Climbing - Basic Rope Techniques
Ropes are essential to most styles of climbing and learning to select and use them is part of the basic education of any beginning climber.
Climbing rope is composed of a semi-elastic nylon material about 10mm thick. It's designed to secure, but also provide some bounce in order to slow an accidental descent gradually. But apart from the material itself, the way it's used is critical.
Single Rope
Single Rope slinging is probably the most common technique. Used extensively on straight climbs, the single rope provides a safe and secure aid. Bolts or other forms of anchor are used to connect to the rope via carabiners that the climber uses to ascend and descend.
During ascent, a line is secured by an anchor often a cam - a spring-loaded device that is inserted into a crack, then spreads and provides a hold. Cams are pushed up the rope, placed, then resist downward movement when weight is applied on them transmitted through the rope. Knots like a prussik are used to tie the rope to the pro (protective gear - nuts, cams and more). Klemheist is a popular alternative knot for the purpose.
Descending (via techniques such as abseiling or rappeling) are done by putting friction on the rope, usually with the help of a Figure 8, a Petzl stop or similar device called a belay. Only in emergencies would someone rely solely on friction between glove and rope to slow descent. The heat quickly rises to the point the climber can no longer hold on, not to mention quickly wearing out expensive gloves.
Single rope is less expensive in the short run, since you have to buy less rope. But the technique places more wear on the rope, leading to the need for earlier replacement.
Double Rope
With the double rope technique two ropes, as the name suggests, are used. They can be placed close together but it's common to separate them by a few inches to a few feet. By creating a zig zag pattern up the face with cams, nuts, pitons and other pro, the force is distributed much better than in a single rope system.
The ropes themselves can be a little thinner, 8-9mm, making each rope a little bit cheaper. The price savings is offset by needing two, but rope wears much longer with a double rope system. By hammering or placing pro at angles, rope wear is negligible. Also, any stay that comes loose results in much less fall, since the movement is often sideways rather than vertically down.
A variation on the two systems above is the twin rope technique. Two ropes are used as in double rope, but they are both run through the same pro at each point like the single rope technique. They're typically composed of the thinnest rope, 7-8mm, but because the rope is doubled the system is still safe. The technique is slower to use, though, and with contemporary rope manufacturing, rarely needed.
To string a rope system correctly is harder than it looks. It's essential to get instruction from an experienced teacher and to practice first in a controlled environment such as a climbing gym. Then, out in the 'real world', watch carefully the way the more experienced lead climber puts the techniques into practice.
