Mammut 6.0 Glacier Cord Dry – Super Light

Kyle Juszczyk

I hate skiing with a heavy pack. I’ve spent hours getting to the top of a pristine couloir or huge face, only to fight a pack with every turn on the way down, dampening the experience. I should probably just get better at skiing, but my current strategy has been to shave pack weight for ski mountaineering trips.

Switching to a hyperstatic glacier cord from a nylon climbing rope has been the single biggest weight saver in my endeavor. I have been using Mammut 6.0 Glacier Cord and am super stoked with it. 

It’s Light, Like Super Light 

The 60m length of this cord weighs in at 3.3 lbs.; almost half the weight of the same length 9 mil rope at 7.15 lbs. If you’re using a system of two 30m cords, that splits the weight to just over a pound and a half per person! For perspective, a liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. 

6.0 glacier cord – 25g/m x 60 = 1500 g or 3.3 lbs. 

9 mil dynamic rope – 54g/m x 60 = 3240g or 7.14 lbs. 

 

Learning curve and specific tools

This cord walks like a rope and quacks like a rope, but if you try to use it as a rope in some applications, you’re going to hurt yourself. The user manual it comes with does a good job of stating some specific “do nots.” To highlight a few, it is not intended to be used for lead climbing or single strand rappelling.

Another resource for how to use thin cords is the Petzl website. It has an excellent page of videos and guides for using their similar 6 mil hyperstatic cord, the RAD LINE (see link below). Of course, these aren’t meant to be directly applied to the Mammut Glacier Cord, but they can provide some considerations for using thin, hyperstatic cords.

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Ropes/technical-content-product/RAD-LINE-6-mm

Another thing to consider when purchasing this cord is the investment in specific tools to use with it for crevasse rescue. 5 mil nylon prussics make effective rope grabs, but the Petzl Tibloc and Micro Traxion will significantly improve the effectiveness of a crevasse rescue haul system. Before you decide to cross a glacier with this cord, be sure you and your partner have the correct tools and knowledge to use it. 

Mammut 6.0 Glacier Cord Dry – Better than Static

The hyperstatic nature of this cord increases efficiency for crevasse rescue and a sense of security while rappelling. I took this cord out for a day of testing and used it for a crevasse rescue drill where I rappelled, hauled, and ascended with it. I was in disbelief of how little it stretched. Rope stretch is one of the totally natural and expected phenomena in climbing that still wigs me out. For wimps like me, it’s a dream to not have to trade off weight savings for rappelling on a rubber band. Ascending and hauling were super responsive and smooth. It was like using a 10mil static, but the cord was half the size. 

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Kyle Juszczyk

Kyle grew up in Iowa and after high school ditched the midwest to begin college at Western State Colorado University and start guiding in the summers. 

Kyle says he spent his time at Western climbing, snowboarding, volunteering on the rescue team, and instructing for the outdoor program. He claims if he had spent any less time actually in class he certainly would not have graduated. Kyle’s time with the Western Mountain Rescue Team was extremely formative and revealed his passion for wilderness search and rescue (SAR). He made it his goal to make a career out of SAR. Kyle is well on his way to achieving his goal and currently works as a Ski Patroller in Colorado and a Climbing Ranger in the Pacific NorthWest.

Kyle’s certifications include WEMT-IV, Avalanche Pro 1, and AMGA Single Pitch Instructor. Kyle is a certified AIARE instructor and teaches Recreational Level 1, Level 2, and Partner Rescue courses. He is also an Apprentice Rock and Ski Guide through the AMGA

 

When Kyle has free time he climbs and skis. He’s taken the hard way to the top of El Capitan and the steep way down peaks in Colorado and Washington.

Kyle’s jobs allow or force him (depending on the weather) to work 200 days a year outside. He’s constantly testing gear in all conditions and refining his setups to make work and play easier, faster, and more fun.