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I'm kinda in between...been climbing for 18 yrs...i'm 35. I have to say i have learned the most from the older climbers i have had the privilege to work with. Many techniques and methods have been tweaked and improved upon...no doubt...but the core principals remain the same. I have the most respect for the men who have pioneered the tree industry so we have the understanding and technology that we have today.
I have also rock climbed for the past 19 yrs. I feel in this regard there are many similaritys. I have had the privilege to climb with Steve Arsunalt and Henry Barber many times...they have shown me that experience and technique outweigh youth any day.
When i was a teen i learned how to rig and remove trees from a man who was 67 at the time. He could footlock 60+ feet with no prusik like it was nothing. He had been climbing since he was 16. I am greatful for everything he taught me.
Improvements will always be made and there will always be a better way of doing something right around the corner but i strongly feel that respect is always due to those who came before us.
There is good reason to know how to tie a tautline. Also, knowing its limitations. At the same time a complete climber should know how to tie a three loop bowline harness. These are basic fundamentals that need to be mastered...just in case.
The question is...does a new climber start out using a tautline? I say absolutely not! Get the new climber up in the tree having fun and being productive first. Then, go back to teach the rudimentary skills. The limitations of the tautline/rope harness are so huge that they really won't be used unless the climber is in that 'just in case' situation.
If I had my 'druthers a new climber would go right onto SRT using a Unicender or Rope Wrench right from day one. Then, when they are comfortable and efficient at moving around on SRT go back and learn DdRT climbing with a sliptail or eye/eye hitch.
ok jo, then mine is NOT a tautline but a modified prussik. I guess then it does not have the limitations that Tom refers to! But I agree about SRT, the best way to ascend imo.
I tried SRT a few times. Felt strange to me, not enough rope in my hand. But tail tending is much easier and faster. I'm sure I could get used to it in time on large prunes for sure.
One minor drawback to SRT that I noticed is that I obviously can no longer split my lines and get support from behind me while hand sawing the terminal ends of laterals when I'm way out there. Twisting right or left to trim those ends would get old real fast. Young guys can take all that twisting. But unfortunately I'm gettin old!
Balled and slicked a Canary Island Date Palm from the ground to about 35 feet up this morning. Nasty exhausting work carving crud with a 365 for two hours spiraling around that fat nasty monster. So glad cleaning up the mess I made is not my problem though!
Working in trees has been going on for quite some time now, but this is a brand new industry. Imagine what it will be like in the future! Don't be afraid to share your knowledge. I remember one of the first times I wore a helmet in a tree, the guys asked if I was taking a skateboard up there with me.
Two lines coming down from your TIP. Split them and dive through them. Now you have a line on both sides of your waist supporting you from behind. This allows you to work the terminal ends of laterals facing outwards with no twisting to one side or the other whatsoever ever Tom.
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Two lines coming down from your TIP. Split them and dive through them. Now you have a line on both sides of your waist supporting you from behind. This allows you to work the terminal ends of laterals facing outwards with no twisting to one side or the other whatsoever ever Tom.
Been doin it that way for decades!
Jomoco
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Now thats a cool "old school" trick og the book (note taken).
But I do wonder what it's like if you should slip and take a swing...
Where do you attach the two ends? If you attach one to each side d-ring you're not following the saddle design. Now...don't get your feathers ruffled. Support ropes are supposed to attach to the front point, not lanyard or side dees.
No Tom. I've always climbed with a standard four D saddle. The lines are attached to my lower D's with a single rope clip. As old school as it gets short of a rope saddle!
Nothing new at all. Climbers have been using the split DRT technique since before either of us were born.
I learned it from Rich Magargal, who's a heck of a lot older than you by a decade or so!
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Two lines coming down from your TIP. Split them and dive through them. Now you have a line on both sides of your waist supporting you from behind. This allows you to work the terminal ends of laterals facing outwards with no twisting to one side or the other whatsoever ever Tom.
Been doin it that way for decades!
Jomoco
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Now thats a cool "old school" trick og the book (note taken).
But I do wonder what it's like if you should slip and take a swing...
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That's what a lanyards for when you're on unsure footing or anything iffy.
Not being tied in at two points is the golden rule I probably break the most, other than one handing my climbsaw that is.
One of the reasons I'm careful not to recommend my methods and techniques to other climbers, particularly greenies with less than a decade's experience under their belts.
tautline was very compatible with manilla (hemp) half inch climbing line I climbed on for a few years.
Non safety double snap made a nice bomb for tossing through crotches and manilla was very light and got lighter with use. Probably some of the chlorophyll evaporated in it lol. Sometimes tho it dry rotted in the middle esp. if used in orchards and caused some fatalities.
One of the reasons I'm careful not to recommend my methods and techniques to other climbers, particularly greenies with less than a decade's experience under their belts.
Jomoco
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Guess I'll have to wait a couple of years before trying it out, since I still quallify as a greeny!
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Nothing new at all. Climbers have been using the split DRT technique since before either of us were both
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Agreed...I tried that out years ago and really couldn't get comfy. It always felt like someone was trying to pull be over backwards. its a good techinque if you can make it work for you.
Using it with a floating bridge makes it much easier.
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If I had my 'druthers a new climber would go right onto SRT using a Unicender or Rope Wrench right from day one. Then, when they are comfortable and efficient at moving around on SRT go back and learn DdRT climbing with a sliptail or eye/eye hitch.
ya know some of you retired ole school types like joke o moke and treeseer and dunlop and treeco should get together and form a shuffleboard league or something fun
A few real climbers post up a few pics and vids of great work for other climbers to enjoy and comment on, and what's his response? Snide belittling remarks followed by pics of him on a pony with his feet barely off the ground!
Why can't we accept that both OS and NS have something valuable to share without extreme prejudice from both sides?
I'm certainly secure enough in my abilities to post up pics and vids of my work and ideas and take the heat without turning each thread into a dog and pony show due to my insecurities.
We all need to be able to laugh at ourselves at times. But gee whiz, with TV popping up so often with bulging muscles and armed to the teeth for war against society, I'm finding it hard to catch my breath and breathe properly from laughing at his manly brave antics online!
I'm certainly secure enough in my abilities to post up pics and vids of my work and ideas and take the heat without turning each thread into a dog and pony show due to my insecurities.
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Well, the pony pic's been posted. We need some dog pics now. I don't think you need to be riding them though.
I'm happy to learn from anyone with something useful to say, old school or new. I'm just a greenie too.
(note taken). 
