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I am looking to add to my ropes and am in need of a single rope for alpine routes. I am trying to decide between 9.2 and 9.5 sizes. I am always a fan of lighter weight gear, but want to make sure that I am not sacrificing durability over weight. Is the life of the rope that much less for the 9.2 than the 9.5 or is it really irrelevant?

I am leaning towards Mammut unless anyone wants to persuade me differently....Sterling perhaps?

Scott - I have owned both the Mammut Serenity 8.9 and the Sterling Nano 9.2

They are both nice ropes but the Mammut is more supple and holds up better.

All skinny ropes are less durable but its fine if you save them for big trips only.

I paid full retail for the Mammut and it has definitely been worth every penny.

If you decide to go with the Sterling I can hook you up with a great deal.

I use the Mammut Revelation 9.2 Super Dry/Coating as my Alpine Single...


And a pair of Mammut Genesis 8.5 Super Dry/Coating for my Alpine Doubles..


I have actually lead on a single Geneis several times.

Ya can't go wrong with any Mammut Super Dry Rope.

Edelrid makes a great product as well. Got two of them, Eagle and Harrier, for summer time cragging.

thanks chief, yeah i was looking at the Revelation 9.2 and Infinity 9.5 as well as the sterling versions in those sizes. i might just see who has the best price since both companies seem to make great ropes from everything i have gathered. how many climbing days would you guess you get out of your 9.2 before having to retire it?

hey daniel, i sent you an email.

Alpine is a broad term. Are you looking at alpine/ice and mixed, alpine rock, alpine rock where you are climbing at/near your limit, does it involve glaciers.....

Personally I like the Mammut Serenity 8.9mm and the Mammut Revelation 9.2mm for just about everything, from long routes near my limit to cragging where I am whipping onto it quite a bit. I just go through them a bit more often then my 9.7mm rope, but since I use 70m ropes often , its an acceptable trade off. My last pair of 9.2mm have taken 7-10 falls in the 25-30ft range and is still in good shape, and has been used for the last year for things that are closer to my limit. (For more moderate routes, I just go with my 9.7mm rope).

For alpine ice/mixed I just go with my 8.0mm doubles.

CClaude wrote:Alpine is a broad term.

Relevant statement.

If your interest lies in technical alpine climbing (long rock routes with serious approaches), then now would be the time to invest in doubles. Carrying a lone double for easy outings requiring a rope here and there and the pair when ascending a long route in alpine country. Most reasons for climbing with doubles would be lost on those who do not have experience in the alpine technical realm. Ability to retreat faster, potential rock fall cutting a rope, traverses, overall flexibility, splitting load and increased options. The Mammut Phoenix is an 8.0 double that does well on rock or ice. If just dragging a rope along steep snow slopes, I would consider a much smaller rope than the choices you threw out there. It is important to note that two 8.0's in some cases weight less than a single 10.5.

DanielWade wrote:Scott - I have owned both the Mammut Serenity 8.9 and the Sterling Nano 9.2

They are both nice ropes but the Mammut is more supple and holds up better.

Funny, I had the opposite experience. I had a Mammut Revelation that I destroyed in less than a month. I used the Sterling Nano all season last year and it's still going strong. Of course, I was using them in different areas, so that may be a factor. I'm taking the Nano to Europe this summer, so then I'll have a more direct comparison. In general, I think I prefer the Sterling.

CClaude wrote:Alpine is a broad term.

Agreed. I was lazily describing my need for a rope that I wasn’t going to be using for top roping and that would be carried more than 100 feet from the car.

I am mainly considering this rope for Tahquitz and the Eastern Sierra where I will have approaches ranging from several hours to most of a day. Climbing on this rope would be mainly rock whereas ice or climbing with 2 followers would be on my 8.0mm x 50m doubles.

I hope to carry less weight than the doubles allow when it is just my wife and I, especially since I am her personal Sherpa. I am not opposed to using doubles on some of these climbs, but there are also advantages to a single rope system. Since I do nearly all the leading, it will make changeover at belays easier in my opinion as well as the weight savings I mentioned above.

The Serenity 8.9mm x 70m is something to consider as well, although I was debating whether I would utilize the additional 10m enough to consider this as an option.

you have to consider the routes you are doing to see if a 70m rope is justified. For me and the routes that I am doing a 70m rope is justified, for some its overkill.

I also sometimes just bring one strand of half rope for routes where the climbing is easy. Each strand of a half rope system is rated to catch a leader fall. Mine are Edelweiss Dynamic 8.3's -- they are pretty similar in weight to the Mammut Genesis 8.5's, but the newer models are also rated for use as twins.

I do like the way mammuts handle though, and just picked up an Infinity 9.5 last fall that was factory lap-coiled ! No need to undo the factory coil to get the kinks out

Vitaliy -- thicker ropes tend to be better for toproping. TR'ing tends to put a lot of wear on ropes due to repeated lowering. 70m is kind of long, but if the rope has a good dry treatment then you can also use it for ice climbing, and the extra length will come in handy in Lee Vining Canyon. The extra length will mean more weight & bulk however.

There are lots of deals on the web. I'd look at alssports.com, alpenglowgear.com, gearexpress.com just to get some ideas. A lot of these e-tailers have coupon discount codes you can google for.

Here in the Eastern Sierra, there is absolutely no need for anything longer than a 60m in either Single nor Double cords.

70's are definitely an over kill and not at all necessary for any B/C "Alpine" route within the U.S. IMO.

But what do I know......

The Chief wrote:Here in the Eastern Sierra, there is absolutely no need for anything longer than a 60m in either Single nor Double cords.

70's are definitely an over kill and not at all necessary for any B/C "Alpine" route within the U.S. IMO.

But what do I know......

+1

(I only agree with The Chief because he knows everything! )

Welcome back Chief!

The Chief wrote:Here in the Eastern Sierra, there is absolutely no need for anything longer than a 60m in either Single nor Double cords.

70's are definitely an over kill and not at all necessary for any B/C "Alpine" route within the U.S. IMO.

But what do I know......

As you stated that is like, just your opinion, man. I can think of several trips in Montana where our 70's were completely justified. But I'm tough so I can carry that shit all day

Tom Fralich wrote:

DanielWade wrote:Scott - I have owned both the Mammut Serenity 8.9 and the Sterling Nano 9.2

They are both nice ropes but the Mammut is more supple and holds up better.

Funny, I had the opposite experience. I had a Mammut Revelation that I destroyed in less than a month. I used the Sterling Nano all season last year and it's still going strong. Of course, I was using them in different areas, so that may be a factor. I'm taking the Nano to Europe this summer, so then I'll have a more direct comparison. In general, I think I prefer the Sterling.

I use the Serenity 8.9 not the Revelation 9.2