Free Stuck Rope on Sugarloaf

As of October 11 there is a blue 60 meter 10.8 mm rope with a few years of use that is hanging from the repel anchors on the South West side of Sugarloaf. These are the repel anchors used to reach the saddle on the back side for the descent from the summit. No damage to the rope, only a barrel knot is keeping it from being pulled.

There is also a black rope bag somewhere in a bush near the saddle. Feel free to keep what you find.

I am in Alamogordo for the weekend, and soloed the route today, 10/23. I was pleasantly surprised to find this rope hanging there, eliminating the need for me to rap on my 5mm accessory cord I bought at the bike shop in town...

Anyway, I was going light, and it was getting dark, so I fixed the rope to the anchor and did a single rap to the ground. Hopefully it will stay up for awhile making other people's descents super easy. But, if you wanted it back, it is now safe to jug.

Third classing Sugarloaf seems relatively safe by many accounts.
But rapping a 5 mil, bought in a bike shop? Sounds a bit out there...

Yeah, it was a bit out there - no denying that! I was hard-up to find any climbing gear within 100 miles of Alamogordo. My harness consisted of 15' of 1/2" tubular webbing also bought at the bike shop.

I actually ended up rapping that 5mm line over and over a couple days later while traversing the Organs. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad! Thanks in a huge part to the figure 8 that John Hymer loaned me.

Rappeling on a 5mm? That is exactly what John Harlin did on the north face of the Eiger during the winter ascent, and he fell to his death. It disillusioned Layton Kor so much that he essentially quit climbing after that. Life is way too short to do such things. If the rope is recovered, it should be used for tent stays. Lee Davis

Hmmm, maybe some confusion here.

The fixed rope hanging on Sugarloaf is a 10.8 mm left by Scorl, and should definitely be safe to rappel or ascend/jug. It is actually in much better shape than many of the fixed lines you will run across in Yosemite.

Lee, I have no idea of the thickness or condition of the rope John Harlin was ascending that broke and caused his death on the Eiger, but in 50 years, rope technology has certainly advanced significantly. The brand-new 5mm (1400-lb tensile strength) cord was definitely OK for a few rappels. It's probably even safer/stronger than many of the 1/4" rusty bolts I saw in various places in the Organs! I also cringe at the idea of ascending it though. It wouldn't take too much rubbing back-and-forth over a sharp edge to sever that little thing...