Need Basic Knots for a Basic Climb: Quick Lesson

[ForTheArborist]

I was doing my homework, you know, and I learned the Blakes and the Bowline for ascending a tree, but WTH :censored: I still can't get up the babe.

For a while now I've been taking on small tree jobs that don't need a whole crew from the customers that would never pay a whole crew and pro outfit anyway. I look at it like I'm a journey man learning the ropes with the cheap crowd for now. I'm OK with it for now.

Generally I don't need anything but ladders or spikes, seriously. The trees I do are just urban trees. Here lately I've descaled two trees with a lot of structures around them, and I needed to get up 1 and 2 stories up in each from the ground. I wanted to practice scaling up them with the rope systems like the rest of them, but I didn't get the knots right on my first tree, and I didn't see how the heck I was going to keep sliding the Blakes knot up the rope on the second tree. :dunno:

You don't have to tell me how to tie the knots. If you've got the names of them, I can search up the ways to tie them. I think all I need to know is how to slide up the Blakes knot during ascention. I thought a foot hold would work, but I don't see where to put one of those in the system.

Keep in mind I want to learn to climb trees with just a rope before I purchase any accessories to do it, and I'm not climbing any gigantuan trees. For now either. :angel: I'm just climbing a few stories with a rope for practice instead of using my spikes when I can.

I understand why people may want to say stay away from the trees. It's so that the bystanders don't think this is something they should step right into like there is no life and death to this. I'm not like this. You don't need to pull my horns. :chatter: I do this for a living, but I'm still picking up craft too.


Thanks for the support with this. I can't get enough of this occupation.

:yoyo:

 

[ddhlakebound]

Honestly, you'd probably be better off if you knew less than nothing, cause then you might have enough fear to keep yourself safe.

As it is, you know just enough to get yourself into more trouble than you're ready for.

You should never be in a tree with a chainsaw and not have the means to get yourself on the ground before you could bleed out. Leaving the ground on spikes without knowing how to tie, dress, set, and use a friction knot is less than smart.

If you think you've done your homework, it might be best to drop the class, failure here doesn't arrive on a paper report card.

Go buy the tree climbers companion. It'll be the best twenty bucks you've ever spent, and by the sounds of things it might save your life.

While the bowline will do the job for attaching a rope snap/biner, your attachment knot should cinch down on the krab to prevent it from being able to rotate when unloaded and then cross loading the gate. A double or triple fishermans or anchor hitch are acceptable, along with a few other knots.

What's "descaled", as in "Here lately I've descaled two trees"?

Spikes are for removals only, if you can't trim a tree without them.......don't go spiking them up while you muddle through....sub the job to someone who can do it right and learn more in a day than you would in a month of reading.

Oh, and sliding the blakes...? You hold the rope and slide the knot up....seriously....what's not to get?

 

[ForTheArborist]

What's "descaled", as in "Here lately I've descaled two trees"?

That's taking the tree down piece by piece while avoiding structures below.


Thanks for the pointers. These are as important to me as my life is. Seriously.


What makes you think I'm numb enough to spike trees that customers don't want dropped? NM.


I'm still going to do trees anyway, of course, but subcontracting a few out could be just the thing.

 

[outofmytree]

This is not the 1st time you have asked the same question and no doubt you are going to get the same answers.

Buy the Tree Climbers Companion.

Take climbing lessons from an accredited trainer.

Stay low. 1 metre is low, 5 metres is not.

This business kills people.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Go work for someone who knows what they are doing, because your living in cowboy hacksville. It will MAKE you as an arborist and business owner.

Right now your blind, the lowest form of misguided ignorant tree wrecker of our industry who doesnt know enough to relise they are over there head. Invest in yourself and it will pay itself off tenfold, because you will not grow as a business or as an arborist properly or quickly going the way your going.

You want advice but dont listen to experience. So im being less subtle. I see you nearly every day, I tidy up the messes you make, I have to remove the trees your wreck and I have to pay higher premiums when you screw up.

Learning arboriculture through your own mistakes could be the most expensive and last thing you ever do and the worst thing you can do to clients that put there misguided trust in you. They ultimately are the ones that pay and live with your mistakes.

 

[newsawtooth]

Descaling?

So, you use gaffs and ladders to peel the bark off trees? I never thought of that. Girdle them, then wait and offer to remove the tree when it dies. Blake's hitch be damned, you may get a piece of the action yet.

 

[RacerX]

Go buy the tree climbers companion. It'll be the best twenty bucks you've ever spent, and by the sounds of things it might save your life.

Buy the Tree Climbers Companion.

This business kills people.

I have to agree whole heartedly, buy the Tree Climber's Companion. This is some of the best and cheapest advice you'll find about basic climbing.

 

[Tree Pig]

Imho

Dude go find another job. Drive a cab or something you sound way to dumb for tree work and to be honest it doesn't take a rocket scientist.

 

[treemandan]

Dude go find another job. Drive a cab or something you sound way to dumb for tree work and to be honest



it doesn't take a rocket scientist.

obviously, I mean if you can do it...

I kill me. sorry couldn't help it.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Tree Pig]

obviously, I mean if you can do it...

I kill me. sorry couldn't help it.:greenchainsaw:

Thats my point exactly. I mean really anyone should be able to. Whats your excuse? I am a card carrying member of mensa by the way.

