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Mark Chisholm

Mark Chisholm

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I've tried a few things and have read a few ideas here, but would like to seen what you all think of a particular situation. Simply put, how do you all go about using SRT to climb a tree from the ground up on spikes and then remove the tree and bail out to pull the trunk over? I am curious if anyone has made any little tweaks to do this efficiently.
 
Running bowline with Yosemite tie off to the top for working my way up with the Rope Wrench, brush the tree out with the same set up. When chunking wood, i normally remove the RW and just simply use a running bowline with a biner behind it that captures the tail of my line, and use the tail as belay to the next cut. Simple and retrievable. To drop the rest of the spar to be honest i have a lowering line set up, i tie it off and repel down on the lowering line.

How bout i come out there for a week and show you a couple tricks.
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pantin on, the CF geckos fit on top-the pantin and gaff are next to each other.So ill spike up when but using the pantin as normal to trap the rope- this also limits the chance of gafffing your rope mr c
 
Mark,
Are you talking about starting with no rope in the tree? If so I would recommend using a steel 'biner on the end of your climb line and chocking your rope on the way up. same as climbing double just choking your climb line instead of hooking back into your bridge/hitch climber.
 
I use a steel biner or a delta in an eye spice to choke the spar on the way up when needed, When it's time to come down I tie a Butterfly with a tail that I can reach from the ground and capture my line with a delta again.

I think this is what you are asking about.

One other option is to use a HH in that situation because you can switch at any time. I do this often on large trees because I can use my climbing line as a second lanyard on the way up but still tie in SRT
 
I might set a base anchor and convenient TIP to do the crown removal. If things were too 'busy' with brush removal or rigging at the base a choked tie-off with a screwlink and pull down tail would be used.

Choke and pulldown for the trunk chunking.

I NEVER would condone using a rigging line to rap out of a tree. Rigging is rigging. Climbing is climbing...never shall they meet.
 
You can easily turn a base anchor into a choked set up for spar work. Begin with the base tie to get up and begin brushing things out, as you can work on the way up. When you're ready to transfer into a canopy anchored system, just lanyard in and slack out the base tie side enough to install an Alpine Butterfly and Delta Link to capture the working end. Have a ground man untie the base anchor and use that leg for retrieval as you're working the spar down.

Or,

Set the base anchor using two lines joined together so that the connection ends up just below the TIP. Once you reach that point, you can lanyard in, dump the base tie altogether, and work off the line without managing the base tie side anymore.
 
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I NEVER would condone using a rigging line to rap out of a tree. Rigging is rigging. Climbing is climbing...never shall they meet.

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I think it is both practical and safe to use a rigging line (caveat: in good condition) to rappel out of a tree. Being dogmatic vs practical in this situation could be both inefficient and not add one iota to safety.
If you cannot trust a rigging line to support a climber's weight, then perhaps it is time to retire said line.
 
I generally just set a high choked TIP with a screw link, then when the victim is brushed off I tie a butterfly with a tail. Long or short depending on whether I can fell it or have to chunk it real short. Then chunk my way down to fellable height.
 
I generally do what Derrick described: pull up a running bowline with a Yosemite tie off. Length of the tail is estimated at where I intend to take the top, so that I can pull down the cinch from where I'll take out the head and not have to climb back up.

For chunking down wood I use the same setup, with the tail being roughly the length I'll be taking the chunks. In use it's pretty similar to working a spar with a cinching friction saver, except simpler. If I need to rappell off a sizable spar I pull up my tail until there is a bight at the ground, then attach the bight in my hands to the tail of the cinching knot for pull down.

I rarely use basal anchors for 'standard' removals. Occasionally I throw the pantin on below the spikes, especially if spiking up the tree will be a pain.
 
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Fine...for you, not me. I already have a climbing line, why not use it?


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In a scenario where you only have a spar left, I'm curious as to the methodology and time involved to secure and retrieve said climbing line. (vs descending on a fig. 8 attached to the rigging line).
I suppose my number one reason for doing what I do is because I think it is the most efficient way to come out of the tree, but I come here to learn as well as argue!
 
Ascend SRT on spikes Heres the little trick i use for the initial ascent on removals. Running Bowline with Yosemite tie off, I then tie off my chainsaw about a foot off the ground, use something (in this case my lanyard) to tend my hitch and Rope Wrench. Then away you go, pull up my chainsaw and get to work. If you need to advance your TIP its easy since the tail of your rope is right there. Ascend in a typical Ddrt system and then use another Running Bowline with back up as your canopy tie off and get to work.
 
I'm not sure how I would go about doing it double line, I suppose you would need to rig up some sort of adjustable friction saver. I sometimes get my ground guy to hold the rope taught, I hold my system high using lanyard or chest strap and just climb away.
 
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Set the base anchor using two lines joined together so that the connection ends up just below the TIP. Once you reach that point, you can lanyard in, dump the base tie altogether, and work off the line without managing the base tie side anymore.

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I like that idea oceans! Base anchor or canopy anchor is always a first question for setting a line. (well, second question, first being how am I going to get that damn little throw bag up there
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) anyway, great hybrid solution since I generally work or play alone and don't have that ground guy to untie the base.
 
Thanks guys. I was a little vague and should've said that I was looking to access via just spikes and wanted to use the system on the way up. I am looking to ditch the throw line for this idea. I typically use my lanyard and then trade off for the ddrt system. Sometimes chuck a small amount up ten or twenty feet and thrust up and cut as I go. What do you think?
 
Most of the time I find it easier to set a high TIP and be on rope all of the time.

Instead of tying on a chainsaw I have a 16 oz throwbag with a short loop of shoe lace tied on. This gets girth hitched onto the rope to hold jst a small bit of tension/load on the rope. I tried heavier weights and they always pull the rope out of the Pantin. Also, there was always a time in the ascent that the rope would snag or I would go off the straight ascent line and that would lift the chainsaw. Throwbag stays on the line until I pull up my tail. then it goes on my harness for lobbing my 20'+ lanyard up ahead of me. Or...the tail of my rope.
 
I HATE Lanyarding up trees. I will do practically anything to avoid it. I would potentially kiss Riggs on the mouth to not have to flip line up a trunk ever again. In pine windsails where I can't get a good high tie in I will advance with line and lanyards and cut as I go.
 
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