Adventures of a newbie

[minuteman tree]

Had a great climb yesterday in a 50' ash. One problem though. When I went to take my rope down, I pulled the wrong end and got the knot stuck at the friction saver. So today, I had my first experience with gaffs (the tree was coming down anyway). Gaffing out at 40 feet sure did make me pucker up, but I got the rope and was able to get down no problem. I was using a klemheist, and it seemed to bind up on the way down. Would a blakes be a better choice?. I'm climbing on 1/2" blue streak.

 

[tree md]

Try using a plain old figure 8 knot in the end of your line to pull the FS out of the tree. I have found it to be the perfect knot for doing so. It'll pass through the large ring and catch on the smaller ring to pull it right out of the tree.

 

[troythetreeman]

i like the tautline myself, you can tie it with one hand

 

[tree md]

Klemheist is a much more sophisticated knot for climbing. Runs 100x smoother than a tautline. Not knocking anyone who climbs on a tautline and I think it is great (if not manditory) for everyone to learn to climb with a traditional, closed system with a traditional knot in case of emergency. Still, there are MUCH better options as far as climbing knots go.

With a split tail or eye to eye climbing system you are tying the knot on the ground and using it for a self belay anyway so it doesn't matter how many hands it takes to tie it.

 

[tree md]

Here is an excellent resource for learning knots as well as more on tree care:

MyTreeLessons-Trees, Knots, Rigging, Physics, Safety Information