the Maxim's 3mm tech cord for building rap anchors in very sharp rock while putting up new routes in Chilean Patagonia. It is super strong 3000lbs and the sheath is very durable. The down side is the cord is super stiff when tying knots (I always used double fisherman/grapevine knots instead of overhand bends when joining the ends in a loop) and VERY expensive, like $1.00/foot!!
http://www.maximdynamicropes.com/climbing-recreation/accessory-cords/tech-cord.html
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ElGreco
Mountain climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 22, 2018 - 02:28pm PT
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Thank you for your replies and valuable insights. Much appreciated!
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