Thoughts on in tree line advancement (no spikes) captain hook?

[fall_risk]

It's hard to beat a pole for advancing a line. I'm pretty damn good tossing by all the above methods; I've recently gone back to a knot for weight b/c I'm trying to lighten up my saddle and I don't like throwing aluminum connectors, but I'd advise a knot that will spill if you pull on it when (not if) it gets stuck, you can find instructions in the tree climber's companion or animated knots.

I know that's a tough sell for rec climbers, but if you get jamesons, you can use them with the big shot. Most of the time if I'm going to recrotch a lot or the gaps between unions are large, I end up spending way more time on difficult throws than I would have spent just pulling up a 12' or even 18' pole. It also helps avoid the temptation to throw into and climb on that "perfect" TIP that you can't quite see, but it'll be fine, right? Right? Fuck around and find out.

Advancing a doubled rope is the fundamental skill of tree climbing.

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[Winchman]

Advancing a doubled rope is the fundamental skill of tree climbing.

Not sure if that was meant for me, but I took it to heart. I've never disconnected from my primary life support while in a tree, and I've only let it go slack a handful of times. I always thought my unusual double-rope climbing rig (using a pulley held up by an anchor rope) wouldn't allow me to switch to a higher TIP while in the tree, but it only took a few minutes to figure out a way to do it that doesn't involve a complete disconnect. It won't be possible for someone to rescue me from the ground while I'm doing the switchover, but that's the case whenever I'm tied in with my lanyard.

It works in my head and on paper, but I'll have to try it out in a tree to be sure. Fortunately it only requires some extra rope, carabiners, and some practice tying Alpine butterflies.

Thanks for getting me to think about it a little harder.

 

[BurOakTom]

I made up a couple of etriers which are useful when you need to climb above your TIP. Same principle as stepping up in a sling girthed on the tree, but several steps instead of just one.

How do you set the etrier in place (above your TIP)?

Pic shows one etrier and the throwline bag. That etrier has sleeves of 1" tubular webbing to help hold the steps open. On the other one, I put short pieces of rebar inside the tubular webbing for the steps; it works slightly better, but may not be worth the extra weight. Of course, you can just buy pre-made etriers as well.

Pieces of garden hose might provide a good weight vs. stiffness tradeoff for this. At least as long as the I.D. is large enough.

 

[Dan Cobb]

How do you set the etrier in place (above your TIP)?

Using only foot ascender, knee ascender and lanyard, climb until the knee ascender almost hits the TIP. (Don't let the knee ascender jam into the TIP where it will be a fight to take it off rope.) This position will allow you to reach up and anchor the etrier several feet above your TIP. Then take the ascenders off rope and climb the etrier using the lanyard to stay upright. This gets you a decent distance above the TIP. At this point, I usually anchor a 2nd climbing rope, but you can advance your original line if you didn't leave it out of reach below you.

I've also done the same sort of thing using a short length of rope instead of an etrier. I just move my ascenders from the climbing rope onto the short rope.

The main principle is that by using a lanyard to stay upright, you can get a body length above your TIP, minus the length of your knee ascender stirrup, plus the distance you can reach above your head.

 

[Mike Islander]

In thinking about the etrier, what would be the ideal use case? I've never used one. One scenario that I can think of right away is when you have a large diameter limb you can throw over, but none close to it (above or below). Main rope gets you hanging just below the limb, but climbing above that if the trunk is large and you don't use spikes can be a real bear. Enter the etrier to get you up onto that limb.

 

[Dan Cobb]

I made an etrier for a particular spot in a particular cave so you can get up/down at a spot that avoids going through deep water. Since I had one, figured it could be useful in a tree on occasion.

 

[BurOakTom]

Using only foot ascender, knee ascender and lanyard, ...

Ah, got it, thanks