Footlocking at Work

[poetmk]

Looks like a big Blue Gum Euc behind you I'm starting to miss those big trees (well, sort of



peace,

mk

 

[Bodean]

Here's the tree, for perspective.

I use the Butterfly knot to bring my lines closer on a large diameter limb.

 

[poetmk]

That is a BIG tree! Is that in the Presidio? I use the Butterfly too - it makes it possible to get up near those giant limbs

peace,

mk

 

[stephen]

How tall was that tree and what would you estimate it's width? I,m an SRT man on a huge tree like that one with no lower branches, but most of ours here in Middle England in the UK aren't so lofty!!
I think there's still something of a feel and sort of sport to climbing through a low spread but still lofty tree finding and feeling your way 'till it's summit (as it were!!)
It can sometimes tell you alot on the way up!
Admittedly slower, but on a dense canopy here its often the only way-my bigshot gathers dust sometimes!!
Also, I am truly crap at footlocking!!!
Respect though to you sir..
This is a bit what i look like at footlocking...>

 

[Bodean]

The tree was maybe 130ish at the tippy top leaves.
The diameter of dripline at maybe 200'

I could be totally off but I bet I'm pretty close.
Here's a picture of the high ranger next to it.
That's about 35 feet long.

I just bought an srt setup for the crew to try out,
I was piqued by someone at a climb, I went to.

So I hope to learn it, as another tool or technique for the proper application.

 

[Bodean]

Looking down.

 

[Fred_Berkelhammer]

[ QUOTE ]
There's a trick where people who footlock like Bodean is doing, but they run one side through a alpine butterfly to keep the rope together if around a large limb.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like to set my adjustible fs from the ground, adjusting its length to the estimated circumference of the limb, to keep it together for footlocking.

 

[Nathan]

The AplineBF has advantages. Then only one end of the rope can slip with a bad lock (safer) and like Bodean mentioned, it keeps the ends closer together so that klemheist will hold when you get up there.

I do this with the climbing line while the throwline is attached so a mid-line knot is needed as well as the biner for mid-line clipping on to the throwline.

After the throwline and harrison rocket clipped into the spliced climbing line (with a small ISC gator) go over the desired crotch, I put a small loop AlpineBfly in the climbing line and clip a normal locking biner to this loop. Then clip the biner around the throwline and keep pulling.........
Then the gator, rocket, and climbing line will all pass through the biner coming down while the biner and AlpineBfly go up.

Ok, maybe a pic would be better.

 

[poetmk]

[ QUOTE ]

Ok, maybe a pic would be better.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[WWCTreeCrew]

You know... what I've been trying lately for access is setting the rope as if I were going to footlock up both end with a prussik, I tie the alpine BF so the one leg on the line is choked... like Nathan said...but I climb the one leg SRT. That way, if I want to stop half way up and work, I can pull down the alpine BF and switch over to my working set-up. I just think that footlocking single line is so much easier than double line.

I also add that biner in there like Nathan said cause then the other side on the line can just be unclipped instead of pulled all the way through to untie the Alpine BF.

 

[Mark Chisholm]

Beauty of a tree Bodean!!!

 

[Nathan]

Finally a pic!