Secret Weapon

[Cary Gibson]

Il have to give it a go. I like the idea of feeling like you are part of the rope.

 

yeah, your TIP kinda follows you as you move from up high, weird at first, but beneficial in some situations.

[High Scale]

Hey Cary, you actually make me feel happy about climbing in this country, our weather is positively balmy compared to Canada.

[Cary Gibson]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76slzLpNDks]YouTube - Secret Weapon part 2[/ame]

 

did this this am in -22c this one shows how to set it all up at ground level and using the DRT rig to replace the SRT tether, allowing you to work at any point in the ascent.

[scotspine1]

I guess they are too chicken:sneaky2: haha.. in all seriousness though, I am surprised that the guys stateside are ahead of us on this front! Us brits have been the trend setters throughout history.. not now lol

 

 

For me DbRT is more advanced than SRT (trunk tie off) for work positioning due to the fact with DbRT you are constantly working a loop which you have complete control over. Unlike SRT (trunk tie off) work positioning - once your line is over the top anchor point you are at the mercy of the huge length of rope which descends to the base of the tree, you have no way of knowing that this section of the rope is completely safe during your climb which on a large prune could be well over 6 hours work.

 

For me, its this unknown element which has so far ruled out SRT for work positioning. Plus the fact that nearly all my jobs are removals.

 

Having said all that I regularly use SRT to ascend into the tree using the trunk tie off method which is an excellent way of getting into the tree, its just not a good way of working in a tree in my opinion. Very few American climbers use SRT for work positioning apart from some vocal internet users determined to make people 'see the light' (not Cary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited January 22, 2011 by scotspine1

[Paul Smith]

Balearics! If you are in the tree for 6 hours what's the difference of Drt or srt? I like to think it's the difference between a good groundy and a numpty! I like to think I employ good groundies who know not to cut my rope! Either way you have arose on the ground!

[scotspine1]

If you are in the tree for 6 hours what's the difference of Drt or srt?

 

Because with SRT your increasing the risk of catastrophic failure of the your lifeline due to the fact it runs from the top of the tree to the ground with your weight on it and your spending a long time pruning and cutting branches thereby increasing the chances of cutting through the line.

 

All it would take is for you to forget about this section of rope for a split second and slice through it with your chainsaw when finishing off a pruning cut close to the main stem.

 

With DdRT the working part of the rope is always above you. You can see where it is, with SRT or DdRT off SRT the working end of the rope is 80ft below you tied round the stem waiting for one of your groundies to cut through it with a pair of loppers as he goes to remove some epicormic growth.

 

or.....

 

your dropping branches out of the tree, some of them are falling in near where the SRT line is tied off, some of them get into a tangle and your groundie takes a Silky into the mess and slices through your running bow or belay system by accident.

 

have you ever heard of the saying, 'is there is no end to human folly?' its very apt for anyone considering using SRT for work positoning.

 

Isn't there an alternative to the trunk belay/tie off?

[Cary Gibson]

Yep, you can do a running bowline to a TIP with a small rope attached to the loop

 

that way you can pull the SRT rope out from the ground, but cinching it to a limb increases the load by a big factor...

[BenR]

Isn't there an alternative to the trunk belay/tie off?

 

See what you are saying mate, especially if you mainly do removals it would make the trunk anchor a pain. Cinching the line would help though! With both your problems there...I was under the impression that a cinched line has the same forces as a DRT or footlock rope configuration. The only load doubling is if you use a ground tied method.

 

But if the only negative is the issue with the down rope, Get a bright rope and concentrate

 

For me the negatives outweighed by the positives.. Don't have to isolate a limb. Can ascend more efficiently and quickly. Can redirect the climbline anywhere anytime without increasing friction. Don't have to mess about with a cambium saver. etc etc and you can always cinch to get round the groundy cutting your rope scenario, in which case sure you cant be rescued remotely but you cant with DRT either. Plus if you cinch you have double the rope available than if you use DRT.

 

Without innovative talkative climbers the treeclimbing world would still be on a tautline hitch. Fair play there might be a few dadios out there but most are just trying to provide more options. Its always useful to have extra tools in the kit even if you dont use them all the time

[Cary Gibson]

yeah, i get them mixed up... you're right

[Tom D]

I like the concept of srt, however I really dont see the advantage of working off this system. Surely if you anchored your Ddrt system in the same fork as the srt line the climbing experience would be virtually identical. Plus you are doubling the load on the branch with a tied off srt line, as well as all the other potential problems alredy mentioned in this thread. I especially dont like the fact that having more lines in the tree only adds to the chance of brash becoming tangled in the extra rope. Another minor fault is tha even with the use of a static srt line you are doubling the potential stretch in the system (as all lines stretch a wee bit) this only makes ling ascents seem even more bouncy.