No throwball , can't climb it!

Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
Is climbing without a throwbag , going up a tree limb to limb "old school".

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I’m not too keen on that term ‘Old School’! A technique is either practical as a solution or not. Just because a particular technique has been used for many years doesn’t mean it should be categorized and with the added misconception that it has somehow now been superseded.

Throwline technique is just one example of a modern ‘variation’ of ascending technique, there should be no New and Old in this instance. Sure we have more modernized equipment and varied techniques nowdays but the foundation surely remains the same.

The quote also suggests to me that it was a pretty easy climb.

Perhaps his training may have pre-conditioned him a little one-dimensional. I’m not making excuses for someone I don’t know and especially since I wasn’t there but who knows what he’s been taught in the past. We’ve all got to start somewhere!

As for ladders, I’ll use them wherever they’re available, whatever gives me an easier advantage! All that ‘Real climbers don’t use ladders’ nonsense. When I have to go up to our bathroom I don’t ignore the stairs and instead choose to climb the banister just because I’m a treeclimber! Anyhow, just my two pennies worth on what is a beautiful morning here.
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Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

I can think of trees that I couldn't climb without a throwball unless I used spikes or a ladder (which I don't carry)... but then again, my throwline is always in the bag with my harness and rope and stuff, including spare throwballs.

A steel rigging biner makes a decent throw weight as long as you don't hang it up. I use either that or a monkey's fist for throwing my rope while I'm in the tree.

I've forgotten gear before but if I were on a job and couldn't climb because I left something important behind and couldn't improvise, I would expect to go home unpaid.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

does anybody recall those rubber ball style throwballs...they were hard rubber and shaped alittle like a tear drop? when i was first starting out, one of my instructors was recalling the time he threw his line up the tree, the ball came down, bounced on the sidewalk and landed in the bed of a pickup truck driving down the street...there went his throwline.

a tip for those of you who don't like to have the led rain down on you from a busted throw weight is to dip it in liquid plastic. Home Depot, Lowes, Menards carry a product called "PlastiDip" in the paint department by the spraypaints. It is a liquid rubber that you dip the bag in, let it dry and you have a more durrable bag. It works well. i also dip the end of my ropes in it after i tape them...keeps the tape from unraveling and helps to identify my things.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
Punk climbers.....


Hucklebuck up the tree like a man! (or a woman- if Kathy Holzer reads this
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SZ

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hahaha!
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(are you callin me old school ez..?)

my climber chris and i have this conversation all the time. both of us have both skill-sets (throwball and "muckling?"), but i have less patience and am more production minded. fine with me if he throws at a high target for a while - increased skill is a good thing. there's a point though when a ladder would be WAY faster..the boss has to growl out "where's the ladder?! get on up there boy!". in some trees only a ladder and/or "muckling" will work, in others only a throwball - in most around here i wind up with a combination of techniques.

it's all good. having an open mind is the best skill of all i think - many tools in the proverbial toolbox.

my 2 cents.
k.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
what the hell is hucklebucking?

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its got a few different meanings renta, its not specific to treeclimbing ahhh, someone else can tell you...country folk hucklebuckle......She hucklebucked, forget about it......I dunno.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
modernized

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traitor.....just kidding Reg, wise words indeed.

Nice pic by the way, I thought you lived in 'dark satanic mills' country. How wrong was I? Do you own the sheep? Why does one of them have no legs?
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

Throwlines, like lots of things in life, come in pairs. A climber should never have one throwline, two lines and four bags is the proper kit, nothing less. Why the minimalist approach to work when any hunter probably has several rifles/guns, just one rod or reel, I don't theeenk soooo...

I get a boot out of having this conversation with people who carry around two cell phones. HUH?

Glen is right, all climbers need to know the most basic techniques and not get infected with PCM like Tockmal said.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
[...]
recalling the time he threw his line up the tree, the ball came down, bounced on the sidewalk and landed in the bed of a pickup truck driving down the street...there went his throwline.
[...]

[/ QUOTE ]

That's hysterical!
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Glad I wasn't drinking coffee just then. They still have those rubber throwballs at the Sherrills store where I get my gear.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

He may not have the training and could've used that from you instead of being chastised. I've used all the techniques to get up a tree except spurring on a pruning job. I was fortunate to have a boss willing to teach all of them to me.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

I reckon the more and biggest variety of techniques we've got to use in this work the better.

I just shake my head here every time I read someone come up with another golden rule for everybody (like "never use ladders" )after someone comes to grief when their technique that could have been better.

Last week I had a very long flat and over-heavy limb to remove over a garden. The only reasonable high point was a dead limb way up in the tree beside it which became my primary tie in point ( tricky to get with throw bag, practically impossible without.) Then I used a ladder for somewhere to put my feet ( made it much easier) then when I got a good look at the primary high point and saw how it was a bit lacking I got another lower good one with the help of a home made hook I have for my 6.2 metre (19') Barnel pole. The job became very safe even though it was still a bit awkward (not uncommon, eh?)

Maybe if the high point can't be seen well enough a pair of binoculars might help. Or just get a point you can see.

Pete
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

Sometimes you have to climb ugly. I am working on my big shot skills and if I had a boss watching me he'd probably have a fit. Fortunately and unfortunately I am my own boss and have to get pissed at myself sometimes and shoot for the lower target and just get up the darned tree. I was taking so long to get my TIP the other day, I almost fired myself. I'm also the HR person at my company and stepped in and calmed the dispute down. Its real schizophrenic being a small business owner. What was the topic?
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
Sometimes you have to climb ugly. [...] I was taking so long to get my TIP the other day, I almost fired myself. [...]

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That's my only problem with throwlines... sometimes it takes me 30 minutes just to get the stinkin' rope in the tree. Big shot with a trigger is a nice way to go.

You know what i really hate... having that nice big gap to shoot at and bouncing the ball off the limbs on either side 3 or 4 time before the ball actually goes between them... what's up with that? It's like magnetism or something.
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Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

HuckleBuckle - v. the act of advancement in a tree using the arms and legs, sometimes accompanied by scrapes and the occasional swear word.


SZ
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]



HuckleBuckle - v. the act of advancement in a tree using the arms and legs, sometimes accompanied by scrapes and the occasional swear word.


SZ

[/ QUOTE ]
otherwise known as: "Hog style or Dog style"
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

i envision hucklebucking as the reverse of sliding down a fire pole. It, to me, is the method of going up the pole (tree) by pinching your legs and worming your way up. I did that in a savannah holly a week ago. then i cut her down. i guess i won.

i've been toying with the idea of training a monkey with a knife to help me on the jobs. He could set my line, devestate any bee hives that might be up there, and quietly threaten the existence of anyone who decides to disturb my work zone. the possibilities are endless. I think a falcon would help too but they don't have thumbs.
 
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