Close Quarters

Im in my mid 50's and thankfully can still stand in spurs with a bigger saw all day. No problemo!
I recently started going SRT because everyone said it was gonna be way easier on my aging body. I have been using a Haas and a foot ascender for access and it has been physically much easier, but my knees have been fucking killing me ever since.
Im going back to my old ways for a while. A pair of spurs and a flipline so my knees can heal up. Go figure?
 
rico said:
Im in my mid 50's and thankfully can still stand in spurs with a bigger saw all day. No problemo!
I recently started going SRT because everyone said it was gonna be way easier on my aging body. I have been using a Haas and a foot ascender for access and it has been physically much easier, but my knees have been fucking killing me ever since.
Im going back to my old ways for a while. A pair of spurs and a flipline so my knees can heal up. Go figure?
Click to expand...

I guess you gotta go with what works best for you! I do a little bit of everything but mainly SRT (SRS) when it comes to long ascents in big trees. But I am definitely beginning to feel my age. I can't keep up with the young folks when it comes to putting in long days in the woods. My wife and I were down in your neck of the woods a few weeks ago. Those big redwoods are just awe-inspiring!
 
rico said:
Im in my mid 50's and thankfully can still stand in spurs with a bigger saw all day. No problemo!
I recently started going SRT because everyone said it was gonna be way easier on my aging body. I have been using a Haas and a foot ascender for access and it has been physically much easier, but my knees have been fucking killing me ever since.
Im going back to my old ways for a while. A pair of spurs and a flipline so my knees can heal up. Go figure?
Click to expand...

I've found that my knees get used to what I do most. If I switch activities I can have pain for months. I had a link to a study about bone proteins and their effect on cartilage that aligned with that theory. The idea was that it was important to go slow, sometimes much slower than most would think, but keep it up for a longer period of time. After months the bone would "harden" from the new loading positions and then the pain and cartilage damage would subside. "Harden" isn't exactly it, it was about the proteins and how they react when the bone gets damaged from a new activity. I tried the idea when I returned to running after more than decade because i wanted to try trail running. At first the knee pain was terrible, as I knew it would be from previous attempts. After a few months of easing into it, sometimes with as little as a mile a week, I was slowly able to run again.

I think your plan to heal matches the study.
 
Trees and knees, neither wants sudden change.

I haven't been wearing spurs much lately, without a top rope. I think I might have a little tear in my knee. Bothering me when I pull my spur out (traction on my knee), lately dismantling a 5' fir and clearing a lot for a builder in reasonable-sized trees.


I am seriously up to my other hand on how many jobs my Wraptor has allowed me to bang out without being delayed by pain (water on the knee twice, wrist and knuckle injuries from overuse or acute injury). It never isn't ready to work when I need it. THANK YOU, Paul!! Money so we'll spent with a very reasonable ROI. If you can hang it on your harness, the Wraptor will bring it up with you. Sometimes, getting started, with a climbing line, rigging line, big saw, rigging hardware, etc, is awkward, until the Wraptor starts to lift, then easy.
Waiting to be in too much pain to get by without the cheap wraptor, then buying it, imho, is like waiting to check the oil until the warning light comes on, or waiting until you have a dehydration headache to drink water.
I have no horse in your race. Just my experience.
 
My body is still fine standing in spurs. The new motion of the Haas/footascender has pissed my knees of a little, but a few days away from that movement and they feel better already.
I hear ya on the wraptor. The time for me to buy one is getting closer!
 
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rico said:
Clearly I forgot whom I was speaking to! My apologies.
Looks like your still eating litters of puppies and kittens for breakfast?
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Nah if anything thats the other way around IMO,
tho I did take a selfie with my best war face just to wind up at ya
:D

I only have 15 years under the belt - far out matched by your climbing and cutting career
I can only hope to last half as long in this game .
but seriously
I haven't gelled with SRT other than for long as ascents.
it like all climbing systems out there aint for every body Body if you catch my drift..
 
Stihlmadd said:
Nah if anything thats the other way around IMO,
tho I did take a selfie with my best war face just to wind up at ya
:D

I only have 15 years under the belt - far out matched by your climbing and cutting career
I can only hope to last half as long in this game .
but seriously
I haven't gelled with SRT other than for long as ascents.
it like all climbing systems out there aint for every body Body if you catch my drift..
Click to expand...
I am very new to SRT, but what's has been working best for me lately is ascending SRT, working the brush DdRT, and the going back to SRT for chunking down the wood. It works really well with the Reds and Firs I work with, and both the Hitch Hiker and Rope Wrench have performed beautifully.
 
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Nice work.
Rico I understand the pain you get. It’s from the new movements. That goes away.
As for age, I’m happy to have made it 22 years in this business. I’m 80-90% bucket baby these days though. I hurt everyday I climb but it’s the good kinda hurt. I can’t out climb the young bucks but can out perform them based on experience.
 
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