UKC

Hi

A quick question, looking at the north ridge / cassin route on piz Badile and in relation to ropes . Our intention is not to abb down but continue into the south valley and stay at the hut and make our way down the Passo Della Trubinasca .

Given the the route I was thinking of climbing on a 60 single (with a half in the pack for the cassin in case we need to abb )

If anyone has done the cassin and can offer some advise that would be appreciated.

In reply to kingjam:

Can't comment on the Cassin, Certainly on the north ridge you could get away with one rope. I would want 2 for abs though still in case you do need to come back down the way you went up (storm etc), it would be a lot of abseiling from near the top on a single rope! (we abbed down the ridge after climbing it)

One thing I would advice is the slickest guide mode belay device you can get (magic plate is best!). It will speed up taking in on all the Mod / Diff climbing that makes up the vast majority of the ridge.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

We skipped some abs on the south face using double 60s when we did the cassin a few years ago, which definitely speeded proceedings up. I think if your taking two ropes to ab on, you might as well climb with both and save someone from having to carry it up unused. The route doesn't meander too much so you could get away with a single, but you might find it drags, especially if you start running pitches together. Every other team on the route that day were also using doubles.

In reply to LJC:

that makes sense , thanks

In reply to kingjam:

It's worth booking a place in the Gianetti hut on the south side, it was full when we arrived, but the really nice guardian sorted us out with an uncomfortable but appreciated space to sleep under a table in The winter room. The walk back over those two passes is more full on than the route...

In reply to kingjam:

I climbed the Cassin on 50m halves. Wouldn't have fancied it on a single. As mentioned above, carrying a 50m half would be grim for one of you - easier to use it.

In reply to kingjam:

Having abseiled the North Ridge before, and hearing stories about how long and epic descending via Italy and back over the Trubinasca is, if I ever go back I intend to:

Climb Another Day in Paradise, and memorise the start point of the abseils down. Then climb the Cassin, descend the ridge to the abseils of ADIP and save myself a lot of bother. 60m half ropes all the way btw.

In reply to danm:

Yeah we fluked our way across Another Day In Paradise descent on our way down the ridge and carried on down there, it was still something mental like 15 pitches of abseiling and we had already been descending for some hours to get there. Of course you need to be careful if you can't lead hard F6b+ to untrap your ropes if they get stuck.

In reply to kingjam:

The abseils on the south side of the mountain can be done with a single 50m rope (advisable because of loose stones). The abseils on the north ridge can be done with a single 70m sport climbing rope.