anyone else climb on short ropes?

[TreeAce]

I think coiling is kind of a lost art.

I do like using a rope bucket. HOWEVER...I recently refused to let my apprentice climber use a brand new sherill rope boss (value model) that he saw in my garage for the very reason you stated. I taught him how to coil a rope and take care of it and explaned to him that a good coil has to do with respect for your gear. So dont worry about how I store MY rope....just coil your line and keep it clean and when U hang it in the truck I dont wanna see it touching the floor. He is doing pretty good.

 

[lostcoastland]

I do like using a rope bucket. HOWEVER...I recently refused to let my apprentice climber use a brand new sherill rope boss (value model) that he saw in my garage for the very reason you stated. I taught him how to coil a rope and take care of it and explaned to him that a good coil has to do with respect for your gear. So dont worry about how I store MY rope....just coil your line and keep it clean and when U hang it in the truck I dont wanna see it touching the floor. He is doing pretty good.

The reason you flake or stuff your ropes is so they dont get tangled in limbs and brush as easily in a container also you can carry other items in your rope bag...like spikes or clip your helmet to it. also the unused tail of the rope often doesnt need to be used and remains in the bag so you dont have to coil the whole rope for one little tree. I do believe you should defintly know how to coil a rope though and if you want maximum respect and PAIN i recomend 3/4 " 150' rigging lines. usually you use the whole rigging line so it makes sense to just coil em up.

 

[TreeAce]

The reason you flake or stuff your ropes is so they dont get tangled in limbs and brush as easily in a container also you can carry other items in your rope bag...like spikes or clip your helmet to it. also the unused tail of the rope often doesnt need to be used and remains in the bag so you dont have to coil the whole rope for one little tree. I do believe you should defintly know how to coil a rope though and if you want maximum respect and PAIN i recomend 3/4 " 150' rigging lines. usually you use the whole rigging line so it makes sense to just coil em up.

Oh..is that why? I thought rope buckets were just for climbers who are to lazy to coil. You OBV missed my point but thx for trying to help.

 

[Nailsbeats]

I use 5 gallon buckets for my rigging lines. I can stuff 2, 1/2 inch lines in a bucket and hang krabs from the handles. I like that I can set a porty or a block on top too, and one man can carry two buckets out to a tree. I still coil my climbing lines though, except for the Wraptor line that comes in a bag.

Either way, just have a system and don't be a slob.

 

[Kottonwood]

I love coiling my rope... it is like a little meditation at the end of the day, just coil and inspect the rope, work out the twists and make it nice and pretty.

On short ropes, I love climbing on a short line. I use a 100 footer for smaller trees and I also have a 30 footer I use like a long lanyard/ short climb line. Works great for small trees or as an extra line in large spreading trees. The only issue with just using the thirty footer is you don't have a line all the way to the ground. So if I am just using that I am hand saw only.

 

[Kottonwood]

Yeah, was wondering if someone would comment on that ;-) Most guys use separate ropes for rigging and climbing, and a lot of guys retire their climbing ropes to be rigging lines (that one always seemed a bit weird to me) but I use my longer ropes for rigging on the odd occasion that they're needed. My rigging is all light duty (not much heavier than hand holdable drops) and either lifted or lowered, but never shock loaded. I have a heavy duty bull rope I use for heavy duty rigging, which does get shock loaded.

Most of my work is residential, it's not big trees as stated in the OP, but it's often over houses, sheds, gardens etc so you can't drop limbs. I see no problem using my ropes interchangeably as long as the load applied isn't going to be any more than I would load it with by climbing on it.

Shaun

When I am trimming and using my 150' rope I often use the end of my climb line to rig small limbs down. It is super fast and you can lower it yourself so someone just has to run over and untie it. I like to do this when I only have to rig a few small things out over a roof or something, it is usually much quicker than getting another rope in the tree and I don't see a problem with it as long as you don't shock load and keep the pieces light.

 

[treeclimber101]

I've pulled the rope right through the end and fell about 11ft. Kinda was funny since I was carrying a 10ft wood pole so when that hit the ground it flipped me over and I landed on my face ... I have heard of guys doing that often when they coming ripping down headed for lunch or something ... I never really thought it was a concern enough for the stopper knot

 

[Kottonwood]

yeah, on my short rope and my lanyards both ends are spliced for that reason. I actually think I am gonna have both ends spliced on the next climb line I buy. I think it would last a lot longer if you switch it around every once in a while. There is a guy at my local tree shop that does awesome splices for 15 bucks each, can't beat that.

