70 Meter VS. 60 Meter Ropes

I am getting ready to retire my 60 Meter Rope and was thinking about buying a 70 meter rope and the convenience it might provide...It appears that 70 Meters is about $50.00-70.00 more than the 60 Meters. Is it worth the additional cash??? Input/advice is greatly appreciated.
Cheers!

Depends on the type of climbing you like but I love the extra rap length on my 70. Its also helpful for combining pitches.

If you can afford it, I'd say get it!

Times it has come in handy for me:
-Stringing together pitches
-Extra 10m to find a more ideal belay
-Longer rappels, sometimes eliminates the need to stop part-way and set up another rappel
-Rappels where the guide says "downclimb the last X# feet"
-TR's that are a rope stretcher
-Peace of mind, in that routes are generally set up for at most a 60, so you know you have more than enough and don't need to worry as much about lowering someone off the end if it's a rope stretcher (doesn't mean you shouldn't still tie stopper knots)
-Extra 10m if you are trying to stretch your pitches on multi-pitch for speed

Possible detriments:
-You don't want to carry an extra 10m of rope
-Obviously, the extra cost
-That's about it

All in all I've found mine quite useful in many situations, IMO it's quite useful and you should go for it!

If you're not using a sub-10mm rope, don't bother with a 70m. By the time you get to the end of it, it will feel like you're towing the Titanic.

They are magic if you're doing long enough pitches that 230' is useful. But if you're not, the weight alone will kill you.

Brian Scoggins wrote:If you're not using a sub-10mm rope, don't bother with a 70m. By the time you get to the end of it, it will feel like you're towing the Titanic. They are magic if you're doing long enough pitches that 230' is useful. But if you're not, the weight alone will kill you.

I'll second that.

It just really depends on where you spend and plan on spending most of your time climbing. At Shelf Rd and Boulder Canyon I can't think of anywhere I've ever needed one, maybe Animal World at BoCan. Even The Gym and The Bank in Shelf Rd doesn't have anything that a 60m can't handle which has the tallest walls in the area. Little Eiger, Wall of the 90's, and Highlander at Clear Creek Canyon have the tallest single pitch climbs in the canyon and having a 70m is nice for the longer routes, but you don't need a 70m to climb there. You just need a 70m to climb a handful of routes at these areas.

If you head out east to the New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Obed, or Foster Falls a 60m rope is more than enough. However if you goto Owens River Gorge near Bishop, CA then you'll definitely want a 70m for certain walls. Hell you could probably get away with a 40m rope at Red Rocks in Vegas if you stick to the sport climbing walls.

Just think about where you like to climb and if your partner already has one. I have a Millet 9.7mm x 70m rope and I f'n love it, but I also like to get on Curvaceous and Wet Dream whenever I climb the Wall of the 90's in Clear Creek Canyon.

It depends a lot on where and how you climb:

If you climb wandering multi-pitch, it'll just be extra weight and rope management. If you climb at IC or portrero, they're almost required. If you are someone who likes to climb until the rack runs out, you'll use the extra length. If you tend to like shorter pitches, it'll just be a hassle.

Personally, I had a 70 that I cut to a 60 becuase it was more hassle than it was worth for what I did, but, again, it is very dependent.

Evan

It's totally worth it in my opinion. Back in the day, 50M ropes were the norm, and then 60M ropes came out. Now, if you have a 50, you are probably out of luck when it comes to rappels and pitch length. Modern routes are put up assuming you have a 60, as 50s have become extinct.

I think the same will hold true for 70s. In a few years, we will all be marveling that we ever climbed with 60M ropes.

if you plan to use it for ice climbing, then it's nice because if you or your partner kick/chop it in the core, you can trim that end and you still have more than a 60M rope.

Depends on where you climb. If you spend much time in Clear Creek Canyon, you're going to find several climbs that require a 70m.

Is it just me, or is this about the 100th time this subject has been discussed?

It's just you Stu - this is only the 98th time.

70m for sure.

I just bought the Mammut Infinity 9.5mm 70m. MSRP is only $20 more than the 60m. You can do a lot more routes with a 70 than a 60 and you can link more pitches on long routes. The ends of rope almost always go before the rest of the rope. So when the ends go on a 70 you can cut 5m off each end and have a 60m that should last you a while longer.

I'll never buy less than 70m again.

Mike Willig wrote:if you plan to use it for ice climbing, then it's nice because if you or your partner kick/chop it in the core, you can trim that end and you still have more than a 60M rope.

or if your partner is moving through the last pitch on lightning bolt cracks and the rope takes a core shot you now have the new 69m. almost as good as the 70m.
DEEEEP!

Brian Scoggins wrote:If you're not using a sub-10mm rope, don't bother with a 70m. By the time you get to the end of it, it will feel like you're towing the Titanic. They are magic if you're doing long enough pitches that 230' is useful. But if you're not, the weight alone will kill you.

That's a good point, I neglected to mention my 70m is 9.4mm, so the weight/rope drag would probably be an issue with bigger ropes.

If you live in the Boulder area and do much climbing, especially sport stuff, I think it's important to have a 70m rope. With all the random unreported routes that are going up that require more than a 60m rope, having a 70 meter rope means I don't have to worry bout getting on a route that might be 33 meters long.

Also having a 70 meter rope means:

I can frequently link pitches together and that helps me get off routes quickly if the weather craps out.

I can do the Bastille Crack in TWO pitches.

I can rap off more quickly than if I have a 60m rope.
The best part is if you mentor someone you can have THEM coil and carry the rope instead of doing it yourself...........

I have both a 60m and a 70m.

My only complaint about a 70m is all the extra rope to deal with at the belay on multipitch climbs. Its just that much more time spent coiling and running rope management. You could make super long pitches but I find that rope drag and communication limit the length of a pitch way more than running out of rope.

Each length has its pros and cons. If you do more single pitch sport, I would say go with a 70. The weight won't kill you and the extra length will come in handy and you'll enjoy the flexibility. If you do more multi-pitch trad, I say go with a 60. You'll move faster and with less hassle, and most trad climbs were put in with 50m ropes so you'll have plenty to get to a good belay.

i dig my 70. i've run together a lot of pitches thanks to it - particularly at lumpy ridge and in RMNP, and it was excellent to have in indian creek, as well as Red Rocks.

i'll second the point that point that you should definitely go under 10mm to save weight, though. skinny ropes rule.

Some companies, I believe Blue Water, are now making 65m ropes. Nice compromise.

rickd wrote:back in the day Jay Knower, they were in feet! my first edelweiss was 145'- what a freaking useless size.

Were they made of hemp too?

Any opinions on this one?
rei.com/product/783832

Can't go wrong for a 70', unless your climbing days are usually toproping 40 ft cliffs. Watch for sales just about everywhere on the 'net and I'm sure you will find one for under 150.00 someday.