Change Climbing Style? - Blakes to Knut

[Fireaxman]

But krab should not be so wide that your Friction Hitch can slip through, and tender is positioned on top of it!

You know your stuff, TreeSpyder. Thanks to your warning it happened at 2 feet off the ground rather than 60 feet. I'll have to get me some smaller 'biners.

I think I'm settling in on the Knut. Seems to break faster and run smoother up the line than the Distel, and sets just as well when I put weight on it. Of course, more tuning on the Distel could make a difference, but the Knut worked so well right out of the box that I think I'll stay with it for a while.

Next question. I do a lot of "Body Thrusting" with the Blakes as per TCC 2nd edition page 40. How do you do this with the short tie off on the Knut or Distel? Or do you use some other method?

I also tried Foot Lock, but it did not work too well with the self tending hitch either. The slack in the 'biner and tress cost me a precious few inches each time I set back on the hitch. Am I doing something wrong, or missing a trick, or just not using the right technique for the equipment?

 

[Fireaxman]

Maybe I found the answer to my question in another thread. Skwerl gave a pretty good description of his technique in the "Ascender" thread, and then John Paul backed it up with a good tip on minding the tail with a foot lock. Makes a lot of sense. Do I need an ascender to use the self tending hitch below the crown?

 

[Stumper]

Fireaxman,Just readjust your thinking about how you tend slack when Body thrusting. With your Blakes you probably use a long bridge and reach up below your hitch, thrust and pull down then hold with one hand while sliding your hitch up the rope with the other. Using the tress cord and self-tending set up Reach up your rope above the hitch. Thrust and pull down. Hold with one hand and grab you r rope below the hitch with the othe-you can either pull down with that hand or pull up-the minder pulley or threaded 'biner will slide the hitch up the rope. The long bridge is a little more efficient for body thrusting -even making your tress cord /hitch set up as short coupled as possible you still have a tiny bit of slack if you relax and sit the saddle before the next pull..... BUT if you have a groundsperson tend slack for you you can hand over hand up the rope while they gently pull the slack through. If you are well above the ground and haven't weighted the hitch, the rope will usually tail itself under its own weight.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

We are really care-full about reaching above hitch; and have drilled out instinct to grab hitch (making it slide) when things get a'lil crazy.

i think of the Thrust & Pull Down that JUstin speaks of as a thrust up with hips to reduce friction on support as i lift too, then the pull down is with arms on opposite end of bod. This kinda gives double use of force i think, for the pull down helps serve hips up; if ya get the flow right.

Longer arm pulls are more efficient than a bunch of shorter arm pulls (hate to admit that!). Alternatively to pulling above hitch; you can artificially/ temporarily extend bridge (between hitch and saddle); so that you get longer arm pulls, below hitch. Though the Ground Control help tip is excellent, and adds more safety too; just don't drop anything on'em!

Here is extended bridge, is even better if tender is prussicked to other leg of line, then crosses over and serves under hitch. This is an olde picture, guess i need to change it to not have an open eye (here a DBY) on the krab(as well as sling not girthed to lock/ choke down/ cinch tight); per new version of Z that Tom Dunlap has been letting us know about. This link shows how a bowline on life support krab can be bad. i read the Z to mean that a bowline to snap is okay; but others say that it is to be outlawed too. But to me, the looser eye allows the snap to self orientate correctly; but jury is still out on that part of this link...

 

[Tree Machine]

I continue to be amazed.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

i do same, just offering awareness and option, especially to newb(udd)ies.

 

[Fireaxman]

Fireaxman,Just readjust your thinking about how you tend slack when Body thrusting. .... Using the tress cord and self-tending set up Reach up your rope above the hitch. Thrust and pull down. Hold with one hand and grab you r rope below the hitch with the other ... pull down with that hand ...

This works. And very well. Love It, as a matter of fact. "Just readjust your thinking". Sorry you guys got to lead me by the hand on this.

I was reluctant to reach above the friction hitch exactly for the reason TreeSpyder explained. Took a hard landing a while back for the bad habit on the Blakes. But actually, with the friction hitch so close to my saddle, plus lessons learned, I don't think it will be as much a problem as I thought.

Don't even need the hip thrust. Been hip thrusting against the Blakes to give me some momentum as I pulled myself up, mostly just because that's the way I was taught. It actually surprised me to find out how easy it is to just pull myself up the tree, especially with a friction saver.

Thanks for your patience.

Edit 01/22/06 just so I don't lose this. Good info on VT in Commercial forum "step by step photos of my VT hitch" by Skwerl. I'm gonna try it.

Edit 01/29/06 be sure to use the right rope. See "Near Miss" in Arborist 101 thread.