Branch walking

[Alasdair]

when you guys do branch walking and ive tied in to you anchor point, do you go out the branch with the one prussik or two?

 

my point on this is i am able to go out with one prussik or two but when it comes to going back in i struggle with keeping my balance and using my prussik at the same time.

 

is there any advise you can give me to make this process any easier?

 

i look forward to the help i get since any help ive had in the past has been great.

 

cheers

[Ian150482]

Get a little pulley, so you can use it as fairlead. Try a blakes too.

[Ian150482]

What do you mean when you say 'using two prussik or one'?

[Alasdair]

when you tie in you have your anchor point and you can do a branch walk with 1 line or use two lines ie another anchor point and use your other prussik. i lost marks on my climbing test because i didnt uses two anchor point when doing my branch walk.

[Ian150482]

Yes ive heard that before, having 2 seperate anchor points has its advantages, but i find it a pain in the arse, imo.

 

It will help you with your branch walking using two separte anchors though if your struggling.

 

Just keep practising,it will make you a better climber. I try to climb as much as i can even when im not working.

[Alasdair]

well im not working just now so im out most days but still can get comfortable coming back in the branch while tightening my prussik

[Ian150482]

Only advice i can give you is when your out on a limb, strop on and use the strop to come back on as far as you can, and keep your main line tenisioned, and keep your weight low.

 

Try organising a climbing get together and watch and learn how other do it.

[scotspine1]

when you guys do branch walking and ive tied in to you anchor point, do you go out the branch with the one prussik or two?

 

my point on this is i am able to go out with one prussik or two but when it comes to going back in i struggle with keeping my balance and using my prussik at the same time.

 

is there any advise you can give me to make this process any easier?

 

i look forward to the help i get since any help ive had in the past has been great.

 

cheers

 

Alistair,

 

When branch walking you have to stay low, lower your centre of gravity, crouch if you need to on the way out, keep the rope under tension, bend your knees, use displacement for your feet(dont cross them over each other), grab any lateral branch or branch above the one your walking on with your free hand for stability. If you have a high anchor point one rope should be fine for walking out(this is the secret to branch walking well). If its wet two ropes with the anchor points spread apart is a very good idea, particulary when you get way up in the canopy say 60ft.

 

Its also a good idea to learn how to re-direct your main line so that your anchor point is almost directly above the branch your walking on if possible(depends on strength of branch/stem above). Wear good boots and try and learn to use a harness which has a sliding D, this way your not fighting against the rope trying to twist your round as you walk out when using a regular fixed front D.

 

When walking back in stay low again, keep shortening your line, learn to use a slack tender. If you climb off two ends of the rope (not good) keep the other end of the line attached to the tip end of the branch if your worried of taking a swing. It may be a good idea to use a longer secondary rope for this purpose, just make sure you put a stopper knot in the tail end.

 

Practice is the only way to get good at branch walking.

[Frank]

Balance is key. Practice on a branch that is laid on the floor. If you can dance round on one foot hopping and running up and down without putting your feet on the deck, then your balance is improving.

[Jason James Gairn]

The Hitch is Key.