New rope: 60 or 70m?

Hi Y’all. What is the advantage of using a single 70m rope at RR?
ME: experienced fat ass who likes easy established multipitch routes. I’ve done a few of them. I’m retiring my 60m to sport and TR because of a fuzzy/mushy section about 15 feet from one end. So should I get a 70m or another 60?
Your thoughts? Thanks, C.

If the 60m that you are retiring had been a 70, you could cut off that 15 feet and still have a 60m+ rope. Other than that, 70's aren't great for multi-pitch unless you really need it for a longer rappel.

I've never climbed at red rocks, but have always found that 70 m ropes are nice options for multi-pitch routes where the position of the belays isn't set in stone. (sorry, couldn't resist the terrible pun) If the belays are already bolted for a 60m rope or less then there isn't much point of having a 70 with you unless you enjoy flaking and pulling up 30 extra feet of rope every time.

Love having a 70 on multi-pitch as it allows you to connect pitches some times. Still have a sixty as well for the days I don't need the length.

Basic advantages in my opinion are that you can climb longer pitches or link pitches. You can chop the ends off where most ropes wear out and still have a good length rope. You can carry more rope without having to increase how much weight you're carrying.

Basic disadvantages are the cost, not all pitches can be linked, and coiling can be a pain in the ass.

Here's some more interesting thoughts which may help you decide: coclimbing.blogspot.com/201…

Get the 70m if you plan on doing Birdland - otherwise you need 2 ropes.

Longer is nicer lots of times - but to be honest, a lot of easier Red Rocks routes that need 2 ropes are actually easiest with a couple of 50m. Of course my shortest ropes are all 60m these days...you would just be too uncool to have 50m (do they even sell them anymore?).

apeman e wrote:how long are the pitches on the climbs you're planning to do? You might be fine turning your 60 into a 50, and it's a real luxury when you can get by with such a short rope on a long climb. My relationship with 70's is love/hate. I really hate dealing with the extra rope over a long day, but when you really need that extra 10M to find a belay or get your ass down, it's always worth it.

So True.

John Wilder wrote:After climbing a ton of multipitches here, I can safely say that a 70 will be one of your best rope options. Loads of routes- Crimson, Levitation, Birdland, to name a few can be rapped with a single 70m line, despite the belief that you need two 60s. I RARELY take two ropes any more...the 70 has been THE way to go in Red Rock, imho- especially if you're willing to downclimb a little now and then to the ground. One note, though- get a skinny 70m line if you want to go that route. IMHO, a 9.4mm 70m is = to a 60m 9.8mm in weight. I'd be loathe to lug around a 9.8mm 70m and I simply would NOT carry any 70m thicker than that. My experience has been that the 9.4mm 70m lines ive used have lasted me roughly a year or more per line.

That's all I use for multi-pitch, the 9.4's are nice and light, they pack down small. The extra 10m of rope length doesn't add anymore woes to the rope management.

Another note for the benefits of a 70m, I have done climbs where you can chain pitches together that you couldn't with a 60m.

Plus, I think it's better to have that little extra rope length and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

I'm rockin a 10.5 70m... but I'm a gumby and plan on beating this one to crap over it's lifespan while I learn to the ropes (yet another lame pun in this thread)

My first rope was a 70m (10.2 mm) which got a lot of use at Red Rocks (Tunnel Vision, Purblind, Birland, Black Orpheius ect..); the extra rappel length plus the ability to link pitches is priceless, especially when it's starting to get dark and you need to make time I also found the extra length helpful when I missed belay stations because my route finding sucked when I started. Also you may want to consider going with a thicker rope like a 10.2 if you're bigger than the average climber, that's why I did it.

Not that another opinion is needed (I think it's pretty obvious) but when I go to red rocks I bring two 60m half ropes and my single 70m. 80% of the time I'm bringing the 70.

Thanks everyone!