Page 49 - D. Raleigh "Knots and ropes for climbers"

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TWIN ROPE
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Fifty-meter ropes are what most of us use. These are adequate for most single-pitch traditional routes.
Longer, 55-meter ropes are popular with big-wall, ice, and sport climbers for a variety of reasons.
Primarily, numerous new routes are established with 55-meter ropes. Shorter ropes just don't reach the
belay or lowering anchors. Fifty-five-meter ropes are also more efficient, as they let you skip belay
stations and run pitches together, eliminating belay changeover, saving time. If the descent requires
rappeling, 55-meter ropes get down in fewer rappels. And as ropes frequently wear the worst near the
ends, when the ends of a 55-meter rope wear out, you can trim them off and still have a functional 50-
meter rope. Keep in mind, however, that trimming the ends doesn't mean you have a new ropethe
middle section you're still using has already held a number of falls.

Ropes longer than 55-meters are too specialized for the recreational or even fairly serious climber.
Sixty-meter ropes are mostly used for speed climbing, where, again, running pitches together lets you
save time. One-hundred-meter ropes are always double 9-millimeter or thinner and are bicolored; at 50
meters, the rope has a distinct pattern or color change. This rope's gangly length is often necessary to
stretch between ledges or good belays on extreme alpine routes and eliminates the need for a joining
knot, a comfortable asset when you pull down the rappel ropes.

Rope Treatments

Many ropes are treated with a water-repellent coating. The "dry" treatment adds a few dollars to the
rope but also improves rope performance and durability and helps keep the rope dry. I never buy an
untreated rope.