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A question on doubles 13-Aug-2010 At 12:47:23 PM prb

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Four of us were in the Alps last year with a variety of ropes. We climbed mountains as 2 pairs. For the Hornli Ridge of the Matterhorn, we agreed to split 60m double ropes and use one rope per team. For the normal route up the Dent du Geant, however, there was disagreement. Two people (one from each "team") thought splitting doubles again would be fine while the other two thought (presumably because there's some genuine pitching on the Dent) that a 60m single rope for each team was best. We went with the single ropes and, as luck would have it, I got hit by a boulder, went spinning down the mountain and was saved by the rope!

So, should double ropes be split at whim or only when there is good reason to?

Ps. We also climbed the north ridge of Piz Badile (on 60m singles with the teams joining forces for the 30+ raps on descent). That's a superb climb.