SRT article in Tree Care Industry Magazine

First rate article, Tom.
wink.gif
 
Very enjoyable read, Tom. The kind of stuff that keeps me reading countless posts. Why no Rope Wrench mention? Was it too new, or un-head of at the time of the article? I'm not in any way trying to be critical. The article is a very informative article as it is, as an intro to SRT. Just curious.
 
High C,

Kevin did a WR demo on the stage at Expo. The audience was really switched on!

Since I'm not familiar enough with the WR system I didn't include it in my article. There was a word-count that I had to hit.

Kevin will have his opportunity to have his own WR article!
 
cool article, 1 question: what about both using 2 ascenders (1 of which must be a 0 slack attachment) AND a back up hitch above the top ascender? i have seen & heard of 2 ascenders fail/slip/open on a single line a number of times, in industrial rope access this transfers the climbers weight to his/her back up line but as we seldom use a second line in arb i try to promote the 2+a hitch back up system. just a thought M
 
I don't feel that a 'backup' hitch above an ascender is the best system.

My tack is to approach ascent with two attachment points. the lower one is passive. This is typically a chest ascender or something along those lines.

When I hear stories about ascenders opening I really want to to a thorough CSI-Climb Scene Investigation- and find the root problem. In any cases where good detective work has been done the conclusion is that it is pilot error for the most part. But! If pilot error happens so often then maybe the system should be abandoned or modified.\

What works in other roped climbing milieus may not be the best solution for arb work.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't feel that a 'backup' hitch above an ascender is the best system.

My tack is to approach ascent with two attachment points. the lower one is passive. This is typically a chest ascender or something along those lines.

When I hear stories about ascenders opening I really want to to a thorough CSI-Climb Scene Investigation- and find the root problem. In any cases where good detective work has been done the conclusion is that it is pilot error for the most part. But! If pilot error happens so often then maybe the system should be abandoned or modified.\

What works in other roped climbing milieus may not be the best solution for arb work.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very true and I agree as well Tom. My Croll is my passive backup.

I like your CSI analogy as well.
 
Ive been thinking about this a lot and have personally concluded that one very good, bomb proof connection is far better than two or three iffy, non rated, one directional connections that are locked in when weighted. backups and extra attachments complicate things and SRT gets dangerous when overcomplications hinder a rescue or self rescue.

I personally like being attached to a hitch only and use a conventional descent device or a rope wrench. In the case of a unicender, why tie into other ascenders if you are comfortable with only a unicender for working the tree? as for a gri gri like tool, why tie into that upper ascender in Rads? use it as a climbing aid only.

By incorporating mutiple attachments, that is all the more attachments that you have to undo youself from in order to come down. I think ascenders are great for aiding climbing but really are not ideal for tieing into even if you tie into two or three of them.
 
The reason i advise the hitch backup is because it will not be effected by bits of leaf, twig bark etc.

I have known 2 ascenders in arb to fail similtaniously when two forign objects jammed in them, the only reason the climber on the line didn't descend rapidly was because his pantin was gripping. He only realised his ascenders had stopped functioning because his foot-loop from the handled acender wasnt gripping, went to sit on his croll to sort it out & ended up up-side down in an auful human knot, he righted him-self un-did his croll camm to release the crud that was in it and re installed it on his rope, sat into it then did the same for his handled ascender. If it wasnt for his pantin he would have taken a big fall, the ascenders may have gripped further down as the friction freed/wore down the forign object/s which may have stopped him hitting the ground oer more likely just bent the ascenders or broke the rope and on the freak chance that neither were to happen your internal injuries from the sudden arrest might finish you off anyway.

No irata climber would dream of clipping into 2 ascenders without a third on a back up line, i have seen some very experianced IRTA guys back up thier devices with a hitch above the top ascender when they had to inspect a victorian bridge, their reason being that the crud falling off the bottom of the bridge had the potential to block all of their ascenders at once, these guys are not overly cautious chaps, some of the things they do wouls make your stomouch churn the same chaps happily free climb 100's of meters up on antenas & the like.

For the sake of 20seconds extra set up time i don't think is a chance worth taking personally. I just worry that their is an accident waiting to happen tbh, i'm not looking to knock what other people are doing just trying to enhance best practice. Some people in the UK are pushing for arborists to use a complete second line when using ascenders on a single line, it can be done, it takes quite a while longer to set up compared to a hitch & thats why i advocate it because it doesn't dent productivity as much.

kevin is right, ascenders are not as bomb proof as a hitch or a uni, the uni is unique in this respect as it is not so effected by little fragments of crud.

stay safe guys & just to humour your-selves tie a hitch above 1 day to test how inconveniant it is, i use 8mm liros herc and tie an open taught-line with a stoper knot on mine & once in the habit i never looked back.
 
PS i am not advicating single ascender use with a back up hitch: 2 ascenders, 1 of which is a croll or similar eliminating any slack then a hitch above the highest one 2+a hitch :-)
 
[ QUOTE ]
The reason i advise the hitch backup is because it will not be effected by bits of leaf, twig bark etc...

He only realised his ascenders had stopped functioning because his foot-loop from the handled acender wasnt gripping,...

No irata climber would dream of clipping into 2 ascenders without a third on a back up line,...

[/ QUOTE ]

How is it we can see a failure and not recognize the real whys of that failure. Why use equipment that has known limits and then expect them to function beyond those limits.
Every thing has limits. When presented with a "situation" the chosen system and its components can only be expected to function within those limits. Choose wisely. If you can achieve your goals without exceeding those limits, great. If not, using backups as band-aids will not reduce the likelihood of failure, just the consequences of that failure.
What we do, tree climbing, has risk and always will. You can greatly lessen that risk with careful thought and actions but not eliminate it completely. If we choose to go down the zero-risk road, tree climbing will no longer be an option.

Dave
 
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