Much appreciated!

Pleasure! Half ropes become completely second nature in no time at all 💪

Nice one, they’re definitely the way forwards!

Very kind :) I can't remember if I've done a video on climbing as a 3, but if I haven't I'll give it some thought!

My pleasure!

My pleasure! No reason at all, single is definitely safe, there's just a few advantages in many situations to having halves

Glad you're liking them! I've done a video about where to belay from. Short answer though is normally the rope loop if I'm in the system: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qNaZg6ik3rGuYGw.html

Glad you like 'em. It's a Patagonia one but I don't think they make them anymore.

@@JBMountainSkills It's got to be your *LOUDEST!* teeshirt Jez. ;-j

There's different ways of doing this but... If I was on bolts, I'd alternate on halves. If I was trad climbing in a straight line, I'd alternate. If I was trad climbing normally, I'd save one for the left, one for the right. I wouldn't normally clip both to one piece, but there's exceptions to every rule...

Cheers! I'd go around 8.5. Skinny enough to be nice, but fat enough to be pretty durable and confidence inspiring :)

Yeah it's ok to do, just ends up a bit bulky :)

Half ropes will be tested for rated falls, the UIAA says that climbing ropes in general don’t break, their failure is from being severed, typically by a sharper edge or object, or through degradation. A half rope will catch the same fall as a single rope but doesn’t have the cut resistance or durability of a larger single rope, hence the redundancy of the narrower rope. As single rated ropes get smaller they start to become triple rated, as a single, half and twin. But you could always use a single rope in a half or twin configuration.

The top piece takes the majority of the force and the rope in the lower piece still takes some force

Cheers! Two singles or triple rated ropes would be better :)

Haha, can be arranged 😂

Potentially the same sound bite for poor gear placement 😂🤣

Possibly... there’s a lot on the list, it’ll be a tricky one to do well at home

Hopefully we will be allowed back out on the hill before you can get too far down that list! I’ll have to buy you a coffee soon.

Something like this if using halves: www.alpinetrek.co.uk/petzl-tango-85-half-rope/?#Q0C16294 Good brand, 8.5mm wears well too.

Wow! Thank you!!

Tend to try and keep one rope high, one rope low. Takes a bit of practice for it all to become intuitive!

Oy mate its chewsday innit?

Yeah, that's a potential "problem", it isn't so slick. Full belt and braces - they use your gear placements and copy the rope setup. The more normal things are more like tying off the belay plate, or them clipping in to a solid part of the belay, perhaps a bomber nut for example, or both those things.

If the leader clove hitched directly to the pieces, the second can just use the “backside” of those strands, and clove into a carabiner clipped to their harness. Same as a single rope.

Good question! I think in most falls one rope will take the vast majority, if not all of the force, and they are tested on their own. I'm happy falling on one strength wise.

@@JBMountainSkills Thankyou! On a similar theme, do you generally tend to use single or half ropes on meander-y crack climbs (where it looks like a stretched out 's' shape from the bottom)? Assuming there'll only be gear placements inside the crack (no left or right options)...

Good question that! I’d rather not clip half ropes to the same krab but it’s quite a complicated issue... Twins are different, id clip both into every krab. It’d be down to the wall about using halves there, it’d be perfectly safe of course.

I must admit I don't do this very often as I find it a bit of a pain not to twist the ropes, but.... If I do, personally I tie in with a rethreaded overhand and clip the tail back to the tie in loops.

@@JBMountainSkills cheers

Yep, perfectly safe. Just makes it a little less comfortable if belaying a climber from above and they fall off, and a bit for of a faff if escaping the system in an "emergency".

@@JBMountainSkills thanks I understand what you mean with getting out the system in emergency

A half rope is absolutely more than strong enough 💪

@@JBMountainSkills Thanks!

Hey! We don't tend to wear gloves by default in the UK, not sure why really, probably just a cultural thing, some people do. I've never had an issue holding a fall on half ropes - but Im only one person! Because we use halves mostly, we normally clip independently, one piece of gear, one rope, we would only occasionally clip both ropes in to the same quickdraw. Other countries use Twin ropes more often, slightly confusing language I know! These are supposed to both be normally clipped in to each quickdraw. So that means we have single ropes, half ropes (also known as doubles), and twin ropes, then to confuse matters many ropes these days are triple rated so you can use them as all 3! Each rope type is tested to different UIAA. Traditionally it's considered bad to mix up how we use the ropes on a climb, ie. swapping from independently clipping, to clipping both, but there is some chat now around that being ok in some circumstances. It's a complicated subject hey?! Your use of language seemed spot on to me!

@@JBMountainSkills thanks for the well articulated answer! I know about the different omologation between half and twin ropes, actually my doubts come from the fact that most of the ropes now have double omologation (twin and half), hence they could be used both ways. On adventure terrain I think the advantages of half ropes (low force trasmission to Gear) are massive, but here is common practice to always use them as twins, even on gear (and I'm quite perplexed about It). Definitely a complicate subject! Ahahah maybe as you said is just a cultural thing. Thanks for this positive exchange of views! Really interesying 👍

It’s a good question! All quickdraws are basically slings, they’re all static, so aren’t great for shock loads, so the sling draw is essentially no different to a normal draw. But, and it’s a big but, your rope is dynamic. This means there’s always a dynamic element to the fall, pull belayer moving, and slip etc. This means there’s no shock loading going on 👊

JB Mountain Skills Gotcha, thanks for that 👍

I think the key is that you say: “one strand of half rope, takes double the weight it is planned for” , which is incorrect. Half ropes ARE designed to take full body weight falls. That’s the difference with a twin rope. Also, they are NOT “half as thick” as you write. It’s closer to 80% as thick. But, The rest of your statement is still true: you are using thinner ropes (usually), so they have a thinner sheath, so probably they are less durable ropes. And heavier than a single rope, and more awkward to belay and build anchors. The trade off is less rope rope drag, shorter falls if you fall,while clipping above you, redundancy if your rope gets damaged, and easier set up for full length rappels (than using a single rope and tag line). Like anything in climbing, there are pros and cons, and the optimum depends on the situation. No one is saying they are best for everywhere. If you want one system, just stick with single ropes.