selkirk Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Ok, I'm sure this has been hashed over before, but I can never seem to find a damn thing with searchs so.... I'm looking at picking up a dedicated glacier rope (if I do any ice climbing i'll start on the single ropes I have, but don't expect to do much in the next few years). It will be primarily used on local volcanoes and low angle glacier stuff (Dog routes or only slightly more challenging on Baker, Shuksan, Rainer, Dome, etc) so i'm more interested in trimming wait while remaining safe but i've only ever used a 50m 9.8 on glaciers and this seems overkill. so.. length... 30m, 40m, 50m? and why.... Diameter(probably a Twin rope?) 7.6mm, 8mm, 8.5mm? Thanks in advance everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 How many in your rope team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selkirk Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 3 people mostly, possibly 2 on occasion. On the off chance there's 4 it shouldn't be an issue to spread out the weight of the 50x9.8mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Blue water still offers the ice floss (8.1 mm) in the 37 m length (94 bucks on mgear.com). At 42 g/m this would be a good contender for a glacier travel rope. I know many people usually end up turning a 60 or 70 m ice/alpine rope that has been shortened over the years for whatever reason (rap anchors, core shots, misplaced tool placements) into their glacial rope but it sounds like you don't have this option. You could post something in the yard sale and see if anyone has a chunk they might be willing to sale/give to you. I might have a piece of 8.6 you could buy... The glacier will dictate distance between rope team members... for cascade glaciers a 37 m rope should be great for 2-4 member rope teams. If you do end up going skinny keep in mind with a skinny rope that 3 mm of difference is ideal for prusik knots... most people carry prusiks that are 6 mm... a 5 mm prusik would give you better gripage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Crash Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 (edited) I second NOLSe's opinion. I use such a rope (except it's an 8.4 mm from Sterling, but it's the same length). I used it last on Sahale two weeks ago, as a team of 3, and even though the glacier was pretty open at that time of the year, I still felt like I could have added a fourth member on the rope comfortably. RE: prusiks, if using 6mm prusiks on such a rope, make a fourth wrap. Or screw the prusiks and rig those cool Tiblocs (with *slack* always on the sling between the Tibloc and your harness; you don't want to fall on the Tibloc!). Edit: Duh, I believe you've seen that rope and the distance between people, right? drC Edited October 11, 2005 by Dr_Crash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 The correct answer is 8.8mm x 50m preferably Sterling Marathon in red which I happen to have for sale $60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selkirk Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 I've been eyeing the Beal Rando (8mm 30m, for $60) and wondering if I can get away with that, or if it'll be too short? Specs look good, it's just the length that concerns me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 it's just the length that concerns me. I have one. It's nice for 2 people, I'd be hesitant for 3. But I'm a fat pussy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I'd say the opposite, that you need a longer rope for only two folks. It's gonna take a bunch of free rope for a single person to set up any complex hauling system (and only a z-pulley isn't gonna cut it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryland_moore Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I use the Beal Rando but you can also get it in a 40m if I am not mistaken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I use the Beal Rando but you can also get it in a 40m if I am not mistaken. If you can get it in 40 m good pick... if not the 30 m might be a tad short for some rope team sizes and/or glaciers. And the difference between 30 m and 40 m at a rope that light is negligible IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I use the Beal Rando but you can also get it in a 40m if I am not mistaken. According to their catalog 20m, 30m, 48m (the Rando Glacier). For clarification I have the 30m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Crash Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 30 m is plenty for 3 people. They'll be 40+ feet apart. Make sure you get the dry Rando if that's your choice, they also have a non-dry. drC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 30 m is plenty for 3 people. They'll be 40+ feet apart. Thanks for the math frenchie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I use the Beal Rando but you can also get it in a 40m if I am not mistaken. If you can get it in 40 m good pick... if not the 30 m might be a tad short for some rope team sizes and/or glaciers. And the difference between 30 m and 40 m at a rope that light is negligible IMO. Theres a 33% weight difference between the 30m and the 40m That's a lot more than the weight of the tags in your jacket and your toothbrush handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Actually, the 30m is 25% lighter than the 40m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Yngve Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Actually, the 30m is 25% lighter than the 40m. 40m is 33% heavier than 30m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Crash Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 30 m is plenty for 3 people. They'll be 40+ feet apart. Thanks for the math frenchie Hey, you wouldn't believe the number of people who think that you need to divide the rope length by the number of people on it, and not that number minus one. Oh, and for you metric people, they would be ~15 meters apart (minus rope for knots). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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