CMI Twin Expedition

[Blinky]

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Nerdly?
Manyly?

HAHAHAHA! All part of industrial design.

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But see, some industrial design is like... metrosexual or something, it would make me feel insecure about my sexuality if I were seen beebopping up a rope rather than muscling and sweating and panting... it just looks... ...wrong!
Definitely not hardman-like at all.

 

[Adkpk]

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Adkpk,



It DOES go around branches (I think that's what he means by crawlovers) better because it's more or less one sided with your hand in a good position to pull it away from the branch as you push yourself away with the other hand... no more struggle, or not much of one at least.


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The CMI ascender I use (on my texas tree monkey system) seems designed, one sided, for exactly that purpose. But I am not going to say it's easy to push off the limb with my weight on the line and advance it at the same time. Good time to feature the video.

Craw-lovers is cracking me up in the meantime though.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Letting ascending gear rub past limbs or jammed through brush is an unsafe practice that will lead to an accident. I consider my ascenders as sacred and have a lot of respect for the work they do, keep me from falling. Mistreating and abusing them is dangerous.

My ascenders NEVER jam past an obstacle, they are always lifted clear so that they don't rub.

 

[Blinky]

I don't shove mine into brush or grate it over branches either.

Usually I get to the bottom of the limb, take a short lock with my feet, push on the limb with my left hand while my right hand pulls the ascender away and slides it up. Because of the single handle it doesn't take much of a pull to clear the branch. Then it's one or two more short locks and I'm past.

 

[rangerdanger]

I'm with Blinky, don't shove mine into brush or anything like that. I try to ease through the stuff, rather than just ram through.

Hey Adkpk, what Blinkly means is that a single handle ascender is more streamlined than the two handled versions(Like the Petzl Ascension) and therefore are easier to easy past limbs and through crotches, since the single handle is not nearly as bulky and its easier to maneuver with one hand.

For those interested, here is Tree Machine's original article that encouraged CMI to develop their new ascenders. In the article, TM mentions many of the benefits of a SHDA, including a section on how it's easier to maneuver around limbs. Starts on page 10.

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/151d2127#/151d2127/10

 

[Adkpk]

Good one Tom. I think that your post was in the best of timing. Sometimes I think this equipment is infallible. Like as if it got me there once it will always. But, as I know better, it's best to air on the side of caution. Or better yet use the equipment as it is intended.

 

[Tree_Machine]

"Or better yet use the equipment as it is intended. "

This ascender is designed and intended to climb trees. This is unique in many ways from other aerial disciplines and a specialized, custom dual ascender for tree work that has been specifically (and properly) developed for tree climbing should allow you, with responsible use, to do whatever you need to do while in the crown, up, down, all around.

Crawling over limbs is just one of those things that comes up. I mean, it's a tree. Dual handled dual ascenders have a real problem with this because the far-side handle is absolutely in the way. Single handled single ascenders on SRT can crawl over limbs, but you only have one ascender; thin profile, and it can tilt left or right. if something goes wrong you are one ascender and one rope. You have one chance.

With the single handled dual ascender it is twice the width in profile as the single. Very stable in passing over top of limbs &amp; If something were to go wrong, it is is hard to imagine that both cams would fail in a single event. In the rare event that one cam would be blocked open, you are now in a 2:1 DdRT configuration and the ropes are still parallel to one another, they're NOT leaving the ascender shell so you grab both ropes together and squeeze; above or below the ascender works, but your trailing hand will naturally be beneath the ascender. Grabbing and squeezing the rope is what you would naturally do in a panic situation, so it falls in line that this intuitive response is also the best response. This is also how you downward adjust while weighted on the rope, only deliberately, gripping the temporarily un-cammed rope for a <u>short</u> 2:1 hand belay.

Here is a picture from the TCIA article, a 3-part image of a what is a bit more than a limb crawl-over. It's like a crawl over/ crawl around-through trunk fork negotiation. Easy as it looks. Slow and gentle. As Blinky and Rangerdanger say says, "I don't shove mine into brush or grate it over branches". Really, that's all it takes, being present and aware and careful, just like you should be at all times.

I believe if you flipline in while negotiating a crawl-over, any remote risk can be brought to zero. But if your gear is sacred, I won't argue with anyone on that.