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General Climbing Discussion

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Double, twin or single rope ...? 21-May-2004 At 10:23:34 PM Nico

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There are some practical considerations as well as the theoretical physics. I have to assume that my rope will hold a fall, and (mostly) I assume that the pro that I place will, too. I climb mostly moderate grade trad routes, often with a fair amount of zigging and zagging. In this situation, having a right hand and a left hand rope reduces rope drag - the route zigzags but the rope(s) go straight on up, on either side. It also reduces the chance of gear being pulled out by unexpected sideways or upwards forces which can occur with a single (zigzag) rope. If you do come off, it's essentially falling on a single rope - whichever was the last one to be clipped - with the pieces below as backup.

If the route straightens out, then I can't see any problem with clipping both ropes to the same piece of pro - BUT through two krabs at slightly different lengths, or different length quickdraws. If the krabs are side-by-side there are all sorts of varieties of cinch possible. The cinch is the knot or buckle used to hold a saddle on a horse, where the girth goes through two steel rings. This can bring you to an embarrassing halt.