How do you “ethically” ascend redwoods with weak anchor branches?

My very limited experience with PNW climbers has made me think that there may not be any who never use spurs.
I can throw line it up like I've done it once or twice.
For some, throw line skills and spurless climbing are our competitive advantage, saving us tons of work and risk.



Lots spur everything, like anywhere.
 
No hatin' going on...good natured kidding and jabbing

Find a local...see what they do.
Cowboy stuff mostly , either self taught srt , or more likely the guys in my area doin big trees are not many. And to my knowledge most of not all climb/remove using only spurs flips and MRS . I work in a mostly removal specialty , and so I am learning all of the SRS on my own because it kinda seen as unnecessary. But to me it is important because I don’t plan on staying strictly in removals , and so trying to comprehend the dynamics involved when it comes to my rope placement and anchor in trees that seem to have mostly small and untrustworthy branches , also if a big shot can make clean shots that high into a canopy or do I need a air cannon ? I see thst the basal tie is necessary to make this ascent. Usually in all of the companies I have worked for including Davie , they fliped and spured up redwoods and furs . So my experience in SRS is zero in these types of trees . However I do climb and remove trees like this all the time . But obviously that’s not the same as climbing without harm , and so I know virtually none about this . I appreciate all of your feed back and will experiment with a few techniques and keep you all posted.
 
I do SRT on redwoods sometimes. I like to use my climb line as my lanyard. Hook it back to itself on my bridge. And also have my bridge short as possible. That way if the tie in goes bad u are secured to the tree and can descend if needed. Getting a good tie in on a redwood can be tricky for sure. I think u made a video doing srt on some smaller redwoods on youtube.
Megadosevitaminc is my youtube name. If u search that with tree u can find me.
Where r u climbing redwoods at?
Good luck and be safe up there.
 
I do SRT on redwoods sometimes. I like to use my climb line as my lanyard. Hook it back to itself on my bridge. And also have my bridge short as possible. That way if the tie in goes bad u are secured to the tree and can descend if needed. Getting a good tie in on a redwood can be tricky for sure. I think u made a video doing srt on some smaller redwoods on youtube.
Megadosevitaminc is my youtube name. If u search that with tree u can find me.
Where r u climbing redwoods at?
Good luck and be safe up there.
I’m climbing in the North Bay Area, we do mostly work in the highly populated, thick forested areas like guernville and camp meeker. Like I said earlier very large , younger trees , mostly 2nd/3rd gen . Usually 2.5-5 ft across at the base. Usually stripped sky high for views (long befor I started cutting trees :) so don’t be blaming me lol) but today I got a picture. So these trees are filled with deadwood preventing any type of clean shot into the live canopy. The trees are very close together , yet far enough that jumping to another isn’t always an option. And to top the cake the rubber on our big shot is bout to retire. But here is some pics
 
Beautiful forests. On a totally different scale from my north eastern woods.

Google ISA certified arborist in your area. IMO the ISA cert doesn't mean "legit" but it's a good place to start. People with the cert (at least in my area) tend to be more willing to share their knowledge
 
I would be spiking up those. The bark is so thick on redwoods and if u tread lightly it will not go through. If u wanna be nice to the tree just gaff the thick spots. If the limbs are shaded they will be really brittle and most likely dead.
I have climbed redwoods with pole gaffs that barely grabbed anything. Definitely gotta have a line choked as u go cause they will gaff out. But its doable. Just not real fun.
 
