Sundays Solo river birch removal - SRT

flyingsquirrel25

flyingsquirrel25

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
South East, PA
This was a fun tree that I removed on Sunday. I had a lot of fun piecing it out. Most of the work was done with a hand saw, just the wood needed the chainsaw. Unfortunately the camera shut off just after I removed my first piece of wood. But everyone knows how that goes. I apologize for its length, I did my best condensing it (45 minutes into just under 15). I tried making up for it with good music.

I got a real good shot of how I attach to the top of the tree for SRT. I use this same set up on prunes when I feel the TIP won't hold the doubled weight of a base tie. Or I have to advance beyond where my throw line skills can get me
crazy.gif
. Hope you enjoy.
grin.gif


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViTBMhqB8FQ&list=UUOfuk0x6LbDsx-ciRjOP-pQ&feature=plcp
 
[ QUOTE ]
... I got a real good shot of how I attach to the top of the tree for SRT. I use this same set up on prunes when I feel the TIP won't hold the doubled weight of a base tie. Or I have to advance beyond where my throw line skills can get me
crazy.gif
. Hope you enjoy.
grin.gif
...

[/ QUOTE ]

Did enjoy! That's an interesting TIP technique (3:25-4:58). Would you consider going into some detail about it? From what I could see, it looked like a monkey-tail with a variation of a taught-line (+fig 8) and an overhand loop stopper -- did I see that right? How (why) did you arrive at those choices? Obviously it's working for you ... just interested in your TIP concepts, and would like to learn more about them, please.
 
Thanks SingleJack, you are very close. The monkey tail is tied with a Taught-line (3 over 3 though) with a figure 8 stopper. The reason I have been using this is I found it easier to modify the taught-line (with more wraps) then the blakes. Also I find it easier to tie the tl with small diameter cord then the blakes.
The overhand stopper is actually an alpine butterfly. The biggest reason I use a stopper at all is I have had the monkey tail slide on me before (actually in this tree), but they only move to the stopper. The AB allows for easy untie when disassembling the system. It's worth noting that when using a monkey tail on small diameter TIPs care must be taken not to allow the hitch, ring or stopper to get jammed in the crotch.
I have been tweaking this for a little bit now. Using ideas our crew has thrown into the system and figuring out what works best for me. Still got some things I want to try and make better but with how well our crew works together and shares ideas I'm sure it will always be a work in progress. Thanks again.
 
Nice man. Lookin good.

Only thing I would recommend, and you're on the right track with the monkey tail techinque, is try the ring/ring friction saver techinque to anchor at your TIP. A lot of the same benefits of the monkey's tail, just no chance of a knot sliding. Very rock solid system, been rocking it more and more.
 
Thanks Casey and ranger. I have played with the ring and ring a bit but I keep going back to the money tail. I guess the reason is the retrieval of the device when breaking down. With the tail there is no need for a throw line for a controlled recovery. I don't know about the rest of you but I spend too much time messing with the stuff. Its great but if I can avoid its tangles it saves me time. My ring and ring is still on my saddle for the chance that I see something I wish to try it again on but normally the monkey tail gets my vote. Thanks again
 
The main reason was because 2 of the 3 leads leaned or were weighted toward the house. The first two leads that I worked on were dropped from where I finished with the handsaw. The third lead was chunked down a bit farther. I felt better taking the extra time to piece it out then having an insurance claim. It did cross my mind though at first but decided to take the time. thanks
 
The length was made up for with the sped up action, made for some exciting moments. Too much helmet in the cam. Ugly landscape. We want more trees. Thanks.
 
Thanks Adkpk. Sorry about the helmet thats one of the issues I have had with the GoPro Hero. Its got a wide viewing angle. Sorry about the landscape too, nothing I could do. I would like to see more trees as well but this house was in a developement, and this was probably one of the bigger trees in it. That and the honey locust across the back yard that can be seen breifly, laying on the ground.
 
birch hinges well and very reliably... looked like an easy drop with the right pull and cut.. still, if you're having fun on the climb and shooting some good video, its all good!

Handsaw was cutting well. I just bought a new zubat and it seems to be far slower than all the other new ones I've had.. $65.. it better cut like a razor! Might switch to the samurai..
 
Excellent retrievable tie in!

I'm going to set it up at the shop and get a closer look.

It is soooooooo exciting to see how SRT is being advanced! There are many ways to fine tune the system to fit very specific climbing challenges.

Take a minute and think about this...

