Tips for Climbing a Tulip Poplar

Bob Bob said:
Tulip Poplars are some of the biggest trees in my area and can be very fun to climb due to their branch structure. As others have said the wood is fairly brittle so I use larger tie in points and attach most high canopy anchors around trunk not just a limb. Forest grown tulips can get well over 125' high in Ohio and the Appalachian foothills. I've seen some of these straight as an arrow tulip towers with the first branch around 60' and other healthy specimens that have snapped of half way which be concerning.
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1. I have LOTS of Tulips; they are very prone to storm wind breakage.
Many years ago, I had an 8" DBH in the front yard.
After a storm (not a tornado) I looked out a front window, and the entire tree was GONE !
I could not see where it had fallen, or gone, anywhere.
Later I went outside to investigate.
The Tulip had snapped off cleaning at ground level; the wind moved it into the nearby wood-line; and stuck it vertically back into the ground ! ! ! (it looked like a normal vertical tree)

2. Last year at a TCC, I had 2 climbers DQ'd for breaking Tulip branches.
They swung, landed on 2-3" branches which broke at or near the collar.

3. DRT TIP's need to be bigger than you might think.

4. SRT TIP's would be better w/ canopy tie-in; and larger size yet.

5. Base anchored TIP might be better /safer over multiple limbs.

Several years ago @treebing (Kevin B.) started using doubled systems.
Don't know if he is still advocating this as a general procedure
 
Thanks. I'm going to need to get our and majorly work on setting a canopy anchor. I've not done one up to this point; been basal anchoring exclusively. I've played with the idea (and started a thread a while back about it), but have just never felt the need, heretofore.

I guess since I'm familiar with it already (basal), I could always start with a basal and, leaving it tied to the base, cinch the stem with an AB+quickie once I reach the initial PSP, and advance the cinch (with the slack coming from the working/climbing end of my line) once I get up to some climbable branches?

Or, I could shoot the throw bag twice from the ground and draw the cinch up that way once I get both legs exiting the tree fron the same side without branches in between?
 
A large loop running bowline is fine if the branches are strong enough. MIght choke 10' long along the stem. IF it's strong, when get there, untie and progress.

You can lanyard in, and move your SRT device over the crotch in front of you, or advance the tail higher. Lock the SRT device on the rope so it will hop over, not slide at the crotch, so then return back to you.
 
A 36" DBH tree is a monster for any east coast tree. I just bailed a friend out who attempted a similar diameter Norway maple removal. When you have that much tree it is not a removal to be taken lightly, doesn't matter what the species is. Most efficient way to go about it is have a professional crew with appropriate equipment take care of it, if it has to come down. Does it have to come down?

Tulips are great climbers, they have specific challenges, wide limb spacing up high etc., awesome trees for rec climbing when they have a decent crown form. Basal anchor all day, rope over a solid limb union.
-AJ
 
I was considering climbing it for fun before it's removed, and possibly removing some of the lower limbs (in pieces, from the tips inward) just for practice and the experience. It is about 15' on one side from a garage, and 30' from a house on the opposite side. I'd ballpark it at ~90' tall. It has a very vertical structure, although the limbs start about 20' from the ground.

Father in law is worried about roots growing under garage and neighbor's driveway. He wants it gone, but it's a back burner item right now. There's absolutely no time pressure on it, so I thought it might be a good tree to practice some light rigging on too.

Am I talking some major-league retard stuff here, moss?
 
southsoundtree said:
You can lanyard in, and move your SRT device over the crotch in front of you, or advance the tail higher. Lock the SRT device on the rope so it will hop over, not slide at the crotch, so then return back to you.
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Bear with me - my visualization skills are still improving...I think/hope...

Are you describing advancing from a stem-cinched canopy anchor here? I understand using the tail, as you referred to, but about moving the SRT device over the crotch in front of me, are you saying, throw it over the crotch so that I can then lanyard up the tree and carry the SRT device with me (in my case, an HH), then stem-cinch once I get to where I want it set?

Edit: in other words, what is the significance of throwing the device over the crotch in front of me? What then? Are you referring to a basal anchor?

You saw the thread on advancing basal anchors (or, I think it turned that way, I'm not sure which subject the thread was originally about - maybe using a lanyard in SRT mode), right? I think you might have even contributed several times (thanks!). I've been advancing the base anchor by lanyarding in, throwing the HH over the PSP after disconnecting from it, then pulling allot of slack, putting the HH into a bight, tossing the bight over a reachable union, then advancing on the newly-advanced basal anchor with my foot and/or knee ascender (or just double lanyarding up when I have branches I can simply step up on).
 
Setting anchors from the ground with throw line is a great skill to aim for. I have not nailed down an awesome way to convert a base tie, into a cinching top tie. But I usually want things to be quick and easy. Throw line isolation can be tricky and requires patience, but then you have many choices.
A choke with the end can switch to doubled rope MRS and advance as you like. A midline choke leaves a long retrieval leg, harder to advance. A choke with the end (like running bowline) with the other rope end tied to the tail exiting the knot gives you both ends to use once you get up to them, double tips, or advance as needed in mrs, keep the 2nd end and re-tie it as a retrieval for a choke with the end.
 
Ditto on the throwline. Such an invaluable skill to have. When I was first learning to climb I would just take a beer out in the yard and practice throwball like it was a game. Not trying to do anything else but hit certain crotches and isolate. it took the pressure off of trying to get a good tie in when you are performing another task, and you don't get flustered when you keep missing.
 
Awesome - I've not really used throw line above ground yet! I'm spending some time trying to work advancing, converting, etc., out on paper before taking it to the tree.

So I'm leaning towards attempting setting a canopy anchor around the stem from the ground, running it up, then clipping a throw line in once I reach it, for retrieval. Wish me luck.
 
LordFarkwad said:
Awesome - I've not really used throw line above ground yet!
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Be prepared for some tangling issues and a way to manage them. I'd suggest that you consider the most amount of throwline that you may need in the canopy, add about 10' just incase, and only take that much with you. It'll be easier to manage than your long throwline for on the ground.
 
I put 50' in a small Weaver ditty bag and anchored it to the bottom of the bag :| Probably overkill, but I wanted to factor in having part of it doubled, as I occasionally end up with it that way on the ground.

Can always go shorter, I suppose.
 
LordFarkwad said:
Awesome - I've not really used throw line above ground yet! I'm spending some time trying to work advancing, converting, etc., out on paper before taking it to the tree.

So I'm leaning towards attempting setting a canopy anchor around the stem from the ground, running it up, then clipping a throw line in once I reach it, for retrieval. Wish me luck.
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Tie the throwline on to the Canopy Anchor loop, before sending it up.
If something doesn't work, or look right, you can pull it out & start over.
 
If you don't mind the bulk, you could also take your cube or whatever up in the tree, that should provide the least frustration. I have the Edelrid Falter, which is pretty easy to attach to my harness in the open position.
 
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