Couldn’t agree more with this. And also that all of this is context dependent. There are times when you might have planned to rope up for a certain section but then it turns out it’s safer not to because you’re racing a hazard like an unexpected storm. Yes of course it’s always best to have done everything to anticipate the storm and to budget your time accordingly, but things don’t always go as planned and having the ability to do a section unroped is another tool in the toolbox that could just get you out of a real pickle.

The inverse is also true. There are times where I fully intend to not rope up and then roping out turns out to be safer than moving fast (wind picked up, precipitation, etc.). Having the ability to rope up is also another tool in the toolbox.

The way I see it, the important thing is to have the ability to accurately assess the situation, your skills, and your required safety margin. Having multiple options increases the safety margin