1 hr 14 min
The Skinny on Ski Mountaineering Ropes The High Route Gear Shed Podcast
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- Wilderness
The podcast title, "The Skinny on Ski Mountaineering Ropes," is part play on words and a big part reality for many moving through the mountains in a light and fast manner. You'll hear this on the podcast and see it here; the ropes mentioned require a clear understanding of these skinny ropes' limitations and proper applications. The good folks breaking down these special-use-ropes are part of the team behind The High Route. They are Gavin Hess, Billy Haas, and Adam Fabrikant.
Most of the ropes discussed land in the 6mm category, which means one must have working knowledge and in-the-field experience with the ropes' properties relating to friction, durability, and propensity to tangle. Further, we focus on hyperstatic ropes. In other words, ropes with little relative stretch.
You must understand the specific progress capture devices your skinny rope is compatible with. You must understand the specific scenarios when using a hyperstatic line is reasonable and best practice. The podcast and articles on The High Route will help you sort the skinny rope noise and advise when and how to use these ropes, but for fear of going ALL CAPS on anyone out there, know your gear, and if you need proper instruction, please seek out an experienced guide—and practice practice practice before committing to a high-risk environment where you may deploy these skinny ropes.
(All that sounds like a disclaimer.)
Ok—that's out of the way for the time being. Gavin, Billy, and Adam dive in and provide insight into their experiences with the ropes and how they use them to move more efficiently in technical terrain. For example, the industry standard Petal Rad Line is 22g/m at 6mm diameter. At ~600g for a 30m rope, when a mission calls for a RAD Line, the minimal weight and easy stowing make it a no-brainer to bring along for many ski mountaineers.
These skinny-rope-panelists discuss the ropes they prefer and the items they leave out of the pack: it sounds like Adam may have some spare cord to offload. And, to round it all out, there is some back and forth regarding rappel devices and set ups while using these ropes.
On that note, we'll leave you with these words from Adam:
"Whether you're getting one of these lighter ropes or the more robust ropes, everything we're chatting about is pretty minimal. But if there's a higher level of uncertainty [on a ski mission], I'm going to go over prepared. And when it's a route that I know, like the back of my hand, that's when I might start going with that more minimalist mentality. So, it's awesome to push ourselves, but we don't want to push anything too far."
Thanks for listening, and if you have a specific question for Gavin, Billy, or Adam, for the time being, you can email editor@the-high-route.com or leave a comment on our website.
You can find us at the-high-route.com: Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. And according to Barry Wicks, don't-fear-the-hyphens®.
The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to begin with.
The podcast title, "The Skinny on Ski Mountaineering Ropes," is part play on words and a big part reality for many moving through the mountains in a light and fast manner. You'll hear this on the podcast and see it here; the ropes mentioned require a clear understanding of these skinny ropes' limitations and proper applications. The good folks breaking down these special-use-ropes are part of the team behind The High Route. They are Gavin Hess, Billy Haas, and Adam Fabrikant.
Most of the ropes discussed land in the 6mm category, which means one must have working knowledge and in-the-field experience with the ropes' properties relating to friction, durability, and propensity to tangle. Further, we focus on hyperstatic ropes. In other words, ropes with little relative stretch.
You must understand the specific progress capture devices your skinny rope is compatible with. You must understand the specific scenarios when using a hyperstatic line is reasonable and best practice. The podcast and articles on The High Route will help you sort the skinny rope noise and advise when and how to use these ropes, but for fear of going ALL CAPS on anyone out there, know your gear, and if you need proper instruction, please seek out an experienced guide—and practice practice practice before committing to a high-risk environment where you may deploy these skinny ropes.
(All that sounds like a disclaimer.)
Ok—that's out of the way for the time being. Gavin, Billy, and Adam dive in and provide insight into their experiences with the ropes and how they use them to move more efficiently in technical terrain. For example, the industry standard Petal Rad Line is 22g/m at 6mm diameter. At ~600g for a 30m rope, when a mission calls for a RAD Line, the minimal weight and easy stowing make it a no-brainer to bring along for many ski mountaineers.
These skinny-rope-panelists discuss the ropes they prefer and the items they leave out of the pack: it sounds like Adam may have some spare cord to offload. And, to round it all out, there is some back and forth regarding rappel devices and set ups while using these ropes.
On that note, we'll leave you with these words from Adam:
"Whether you're getting one of these lighter ropes or the more robust ropes, everything we're chatting about is pretty minimal. But if there's a higher level of uncertainty [on a ski mission], I'm going to go over prepared. And when it's a route that I know, like the back of my hand, that's when I might start going with that more minimalist mentality. So, it's awesome to push ourselves, but we don't want to push anything too far."
Thanks for listening, and if you have a specific question for Gavin, Billy, or Adam, for the time being, you can email editor@the-high-route.com or leave a comment on our website.
You can find us at the-high-route.com: Yeah, there are two hyphens for redundancy, which is a good policy in the mountains. And according to Barry Wicks, don't-fear-the-hyphens®.
The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you've spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, "Beautiful Alien" is a good tune to begin with.
1 hr 14 min