I climbed thirty years ago on spurs to rig/derig tail trees. Probably only about 25 or 30 times and I never improved a bit the whole time. Scared blankless. Maybe from seeing a friend fall 90 ft. and maybe from the funky climbing gear. Haha, maybe just plain scared.
Anyway, about five or six weeks ago, in between tornadoes and floods I made my way over to Pinnacle Petes place. He spent a lot of time answering my questions and pointing me in the right direction. It was sure nice to be able to try on different saddles instead of just looking at the pictures.
Here is a picture of my gear. A Weaver floating Dee Wide Back and Sampson Arbormaster Blue Streak. I'm using a traditional system with a Blakes hitch and a micro pulley slack tender. At first (dozen climbs) I had to use five wraps in the hitch, then it really started to grab and four does fine now.
I feel a lot more comfortable on rope than I do on spurs. But, I still have to climb some trees in stages. Go until I feel uneasy and then sit awhile and come down, then try to go a little further the next time. Its a lot of fun, I remember when I was little and climbing a tree being scared and thrilled at the same time.
Here is a question. In the Tree Climbers Companion, the adjustable false crotch is just discussed as being installed in a neighboring tree and used as an escape when climbing a questionable tree. Is there any reason not to use that method if you want to climb a tree where it is a pain to isolate a limb? I am just talking about climbing and not working. I realize that the crotch would have double the strain and that you would need an adequate pulley and anchor rope.
Anyway, about five or six weeks ago, in between tornadoes and floods I made my way over to Pinnacle Petes place. He spent a lot of time answering my questions and pointing me in the right direction. It was sure nice to be able to try on different saddles instead of just looking at the pictures.
Here is a picture of my gear. A Weaver floating Dee Wide Back and Sampson Arbormaster Blue Streak. I'm using a traditional system with a Blakes hitch and a micro pulley slack tender. At first (dozen climbs) I had to use five wraps in the hitch, then it really started to grab and four does fine now.
I feel a lot more comfortable on rope than I do on spurs. But, I still have to climb some trees in stages. Go until I feel uneasy and then sit awhile and come down, then try to go a little further the next time. Its a lot of fun, I remember when I was little and climbing a tree being scared and thrilled at the same time.
Here is a question. In the Tree Climbers Companion, the adjustable false crotch is just discussed as being installed in a neighboring tree and used as an escape when climbing a questionable tree. Is there any reason not to use that method if you want to climb a tree where it is a pain to isolate a limb? I am just talking about climbing and not working. I realize that the crotch would have double the strain and that you would need an adequate pulley and anchor rope.
