SRT; redirects; force vectors; knots

[Tree Access]

Oh, sorry, after a short "googling", which I obvioisly should have done yesterday before my post...) I see it' different in english, I just translated the german names for the bowlines.

For me a double bowline is this: Bowline on a bight, and "yours" is just a variation of a bowline.

I love the bowline in a bight by the way, great knot, maybe thats the reason why replied so quick...

[Buzzsurgeon]

A pulley and friction device in one unit that can be operated from the ground and up in the tree would half the load, room here for a new invention, "but I aint the guy to do it"

[john dawson]

im working on a re-direct with two pulleys, but ive never managed to see how a re-direct is retrievable.

 

under the meaning that once retrieved, you still need the working end to be returned to you, or youl be stranded! as the end will swing away from you to sit back under the origonal anchor point.

[Tom2020]

smashing post thanks for the pdf on the knots very usefull for me

[BenR]

TreeBuzz Board: Retrievable re-direct

 

i dont know if anyone is familiar with this but in theory you could use this idea and use a throwline to release it remotely. bit of a hassle messing about with a throwline though..

[Paul Jenks]

Having seen the demonstration of the SRT and some aerial rescue at the arb show I can see it has its merits.

The info on pulley loading and the direction of forces is very good stuff to know and again there was a good demo at the arb show.

 

However, with the exception of very large trees with few laterals I fail to see the advantages for the day to day climber of these systems, SRT. Keeping a system simple, especially in an inherently dangerous and harsh environment, whilst retaining effectiveness and safety has to be paramount.

 

Alot of the tree work carried out in this country is unsuitable for the use of SRT and IMO unless you are using these systems regularly you'll have to relearn them every time you get the opportunity to employ them.

 

The reduced loading principles on the fork are an interesting concept but if I was that worried about the loading of me and working on a main fork to have to use a redirect to reduce this loading I'd be asking questions about the stability of the whole structure. Use a second rope.

[Joe Harris]

TreeBuzz Board: Retrievable re-direct

 

i dont know if anyone is familiar with this but in theory you could use this idea and use a throwline to release it remotely. bit of a hassle messing about with a throwline though..

 

Hi Bender, we actually covered several versions of that redirect in the PDF, but after having a play with it, we (the VTIO) decided that it was a no-go as there is nothing stopping the redirect from being disconnected by an accidental pull on the line.

 

I don't think it's legal for competition use either, for the same reason, but I guess that depends on the head tech at the event.

 

ive never managed to see how a re-direct is retrievable.

 

Check the Redirect PDF John, there's lots of different retrievable redirects, several of which can be retrieved without a seperate line or the tail of the rope.

 

A pulley and friction device in one unit that can be operated from the ground and up in the tree would half the load, room here for a new invention, "but I aint the guy to do it"

 

Me neither, but it's sure got me thinking.

[Joe Harris]

With the exception of very large trees with few laterals I fail to see the advantages for the day to day climber of these systems, SRT.

 

I'll just post a quick reply to this one as well. Sorry to be writing so much in a thread I started; is that bad manners?

 

Paul, I felt like that as well to begin with, particularly because I was ferociously keen on footlocking for quite a long time. I didn't like all the gear, the setup time, the need for a good level of throwline. But I've gradually become so reliant on SRT that I think I may be getting fat.

 

It'd have to be a pretty small tree before I wouldn't SRT into it. So long as your throwline is good enough to get a shot reasonably quickly, the time you save by not isolating a branch compensates for the time lost setting up your gear (if you're using a system like the microfrog it takes about thirty seconds) and you're up there quicker than anyone. And then you get all the advantages of being able to effortlessly re-ascend whenever you want to return to the top of the tree!

 

And if speed and efficiency aren't good enough selling points... try ascending tree after tree with no strain at all on your forearms or biceps. Gotta be worth an extra five years tacked on to your climbing career.

[D Mc]

And if speed and efficiency aren't good enough selling points... try ascending tree after tree with no strain at all on your forearms or biceps. Gotta be worth an extra five years tacked on to your climbing career.

 

Joe, those are some very well put together handouts.

 

With all that great information, I was a little disappointed that no mention was made of working the tree with SRT as opposed to just access. All of the same benefits of economy of movement can be achieved while working the tree SRT.

 

Both a walker system and a RADS system, with the proper tools, can be used for working trees in a very safe and efficient manner.

 

Dave

[Joe Harris]

no mention was made of working the tree with SRT as opposed to just access. All of the same benefits of economy of movement can be achieved while working the tree SRT.

 

Dave

 

Thanks, Dave, you're completely right. The next addition to the handout will be the RADS system, which will hopefully get added today.

 

As far as working the whole tree with SRT, I'm not the one to write that I'm afraid. Complete lack of any experience! But if someone else were to write it up, I could do any drawings necessary and it'll be included into the handout with full credit to the author at the next revision. These docs are intended to be revised regularly, and it would be great to get people who are familiar with different techniques to share their 'insider knowledge'.

 

On that note, the next PDFs we are working on are on Aerial Rescue; and on VTA. Any specialists in either field would be welcome to drop me a line ([email protected]) if they feel like helping out at the writing stage...

 

You can also check out our Draft Climbing Guidelines; input would be welcome even though these are more local in destination.