UKC

I'm after your opinions.
In October our group is going climbing in Ariege, south france. The guide books mention quite a few climbs which just exceed 30m.
Due to baggage restrictions on the flight me and my partner can only really take one rope.
The ropes I have to choose from are a Beal 60m single (not quite long enough for some of the single pitch abseils), some nice hardly used half ropes (60m) or potentially having to buy a 70m as seems to be recommended.
There's also some great looking sport multipitch adventures out there, 9 pitches etc.
So what would you take?
The 60m and make do some how?
The half ropes and use them as a pair, bit odd and tangly for sport climbing but definitely versatile and good for multipitch?
Or buy a 70m if the bank balance will stretch to it :s

In reply to thepinkwaffle:
Depends a bit what you aim to do, particularly whether you plan to much multi-pitch stuff?
A single 60m will restrict you, there are plenty of pitches shorter than 30m, but a 70m is fairly standard usage round here. Maybe within the group there'll be a few 70m ropes, use your 60m for most stuff and borrow one for the longer pitches? Be careful to check the route lengths though! Or use the 2 half ropes which as you say is a faff for single pitch but gives you the versatility for big routes

In reply to thepinkwaffle:

take a 70m as you'll have to factor in a couple of meters for knots, etc. if your worried about weight i was really impressed with the sterling nano as its only 9.1mm thick its was light. my mate bought one for a trip to kalymnos and I was a bit freaked out at first being the fact that it was so skinny but after i climbed and fallen on it i loved it. i wish i bought one of those ropes before i got the on i have now.

In reply to thepinkwaffle: Equippers & topo writers often add a couple of meters in order to warn of length limit, so it might just mean 'beware'. Having two single ropes is not such a faff and clearly the best combo to include multi-pitch as well. Otherwise if you take your 60m, make sure it's marked in the middle - to forewarn as leader arrives at chain. Various tactics available to deal with last few meters.

In reply to thepinkwaffle: I don't sport climb, so forgive my ignorance, but any reason you can't lower 10m, pull the rope down, and continue lowering from this lower position? Might be a little bit more faff, but cheaper than buying a new rope.

That's what I'd do if I was faced with a sport route or lower off longer than my rope could handle.

In reply to Martin1978: Couple of problems with that although I have done it. 1) It means you are trusting yourself to a single point of failure 2) It may not be possible to thread the bolt directly so you would have to abandon a maillon or krab.

In reply to thepinkwaffle:
We took a 70m full rope and also a pair of 60m half ropes, as well as a full trad rack. I guess you must be going with Ryanair to give you problems with baggage restrictions?

You could probably cope with a 60m rope. But there are an awful lot of routes there that need 70m, or even 80m. We did a couple of pitches (using 60m doubles) that were advertised as 45m, though reckoned that an 80m rope should have got you down with rope stretch.

If you can find the money for a new rope, I'd go with a 70m single. Otherwise, the 60m halfs.

In reply to GridNorth: Thanks for the reply.

Great thanks for the input everyone.
Really starting to lean towards the half ropes then. Their versatility could come in handy

In reply to thepinkwaffle:

A 70m is more useful for single-pitch stuff but have you considered taking a 60m single for single pitches and a 60m half to use with it for multi-pitch abs?

A good majority of Ariège pitches are 30m or less but there is an increasing number of longer ones. Most of the longer ones tend to be on the newer and often harder routes. I'd say that, while 70m or 80m would obviously be easier, you could have a great time with only a 60m as long as you were careful to avoid certain sectors and certain routes.

In reply to john arran:

Also a lot of the 5s at Calames

In reply to thepinkwaffle:

If it is more than 30 metres you can always clip in part way down, pull the rope through and lower from there. Use your noddle. It is a very safe world with these bolts !

We used a single 60m on Zinkeria on Dent d'Orlu - see photo on page 271. Should have taken some trad gear but did not. You must go to Dent d'Orlu - memorable place.

In reply to thepinkwaffle: the 60 m half ropes give u more options, so that's wat I'd take.

In reply to Ron Kenyon: I have seen far too many articles about bolts to think they are safe. How do you know if the person that placed them knew what they were doing, using the correct equipment etc.

1) https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bolt-failures-on-north-wales-limestone

2)http://alpineinstitute.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/bolt-failure-in-australia.htm...

3)http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/bolts-check-your-safety

Just three examples of bolts failing...

In reply to thepinkwaffle:
Having spent 3 years managing I have now bitten the bullet as it is a faff with 1/2 ropes - but it works. Needles sports are going a 70m rope for £100 which seemed OK for a holiday rope. http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Ropes/Single-... at 9.7mm weight shouldn't be an issue, we always got 2 60m ropes and the other equipment into one bag.

In reply to steveshaking:
If you are near a Go Outdoors they Roca kio even cheaper (though a bit heavier)@ £71
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/roca-roca-10-2mm-kio-rope-per-metre-p98560

In reply to TheoL:

Stuff happens - sadly - but just have to get on with your life keeping an eye out for such stuff.

In reply to steveshaking:

Heading to Verdon Gorge next week, and I too picked up this 70m rope (was tempted by the Sharma one, but couldn't justify the extra £40).

Pretty happy with it, feels like it weighs about the same as my 50m 10.2 rope, so pretty happy with it!