Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Sterling Ice Thong 7.7mm Twin Rope

When I first received my Sterling Ice Thong 7.7 twin rope-set, my initial thought was that they looked so thin that I was frightened even in my living room. After a full season of use, I am now in love. I have used them on a few ice and snow routes, but have probably used them more often on long alpine rock routes in Rocky Mountain National Park. Occasionally, I will use a single strand as my ski mountaineering rope for glacier travel or for getting into, or out of, technical sections of ski descents. I have found this rope-set to be just the ticket for all of these jobs.

On snow and ice routes they seem to absorb no water, keeping them light and flexible when other cords would be soaked, heavy and frozen into steel cables. On long alpine rock routes they have a soft and supple feel in hand and flow smoothly, creating no more drag than a single 9.5mm cord. Unlike some twins, they work very well with an ATC guide or Reverso 2, and in taking and catching falls, they were not nearly as scary as I first suspected. Other twins I have had in the past were horribly twisty and abraded, easily making for fuzzy tangles and a short life for the rope-set. The Sterling Ice Thong is quite the opposite; not only are they snarl-free, but after many days on RMNP granite they are fuzz-free and still holding their shape well. As a testament to Sterling’s quality control, this is the first set of twins I have ever owned that were exactly the same length when I received them and have stayed that way over time. Their durability, combined with functionality and weight savings, make these ropes a worthy investment for anyone spending time in the alpine arena.

Take care,

Mark Kelly
AMGA Ski Mountaineering Certified
Colorado Mountain School
800-836-4008
TotalClimbing.com

1 comment:

xl pharmacy said...

I figure out it is really risky but that's perfect because I like the strong emotions the adrenaline and so much more.