Notched Spar

[clearance]

Who uses a a notch in the spar to rappel off of and come down here? I saw this on another site, someone was injured, people condemmed this method. I have used it many times. I always cut a deep notch, at least as deep as my bar, I feather the edges, put my rope around, bowline and then walk down a few steps before I take off my lanyard. Always worked for me, the notch has to be deep, you have to make it good so the rope runs. What I like about this method is your climbing line is out of the butt log when it hits the ground.

 

[RedlineIt]

Adjustable friction saver / Rope guide is faster than feathering out the edges of a useful notch.

Leave a stub or knub, wrap, cinch, tie in and you're down.

No fugly sap spooge all down your rope to deal with, either. Plus the top of your spar is still usable timber, if that's the game.

Unsafe? It could split out. I wouldn't do it on a Pine of any description.

A rope guide is safer, faster.


RedlineIt

 

[woodchux]

Most of the time i'll descend SRT, fig 8 and a blakes backup. A running bowlin with a looooong tail. Once down you can just pull the tail and the rope slides down. I just picked up a cambium saver to use as a false crotch, so i will be descending DRT most of the time now. Never have rappelled off a notched spar yet.

 

[1I'dJak]

R u notching on the top of the spar? I've done that while stemming...especially in yellow/red cedar where all the limbs slope downward and are a bit sketchy to tie in.... it seems hard on the saw though... I've used a friction saver with adjustable ring for retreival...worked well until on a big fat butt my 1/2' rope (swollen kinda) wouldn't go through the first bigger ring and therefore stuck ...had to climb the koksucker again and the foreman told me to get rid of the ??????? thing.... however, i've just bought 200' of smaller diameter velocity and hopefully this won't happen again... this setup (if working properly) saves time and chain...

 

[coydog]

i know of a couple of incidences with this method, one was a rookie, he died, one was a veteran climber, he was injured, From what I heard the incident that resulted in death occured because the notch may have been too narrow and bound on his rope, causing the climber to get flustered and unclip his line probably having forgotten that he had also unclipped his lanyard. He free fell 40-50 feet thearabouts and died from his injuries, both his lifeline and flipline where unclipped. The incident resulting in injury occured when the lifline rolled out the top, I guess the notch was too shallow.Can't comment much more as I wasn't there for either. I wouldn't condemn the method, just one of those things that has no tolerance for being done incorrectly.

 

[Jim1NZ]

I know a guy who used this method of decent and is lucky to be alive. There is no way i would ever do it or tell anyone about it.

 

[arboralliance]

Always...

Who uses a a notch in the spar to rappel off of and come down here? I saw this on another site, someone was injured, people condemmed this method. I have used it many times. I always cut a deep notch, at least as deep as my bar, I feather the edges, put my rope around, bowline and then walk down a few steps before I take off my lanyard. Always worked for me, the notch has to be deep, you have to make it good so the rope runs. What I like about this method is your climbing line is out of the butt log when it hits the ground.

I keep my pole strap around the spar when descending from a notched top "just in case" but yeh make it deep or choke it just below the top and descend srt...

 

[jmack]

Who uses a a notch in the spar to rappel off of and come down here? I saw this on another site, someone was injured, people condemmed this method. I have used it many times. I always cut a deep notch, at least as deep as my bar, I feather the edges, put my rope around, bowline and then walk down a few steps before I take off my lanyard. Always worked for me, the notch has to be deep, you have to make it good so the rope runs. What I like about this method is your climbing line is out of the butt log when it hits the ground.

i use to use it all the time, now i like a 14.00 fig 8 and i rappell down my tag line

 

[JEff B]

Srt

it would be safer IMO to tie a running bowline and use a figure 8, you can tie the other end of your rope to the run in the running bowline and pull it down from the ground.

 

[matty f]

once fell about fifteen feet landing on my feet wondering what the hell had just happened .
The tree was leaning so i put the notch in on the under side so i could walk down the tunk as i got near the ground i kicked off and let the hitch off to descend,the rope slipped out the notch and i thought... last time i will do that!
Also would not use a climbing rope to pull a spar over either now i have to buy my own.

 

[booboo]

Worst fall I've personally seen came from doing this. Experienced climber, notch in the top of a white pine spar. It popped out while he was descending and he fell about 30'. It was a multi-leadered tree, which probably saved his life. His rope caught on one of the other leaders on the back of the spar on the way down. If the rope had popped off the front of the spar, there would have been nothing but air. As it was, he gaffed a foot and was pretty bruised up. Ouch!

 

[CoreyTMorine]

Hey Clearance, Hows things?

I can't see how the rope is going to come out of a well cut notch in an upright pole. And if there is any concern i just keep my flipline around the tree. To hell with packing around a toolbag full of french made alluminium.

 

[clearance]

Hey Corey, thanks for asking. I just put it out here to see. I know all about the running bowline and figure 8. Figure 8s are prohibited for lifeline use here, the reason is because if you let go for any reason, you fall uncontrolled. Also, the rope is left in the buttlog. I appreciate the concerns you all have. Redline, pretty hard to split wood with a rope, never tried it, but I figure the rope would break before the tree would split vertically. I figure that this method is o.k., as long as the cut is deep and well made. Thanks for responding everyone.

 

[NickfromWI]

Clearance, what are your thought on using a friction saver for this purpose? It seems that would be the fastest method of any other mentioned here?

love
nick

 

[treebogan]

Used to do it frequently

Rappelling off a notch cut in the top of a Spar was what I'd do if I hadn't a pull line attached to the Spar (yeah using rigging gear as a life line is dodgy).I don't really see any great risk in rappelling off a notch if

The notch is made across the top of the cut
Its deep and slanted at each end
You desend far enough below the notch that the rope is in no danger of rolling out,then un clip and rappell.
Your Helicoper is broken and its not around to fly you off the Spar and to the pub!

 

[rbtree]

Some of you may have heard of the climber injured just after our Dec 14 storm, rapelling off the stem. He has 5 broken vertabrae, is in a body cast for months, and may never climb again. He was using the notch method.

I'd never do it, potentially unsafe and takes too much time.

Much easier is this technique:

Put rope around stem, both ends on the ground.

Put butterly or other mid-line knot on one side of rope.
Install carabiner.

Clip other side of rope to it.

Install rapelling device and descend.

Pull on end of line with biner to retrieve line.

Tom Dunlap recently showed this trick on anotehr forum. It is nothing new, many folks use it, but others, like myself, have not been aware of it.


Use of an adjustable friction saver works as well, as does rapping single line on a pull rope, which can be done cautiously by leaving a lanyard attached and walking down the trunk carefully.

 

[beowulf343]

Wow, that is a pretty sweet technique. Usually use an AFS. But I can't wait to try this out tomorrow. Seems so simple that I'm surprised none of the other climbers I know in this area are using it.

As to coming down on a notched stem, did it often early in my career and as long as the notch is cut correctly, seems to work fine.

 

[gitrdun_climbr]

Butterflied Biners

That really is a nice, simple technique, thanks for the enlightenment Roger. If my spar is skinned (as it usually is by this stage), I really like the extra security of rappelling with flipline still engaged...slacked out it doesn't slow me down much but can literally save my $@# if things go awry up top!
:yoyo:

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The notch in the spar is the origonal false crotch, and has it's problems.

A mechanical false crotch is safer and eaiser on the rope. You can also use it if you are chunking large logs out, you can get a more comfortable position with the saw to make the face cut.