HWUMC

I'm a complete newbee in trad so I've got a question:

I've got a single 60 m rope but I wonder if it is any good in trad climbing because I always see pictures of trad climbers with a double rope.

Any good to bring it over with me this sunday?

Madfrog wrote:.... I've got a single 60 m rope .... in trad climbing .... with a double rope.

Yes!

Double ropes, or Half ropes to be more accurate, are used when:
a) the route zig-zags all over the place, as they cause less drag than a Single rope in this situation (you place gear and use one rope to the left of you, the other to the right, for example if you can picture that?);
b) you're doing multi-pitch routes and you may need to abseil off for some reason, then you can ab-off for a full rope length and not just half a rope's length.

Twin ropes, not Halves or Singles, are just that, a pair of ropes that must be used together! So you can't do a) but you can still do b). Tend to be used more on the continent for long multi-pitch sports climbs, I believe.

So if you're going to Northumberland at the Weekend, your single will be fine as there aren't many routes that are > 15m, or a) or b)

You can still double up your single and treat it like 2 Halves if you like, if you think your chosen route is going to wander all over the place, which I think will be unlikely anyway, but at least, now you know!

Thank you Mike for the clear and detailed explanation!