UKC

I'm going to buy some double ropes, and I'm also heading to Squamish later in the year. Is it worth buying 60m doubles for Squamish and dealing with the extra length in the UK? I might end up using them abroad again in the future so how much do people find they need 60m ropes?

Also are there any ropes people would recommend?

Thanks.

In reply to Matt250:

I prefer 60s in the UK anyway. Ive got a pair of 50s and end borrowing my mates. They are better for hightor, quite a bit of wales, fairhead... Worth the extra weight if you ask me. Though i suppose it depends what your into.

I'm inclined to 60s anyway because of the versatility, and I climb quite a variety of routes too. The only negatives are the additional cost and the faff of longer ropes.

In reply to snoop6060:

Agreed. One of the abs in Squamish we needed 60's. Maybe getting off the Sheriffs Badge, but I can't remember exactly... Useful in the Verdon and as Snoop says High Tor and Fairhead.

In reply to Matt250:

60m ropes when I was over many moons ago. Never use anything else these days...not that much of an extra weight.

In reply to Matt250: FWIW I find 60m doubles a real pain for UK trad and even found them pretty ineffectual even when in Yosemite when I only two ran pitches together once in a 3 week trip.

I can't comment on Squamish specifically but I find that on rock the only real advantage of 60s is when it comes to abseil descents but even then I think that overall, the extra length adds nothing much to overall efficiency.

If you absolutely need 60s for some of the abseils, you'll have to go with them, but I'd always recommend 50m x 8.5/8.6mm (Beal Cobra or Mammut Genesis) for general UK cragging use.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

I just don't agree, but each to their own. It does depend on where* and what you are climbing. However, I used to climb on 50's and switched to 60's after being short of rope on a few occasions IN THE UK, especially in Scotland, Fairhead, and N. Wales.

In the Alps: 60m are pretty standard now (just read the recommends in the modern guide books). In fact even buying a 50m is difficult in Chamonix these days.

Sport climbing: again 60m are pretty standard. A 50m rope is way too short for Ceuse or Kalymnos and many of the crags in Spain.

Ropes are so much lighter and thinner than they used to be. 60m of 8mm in no heavier than 50m of 9mm was 10 years ago. The flexibility that 60m ropes provide far outweighs the extra length you need to handle.

*I wouldn't suggest 60m ropes for luck based scrittle though.

In reply to Matt250: Hi Matt, I'm sat in my room, staring at the chief. 60m ropes are perfect for Squamish, no one barely ever uses double ropes. The vast majority of routes can be rapped on a single rope. Most of the popular routes here have good fixed belay stations if you need any info about Squish get in touch. Best time to climb here is August September, and the climbing and crack here is 5 star and if u like doing new routes there everywhere.

In reply to HevyDuty: Thanks for the advice. I'm for 2 or 3 weeks in August/September and I'm going to get some double ropes for the UK anyway so I wanted to make sure I had the right length for the trip. Really looking forward to some of the long routes.

In reply to Matt250:

No one really uses doubles in Squam. I used a single 60 and had no problems! Although doubles in the uk I found help lots. I use 50m doubles.

In reply to andy16:

Isn't that because North Americans don't know how to use doubles, not because doubles are a bad idea?

To the OP: I've not not been to Squamish yet, but I'd probably take a pair of half ropes and a 60 metre single rope between me and my partner.

I don't think it will matter what length your half ropes are in Squamish and I'd just take the pair I had already. But if I was buying new ropes I'd probably go with 50m as I think 60m ropes are overkill for the vast majority of UK rock climbing.

I'd also get 8.5mm ropes as they will last a lot longer than skinny 8mm ropes, don't stretch as much and are less likely to get chopped on a sharp edge.

Mammut Genesis, Beal Cobra 2s and DMM Prophets are all excellent ropes for trad climbing.

HTH