rope for rainier

[carlhulit]

I a planning a rainier attempt this spring, on the kautz cleaver route. can anyone recommend a rope or combination of ropes for this route? We will have a two man team and likely be doing a carryover to descend one of the main routes.

thanks

[ryland_moore]

If you are going with trask, you will need a 20mm rope, for all other attempts, you can use an 8 or 9mm (ice floss) at 40 to 50 meters or so......

[Kraken]

the first time i went to attempt the Kautz, I met a guy off CC.com and he wanted to use a 20m rope. Apparently he didn't think tehre was a chance we'd have to do any crevasse extraction. Subsequently I insisted that we bring my heavier 10mmx60m rope, as it would at least be useful.

 

That's one story from that hellish climb, I could go on.

[ericb]

Did he have a scar on his hand from an unexplained crampon incident?

[Mr_Phil]

There can be some Big-Ass Snow Bridge Collapses on Rainier.

[JohnGo]

Consider a 40-50 meter 8mm STATIC rope. Get it bulk from the spool from your climb shop.

Staic is better for crevasse rescue duty, as the rope does not stretch when loaded, and thus the victim does not fall as far.

Any raising systems will be more eficient as well.

IMHO, there's no need for a dynamic lead rope if you are not doing any serious leading.

 

- johngo

 

[fenderfour]

A static rope is more likely to pull a climber in arrest position off their stance, or to catch them off guard, etc.

 

Besides, you might as well get a rope that can be used for more than one type of climb.

 

get a cheap 50-60 meter ~ 10mm rope and do some toproping too. It's fun.

[Toast]

I'm with the fat kid on this

[RogerJ]

Depeneding on when and what your comfort level is, you may want to place some protection. When we climbed it in August last year there was some steeper alpine ice. I think spring sees a more mellow snow climb.

 

We brought a 60m x 8.9 Mammut Serenity.

 

-r

[dbconlin]

Beal Joker, Mammut Serenity, or the like would be the most versatile rope in my opinion. 60m would do.

[treknclime]

Static rope used for glacier climbing? Never heard of it. Please reference where this is advised/recommended by rope makers, or??

 

That static comment has to be troll.

[Couloir]

Also, make sure with a smaller diameter rope too you size your prusiks closer to 5mm as opposed to 6mm or 7mm.

[mattp]

Static rope used for glacier climbing? Never heard of it.

 

I never heard of it either, but in a crevasse fall, there is generally more "slack" in the system than is ideal, and there is probably sufficient "give" in the system with the rope sawing into the lip of a crevasse, sweeping accross the surface of the snow as it straightens out, and re-allignment of the rope-partner who catches the victim. This might actually be a good idea.

[spicoli11]

I was thinking the same thing but didn't want to go out on that limb. Each fall is subjective but friction can work its wonders. Does anybody else actually use this system though?

[MisterMo]

Dating myself as usual but manila ropes once commonly used for glacier stuff were very static. In that one respect they worked just fine; in almost all other respects they sucked horribly compared to modern ropes.

 

I don't see any significant advantage to a static rope for glacier stuff. In my opinion rope stretch of dynamic ropes under low loads is pretty low on the list of things that are a pain in the ass in crevasse rescue.

[Jens]

The static rope might snap the harness and possibly break the back of the climber.

Go down to one of the shops and buy the 30m BEAL 8mm rope. It is yellow and sells for 59 bucks.

It will work on even the hardest routes on Rainier and will also see you through any two man glacier travel. It doesn't weigh a thing.

-----------------------

In the Alps, most of the guides only have about 10 feet of rope between them and the clients on even the most nasty of glaciers.

 

[slogon]

I just got a 40 meter Mammut Phoenix 8mm (a double rope) from Pro Mountain Sports - only place I've seen that has them. Light, and a bit more length. Should be good for 2 or 3, or doubling over for short rock pitches.

[catbirdseat]

I recall reading an article that explored the use of "semi-static" ropes for glacier travel. According to the article, such rope are made with elongation intermediate between the static ropes used for hauling, caving, etc. and the dynamic ropes used for leading. They made some pursuasive arguments in favor. I sure wish I could just find the article.

 

One of the best points that the article made was that using dynamic rope when there is say 25 meters out, any fall is likely to be as much as 5 meters long because of stretch. If you fall into a crevass that has a ledge below you stand to hit it, even if your partner does a proper arrest.

Edited May 21, 2007 by catbirdseat