Don't tell me you can't footlock

Daniel

Daniel

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

I have heard many climbers say it over the years..

"oh I can't footlock", like it is some kind of insurmountable personal flaw, and there is nothing they can do about it...

Second date... taught her to footlock in less than 5 minutes.. she had it down perfectly, and moved right up the rope, 35-40' no problem.... Her lock slipped 4 or 5 times, until I showed her that she needed to turn the top foot, because her boots had a bit of a heel...

Yes she's light and strong and well coordinated, which are all to her advantage, so the learning curve might not be so easy for everyone, and you can all learn to do it if you make up your mind to do so...

I got the whole climb on video and will hopefully post it eventually..
 

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Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

I was just thinking the same thing. I've had rock climbers nail their very first lock, Both my kids can footlock, my girl is 12.

It's THE fastest, easiest, no hassle way to get into most trees without spikes.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

That is what I am talking about. I regularly climb with a friend that body thrusts into trees. I can start my climb minutes after him and be pruning before he is in the top. Same deal with ascenders and whatnot. It takes about 10 seconds to tie a prussic.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

I've put a lot of first-time climbers on rope, teen-age girls and woman always seem to get rope climbing techniques faster then men, either woman listen better or they (generally) have better neuro-muscular integration, or put it another way, most men can't dance. Typical scenario is guys use their upper body too much and wear out in the first 25 feet, woman focus on using their leg muscles and go right up to 60 ft. guys have to learn this through suffering first.
-moss
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

I've read this, and other FL threads with great interest. I'm 50 and have been making a concerted effort of late to learn to footlock. So far, I've managed to get about three feet off the ground. Now I'm telling all my tree buds that I can leave the ladder home when I need to work in a ten foot tree!
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I'm working on it solo, in my back yard in my spare time, so I'm the learning curve poster child, but if I can lock up a few feet, I know I'll get better with practice and repetition.

I figure if I can go from zero to three feet, I'm heading in the right direction. Any tips or suggestions would be most appreciated!
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

fl your tail on ddrt. this is faster when starting to train for FLing and the locks are harder to make; thus improving your technique.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

Jeff, do you mean that I should try to just footlock one, rather than both ends of the rope beneath me, to improve my technique? I'm still trying to get my brain around all the terminology, so if you don't mind giving me a quick breakdown of what ddrt means, I'd be grateful.

Thanks for taking the time to offer a suggestion!
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

dynamic doubled rope technique; like what you use in the tree everyday. instead of body trusting foot lock the tail of your rope and pull down on the working end of your rope (the side with prussic and micro pulley) it is very effective for training and work.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

Footlocking the tail of your climbing line is a good way to get used to the foot/rope configuration. Also, since you're self-belayed you can stop and descend or go to work easily too.

Look in The Tree Climbers Companion for an illustration.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

Thanks Tom and Jeff. I understand what you're driving at now. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I'll give that a whirl! (today, if approaching storm decides to head elsewhere)
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

After signing up for the TN comp, I've been determined to get my footlock down. And so far, in the 3 weeks I've been working on it, I've gotten pretty good. I'm planning on a setting a bell up 25', about the highest I can go in my tree at the house with the footlock, and just doing it twice a day, building up the number of reps each week, and footlocking anything taller when I get the chance too.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

[ QUOTE ]
After signing up for the TN comp, I've been determined to get my footlock down. And so far, in the 3 weeks I've been working on it, I've gotten pretty good. I'm planning on a setting a bell up 25', about the highest I can go in my tree at the house with the footlock, and just doing it twice a day, building up the number of reps each week, and footlocking anything taller when I get the chance too.

[/ QUOTE ]

That'll do it. Forget the clunky mar-bars, you can use ascenders instead of a prussic for working.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks Tom and Jeff. I understand what you're driving at now. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I'll give that a whirl! (today, if approaching storm decides to head elsewhere)

[/ QUOTE ]
Another benefit of learning how to do a modified footlock is that if you are ever away from the tree trying to ascend is a heck of a lot easier than body thrusting!With a line tending pulley you don't have to worry about slack in your line either your feet will take it out!!
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

A very effecient way to footlock is to foot lock on a single line with a hitch and micro pulley tied at your harness. in other words not extended above you head. This allows you to sit on your VT after every lock and take as much time as you need to get a good lock. You can go pretty fast and you dont wear out your arms at all. Then, here it is, of course, clip the F8 revolver on and work the tree.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

[ QUOTE ]
A very effecient way to footlock is to foot lock on a single line with a hitch and micro pulley tied at your harness. in other words not extended above you head. This allows you to sit on your VT after every lock and take as much time as you need to get a good lock. You can go pretty fast and you dont wear out your arms at all. Then, here it is, of course, clip the F8 revolver on and work the tree.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, now I gotta try it. I use ascenders to rest but the hitch thing sounds even better.
 
Re: Don\'t tell me you can\'t footlock

Using a hitch like that is similar to having a chest ascender in an SRT setup. If the CA is bungied there is no loss of upward movement and it's comfy to take a break on the ascent.
 
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