Are You Choosing the Right Climbing Rope? Pros and Cons of Taglines and Double (or Twin) Ropes

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“The right tool for the job.”

That makes for a nice little reminder for many things, but it can quickly get more complicated than the simple expression would suggest. And it gets even more complicated when you are asking a tool to do multiple things. Climbing is filled with that little issue. We are weight conscious so want to take the minimal amount of gear. To take the minimal amount of gear, we want items that can do more than one thing.

And, while it might seem obvious, one of the pieces of gear we ask to do multiple things is our climbing rope. Fundamentally, it is there for - potentially - four different functions: it is there to catch a fall; it is there to allow us to descend; it is often there as anchor material; and it might be used for ascension (think prussiks and ascending the rope as opposed to free climbing - which demands different attributes from your rope).

The demands of these different uses sometimes run counter to one another. For example, a static line that won’t stretch is certainly an advantage for ascending the rope with prussiks, but is a decided disadvantage if we are catching a falling climber.

Hence, back to my little mantra: “tradeoffs in all things.”

This whole video is about tradeoffs. Often times we think about the choice between using a tagline or using two climbing ropes based on the demands of the climb. Rope management is harder with two ropes but adds redundancy for sharp rock or swinging ice tools, for example. But what I am trying to call out is that we might also want to consider the demands each system place on us for the descent. I think most climbers think about this some, but I wanted to call attention to the nuances. What type of knot are you comfortable with based on the diameter differences in your rope and tagline? Are you rappelling off of closed anchor points? Than a tagline will demand that you constantly untie and retie your joining knot if you are doing multiple rappels. Does terrain dictate you don’t use a carabiner block (to reduce the risk of it catching as you pull the ropes)? that means you need a rappel ring or link with a narrow gap.

And on and on.

So, whether you like taglines, like the Petzl Pur Line I use, or you like double or twin ropes, like my go-to Beal Ice Lines, or you are just starting to think about systems that can accommodate long rappels, hopefully this video provides a little food for thought.