A rope team (sometimes also called moving together) is a

climbing technique Climbing technique refers to a broad range of physical movements used in the activity or sport of climbing. Notable sub-groups of climbing technique include: *Aid climbing technique as is used in aid climbing *Big wall climbing technique as is ...

where two or more climbers who are attached to a single climbing rope move simultaneously together along easy-angled terrain that does not require points of fixed climbing protection to be inserted along the route. Rope teams contrast with simul-climbing, which involves only two climbers and where they are ascending steep terrain that will require many points of protection to be inserted along the route. A specific variant of a rope team is the technique of , which is used by mountain guides to help weaker clients, and which also does not employ fixed climbing protection points. Rope teams are commonly used in

alpine climbing Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes (e.g. multi-pitch or big wall) in an alpi ...

, particularly for moving across glaciers and traveling along snow slopes and ridges. Members are typically spaced apart with any surplus rope coiled and carried by the first and last members. The weaker members of the team are placed in the middle, however, it is important that the team can move together in a way that the rope does not become excessively slack or taught. Rope teams can accommodate many climbers, which gives greater "holding power" if a member falls into a

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rate ...

or slides down a snow slope. However, large teams are also less flexible, which is a problem on more varied terrain where the rope team might want to quickly change to a short-roping or even a simul-climbing format. Some rope teams will simply tie each member directly into the rope via a climbing knot (e.g. figure-eight on a bight attached to a screw-gate carabiner), however, members can also be attached via prussik knots or progress capture devices for greater flexibility. When crossing glaciers, some rope teams will pre-apply prussik knots and loops to the rope to speed up the

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

of any member who falls into a crevasse, however, some don't as these knots and loops can make the rope more difficult to manage. When small rope teams of 2-3 climbers are crossing glaciers, additional knots can be added to the rope to act as a partial brake against a crevasse lip in the event of a fall. On exposed snow slopes, rope teams may use snow anchors as points of climbing protection — as in simul-climbing — to prevent a falling member from dragging the entire team down the slope before they can

self-arrest The self-arrest is a climbing technique mostly used in mountaineering and alpine climbing where a climber who has fallen and is sliding uncontrollably down a snow or ice-covered slope 'arrests' their fall by themselves by using their ice axe and ...

. Various records have been set for the longest ''climbing'' rope-teams at various altitudes. In July 2017, the Italian Alpine Club set a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the world's longest ''static'' rope team when 2,846 climbers were connected to a single rope in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

in Italy. In 2022, eighty female mountaineers set a record for the world's longest women's ''climbing'' rope team by summiting the

Breithorn The Breithorn ( German for literally "broad horn"; 13,661 ft. or 4,160 m) is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name (but also called ''Breithorn (Western Summit)''), located on the border between Switze ...

References

External link

YOUR INSURANCE: THE ROPE TEAM
(2024)
Rope or not rope? Backup options at full speed
LaCrux (Dec 2021) {{Climbing-nav Climbing techniques Ski mountaineering Mountaineering techniques

See also

References

Further reading

External link