Advice for new half ropes for alpine climbing in Europe

After having used my old Tendon half ropes for roughly 10 years, I finally decided that I have to replace them. I would mainly use them for climbing alpine routes in Austria, Slovenia and Italy (so easy limestone routes with horrible placements and ancient pitons), as well as general multi-pitch routes in Southern America (mostly sandstone and granit trad). So, I am not counting on these ropes having to endure lead falls - at least not more than one ;). However, my follower likes to rest in ropes and sometimes even actually falls. In total I would be talking about something like 15, max 20 alpine routes per year, and all rather on the easy end of things, so alpine routes up to 6a max, trad routes up to 6b max. For the rest I would simply use my single rope...

Since I recently learned to enjoy the benefits of having a light backpack when having to do long access hikes to get to the base of a route (and back down afterwards), I am thinking about getting one of those shiny skinny ropes. In other words: saving 2kg in carry weight makes a real big difference for me when climbing 3-4 hours over steep mountain trails to get to the start of the climb. However, until now, I seem to only find reviews and tests about people using these kind of ropes for mixed and ice climbing - things that I definitely won't do with my half-ropes and when it comes to climbing routes on actual rock, I am worried that I might have to replace these shiny new ropes after 3 or 4 routes...

At the moment I am considering:

.) Beal Gully 7.3 Unicore - 36g/m (definitely the lightest, however I am kinda worried about how long many routes they will endure)

.) Salewa Double 7.9 - 40 g/m

.) Skylotec Thin Twin 7.9 - 39g/m (never heard from them, but from the numbers and price it seems like a good option ...)

.) Beal Ice Line 8.1 mm - 39g/m (seems to have a nice reputation among mixed climbers...)

.) Edelrid Protect Pro Dry 8.9 - 53g/m (I already have a Edelrid Swift Pro Dry 8.0 70m rope which I could shorten to 60m, so I could then pair them up for alpine routes. Guess that would be the kinda safe option, however the access hikes would kinda suck - comparing: 60 x 53 x 2 = 6,36kg vs 4,32kg with the lightest variant)

When talking about length: Unfortunately, I guess I will have to get 60m ....

One last option that came to my mind (even though I am not 100% convinced that, that would be really smart), would be:

Just buy one Beal Ice Line half rope (relatively big while still being light), shorten my single rope to 60m as well and then use them together (one 8.9mm and one 8.1mm ... not sure whether that would still be within acceptable differences for belaying). I don't climb that many 35m sport routes, so worst case I could just climb those few that I do using double rope ...

Any ideas, opinions, suggestions? Thank you!

I suggest you a third, more versatile IMHO, option which is the one I use for alpine and ice climbs: Beal Opera + Beal Gully
I m really happy with both ropes, just know that if you use them a lot on rock routes you will wear off the dry treatment quickly.
Bonus tip: you bought both ropes so you get to be the one carrying the Gully ;)

I use the Beal 8.1 for the Climbing you describe, but find 50 meters is plenty. Can be found pretty cheap on sale, <$100. For the occasional longer pitche we just simul-climb. Weigh only 4 and 1/4lbs per rope. I wanted the double rope setup for sharp wandering limestone but didn’t trust a belay device with the 8mm- 9mm combo. We like to use an assisted braking device and it won’t grab on the thinner rope next to the 9mm 

I use the Tendon 7.8's, since your last ones lasted ten years why not again?

To second Greg R’s point....Curious if all those easier alpine routes with ancient pins were all put up on 60’s?  if you like the light weight, why not 50’s ?  

And Jim asks the no brainer...why the search for something new?

First thanks for all the advice!

Well, over the years I kinda turned away from Tendon. Ripped open the mantle of a brand new single rope once on the first day of regular sport climbing and also one of my halfropes got its mantle almost completely sliced after the second day of usage on granite in Sweden (though that might have been real bad luck too). Ever since stopped fully trusting it - but hey only almost, so continued using it as twin rope ... though on second thought maybe they would be a nice choice after all. TBH after that incident with the single rope I kinda stopped considering them, as I was simply pis***. I mean having to trash a brand new rope really hurt.

Yeah, the alpine routes in Europe would most likely work with 50s (even though I got a little bit more cautios after a Swedish route where I had to untie from the shorter half-rope to make the last two meters to the tree at the top). However, end of next November/beginning of next December (if all goes as planned) I will be moving to Brasil, and lot's of multi-pitch routes in Southern America in general need 60s to get back down... and I am kinda hesitating to buy four (!) new ropes in one year ... I spent enough money on climbing gear last year (expanding my alpine trad rack to Utah desert worthy size - freaking expensive but worth it - will continue using it in Southern America, lot's of cracks there as well...)

Wouldn’t a single rope and some kind of pull cord combo be lighter?

