Well that sucked

The self belay system is from the U.S. Forestry Service guide. It recommends basket hitching, for more strength, about every three feet using a large diameter dynamic rope.
 
@flyingsquirrel25. I did get The delivery , thought I messaged you. That cmi has made a huge difference, way better than the petzl. On this fall I had forgotten all about the chest ascender, but remembered after the fall and tried it out, used it multiple times this weekend. Thanks again. Gave the petzl away already. Lol.

I'm glad people are reading this and thinning, it made me wake up. I don't think much about canopy anchor because of 2 things
1, I'm fairly new to SRT, but loving it
2 I don't need/want to climb all the way to the top/ anchor point, if I have it tied off up there, to retreive it/ come down, I'm also want to have a lowerable system for safety.


I can only assume there's retrievable and remote set canopy anchors, but lowerable too?? Do tell
 
You're assumption is correct, canopy anchors can be set and retrieved from the ground. There are various methods.
 
Glad both of you who fell are okay. 20' is a good bit to be falling from. OSHA requires PPE in construction at any height above 6'. There has been documented injuries and even death at short distances. Work smart and be safe.
 
Glad all those are ok. I base anchor all the time although it has to be a bomber of limb in the canopy or up against the trunk. Unless its a small prune I usually reset to a canopy anchor when I get to my optimal work position. I'm not a fan of "never" and "Always" It seems both methods have merit in a clearly evaluated situation. I'm not a risk taker so I tend to be a sure as I can be about anchors. Honestly, think back in the day, how may limbs did you body thrust up the tree when you probably shouldn't have. Many of those times we had a bomber limb under the primary anchor to catch you of the primary limb broke. It's really not that different honestly.
 
I know another climber who fell out of a very small tree... He landed on his shoulders with his saw underneath. He continued working, going to the ER later after not coming back around. The doc checked him out, gave him the green light, but then decided for a x-ray just to make sure. Broken neck and a air lift... The specialist said he would have been paralyzed if it were not for the muscle mass in his neck keeping the fragments from shifting... Complacency kills
 
I took a 30' fall yesterday. Broken femur. Still in the hospital waiting for surgery.
I was in a Black Oak. Changed my tie in point to work a new column. Canopy tie for SRT. Checked it, bounced a bit with my lanyard in, but slacked. Seemed OK. Decended. Did my work. Then when I was headin back up... split.
Hit the hand rail of the second story deck, tri d grabbing it but just bounced right off.
Landed on my side right on the lowest set of stairs going to th drive way. Excellent ground crew, followed protocol. Kept me still. Called EMT, calmly reporting our location and situation. I love and respect my crew.
Looking back, I was dumb for having my TIP at the branch union. It would have been just as easy to cinch up below the union. Very well may have prevented the split. Maybe cuz I was just switching over from DdRT so my mind was still in crotch mode. IDK. Hope everyone stays safe out there.
 
Being this late in the year, these oaks can get sketchy when they haven't had enough water. I've seen them rip out plenty of times before in this fall season. Should have known.
 
I hope all goes well and you're back in the saddle soon. Thanks for posting, it helped me to come up with a possible solution to make canopy anchors safer. The idea is to tie a clove hitch to the branch, then anchor in your normal way to the stem, other branch, if that is the situation. Next take the slack out between the two. This will tend to hold them together.
IMG_0062.webp
 
Steve-o said:
Alejandro
Hope the surgery goes well and glad it wasn't a more damaging fall.
Was it a dead tree? How big were the stems that split?
I'm a noob just trying to learn.
Thanx and get well.
Click to expand...

Tree was not dead. But it was in A poor spot.
Asphalt and foundation all around it. So the feeder roots were not getting sufficeant drink.
I assume that made everything in the top more brittle. There were epicormic sprouts everywhere, so you could tell the tree was stressing.
The TIP was about four inches. And like I said, I should have tied my running knot BELOW the Union.
 
Brocky said:
I hope all goes well and you're back in the saddle soon. Thanks for posting, it helped me to come up with a possible solution to make canopy anchors safer. The idea is to tie a clove hitch to the branch, then anchor in your normal way to the stem, other branch, if that is the situation. Next take the slack out between the two. This will tend to hold them together.
View attachment 47267
Click to expand...
Hey I like that. Did you just come up with that and draw it out?
 
Yes, it's inspiration was your posting. Probably wouldn't have thought of it otherwise. I mostly canopy anchor so I'm definitely going to try it out.
Thanks again for posting.
 
I'm just a dumb-ass old schooler still climbing DdRT, and after hearing all these horror stories, I myself have no desire to switch to SRT. I've been in this game a long time, and the number of climbers falling out of trees using SRT is shocking. Definitely wasn't like this in the old days! It appears that there are some very serious flaws in SRT, and that the risks just might outweigh the benefits. Get well Alejandro!
 
Last edited:
I'm hoping you heal well, Alejandro. I'm scared for all the tree climbers out there. There are so many ways to apply the gear and rope and increase efficiency, we are flying through trees thinking about how to make the cuts not realizing every anchor is a hypothesis. Just a prediction based on incomplete information gathered by faulty instruments. We are all at risk to be wrong. Binghams backup campaign (two ropes/systems) should be given strong consideration in this age of variable anchoring techniques. The only scientific conclusion is gravity conquers all.
Thank you for sharing the most difficult consequences to bear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom