If the pole is in good shape, two people can climb or descend a pole at the same time.

• A. Yes
• B. Only with a belay
• C. No
• D. Depends on weather

Answer: (C)

One climber at a time is the safety rule for using a single pole. Having two people on the same pole at once creates collision risk, makes grip control unreliable, and can destabilize the pole under combined loads. Even if the pole is in excellent condition, managing two climbers simultaneously is unsafe and difficult to supervise. A belay helps control a single climber, but it doesn’t allow two people to move together on the same pole. Weather doesn’t fix this limitation. So two people cannot safely climb or descend a pole at the same time.