Beginners climbing guide, hints, tips and general climbing techniques

[Adam Bourne]

Adam, the guy has problems with his arms, he uses a Blakes (probably 13mm on 13mm) you suggested he add a micro pulley in there below the blakes and run his climbing rope through a pulley.

 

Think about it, he's gonna be pulling down on that rope with his dodgy arms, ok, thats fine and yes it'll feel easier than having the rope running over a branch but think about what's gonna happen when he stops and has to hold the rope one handed while he tries desperately to advance the blakes (13mm on 13mm) with the micro pulley, that blakes will no doubt be holding pretty tight and is gonna need some serious work getting it fed up the line all the while the guy's arm that's holding him 6ft above where he initially left off is about to explode cause there's no friction over a branch to help him.

 

Peter/Grasshopper, I suggest daily chin ups/press ups/dips as the solution, no matter how you climb or what system you use, you need strong arms in this game.

 

ascending 6ft before pulling any slack through Really?????? come on I'm sure he's been taught better than that,

all my strength I've got all my muscle tone I've acquired over nearly 15 years of climbing have come from climbing its self I've never needed to build my strength up any other way and I've never had an issue with my arms and even more so using pulleys!

 

It's really beyond me why people still insist on not using any kind of friction device you may aswel go back to using three strand which I myself have climbed on! Of cause your always going to get people who disagree in threads like this and it is only my opinion and others may vary! Like yourself all I was trying to show was how to make advancing easier into the tree, I feel it will do him no harm what's so ever to try either of the 2 things I showed him.

[scotspine1]

Adam,

 

I'm not gonna waste time arguing about this. Peter has problems pulling himself up the tree, if that's the case he'll have a problem holding his weight with one hand as he advances the hitch. He needs to either lose weight or get strong.

 

did that orange rope in pic 3 pass its loler?

 

David,

 

A few cosmetic plucks? never seen a working climber's rope before? it's miles off failing a Loler examination, I know this cause I'm a LOLER assessor so dont insult my intelligence by telling me it would fail.

 

Also if any other Loler assessors want to say it would fail, your risking your professional credibility on a public forum based on a photograph.

 

Here's some advice for new climbers, be wary of where you get your advice from, the tree industry is full of self proclaimed experts.

[DrewB]

 

 

Here's some advice for new climbers, be wary of where you get your advice from, the tree industry is full of self proclaimed experts.

 

oh the irony!

only joking bro-all good.

i think if your arms are hurting you should get a pantin or learn to modify footlock.

For beginners id say use a friction saver before jumping straight onto a rope guide

[Le Sanglier]

Adam,

 

I'm not gonna waste time arguing about this. Peter has problems pulling himself up the tree, if that's the case he'll have a problem holding his weight with one hand as he advances the hitch. He needs to either lose weight or get strong.

 

 

 

David,

 

A few cosmetic plucks? never seen a working climber's rope before? it's miles off failing a Loler examination, I know this cause I'm a LOLER assessor so dont insult my intelligence by telling me it would fail.

 

Also if any other Loler assessors want to say it would fail, your risking your professional credibility on a public forum based on a photograph.

 

Here's some advice for new climbers, be wary of where you get your advice from, the tree industry is full of self proclaimed experts.

Always a bit spiky Scots Pine! good point though.

[Albedo]

“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” — Frances E. Willard,

[Adam Bourne]

Ok so maybe last night turned into a bit more of an argument rather than a debate, and no one is going to learn from that!

 

So a little message for all beginners out there reading threads like this, is ok to try new things out but as discovered in lasts nights banter not every technique is for every climber, were all different and we all feel comfortable with certain techniques, certain styles, and certain gear, that's why there's a wide variety of toys to choose from, from different manufactures,

 

So on that note I'll say this!

 

What ever technique it is you want to change to, what ever gear/hitch/style you want to try stay safe practice and remember

 

LOW AND SLOW!

[Grass hopper]

I will be out tomorrow (if not raining) and get back to you and I will take it LOW AND SLOW AND SAFE.

Thanks again.

Peter.

[Albedo]

I hope that this post will be seen as constructive and not the needless continuation of a perceived argument. I gave this a lot of thought last night and today.

 

 

According to the first law of thermo dynamics.

 

You cannot remove the energy lost to friction from the equation, but you can use that energy more efficiently, by not allowing so much of it to be lost to friction in the first place.

 

So you don’t move the friction to somewhere else in the system, you move the energy lost to it.

 

Hence my above quote which says the same thing but more poetically.

 

 

I think what Scotspine was alluding to is that in treework we can make friction work for and against us.

 

We take wraps around a tree or a lowering device to use friction to help us lower a branch. We use a cambium saver to reduce friction on the branch at our ‘tie in point’ and get reduced friction on our climbing line too.

 

This reduced friction is available to us as energy to use how we see fit. For example it takes less of our own bodies’ energy, used in friction, so we conserve that energy for raising pint glasses after work.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Albedo

[carlos]

good thread adam, i think the main thing with any of these different techniques is to just give them a go ( safely of course!) if it works for you and improves your climbing by making it easier or faster then thats great if not just use your old method.

carl

[Grass hopper]

Reporting back , today I went out for the only hour that it did not rain , I just put a small pulley under the blakes and live just got a bit better , so thank you Adam , I will try more as I get the time.

Peter.