Footlocking ???

[rahtreelimbs]

Does anyone here other than me footlock on the tail of your rope?













Rich.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I will on very short pitches. otherwise it is way too slow for me.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

While this method of footlocking is slow, I like the fact that I don't have to tie and untie a prussic and then tie a swaybish. Also, for those of you that footlock on a double line, what do you do if you encounter hornets or bees nests? Seems descending would be hard if not impossible.

















Rich.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'll tell you when It happens I've not got stung yet.

 

[Nickrosis]

I second JPS on this. If that happened - through a Fig. 8 on and drop!

Depending on the footwear, I do have a hard time footlocking. If my boots are slippery (one pair is), I take a bight with the lower foot, bring it over the top boot, crush, put my toes on the outside of the first bight, and stand up! Did that make sense?

I essentially double footlock. It gives me all the time in the world to advance my knot, especially if became bound from sitting in my saddle.

When footlocking barefoot, I find the normal method to be perfect but stressful on the skin. My other pair of boots is easier to footlock with because it still has tread.

Nickrosis

 

[tshanefreeman]

I have found that the key to footlocking is consistency and persistence...................which can only be achieved through practice. Now this doesn't mean once a month...........this means the more the better.

I have also found that footwear makes a huge difference. Coarse-treaded x-trainers seem to work the best for me. The sole is flexible allowing the rope to bite and the grip from the tread compliments the process. I have also used steel-toed work boots, but the steel plates in the sole hinder the grip of the rope.

The rope can also make or break you. I find that the older, rougher the rope, the easier to bite with the footlock.

Once you have mastered biting the rope with your feet you will be able to concentrate on ascending quickly. I personally have found that you can almost jump out a solid footlock, thus, lessening the stresses on your upper body. But if your footlock is weak, you'll just slip, making you struggle and become tired quickly.

 

[Kevin]

A good pair of boots is essential.
The Kong ascender helped me learn to footlock and it really is a technique.
It appears to be much faster on a doubled rope as opposed to a single rope.
A rope like kernmantle with little stretch helps also, keeping in mind that it`s a static rope.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Practice practice practice.

I can remember thinking people who did it were masochists, then I seen that enough people were doing it that there must be something too it.

I still do not like using a hitch, i want to sit down on the ascenders, the knot will always lock up on me.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I will only ascend secured. It is that I will occasionaly not have the backup ascender on that is used as self-belay.

I'm 300# withm my gear on, my hands cannot hold all that weight.

Hiches regularly lock on me, that is why I will only use a "mechanical" ascender.

 

[Greg]

An ideal footlock requires that you are always holding youself up by your arms or legs, not the hitch. If you are sitting on the hitch after each advance you will be locking down your hitch and then expending too much energy just advancing the hitch, you will get tired real fast. The ascenders help a lot with that problem. I know that you are not supposed to, but I always end up with one hand above my hitch, and one below to push it up. Footlocking takes a lot of practice, strength, and technique. Technique is all important, you have to keep your entire body as much in line with the rope as possible. Don't kick your feet out horizontally, try to almost sit indian style and stand by pushing down instead of out. a little over a year ago I decided that I would learn to footlock if it killed me. I practiced every night for a couple of weeks until I got to a point where I felt I was good enough. Want a great work out, footlock for 20 minutes every day. I can kick butt on a 10'-15' climb, but a 25+ climb will kick my butt. Then again I could stand to loose about 10-15lbs.

When you watch someone (not me) who is really good fly up a rope footlocking you can't help but be impressed.
Greg

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Kevin wrote: It appears to be much faster on a doubled rope as opposed to a single rope

If the rope is not moving, in this sense, static, whether it's a single rope or doubled, footlocking will be the same speed. You're right, FL is all about technique.

Getting the loop of the ascending cord tweaked to the right length is par of that technique. For working, it seems that the loop should be adjusted so that the bottom of your bottom hand is between eyebrow and top of your head when you grasp the rope with both hands. The same length goes for the ascender lanyard too. Competition length is much different.

Unless you're strong enough to do a series of pull ups there's nothing wrong with taking a momentary rest on the ascenders while the next foot bight is made. Hanging on the rope is exhausting and hard on your shoulders. Learing to FL is much easier on your body than body thrusting. It's another example of bending paper clips. Shoulders will get worn out if you spend a life time body thrusting.

Tom

Tom

 

[Kevin]

Tom,
I was comparing a double static line to a dynamic line which is moving over a limb.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

When a single rope is draped over a limb and both legs of the rope are used we call that a Doubled Rope Technique or DdRT. True double rope technique is the way some rock climbers work, using two seperate ropes.

If the climber is footlocking the tail or body thrusting, generally that's called a traditional system.

Alex Shigo has admonished us for years to use correct terminology when we discuss trees. Trying to get a common language for climbers is a bit more difficult. Arbos have made up a lot of words for techniques that already have perfectly adequate and descriptive terms in other rope disciplines. God Bless Jason Blake but I think that our language might be better off if he would have chosen a different name for the hitch that he found

Tom

 

[Gopher]

Thank you for all of the points on FL. I admit, since I had elbow and shoulder surgery two years ago, I got quite rusty at footlocking technique. I am one to tell you, though, it is much easier on the shoulders than body thrusting.

For me, I have to have my left foot on top (and I liken it to slalom waterskiing, where I also have my left foot forward.) Perhaps if anyone has been having trouble; have you tried reversing your feet? Just a thought.

Gopher

 

[NeTree]

Yep, I footlock alot, and it IS hard when you're 30 lbs overweight like me, but it's a hell of a workout!

Try several different wrap techniques, and when you find one that works well with your footwear, practice and practice some more.

Erik

New England Tree Service

 

[FBerkel]

Wrapping the rope around your foot may make you feel more secure, but interferes with the rhythm of footlocking. A good, easy-on-the-shoulders footlock is done smoothly and rhythmically, like rowing. It's fast and easy when mastered, a very efficient way to enter a tree (when tree is fairly open and rope is easy to get parallel, that is).

And much safer than it was when I learned. Hate to sound like some crotchety old timer, but....back in the day, we would go up unprotected, with no friction saver to hold the ropes together at the top. On large limbs this was very hazardous. Still is today, even with a prussik, which can loosen (and therefore slide all the way down) when pushed too far up near the limb holding the doubled rope. So be careful! Set a friction saver from the ground, or use two ascenders.

 

[Kevin]

The only time I find footlocking difficult is next to the spar.
A crotch in the main spar doesn`t make for a good tie in point unless the tree has a good lean on it.
That`s where I find the pantin handy.

 

[Bradley]

JPS, how do you configure your ascenders and what brand do you use? Do you leave them split apart or fasten them together? I use Petzl's to FL and have them taped together. I haven't tried it with them split but I think it would be easier to have an ascender for each hand instead of one on the ascenders and one on the rope.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I have paired petzl's, think CMI are a little safer in their locking mechanism.

I have a delta link holding them together with a sewn web daisychain gith-hithced to the delta. Then a krab to the center D on my saddle.

This way I can take one off for SRT, or loan them to a normal sized climing companion.

 

[Todd K.]

One month later and your footlocking effciantly. Imagine one year from now. I have been footlocking for more than 10 years and still do it just about every day. I can not footlock 40' in 12 seconds but I can footlock all day. I do not recomend practicing for speed just effciancy.Once I had the technique mastered I was able to rest on rope with out wieghting the prussic. I find it very difficult to convice people to try to learn how to footlock. I'm glad you were able to do it. Keep practicing.