120 meter ropes for Ceuse

Rami Najjar wrote:99% of sport routes in America that are single pitch are maximum 35 meters.

Which is how it should be.

Here's one where your 120m cord won't be long enough!
youtube.com/watch?v=Ks0GxvM…
Sharma on the 90m Infinity Lane...

Rami Najjar wrote: I guess no one here has had direct experience with these super long routes.

Like Tico, I also answered your question with direct experience with super long routes, not from Ceuse, but from other overhanging sport climbing areas featuring routes that are longer than half a rope length. In my experience, Lower Pull Lower is pretty standard procedure for routes that are longer than half a rope length, but shorter than the full rope length.

I like how Kennoyce posted an excellent, relevant answer and everyone ignored it to keep spraying bullshit around the room.

the original post: "I was at Ceuse a few days ago and noticed many routes that exceeded even the 40 meter range and went into the 60 meters. This would require 120 meter ropes."

as many have stated, this is a logical fallacy. A 120M rope would be convenient (in that you could just be lowered at the end of the climb), but not necessary.

There are a million different ways to deal with this, including (in no particular order):
1) trailing a thin line, tying the two ropes together at the climb; rappel one strand while your belayer secures the other strand
2) climbing on double/twin ropes, then rapelling
3) the lower/pull/lower method mentioned previously

If people find it so much more convenient to just be lowered off of a 120M rope, it seems like someone should at least make a hybrid rope, in which the first 60M is 9.2 or so, and the last 60M is 6mm (i.e. purely for lowering purposes).

mpech wrote:There are a million different ways to deal with this...

And all of them either add significant weight/drag to the system and/or are a major PITA if you fall beyond the half way point (of the rope) off an overhanging/traversing route. Not to mention some may require you to trust a single bolt for lowering.

reboot wrote:Not to mention some may require you to trust a single bolt for lowering.

This is not uncommon in Europe, even at the top of routes.

Reboot-- you raise some good points. Yes, most of my suggestions involve the added weight of trailing a line (though if you are doing a 60M sport route, you will be carrying a lot of gear anyways...). I guess in the specific scenario of a 60M long, very overhanging, runout, perma-drawed route, and falling near the end of the climb, it would be much more convenient to have the option of lowering.

I read the original post as wondering whether he could get away with using the ropes he had, versus spending many hundreds of dollars for a 120M rope-- given this, I stand by what I said.

shotwell wrote: This is not uncommon in Europe, even at the top of routes.

Let's clarify what I'm talking about: lowering/rappelling off of a single bolt (could potentially be any bolt & nobody had to "load test" recently) that, should it fail, will crater you to the ground vs being lowered off a single bolt w/ a bunch of bolts in between. I've done the former, but every time I do it, I feel like a kitten just got ran over somewhere.

reboot wrote: Let's clarify what I'm talking about: lowering/rappelling off of a single bolt (could potentially be any bolt & nobody had to "load test" recently) that, should it fail, will crater you to the ground vs being lowered off a single bolt w/ a bunch of bolts in between. I've done the former, but every time I do it, I feel like a kitten just got ran over somewhere.

Sorry, I thought you were referring to the latter. There is a way to do a lower/pull/lower without having your belayer take you off until you are tied back in and they are reeling in the slack. By this point, you would likely know if the bolt was truck anyway.

Going in direct to a single bolt doesn't bother me too much, but I would be likely to pick up a long rope for specific routes in the OP situation. If you are traveling to areas that use the length with any frequency, it will be worth picking up. It can always be chopped into a 100m, 90m, 80m, 70m or 60m for continued use after it wears a bit. We almost all have some equipment that was purchased for specialized situations, like tricams or bouldering napkins. A long rope for specific areas isn't all that unusual.

If the OP is still looking for suggestions, talking to your local gym or retailer might be an option. They use a ton of rope (which means that have an account with distributors) and also have a number of other climbers that might be looking for a long rope. Ordering a spool yourself is hard to do, especially for a light enough rope for pitches like that. Your local resource may be willing to special order a spool for you that you could split with a friend or tow. Again, I would happily buy a rope of this length over doing a lower/pull/lower if I was climbing at Ceuse for more than a week. I wouldn't even blink if I had a project that long.

Thank you everyone for the feedback.