Free Climbing in your free time

R

rangerdanger

Location
Lexington, Kentucky
Seeing Jeff's thread about the 3 points of contact made me think of this.

When I hang out with friends, a lot of times we go to the park and climb around on the playground and go climb some different trees just for the fun of it in the park. They aren't difficult trees or anything. Usually things with a lot of limbs and stuff. Whenever we climb, trees at least, we follow the three points of contact rule.

I know it's not the smartest thing, but I'm wondering who all on here has done things like this, or still does them. I think I recall Kevin(treebing) saying he did stuff like this in the morning and that helped him get practice in for TCC's and stuff. I've found its definitly helped me a lot, because when I climb with a rope and saddle, I try to use the tree more than my rope when climbing.
 
I've freeclimbed many times. It's a good mental and physical activity. At work I have such a trust and comfort in my rope and harness that the climb isn't as 'in my face'. I would never equate a bit of tree climbing with the 'free climbing' that rock jocks do...but it is at the lower end of the same spectrum.

When I bought my touring kayak I went on my first solo wilderness paddling trip. Being self-sufficient was a very enlightening process. Something that I think of is the 'Oops Factor'. When doing things that are on the edge the 'Ooops Factor' is always nearby. Really, there shouldn't be a difference...but being solo means that no one is in camp...or in the tree...just in case.

Sometimes when I rope-climb I pretend that the rope isn;t there. I climb the tree and just tend slack. My goal is to climb like I'm leading, with the chance of falling, but, in reality, I'm safetied in.
 
Ever since I worked with countryboypa I've been climbing the tree a lot more than climbing the rope and it's helped my productivity a little bit.

I find the unicender is a huge factor during srt. With the unicender hooked directly to my saddle and my lanyard thrown over my shoulder hooked to the uni, the uni becomes a self tailing device which enables me to climb freely without having to tend slack.

I do the same with removals. Instead of using my lanyard traditionally I use the same method described with the uni but instead I spike up. It doesn't work on all trees (huge trees can be an issue)
 
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When I hang out with friends, a lot of times we go to the park and climb around on the playground and go climb some different trees just for the fun of it

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How old are you now? Shouldn't you and your friends be smoking pot and breaking windows somewhere? These kids today . . .
 
Sounds like a good time with friend (free climbing at the park)
Just stay safe. We used to do it in college at night then jump out and scare the drunks walking back to there dorms! Literally scared the piss out of one girl! So worth it! Great memories
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Leave the long limbwalks and hard climbs for rope and saddle!
 
Tree climbing was a major activity for the neighborhood kids when I was young. We had some great trees to play in. I still get a different rush free climbing. It's even more scary now that I know the risks and limitations.

There is a bushcraft/native traditional skills author named Tom Brown who recommended tree climbing as the best exercise.
 
" I find the unicender is a huge factor during srt. With the unicender hooked directly to my saddle and my lanyard thrown over my shoulder hooked to the uni, the uni becomes a self tailing device which enables me to climb freely without having to tend slack. "

Family,

Could you put up a picture of this...or diagram it some how.

Eric
 
We regularly do "Feats of Strength".
Hand over hand up a rope, low lateral limb>see how far you can go out and come back, ladder type trees>see how high or circle around and be able to come down with out using your legs.
Regular tree work/climbing keeeps the core strong but the arms/upper body needs to be tested so that the time you need to hang on with one arm so the other arm can prune or tie something off is pretty important!
 
I may have smoked too much pot when I was breaking windows earlier, but, what is a rep chin?
 
When I was a kid Tarzan was our favorite game to play. We never did have a Jane though. Lots of time in the trees. We moved away from the woods house when I was in 4th grade. When I went back there in my college years I found that the trees had shrunk...of maybe the ground rose. The low branches were soooo much lower...I dunno how that happened?!

The red oaks in the woods didn't make for very good climbers. We did have some plywood platforms to use.

I only fell once. Landed flat on my back and knocked the wind out of me...I thought that I was dieing. Crying got my breath back!
 
Word up, one of my favorite things to do is find a big doug fir with branches or dead stubs down to the ground and free climb to the top. In the right spots you can climb trees from the ground, sans rope, that are 100+ ft tall.

It's a good mental exercise, similar to a leading in rock climbing. It helps you realize that you're actually a lot more dexterous than you think you are.
 
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" I find the unicender is a huge factor during srt. With the unicender hooked directly to my saddle and my lanyard thrown over my shoulder hooked to the uni, the uni becomes a self tailing device which enables me to climb freely without having to tend slack. "

Family,

Could you put up a picture of this...or diagram it some how.

Eric

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I'll see what I can do. I rarely ever use a real computer these days so if you are impatient send me a pm with your cell phone number and I'll text it to you.

Word.
 
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All I've got to say is that it's amazing what the human body is capable of, and it's equally amazing how little we humans tap that potential.

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Gotta love America!!
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Word up, one of my favorite things to do is find a big doug fir with branches or dead stubs down to the ground and free climb to the top. In the right spots you can climb trees from the ground, sans rope, that are 100+ ft tall.

It's a good mental exercise, similar to a leading in rock climbing. It helps you realize that you're actually a lot more dexterous than you think you are.



i wish there was a like button
 
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