old school

[MattyF]

Around 10 years ago I changed from a prussik to VT hitch climber set up after a previous 10 or so years on just a prussik , had tried the VT and all the fancy hitches before at shows and dismissed them as fancy stuff for benders , decided one day that on Monday I would stick with the VT and pulley for a week and it was the best decision I've made in my career for speeding up and making it more efficient to saving wear on my body from thrusting arm over arm and not like you do on a prussik , it helped I was climbing the first tree with another climber who had mastered the VT as it gave me some confidence...

Since then I've looked at new techniques and kit different.. Or tried too ie like pulley savers are a god send once you have got used to having no friction!! SRT is a strange one but even for access on big trees it's worth getting a pantin and bodging up a home made haas if you don't feel confident working off a single line, for me it took one climb to get used to a VT and about 1 week for SRT.

Had to do arial rescue refresher on a prussik the other day and thought I would show the newbies how to body thrust , got to the branch all right although a bit out of breath but the prussik binder and slipped it's really an awful knot and frustrating when you see people struggling with it... It's a shame that there are so many good experienced tree climbers out there who if they just took the chance on changing there game plan and having a serious look at even a hitch climber set up would realise how much an edge shiney stuff can give you but you need to give it more than a rec climb.. Pretty sure that won't change any ones opinions as I know how stubborn vet tree climbers can be.. I still doubt I'll never climb on any thing other than a hitch though.

[TIMON]

wow! i use a prussok full time! never bothered me at all! just the way i was taught, then it stuck. had a few goes on some fancy acender things and a bit with footclip/hand hold things and thought it was balls.

 

whats the best thing to try instead then? i like being able to attach mid line, i like looking at it and trusting it/being able to see if its worn.

 

i have a petzl grillion on a short line but never got to grips with it.

 

open to improvements though!

 

 

Sounds like you would get on famously with a hitch climber pulley and distel hitch. Mid line attachable and easy to see how the hitch cord is wearing. All the characteristics of a device with the security and peace of mind of rope.

[Pbtaylor2014]

I climbe only on a prusik two years and was thinking of going to a machanical but so many choices and a lot off horro stories so will have to wait and see maby a zigzag or spider jack

[Steve Bullman]

Where are all these horror stories people keep mentioning? I know of only 1 incident relating to the zigzag

[silky fox]

That's true Steve...

[D Mc]

...I have occasionally asked why they like to stay old school and there answer is the same - 'safe and simple'

 

Safe and simple is very good but fortunately it no longer requires using a prusic on DdRT to be true.

 

The company I started with in the late 60's was very much ahead of it's time in the use of rigging tools and climbing methods. We found it to be a waste of time to hire an experienced climber due to their total inability to learn or accept new ways. I think the tree industry breeds a special kind of stubbornness.

[essential]

Very true , I know quite a few older climbers like myself who mock my wrench and zig zag and are still thrusting away.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Pbtaylor2014]

Some guys have said that there pins in spider jack has came loose but don't no for my self

[eggsarascal]

That was a funny episode Eggs!

Fair play for giving it a crack though!

 

I should have taken your advice from the out-set Mark and gone and fetched a ladder.

[njtimber]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of mechanical devices.

To see someone body thrusting 50' up a tree on a Prussick, however, is like watching someone use a bow saw.

They might be good, but they'd be better and faster using a more efficient system.

 

get your groundie to pull the loose tail of your rope makes a 50ft ascent easy

Ive got to stick up for the old fashioned climbers,and as for better and faster that comes with experience. i work with good young climbers with fancy kit ,my trees are always on the deck before theirs.the thing they need more focus on at colledge is how to fell accurately,which in turn gives them more confidence to let off larger lumps.I was lucky to work with some older tree fellers who taught me things that i was never shown at colledge 25 yrs ago