 

[lostcoastland]

Hey Patriot dont those splices get caught in crotches..even thoses stoppers get caught pretty bad and can wreak havoc...what i do is carry some electrical tape and tape the caribeaner so its ready to go when advancing througout the tree..the only downside is ripping the tape off after but it works good for removals when your switching tie in points often so your not fumbling... also seems redundant on a rope that milks unless it prevents that somehow..ive wondered about the rope thimble thingees mostly for removals where you dont have to pull your rope out just keep chunking.

 

[lostcoastland]

Oh..is that why? I thought rope buckets were just for climbers who are to lazy to coil. You OBV missed my point but thx for trying to help.

no I got your point. about getting in the routine. i even suggested bigger rope to up the difficulty and advance the skills and when to coil a rope like a rigging line cuz your using both ends. I believe its important to know the basics before getting into too many fancy gadgets but its like ttrying to convince oldschool guys to use a wire core instead of a buckstrap and a splittail with pully instead of a old school blakes or a stihl instead of an echo or dont top or dont use spikes..falling on deaf unprotected over the years ears, but theres alot of crusty old bastards that have certainly paid there dues and whos gonna try to change em..But it is defintly smarter better more efficent to bag your climbing line..i find coiling rewarding when you do it nice but then it gets thrown in the truck and gets all messed up anyway...maybe im just really lazy and a whiner but after im hurting and want to go home i want my rope bagged up lickety split especialy the big riggin lines which can also be bagged, even a back pack works good. Ive always dealt with long ropes 150 min..200' static lines where it would literally take 15 mintues to get that thing into a coil and u wouldnt be able to hold it its so fat. now imagine a 200' 5/8s line.. also climbing big trees your burying your rope..trapping yourself in the tree. I only coil crappy little truckers ropes that i dont care about..:taped:

 

[troythetreeman]

60', 75', 120', 150' and 200', i use the 60 for almost everything, i do most of my own roping as well so it only needs to reach the ground once plus maybe 5-10', then you just switch ends
and yeah, stop knot on the bottom man if youre using it as a climbing line
ive heard guys say never rope from your climbing line, i always have and never had an issue, i do feed the entire length through my hands tho before every climb and often several times in the tree
i like poison ivy a lot but for bigger ropings i prefer a true blue, they stretch a lot but i like that about them
ive broke ropes rated heavier with things i know a true blue would have held and i also find other ropes are not near as durable
the lengths of course are approximate, generally when a rope gets damaged i just make 2 shorter ropes and replace the long one

 

[mikegar]

I climb on 90ft but I don't really like the stopper knot. Had bad experiences with it, kept getting stuck in crotches. Now when I'm decending I like to run the end of my rope through my hand so that way I can feel the end of the rope before it goes through my vt.

 

[coolbrze]

In a big tree I'll use one of my longer ropes to establish a high tie in point, then switch to a short rope for canopy work. It saves on pulling 100' of rope over limbs while maneuvering in the tree. Often in a smaller tree I'll just use a shorter rope. The stopper knot is a good idea on all ropes but really essential if you are on a short rope.

I learned that when I fell on my @ss from the last 5' in coming out of a very small tree on a 60' rope. Very embarrassing as the customer was watching.

Aerial - how do you like that FEL on your Steiner? A friend of mine bought a Steiner for mowing around his place and it's a cool little mower!

 

[troythetreeman]

i only use a stopper knot when my rope is too short to get me to the ground, ive never needed it, but if i were somehow incapacitated in a tree and my friction hitch starts sliding it just seems like a sound idea

 

[lostcoastland]

what i do is carry some electrical tape and tape the caribeaner so its ready to go when advancing througout the tree..the only downside is ripping the tape off after but it works good for removals when your switching tie in points often so your not fumbling... .

What i meant is tie a bowline or cats paw whatever knot.. and tape the bottom of the caribeaner so it stays correctly positioned through the climb. super basic but works good..

 

[jefflovstrom]

i only use a stopper knot when my rope is too short to get me to the ground, ive never needed it, but if i were somehow incapacitated in a tree and my friction hitch starts sliding it just seems like a sound idea

Finally a post I like.
Jeff