Learning to climb and having trouble.

[BC WetCoast]

I am a line Clearence Foreman journeyman(aka apprentice trainer). our company policy states that we must ladder up ..climb to the top of the ladder ...use a double Length pruner(18') to set our first tie in. climb to that tie in ..lanyard in and start the process over again.or when you reach your first tie in pull up your tail and tie in again as high as your pruner reachs with your tail therefore you are always tied in....the experience Of spiking trees always comes after the experience of being in a tree!!!!Safely!!!! PS choose a dominant strong crotch not a branch,,

If your line goes around the stem and uses the branch as a stop, then your branch can be pretty small down to 1.5" or even less as you get confident with species. The key is going around the stem. If the branch fails, the rope will ride down the stem until it hits the next branch. If you put your line around the branch and it fails, you will go for a spill. Having said that, you need to hang off of branches of various sizes and species to learn how small and how far away from the stem you can go. The closer your line is to the stem(junction), the small the branch can be. Be tied in twice and do some experiments low and slow.

 

[freakshow]

Totally agree. Sounded like he was leaving the ground for one the first times....teach the basics and go from there but totally agree

 

[kator]

If your line goes around the stem and uses the branch as a stop, then your branch can be pretty small down to 1.5"

This is more applicable for the trees with a straight stem like spruces or pines which have a dominant trunk from bottom to the top. With many deciduous trees the canopy is wide spread with several small crotches often off the center. You want then to choose a highest possible crotch (stem) to move around, but then you scratch your head thinking how to judge if it is strong enough.