You wrote that one of the reasons that you choose the monkey tail TIP...do you have a name for it yet?...is "... I use this same set up on prunes when I feel the TIP won't hold the doubled weight of a base tie."

If you have a TIP that you don't feel will hold your load times two then the TIP is already too small for half that load. We all know that a base tie increases the load on the TIP to at least a theoretical two times. If we feel that we need a safety factor of XX:1, you choose, 5, 20, 20???, if you're worried about a 2:1 it is wayyyyyyy too small.

This is more a ramble about SRT-think and SRT-talk. Rather than using ratios and multiples to justify our choice of TIPs think about safety factors.

Without knowing the specifics I'm sure not going to question your choice of TIP on the birch. Lorax knows, I've been in some skinny ones and never had a failure.

Strong limbs and single ropes!
 
[ QUOTE ]

Take a minute and think about this...

You wrote that one of the reasons that you choose the monkey tail TIP...do you have a name for it yet?...is "... I use this same set up on prunes when I feel the TIP won't hold the doubled weight of a base tie."

If you have a TIP that you don't feel will hold your load times two then the TIP is already too small for half that load. We all know that a base tie increases the load on the TIP to at least a theoretical two times. If we feel that we need a safety factor of XX:1, you choose, 5, 20, 20???, if you're worried about a 2:1 it is wayyyyyyy too small.

This is more a ramble about SRT-think and SRT-talk. Rather than using ratios and multiples to justify our choice of TIPs think about safety factors.

Without knowing the specifics I'm sure not going to question your choice of TIP on the birch. Lorax knows, I've been in some skinny ones and never had a failure.

Strong limbs and single ropes!

[/ QUOTE ]

Tom, Thanks. I feel I have miss represented my thoughts, sorry. When you talk about safety factor and ratios and theoretical loads, those all fit into my choice of TIP method and location. When I stated "...when I feel the TIP won't hold the doubled weight of a base tie.", I was actually meaning that when I feel the tip doesnt have enough saftey factor built in. I dont have a set ratio that I use, because truly how do we know how much a limb can or will hold. But I rely on past experiences to choose where to tie, what has worked in the past and what can I apply in each new situation. I agree, I would never tie into something that just flat out wouldnt hold a doubled rope. I just find this method, in the right situations, adds to my comfort with my tie in and the safety factor involved.

Daniel, I was working by myself this day so it was difficult for me to get the right pull and cut at the same time. I felt safer piecing it out. And it was fun making the video.
Thank for the comments keep um' commin
 
SouthSound, I have used all three set ups and found that the MT works best in most of the cases that I face. Advantages that I found MT over BF choke; when setting up a BF Choke I found that Im running my rope through the TIP to the ground for retreival (same as MT), then tying the BF (Taught line with MT) and then I had to pull my working tail up to pass it through the BF (not so with MT). This was the biggest reason I stopped using it. I was finding that I would have to untie my hitch and jam the RW through the butterfly or tie the BF so big (to pass hitch and RW through) that I was having problems with it getting stuck upon retrieval attempts. Also I have been getting used to just installing my MT above my RW when it goes on.
As for the ring and ring, it has its places (as I explained before). It is definately a quicker set up, because you just pass the rope through to the ground and tie the stopper. Where I found my issues coming up was getting it back. One of the reasons I went to SRT was to avoid using a throwline to get my equipment out of the tree. And the headaches it caused when said equipment got stuck. Im not saying Ill never use it, I just prefer the MT in most of the situations I face that a butt tie isnt an option.

One set up you didnt mention that worked well for me for a while was choking a double bowline around the working end at the TIP. It was really quick and easy to do, it just was a little bulky for me in the tree. The MT solves that.

I hope my explaination is clear, if not let me know I'll try to word it better or come up with a short video clip. Thanks
 
flyingsquirrel,

The monkeys tail setup is sweet!

Wondering if one could safely substitute a Delta link or a maillon rapide for the ring?

https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=181&item=931

I have a barely used single-eye Bee-line split tail that I bought right before I graduated to an eye2eye hitch, so I could put it to good use in this set-up if I could attach one of these links to the spliced eye and put thread locker on it.

I know it would still need to be loaded along the proper axis, but perhaps this would be an acceptable alternative, being not quite as good as the ring, but a lot better than a choked biner?

Thoughts anyone?
 
opposablethumb,
I would for sure try it out several different size brances to see how it loads before locking it down. I think if I was going to do that I would use an oval though just because of the way I can visualize it loading. The Delta might not load quite right.

If you PM me I might have something that I can send you that might just fit your bill. Let me know. Thanks again for you help last week.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom