Use of one twin rope for sport climbing?

[keithrobine]

Anybody heard of someone using one 60 m twin rope for sport climbing? I think you would tie into both ends and lead with both ends of the rope. When you get to the top, you rap off (max. 30 m) The second can relead on the double strand or TR on the single strand. You're probably asking ... why? My friends are going on their honeymoon to Croatia and want to travel light. Your thoughts?

[Paul_detrick]

Sounds like it would work, most sport climbs are are under 30 meters, but I only use doubles on ice.

[selkirk]

Just get a new 50m 9.1mm rope. (Beal Joker I think?) Should be pretty light, and give you a full rope to work with.

[slothrop]

Uh, yeah. Just get a new rope if the one you have will work. Good advice.

 

You'd probably get funny looks, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Wear a helmet and use alpine draws instead of dogbones for even more funny looks.

[chris]

I was just talking to a Brit on Wednesday who asked me why Americans don't use twins more often. Her description made it sound like its more the norm in UK, and we theorized that trad lines in Britain tended to be less direct, and more zig-zagging, and therefore encouraged more twin and half rope techniques.

[archenemy]

Just get a new 50m 9.1mm rope. (Beal Joker I think?) Should be pretty light, and give you a full rope to work with.

 

I have a Beal and it is the worst rope I have ever owned. I will never buy another one. I would suggest any other rope over a Beal. Maybe someone else has had a better experience with Beal?

[olyclimber]

I have a set of Beal Icelines, and I like them. But, I haven't had them for that long, so....

[archenemy]

Mine got fuzzy-looking very quickly. There wasn't any core damage, but it sure looked like it. It was unnerving.

[TeleRoss]

I've had a Beal Flyer for a couple years now and it's held up well to plenty of abuse.

I recently got a Joker and while definitely not as durable, is super light and handles well. I like it.

 

Why would you care about fuzziness? It's a rope it's gonna get fuzzy and frayed, unless it just sits in your closet all summer...

[Tumblemark]

Get one of the new Mammut Serenity ropes. It's about 52 g/m (8.9 mm) and rated as both a single and double. Even the Mammut Revelation is only 56 g/m (9.2 mm). (a typical half rope weight around 50 g/m) Falls will be a bit harder, but not enough that you'd actually notice. I've never heard anyone complain about the handling of a Mummut rope, just the price. Your friends might want to wait to buy until they're in Europe, but check availability in advance.

 

If you're going to use a rope this thin, be sure your belay/rappel device is suitable for skinny ropes--like a Reversino or Mammut Matrix (soon to be discontinued).

[archenemy]

I've had a Beal Flyer for a couple years now and it's held up well to plenty of abuse.

I recently got a Joker and while definitely not as durable, is super light and handles well. I like it.

 

Why would you care about fuzziness? It's a rope it's gonna get fuzzy and frayed, unless it just sits in your closet all summer...

 

Poor description. The first couple of pulls made me stop to look for a core strike it was that bad. I thought it was a defective rope, but then other folks told me that they have had the same experience. Maybe it was a bad batch, I don't know. But it just doesn't look right and so now it does sit in my closet.

After almost a decade of climbing and buying new ropes frequently, I am fairly familiar with rope wear. Of course, now I am starting to wear out quicker than my ropes seem to and gear seems to improve much faster than I do.

[Dru]

I was just talking to a Brit on Wednesday who asked me why Americans don't use twins more often. Her description made it sound like its more the norm in UK, and we theorized that trad lines in Britain tended to be less direct, and more zig-zagging, and therefore encouraged more twin and half rope techniques.

 

but even they use one, not two, ropes for sport climbing.

[andrewbanandrew]

I might be wrong but if you were to tie both ends to your harness, could the rope kink up something nasty ala tying the ends together before a rap?

[kailas]

I've got some Beal double ropes and have climbed about 600 pitches of ice using these, they're lookin great. I usually climb rock with a heavier rope, but the doubles come out on the Alpine multi-pitch days, mainly for weight and abseilability. Beal works for me.

[Jens]

I find clipping twins into one biner on a pumpy rock route tricky. I even don't like clipping em' on sport-ice mixed routes near my limit.

[jhamaker]

Or just haul around a short single (20 to 30 M) and rig a pull down cord.

[MichaelO]

Another handy variation using two twin ropes: If you don't know whether your going to make the clip, you only grab one of the lines for the initial clip. The advantage: if you blow the clip, there is less slack paid out on the non-clipped line, it shortens the fall. After you firm up your stance, you grab the second line and clip it in paralell to the other line.

[sk]

I've had a Beal Flyer for a couple years now and it's held up well to plenty of abuse.

I recently got a Joker and while definitely not as durable, is super light and handles well. I like it.

 

Why would you care about fuzziness? It's a rope it's gonna get fuzzy and frayed, unless it just sits in your closet all summer...

 

Poor description. The first couple of pulls made me stop to look for a core strike it was that bad. I thought it was a defective rope, but then other folks told me that they have had the same experience. Maybe it was a bad batch, I don't know. But it just doesn't look right and so now it does sit in my closet.

After almost a decade of climbing and buying new ropes frequently, I am fairly familiar with rope wear. Of course, now I am starting to wear out quicker than my ropes seem to and gear seems to improve much faster than I do.

i have a friend who had a beal stinger and had a bunch of sheeth slipage. I refused to climb on his rope any more.

[EWolfe]

The Bluewater Dominator is an excellent, durable rope in the 9.4 range

[jhamaker]

MichaelO

strangler

Your rope clip trick would work if you told your belayer wich rope you were clipping. I however, would realy not want to take a fall one just one twin line, even a short one. That is what half ropes are for!

I can just see myself getting scetched though and trying it. Just as well I don't use twins hardly ever.

[MichaelO]

It's not my rope trick, I read about it in an early climbing rag, and then watched some brits doing it. Taking a fall on a single twin isn't bad, it's a very soft catch, but the stretch is scary. I would definetly suggest the mammut infinity though, it's been a great rope.