I would be spiking up those. The bark is so thick on redwoods and if u tread lightly it will not go through. If u wanna be nice to the tree just gaff the thick spots. If the limbs are shaded they will be really brittle and most likely dead.
I have climbed redwoods with pole gaffs that barely grabbed anything. Definitely gotta have a line choked as u go cause they will gaff out. But its doable. Just not real fun.
Ya we do it , I just wish One of these nerdy tree guys would hand me a book with the answers to life in it. I want to climb it without spikes I just don’t see how , even with all of the great stuff these guys had to say (that would work in dif situations) I just can’t grasp it. I will be a certified arborist next month, and a lot of my friends are contractors , climbers or other arborists , but I don’t know anyone who climbs these SRS at all in these situations
 
I have been trying to SRT these. But it takes about 20 times longer and people have been spiking them for a very long time around here and they are all still healthy as can be. I try tho cause that's the way things are going.
 
Ya we do it , I just wish One of these nerdy tree guys would hand me a book with the answers to life in it. I want to climb it without spikes I just don’t see how , even with all of the great stuff these guys had to say (that would work in dif situations) I just can’t grasp it. I will be a certified arborist next month, and a lot of my friends are contractors , climbers or other arborists , but I don’t know anyone who climbs these SRS at all in these situations
It can be done, but just a pita. Sometimes it could involve traversing from a tree with more options.
It looks super doable with enough weights. And creativity
 
It can be done, but just a pita. Sometimes it could involve traversing from a tree with more options.
It looks super doable with enough weights. And creativity
The only real option I see that could possibly get me up could be the APTA shoot it up as high as possible over dead wood, go around tree to where ball lands , shoot it again so it lands where I initially started and then possibly work the line against the trunk or as close as possible and with my climb line around the main stem( mostly I’d guess if I’m lucky) and basal tie it off to an adjacent tree if possible. But realistically I need to stay competitive while doing the safest thing I know or can learn to execute safely and if my line is tangled in that mess of deadwood that’s a big hazard
 
Here is a better scale.View attachment 64311

Love it, is that you up on the trunk? These trees are absolutely doable for line setting, the most challenging for sure. When you get new tubing on your big shot try shooting with a 10 or 12' pole, use a full 8' pole (no sections) then put a 4 section on top. You can set up a "pull and hold" with a Klemheist hitch tied with accessory cord on the lower pole, tie a strong non-locking biner to the hold down, put a quick release on the loop of your slingshot pouch. Wichard snap release is the rock on, rock solid snap release despite everyone wanting to cheap out on shitty dog snaps from the hardware store etc. The Wichard snap release is a lifetime tool, will never fail or piss you off. I put a small/strong pear shaped quick link on the bottom eye of the Wichard snap release. Slide the hold down up the 8' section, pull the tubing down grabbing tubing just above the pouch, clip the pear link on the sanp into the Klemheist/carabiner hold down. Pull down and keep going push it down, you can go 6x the slack length of latex tubing. Get comfortable, sight up the pole, keep you upper hand on the back of the pole unless you like getting your knuckles smacked and fire accurately exactly where you want th bag to go. On a good day you can get accuracy within a 1 and 1/2 to 2' circle at 100+ feet with a small amount of practice. Air temperature effects latex tubing performance, above 50f all good, below 30f you need to prewarm in your truck cab to get the high shot, and be quick about it, I wrap the sling head in a hoodie or whatever and don't take it off the sling head until I'm about to fire.

All of you might already know all that, spelling it out to be clear because each detail makes a difference getting an accurate high shot. Using a pull and hold w/snap release improves your accuracy exponentially on a max 6x sling pull, I don't care how much of a rock star you are ;-)

I take the stock tubing off a big shot, use a slightly lighter tubing spec and tune the slack tube length so I can put it to the very bottom of a ten foot pole close enough to 6x length tubing extension ratio. If anyone's interested I'll post the tubing spec.

In this video one shot into a 145' woods white pine with an extensive deadwood zone guarding the first live limbs. You can see the quality of the anchor when I get to it. Doesn't always go that well, (you can hear the hit on a limb, got the good deflection that time) but you can get it in no more than 3 throws most of the time. Feel free to laugh at my ascent system, video is dated on Vimeo 2013 but was shot earlier before I was climbing rop wrench. Microcender with short tether and long foot loop, and hitch below it is the ascent system. Used a bungee HUT to move the Microcender up as I climbed. Same climbing system/slingshot setup was used to access and climb off the grid big PNW old-growth 2010, worked great.


