Maybe its just me but when did it stop being tree climbing. It seems to kind of be morphing into high angle rope work. Dont get me wrong, I love all the new gear/toys. But you still have to be able to climb without them. What happened to working with what the tree gives you? Your body positioning, balence, and for lack of a better word(feel), all suffer when you spend most of your time climbing up ropes. Im not trying to dog anybody or say they cant climb. For me I think you should learn how to rope adavance into a large tree and work it with just one rope and a lanyard. Im not saying that how it should always be done. There are much faster ways to go. But if you learn these skills in the begining your body position, balence, and feel will be much better than someone who learned to ascend a rope into the tree and use lots of re-directs etc. I have seen plenty of guys who are badass with a throw ball, can srt super fast into the tree, and then spend for ever trying to move through the tree casue they are not really comfortable TREE climbing. Just my experience, not directed at anybody.
(Just to be clear when I am using "you" in this post I am addressing the reader, not anyone in particular)
Sherwood's post was great a while back!
It’s Climbing Arborist, not Swinging Arborist.
Tree climbing is what we do and the rope is there to keep us off the ground (until we have completed what we went up for). Haven't you ever found yourself relying on your rope too much. Maybe trying to inch your hitch up little by little rather than simply walking up the branches? Or being held back by a lanyard when climbing up around big limbs?
I found that I stopped climbing the tree when I attached a rope to myself and tried to climb the rope rather. HOWEVER, the rope is a great and necessary tool for safely accessing the tree and work positions you would not be able to achieve without it. Climbing is your first means of attachment, the rope is a tool to help you get around safely and efficiently. Use the tools to help you climb, not the other way around. If you find yourself climbing to use the tools, than your climbing suffers. I know using the gear is what's fun, and maybe that is what recreational climbing is for.
Multiple lines can be beneficial I’m sure, and do offer a more secure work environment, I wouldn’t necessarily go as far to say ‘safer’.
Secure vs. Safer: With multiple lines you are more secure, as you are tied in multiple times. But that creates more lines to manage and look out for. Pruning is a separate matter, but with removals having more than one line to look out for when rigging sections of the tree can be costly. There is much more of a chance to catch your line with a top or large limb etc, and yank you around. You might not hit the ground, but you sure could get yourself into a mess. Now I know you would take all the necessary precautions to keep this from happening, but when you are obligated to have two ropes in the tree for your required redundant TIP you have no choice but to have more lines zagging across the tree. Safety is important, but at what point do you cross the line? Or should I say lines?
Be safe, and live to write another post on the Buzz.