Dan I did happen to notice though, you spend a lot of time on here trying to insult and pick fights with people (I normally dont but this guy is gonna get hurt). If you are that unhappy with yourself and your life maybe you should think about suicide. Being in the tree business cough cough you should own plenty of rope. Maybe you should try putting some of it to use.

Oh yeah I forgot about the whining to the moderators when someone pays you back. Thats real manly of you. Kinda as manly as filling some 16 year old kids muffler with expanding foam, then coming in here and bragging about it like your a hero.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

These threads seem like a recurring nightmare. If your seriously having problems with the blakes, get your feet on the tree, pull down and advance. Its that easy. Good luck and stay low. Mike

 

[jburlingham]

Here is a link to a great resource for tying knots, I pass it along for my firefighter students, and it has helped them plenty.
http://www.animatedknots.com/indexclimbing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

 

[lego1970]

I believe everybody on here has given you the same advice over and over and yet you don't seem to listen. You say your taking the advice but not really. Others have mentioned that you go work for somebody else to learn the ropes and I agree, however to be honest, I can't imagine anybody wanting to work with you. I can disagree or even straight up dislike others on this or other website forums but still consider them normal and I'm sure I would feel fairly comfortable working under, with or above them. You on the other hand would drive me nuts if you didn't get me killed first. You say your a Journeyman, I feel sorry for the greenhorns that are learning from you. Sorry for such a negative reply and I doubt you'll listen again, but just had to get that off my chest. Good luck and I sincerely mean that.
To answer your question, make sure the blake hitch is tight. Pull on the rope and thrust your body upwards at the same time you slide the hitch up. Don't place your hitch to far on your tail, or you can get in a situation where you won't able to reach your hitch especially when swinging to another part of the tree, likewise if you keep your hitch to close to your bowline, you won't be able to get long bites on the rope when body thrusting which will slow you down.

 

[Tree Pig]

I believe everybody on here has given you the same advice over and over and yet you don't seem to listen. You say your taking the advice but not really. Others have mentioned that you go work for somebody else to learn the ropes and I agree, however to be honest, I can't imagine anybody wanting to work with you. I can disagree or even straight up dislike others on this or other website forums but still consider them normal and I'm sure I would feel fairly comfortable working under, with or above them. You on the other hand would drive me nuts if you didn't get me killed first. You say your a Journeyman, I feel sorry for the greenhorns that are learning from you. Sorry for such a negative reply and I doubt you'll listen again, but just had to get that off my chest. Good luck and I sincerely mean that.

:agree2::agree2::agree2::agree2:

 

[treemandan]

Thats my point exactly. I mean really anyone should be able to. Whats your excuse? I am a card carrying member of mensa by the way.

Dan I did happen to notice though, you spend a lot of time on here trying to insult and pick fights with people (I normally dont but this guy is gonna get hurt). If you are that unhappy with yourself and your life maybe you should think about suicide. Being in the tree business cough cough you should own plenty of rope. Maybe you should try putting some of it to use.

Oh yeah I forgot about the whining to the moderators when someone pays you back. Thats real manly of you. Kinda as manly as filling some 16 year old kids muffler with expanding foam, then coming in here and bragging about it like your a hero.

Do I really? Spend a lot of time picking fights and insulting people that is. I don't really mean to , its not my intention. I was only joking with my comment about rocket scientists. No offense and I am truly sorry if you were. I also spend a lot of time helping.
Me? Whine? To the moderators? You're kidding right? Really? I don't recall whining to them about something anybody ever said to me but let me know if you feel I did.
Now about that kid and his turbo muffler: I didn't do it.

 

[treemandan]

Dude go find another job. Drive a cab or something you sound way to dumb for tree work and to be honest it doesn't take a rocket scientist.

come on- who is the pot and who is the kettle?

 

[treemandan]

I guess I am still trying to finger out how this whole things works.

 

[sawinredneck]

For the OP, I think I have the answer, buy a ladour, easy to use, plenty safe for you I think this is just the ticket. Look into one!

 

[treemandan]

For the OP, I think I have the answer, buy a ladour, easy to use, plenty safe for you I think this is just the ticket. Look into one!

what is the heck is one of those?

 

[ForTheArborist]

Some of these replies are worth more than the electricity I need to see them on my PC monitor.

For all who are concerned safety is a huge thing, and I nor anyone else ought to be making it any less priority than number one. At the same time, yet without compromise we'll climb it all even those trees to get a job done.

Last of all, I can take the flack if that's all you thought that you could deal. I get that it's for one reason or another whether it's a reason of mine or it's one of your own. I look green here to the seasoned eyed, but if I had to reply to all of the false guesstimates about my methods and intentions, I would be spending way too much time writing about that instead of tree shop stuff (priority #1).

Tisk, tisk you bad men , actually I'm kidding. You guys hack it up and anything else you can do. No problem, but I'm still going all out to learn all of the ropes one way or another. As far as the great Tree Climber's Companion book, I'm going to put that Betty on rush order. It must be a real thriller if for as many posters have pounded that title at me.

Thanks for posting up my thread and even more so if I got a scrap of knowledge from you about getting up a rope, heh.


Major heights and many dollars,
FTA