-AJ
 
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The only real option I see that could possibly get me up could be the APTA shoot it up as high as possible over dead wood, go around tree to where ball lands , shoot it again so it lands where I initially started and then possibly work the line against the trunk or as close as possible and with my climb line around the main stem( mostly I’d guess if I’m lucky) and basal tie it off to an adjacent tree if possible. But realistically I need to stay competitive while doing the safest thing I know or can learn to execute safely and if my line is tangled in that mess of deadwood that’s a big hazard
Dude your suggested setup for shooting lines in Reds is a recipe for disaster. If SRT in 2nd growth Reds is what you seek an APTA and a pair of binoculars is a must. It will take hours and hours of practice with an APTA, a throw line, and a 14-16 oz throw ball before you will be able to consistently hit your mark, and hours after that before you will come to understand when you can, and more importantly when you can't employ SRT on a given climb... If you get ahead of yourself you are setting yourself op for serious injury or worse. 2nd growth Reds are a completely different animal than a Fir, Pine, or even an old growth Red, and as such take a very specific skillset to work with in a safe and efficient manner.

I have been wreaking Reds for over 40 yrs and only started using an SRT setup in the last 2-3 yrs. It can be a game changer for sure, but you MUST understand that SRT cannot and should not be used in Reds 100% of the time....


If you don't already know how to properly roll a flip-line I would highly recommend that you do so. Once you can do this efficiently you can employ the technique along with a rope walker setup to ascent SRT without worrying about a fall should your TIP fail....

 
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Dude your suggested setup for shooting lines in Reds is a recipe for disaster. If SRT in 2nd growth Reds is what you seek an APTA and a pair of binoculars is a must. It will take hours and hours of practice with an APTA, a throw line, and a 14-16 oz throw ball before you will be able to consistently hit your mark, and hours after that before you will come to understand when you can, and more importantly when you can't employ SRT on a given climb... If you get ahead of yourself you are setting yourself op for serious injury or worse. 2nd growth Reds are a completely different animal than a Fir, Pine, or even an old growth Red, and as such take a very specific skillset to work with in a safe and efficient manner.

I have been wreaking Reds for over 40 yrs and only started using an SRT setup in the last 2-3 yrs. It can be a game changer for sure, but you MUST understand that SRT cannot and should not be used in Reds 100% of the time....


If you don't already know how to properly roll a flip-line I would highly recommend that you do so. Once you can do this efficiently you can employ the technique along with a rope walker setup to ascent SRT without worrying about a fall should your TIP fail....



Different methods, all good, not a recipe for disaster, never had in issue in redwoods or giant sequoia up into 270'+ range, 140's giant southeast loblolly, tallest white pine in my area 160's to 170's, safety-wise or with effectiveness, cats can be safely skinned many ways. I'm sure your methods are quite effective, you've proven it. Rock on, more strategies/options the better.
-AJ
 
I've been going against naysayers my entire life, I don't give a flying fuck ;-)

The more information out there the better a person can try stuff out and use their excellent brains to figure out what works best for them.
-AJ
 
Different methods, all good, not a recipe for disaster, never had in issue in redwoods or giant sequoia up into 270'+ range, 140's giant southeast loblolly, tallest white pine in my area 160's to 170's, safety-wise or with effectiveness, cats can be safely skinned many ways. I'm sure your methods are quite effective, you've proven it. Rock on, more strategies/options the better.
-AJ
I was not commenting on your post nor your skill set Moss. Your skill as a climber speaks for itself (in a good way). My comment was pointed towards Ptstreeguys idea of shooting a line over some dead limbs, then taking that same line and shooting back over the tree.. A fucking disaster in the making......Trust me....
 

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