In reply to jon:
> (In reply to neil the weak)
>
> [...]
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> Why would you use skinny ropes at a wall? Or have I misunderstood?
I meant thin single ropes in this case ( < 9.4mm) rather than 8mm doubles but it's the same thing really. And why? Our wall is quite tall, with many clips so lots of drag on some routes.
I agree about there being lots of contributing factors to overall grip needed, rope diameter, climbers weight, gloves or not, frozen / wet rope, rope drag etc etc. The important thing I think is to be aware of how the system you are using will work in various situations. Simply owning a low friction device and using it in all scenarios regardless is potentially adding needless risk for me.
I wonder if we are hearing about more of these things just because of greater participation numbers, or whether it's just that things are reported better. both maybe, who knows. People do hit the ground with the rest of the saftey chain still intact though, and quite often. Not all inexperienced climbers either, the guys in the Norries were grade VI regulars and the most recent ratho drop was an ex PYB staff member.