The single rope would almost certainly have less stretch, making it better for your second to hang or fall on.

i wish the metolius 'monster 7.8mm' was still available.  not sure who made them (for metolius), but they did a fine job.  light and surprisingly durable for how skinny they are.  still use them for ice (water and alpine) and rock... 

old5ten wrote:

i wish the metolius 'monster 7.8mm' was still available.  not sure who made them (for metolius), but they did a fine job.  light and surprisingly durable for how skinny they are.  still use them for ice (water and alpine) and rock... 

They were made by Tendon. The Tendon Master 7.8 has been my twin rope of choice for a while, but I just picked up the new Tendon Master TeFix 7.8. It’s a bonded version of the Master 7.8. extra safety in the alpine. 

Ryan Hamilton wrote:

They were made by Tendon. The Tendon Master 7.8 has been my twin rope of choice for a while, but I just picked up the new Tendon Master TeFix 7.8. It’s a bonded version of the Master 7.8. extra safety in the alpine. 

thanks, good to know ;-)

I have a pair of Mammut twilight twins and I'd get them again...now probably the alpine sender.   38gm/m.  

Hand is good.  Durability has been great.  I use a single 60m in the mountains sometimes (Tetons).  Make sure you pair a thin diameter cord with the appropriate belay/rappel device...

One thing I really like about the Mammut twin/double 7.5mm ropes is that they pack really small.  Easy to travel with.

^ Agree on Mammut.  Have two sets of doubles/twins and love them.  Silky smooth yet hold up well. 

The new edelrid starling protect would be my choice. If nothing else the added level of safety and only 8.2/ 44g/m. So much so that I took delivery of a pair on Wednesday. 

I’m all for fast and light but 600 grams across the pair for the added cut resistance is worth it to me (compared to the 39g/m range you were showing) 

44x120=5280, so not too bad?

About the Beal Ice line, (and other beal ropes as well?), The reason they are so light, is simply because they are really thin   (not 8,1)  When loaded with bodyweight, the diameter of the ice line is about 7,5 mm. Wich is simply the same as mammuts 7,5mm halfropes.. We tested a bunch of different ropes by tying them off and hanging from them while measuring, and roughly speaking all mammut and tendon ropes had the given diameter when loaded, Beal's diameter is "unloaded". So no, there is no added safety in the ice line compared to the other light ropes.

A friend of mine had a set of Ice lines, and we enjoyed climbing with them. We might have been too recless when ice-climbing, cause there is a lot of funky "dents" in the rope now.. he got a new set after only a full year of use because of that.

I bought a pair of Tendon Tefix 7.8 now wich gives a tiny bit more safety with a bit more realistic thickness, but I have yet to try them out.

Make sure you update your belay-device if you get superskinny ropes, at least try to hang from a single strand holding your own weight trough the device. Best device for skinny stuff IMHO is the "skinny ropes special atc" =ATC alpine guide. There really is a world of difference in your controll compared to most other "normal" devices.

Thanks again for the advice! Especially that part about the Beal ropes being thinner while loaded is really interesting.

To keep you updated: I ended up buying a set of 2x50m Beal Gully. Primary reason being: I spent so much time on worrying which one to get, I came to the conclusion, that the money I'd loose from continuing to worry instead of working would end up equalling simply getting on with it and buy two sets of ropes. So, yesterday I got my Gullys and I gotta say they are surprisingly heavy! I compared them to my old worn Tendon 55m ropes and they feel roughly the same weight. Also got a MicroJul and an ATC alpine guide. As soon as the weather improves, gotta give them both a try.

Considering my plans for South America, atm I am planning on keeping an eye out for a good offer on the new(ish) Tendon Tefix 7,8. Atm they seem to be kinda hard to get and the few offers I found were kind of pricey. So, I hope the price for them starts dropping a little until autumn, so I can get a pair of them (in 60m) for those American routes where 50m doesn't cut it. Alternatively,, I was even thinking about just getting another Edelrid Swift (the new "Protect" version), cut my 70m one to 60m and use them there. After all accesses in Southern America (and especially Brazil) are rarely longer than 90minutes and usually not even half as steep as in the Alpes, meaning the extra weight shouldn't bother me even half as much as here.. (and is definitely not a decisive point between - yeah, I can do that route and nope, I'd arrive at the start of the route already so tired that actually trying the route might be too bold for my liking - and yes, I can speak from experience that on a long , taxing approach an all-out light-weight backpack makes a lot of difference compared to an "I don't care about weight" rucksack).

Andreas Pirker wrote:

 I ended up buying a set of 2x50m Beal Gully.

Would love to hear how you like those when you've used them some more. I'm considering buying a pair of 60's for ice and longer alpine routes.