Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Rope for mountaineering

Hi All,

I haven't been technical rock climbing in many years (used to be able to lead mid 5.10), and I am leaning more toward mountaineering these days. I have no problem picking out a rope for standard rock climbing, my choice is Sterling, but it doesn't make much sense to me to take along a 50 or 60 meter rope on class 3 and 4 peaks. I am wondering how the people on this board handle this situation. What length and diameter rope are most people using to do class 3 and 4 peaks? Where did you get it, or did you just cut a standard length rope? Any reputable manufacturers that make short ropes (I can't seem to find any information on Sterling's site). In case anyone is wondering why I want a short rope (aside from weight savings), I just want a little safety net on short sections of exposed class 3 and 4 since I am a bit out of practice. Maybe I'm just asking a stupid question, and I should suck it up and take a full length rope, or half ropes. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

I have a big heavy 50 meter 11 mm rope and no one is willing to carry it.

We like climbing off trail, mostly class 3 with an occasional short section of class 4. In that world it sure can't hurt to have some rope with you.

I learned from Bob R. that he sometimes carries a small piece of 5 mm or 6 mm rope, just in case someone needs some "emotional support" with added safety. So I went to REI and bought a 75 foot piece of 5 mm rope and an 80 foot piece of 6 mm rope. They are static so I wouldn't want to fall far with them. But for top roping or safety climbing down I love to have them along.

We often carry one or both. They are so lightweight compared to my heavy rope I don't even mind taking them. And they rate up to about 1000 pounds.

Thanks for the reply Kashcraft. I can't imagine why you can't talk anyone into carrying that 11mm rope. :-) I carried a 10.6, 50 meter rope with a small rack, in addition to the 65 lbs of food and gear I had for the hike, from Yosemite to Tuolumne Meadows back in '89 when I was doing the Muir Trail, thinking (as young fools often do) that I "would have such great opportunities to climb throughout the trip". Great in theory, but I quickly learned that I was too exhausted after each day to do much climbing, so I ditched the gear when we picked up our first food drop in TM.

I hadn't given any thought to the very thin diameter static rope, but as you say, for an emotional security blanket, I suppose it would work fine. I was thinking about maybe 30 meters of 9.6 mm, but I am getting the feeling I would need to lay out the cash for a 50 meter 9.6 only to have to chop it up.

Check out BD(Beal) Rondo, designed as a light duty security line for when you need the extra comfort. 8mm, eithre 20m or 30m long. Is this the kind of thing you were thinking of? Or something that would sustain a full fall?
Eric J Lee

Here's the link, sorry.
http://www.bdel.com/gear/rock/rando.php
Eric

Thanks Eric. That is pretty much what I'm looking for. It's the right length, and no, I'm not looking for anything that will take a full fall. I basically want to feel safe on short sections of exposed, or loose and exposed class 3 and 4. I think I would just take a full length 9.7 or something in that ball park if I was doing North Palisade or something like that, but I have Mt. Williamson, or Mt. Sill in mind for the short rope.

Thanks again for digging this up, I greatly appreciate it.

You may want to check out Northern Supply, they sell rope remnants and short ropes.A word of caution: Be sure everyone handling rope has the proper knowledge to belay you! Traveling short-roped has its advantages, but can also be more dangerous than traveling unroped if your partner has either poor belay skills or no skills. The person who could have gone to get help for you could easily be pulled off the mountain with you if he or she is not properly anchored and trained.

Hey Spiderman, thanks for the information. I definitely make sure that anyone tied in with me knows how to belay. I currently live in the San Francisco area, and I tried a climbing gym for a short time. It amazed me how many people that were providing a belay for someone would be chatting with other people, and not paying attention to their hands when feeding or taking in rope. I used to see a fair amount of mistakes while I lived in Yosemite too. I guess that is why most people, or at least most smart people, find a life time partner or two. It pays to have that high level of trust and competence.

Since you like Sterling rope (and so do I), here is a site where you can by shorter lengths of their rope: http://www.gearexpress.com/

Another option is to get together with a few friends and buy a full or half length rope, then divide it between you in shorter lengths (though it is painful to slice through that beautiful climbing rope).

Thanks for the great link, Sierra Sam. It looks like a lot of the dynamic ropes are sold out for now, but there are a few 9.7's that would do just fine. This way I don't have to be the one that cuts that beautiful cord. I imagine that gear express updates their stock regularly too.

Edelweiss Stratos.