I watched this video earlier today on my phone. The screen was to small to see what was actually going on. I was looking forward to coming home and watching it on my iPad to see the technique being used, but it's been deleted. Can someone tell me what was going on in the video. It didn't look like something I'd use but wanted to see how it was done.
My apologies. I get the feeling that I directly caused this video to get taken down by asking my questions of Kevin. Just too much heat for the man who posted the video in the first place. It was not my intent to cause him any kind of a problem. I was just trying to ask the inventor and much more experienced climber than myself what he thought of it.
Everything we do when we are up in the trees is ultimately our own responsibility. I understand that, and would never try to cause any grief to someone for bringing a new product to market, or for demonstrating a new technique. It's too bad Johnny Pro felt the need to pull the video. I think we're all big boys, and can decide for ourselves what we are comfortable with.
I'll try to recall the gist of the technique, to the best of my recollection. In spite of the fact that possibly Kevin and Johnny Pro would prefer it if I just let the technique die. I just don't believe that a lack of knowledge is ever a good thing.
The essential idea was to take two very small diameter but very strong ropes, and to get them tossed up and over two sides of a broad spreading tree, SRT style, with the spliced eyes both connecting to the same carabineer in the center.
Then, run the tails of both ropes through the carabineer, also. After that, both tails are run through the one single Rope Runner, and down to the ground. What this does is it makes the location of the carabineer the primary suspension point. And the fact that both ropes are running through the same carabineer means that they run close to each other, and parallel to each other, straight down to the Rope Runner.
With this as the setup, Johnny Pro was able to use two foot ascenders to climb, which meant he did not have to hassle with the amount of spring back a bungee might provide for a knee ascender. Each foot was able to rise as much as was possible, comfortably.
The other hugely important aspect of his technique, if I understand it correctly, is that Johnny Pro was able to change the primary suspension point at will, to anywhere along a line delineated by the highest branches on each side of the tree over which the ropes passed. All Johnny Pro had to do was lanyard in, pull his two ropes out of his Rope Runner, and then pull on one rope or the other to cause the carabineer to move left or right. This effectively changes his primary suspension point.
By doing so, he was able to drop right down on top of a limb on the other side of the tree, and easily limb walk out, due to the decreased rope angle.
I've probably already said all of this in a previous post, and this time makes it no clearer. There is no substitute for the video, unfortunately. It's late right now, and I'm tired. Maybe I'll try to draw up a picture and post it here tomorrow.
Thanks for listening, and Kevin, I meant no offense by all of this.
Tim
