Rope length

Just getting into outdoor climbing, what length of rope should I purchase as a beginner?

One suitable for where you mostly climb.

70 m, 9.8 +/- 0.3 ish mm, with a dry coat. Provides flexibility for rappels, and safety on longer routes where lowering your partner off the end of your rope is less than ideal. If you live in Kansas and the biggest cliff you plan to climb 8 feet tall, disregard what I said.

If I only had one rope for outdoor single pitches it would be a 70 meters (can do most things) of a medium diameter (so  its not too heavy or jerky in the belay device) something like the Beal Joker
Edit: I know Beal Joker was consider cutting edge skinny, but come on guys! It was like 15 years ago! Today I would say its on the skinny side but its no longer THAT skinny

Fwiw, I purchased a 60m rope when starting out without understanding the area I planned to climb, and found that I was quickly having to be really selective about where I could toprope. My buddy just purchased an 80m for the same areas. Factor in getting to know the general picture of where you plan to climb along with your rope tech spec research!

EDIT: LOL...changed 'mm' to 'm'

As others have said it depends on where you climb, especially for length.  Generically I would get a big 10mm ish 60m rope which can take a lot of punishment.  That might not be the "only" rope for a more experienced climber but for a beginning outdoor climber that probably makes the most sense to me.

40, 50, 60, 70 and 80...that way you cover all your bases and never have to carry any extra rope lol.

Look at the routes in your areas you plan to climb and buy accordingly. 

Tyler Lego wrote: Fwiw, I purchased a 60mm rope when starting out without understanding the area I planned to climb, and found that I was quickly having to be really selective about where I could toprope.

I had the opposite experience. Bought a 60m when started climbing and never had anything longer for over a decade.

Like others have said, the needs of your local climbing areas matter. 

I started out with a 70 meter at 10.2. Sort of overkill but man that thing can take a lot of abuse. Now for cragging i mostly use a 60mm 9.8, and a 9.5 70 meter for trad and unknowns. But as many people have said - it depends where you are climbing. But at least you can cut the ends of a 70 meter and still have a fairly long rope.  

Why is everyone using mm (millimeter) instead of m (meter)?

My 2c, if you're climbing in the west get 70m

BrianDB Bartels wrote: Why is everyone using mm (millimeter) instead of m (meter)?

My 2c, if you're climbing in the west get 70m

My 2c, if you're climbing in the Northern Hemisphere get 70m

BrianDB Bartels wrote: Why is everyone using mm (millimeter) instead of m (meter)?

Much cheaper and lighter.  

BrianDB Bartels wrote: Why is everyone using mm (millimeter) instead of m (meter)?

My 2c, if you're climbing in the west get 70m

My rule is that if I'm not the only one, I'm not embarrassed!

I'm still embarrassed...

i shore wrote: Much cheaper and lighter.  

My mother wishes I was climbing on a 60mm rope, that's for sure. Length or diameter

Ropes are only about ~$100 - $250 so I never understand why people only want to buy one of them.  They're cheap in comparison to other things in life so having to buy them isn't that big of a deal, is it?  My first rope was a Mammut dry 70m and I beat the crap out of it.  Also, lugging that long rope to a 10m wall was silly except the odd time we could tear drop for two top ropes. The next time I went non-dry but Mammut to save cash and wasn't as happy so now I stick to what I like. I own 30m for gym, 40m (cut from the original 70 after a core shot) for the short walls around N. Texas and a 70M for trips out west.  

Another vote for the 70 meter rope!

You might not need the extra 30 feet most of the time, but you don't want your rope length to be the limiting factor to what you can or cannot climb. If the 70m is overkill for your area, you can always invest in a razor blade and scissors, and call it a lesson learned.

I'm in Reno/Tahoe and we have lots of variety of climbs and height. Several of my buddies have 60m ropes, and all of them plan to get a 70m for their next rope.  

Blakevan wrote: Ropes are only about ~$100 - $250 so I never understand why people only want to buy one of them.  

After living in Texas my entire life, I never understand why people do that at all :D

Anyhow, to the OP, I used 60M ropes since the 90s, but I finally broke down and bought a 70M this year because that's what my partners were all using and the places I climb all are easier w/ a 70M.

When I was in Texas, I could do everything just fine w. a 60M and thought about getting something shorter for the gym and climbing around Austin.  When I got to CO, I bought a pair of 50M twin/half for a project but they've just been sitting.

Hunter M wrote: Just getting into outdoor climbing, what length of rope should I purchase as a beginner?

Where do you climb???  The answer is totally dependent on that, and if you top rope or lead climb mostly. 

If leading, is it all sport climbing?  If you climb mostly trad, in an older climbing area, you can get away with a much shorter rope since when those routes were put up, all anyone had was a 150 ft rope. 

Modern sport routes will often require a 70m rope in order to lower all the way to the ground.

I climb all over the US, so I have a bunch of different ropes, but my first rope was a 50m Sterling Marathon 10.5mm that I used for three years before retiring it. 

W/O going home to look, I now have:

Sterling Marathon 10.1mm 60m for TR with n00bs
Beal Karma 9.8mm 40m for TR solo
BD 9.4mm 70m sport
Mammut 9.5 Infinity 60m trad
Sterling 9.4 Fusion IonR 60m trad
Maxim 9.5mm static 40m
Sterling 3/8" Static assault line 40m
Bluewater 9.7 something or other 80m rope I haven't used yet.
Two Ice lines in 8mm by 50m 

So you see, it all depends on what you are climbing...

EDIT: sold the Bluewater 80m to a buddy, but I picked up this: