A variety that has been popular since my great grandma's day is Mademoiselle Cecile Brunner, and there is a climbing version which is what I think you mean by "rose vine."

It has small, many-petalled light pink flowers and very few thorns. I'm not an expert on rooting cuttings, so someone else can chime in on how to do that.

I'll put a link below to photos of Climbing Cecile Brunner -- click on the small photos for a bigger picture and on the "Rose" tab for a description. Let us know if this is your friend's rose:

Here is a link that might be useful: Cecile Brunner, Cl.

If the timetable is next spring, ask if your friend would put a rock over a low shoot with the bark scraped to produce a tip-layer that would already have developed roots by then. Roses are usually rooted from half-hardened cuttings, but it's easy to fail. I've already killed one this year. There is a FAQ on the Rose Propagation and Exchange Forum.

There are many, many, many roses that meet your verbal description. Could you post a picture of the blooming flowers and also of the shrub itself? That will help experienced people a lot.

All the climbing Cecile Brunners I have ever met have been fairly thorny -- enough to make handling them pretty unpleasant.

I live near the OP and would offer to come over, but I don't think I know enough to help.

Perhaps?

Oops . . . I guess you said 'not thorny,' so maybe that rules out 'Dorothy Perkins.'

The plant seems very much like the photos of Cecile Brunner.
However, the flowers that I had seen seemed somewhat smaller. Could it be because it was growing in shade. The existence of thorns were noticeably less. I could run my hands over the stem. I will attempt to layer it. This is location is in NE Portland and I will perhaps visit again next month.
Regarding tip layering there is not much information available on the FAQs I have seen. It is interesting I had not thought of it earlier. Is it always successful ?
Would it work on any other vine roses, Rose Banksia for example ?
-lg

Tip layering works with many woody plants. The stems have to be long enough and pliable enough that you can nick a small section of bark and then bury that portion of the stem. Keep it buried and sufficiently moist (NOT wet!) and if the plant has a reputation for rooting (such as roses) it probably will. I've read before that rhododendrons can also be propagated this way.

Tip-layering has worked every time I've tried it.

Another method that is more reliable for beginners than summer cuttings is to stick hardwood cuttings deep (most of the cutting buried), outside in the fall, fairly late. They usually strike root over winter.