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I just bought 30 ft of 6mm rope. I'm planning on making some prusik loops with it. I'm still pretty new to climbing and not quite sure what size I need to cut the rope. I would like a small, medium, large size prusik for ascending ropes and etc. I'll be using the double fishermen when I tie the ends together.

This document should help you get it close, then adjust as needed: http://www.cascadeadventures.net/images/climb_school/texas_prusik.pdf

hvydrt wrote:This document should help you get it close, then adjust as needed: http://www.cascadeadventures.net/images/climb_school/texas_prusik.pdf

Perfect, thanks man.

I almost fell over in laughter the other day when I went one of my favorite local sport/trad crags Saw several "Modern" day climbers on single to 3-4 pitch mixed routes with the biggest clutter of crap hanging off their harnesses.

Hell, they looked like they were armed for bear FAing some Grade VI Big Wall in the Trango's or something.



***If one is carrying a slew of alpine draws, or shoulder slung draws, there is absolutely no need to add more shit clutter to your rack. Improvise, adapt and overcome with a simple rack of the basics.

More importantly, climb at your level of ability and do not extend yourself when on multi-pitch trad routes.

Learn to climb at a speedy yet safe pace. Speed and Simplicity are indeed your best allies.


Learn and practice the basics of self rescue long before you delve into the multi-pitch trad world. You'll eventually be glad you did if you stick around this game for a while. Cus one day you will need the experience of safe and expedient retreat with what you have on your rack.

A5RP wrote:I almost fell over in laughter the other day when I went one of my favorite local sport/trad crags Saw several "Modern" day climbers on single to 3-4 pitch mixed routes with the biggest clutter of crap hanging off their harnesses.

My friend couldn't get on East Buttress of El Cap this past weekend, because there was a party of 3 ahead. According to my friend that party had 2 haul bags on the back of two followers. Wouldn't let anyone pass. Two followers with the bags spent over 1hr 15mins on that ledge. Stuff that you see out there.

A5RP wrote:I almost fell over in laughter the other day when I went one of my favorite local sport/trad crags Saw several "Modern" day climbers on single to 3-4 pitch mixed routes with the biggest clutter of crap hanging off their harnesses.

Hell, they looked like they were armed for bear FAing some Grade VI Big Wall in the Trango's or something.



***If one is carrying a slew of alpine draws, or shoulder slung draws, there is absolutely no need to add more shit clutter to your rack. Improvise, adapt and overcome with a simple rack of the basics.

More importantly, climb at your level of ability and do not extend yourself when on multi-pitch trad routes.

Learn to climb at a speedy yet safe pace. Speed and Simplicity are indeed your best allies.


Learn and practice the basics of self rescue long before you delve into the multi-pitch trad world. You'll eventually be glad you did if you stick around this game for a while. Cus one day you will need the experience of safe and expedient retreat with what you have on your rack.

Thanks for the input, really appreciate the gals and guys wisdom on here. Starting to venture into mulit-pitch climbing on Devils Tower. nothing to gnarly in my future. lol

Always have at least two prusik loops with you or something that can be made into prusik loops if you need them. you can use slings as well, but dont use them for anything except prusiks after using them once as a prusik. like A5RP stated, usually you can improvise, but thats usually not safe. From my experience with prusiks you can usually get away with 4.5-5 feet in lenght doubled. so 9-10 feet total and then tie it together. im 6'2 and this works fine for stepping up and moving the next prusik up.

mattyh wrote:Always have at least two prusik loops with you or something that can be made into prusik loops if you need them. you can use slings as well, but dont use them for anything except prusiks after using them once as a prusik. like A5RP stated, usually you can improvise, but thats usually not safe. From my experience with prusiks you can usually get away with 4.5-5 feet in lenght doubled. so 9-10 feet total and then tie it together. im 6'2 and this works fine for stepping up and moving the next prusik up.

So 2 harness size prusiks [5-6 foot lengths] and one foot length prusik [10-11 foot lengths] sizes. Sounds about right for something I should have on my rack at all times?

I carry three 5 or 6 mm, 1 1/2 to 2 feet long closed loops, (depends on your height, tied with double fishermans) prusiks on my harness at all times. One is for attachment to my harness (or if you know how to do it, for makeshift chest harness) and the other two to be attached to one or two slings each, for my feet. I cannot imagine how prusik longer than 2-3 feet would work, unless you need the longer length because you don't want to utilize slings, which we all carry already. If you use prusiks longer than 2-3 feet loop, you'll end up hanging below the prusik and will have devilish time to reach it. When I first learned how to do this (long time ago) we practiced on overhangs. Only the short prusiks would work.

Hang a rope from a tree in your yard and try your set up...I bet you anything longer than 2-3 feet is too long.

To add to the above, these days Prusiks are for emergency and mostly alpine use, but you if you know that you will have to use some kind of ascender on your alpine climb, the Petzl Tiblocks are small, weigh little and work in pairs really well, but not on thin (sub 9mm or so) ropes. Prusiks are the way for emergency, they weigh little and work ok. Most important thing, practice tying into the set up and ascending at you practice/bouldering area. Years ago, I remember people practicing in Camp 4 in Yosemite off of trees before going on a wall...

Tiblocs FTW

I self-rescued with tiblocs once.... damn sight better than prussiks. Easier, probably lighter, and a LOT faster.

summitfever1990 wrote:So 2 harness size prusiks [5-6 foot lengths] and one foot length prusik [10-11 foot lengths] sizes. Sounds about right for something I should have on my rack at all times?

To do what with? The answer to your question is no. Having a ton of junk on your harness is not going to save you in a tight spot. The knowledge to use it and the ability to be flexible and adapt to a situation will. Take a class or have somebody show you what works for them then you will know what will be useful for you to take. My "rescue" kit is single oval biner, 2 2-foot loops of 6mm cord, a tibloc and a small knife. I can use this in combination with other stuff I carry (i.e. alpine runners, Reverso, pro, etc.) to do everything rescue related. If you ever end up around northern Colorado let me know, I'd be happy to show you some rescue stuff. Rescue skills are a good thing to know that unfortunately many climbers don't have any experience with.

-Brian

I carry a 68.2 cm prusik and a 94.6 cm prusik, both made of 0.24" cord. It isn't always easy to find 0.24" cord, but it's the best stuff.

but thats usually not safe.

Best rig in the world. Use a pair of 24-36" standard 11/16" slings and two biners that are already on your standard rack and you will be good to go. The biners take most of the abrasion friction when sliding em up the rope. Not the slings. You're not jugging El Cap for gods sake.