UKC

So does anyone know the history of double ropes in the UK?

It's not a topic I've ever heard discussed. In the histories I've come across it seems a very rapid move from good old Viking hawser-laid Nylon singles to 9mm doubles.

So who's wizzo idea was it to start using 2 half ropes?

I did do an internet search which came up with a rather fabulous old alpine journal article on rope testing -

"http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1973_files/AJ%201973%2062...

it didn't answer my question but does have some great bits of info for rope geeks out there, such as "A 14-stone climber falling from a
50-ft run out will have a factor of safety of under 2 if using a 1.5-inch diameter polypropylene rope" - And did you know knotted hawser-laid rope is stronger than knotted kermantle?

In reply to Different Steve:

A friend of mine used to work with someone called Gordon Dyke. Apparently GD claimed to be the first person to use double ropes. Personally I find this sort of claim to be rather hard to prove.

In reply to Different Steve: Cheers for the link. That's another reference for my dissertation...

I can't help you regarding the history of double ropes though.

In reply to Different Steve:

Climbing on two No.3´s (the half rope of the time)was common enough when I started in the mid sixties.

In reply to jon:

There is a photo of Emil Comici using half ropes (or half rope technique at least) on Cima Grande di Lavaredo in 1932 so your mate was pretty old!

In reply to jimtitt:

Absolutely! GD would have just been born then. He would have been a climber from the late 40s and the 50s. Hence my last sentence.

In reply to jon:

I see that GD got around a bit. He is (was?) a contemporary of Peter Harding and used to climb with him in the 40s and 50s. He also became editor of the FRCC journal.

In reply to Different Steve:

Hmmm, interesting, I didn't know that. I only met him once about twenty years ago. He was a teacher in a posh Swiss school for the over privileged. Mr Google tells me he died in 2009.

In reply to jon:

Ex Navy and British intelligence too - quite an interesting life it seems.

In reply to Different Steve:
'skyscrapers make kidnapping tougher' is the best quote in there.

In reply to jimtitt:

I think half ropes in the early years were no 2's, line was 1 and 3 and 4 were singles.

Using two ropes may have come in when aid routes started becoming common in the Dolomites to reduce rope drag. No QDs then, usually krab straight on the peg and doubled up, (chained) as extension. We started using them around 1959, if anyone has the old guide with limestone climbs in there is a picture in the front with Graham West aiding the mouth of Peak Cavern. That may show if he used them much earlier.
Derek Walker and others who went to the dolomites in the 50s may know more,

In reply to sutty:

I concur, the first rope I had was a no 3 which was considered a lightweight single rope. That was 1966, and a lot of people climbing 'harder routes' i.e. VS and harder at the time were using doubled No2 which were actually quite skinny wee ropes.

In reply to Different Steve: Not sure about the use of half ropes but certainly Morley Wood used double ropes on the FA of Kelly's Overhang at Stanage in the mid 1920s.

In reply to Different Steve:

Just a guess, but I would have thought using 2 ropes could have come about through aid climbing.