Marc

At least they have now been made safe!

Nice job, looked well gone in the base any idea what caused the decay?

I've worked with crazier nut job climbers than Q but few who are as skillfull and knowledgable, the safety and smoothness of his work is way up there. One job i'd of loved to watch him do up close, is the weeping Beech job to rig down an entire crown in a couple of days in such a tricky enviroment is good going.

I'd like to see that jamie, you going to put something like plastic tubing to hold the loop open? Been meaning to make an order with you for ages, only my money seems to go elsewhere at the moment.

Please don't go saying that, his head almost blocks out the sun as it is, only joking Q:001_tongue:

I thought most of your tree access was with spikes Jamie:confused1:

There are a few outfits that pay that kind of money between me and London, very few though!!

In the third pic is that possibly Ustilina in there?

I'm not sure, i'd hazard a guess he installed it from the ground just in case. As for why the job was carried out/spec again i don't know its not one i was involved in i'm sure the spec was sound though. Given the chance i'd do it, tree work doesn't always have to be serious or sensible.

Is that the technique for the mythical mexican jump cut!??

This should help prolong the trees life. [ame] [/ame]

I was once told by an old school climber that if your rope is blowing past a 45 degree angle get down quick!

I know your well away with srt rupe, i just think that rads is more usefull than some believe, your right that if you descend any distance the footloop is away from you i'm usually only descending a short way to a get into a work position you then have better advantage to get back in. You are having to pull through more slack its not hard to do this though and i think you have to compare it more with a doubled rope set-up than a more effcient but ascent only srt system. To descend from the top to the ground takes a lot of rope 4 times like you said, like all treework planning is essential, if you are going to go to the ground remove the handle ascender and descend on the Eddy.

I'm all for the rads because it is simple, you just clip yourself to the Eddy and away you go, it is easier than double rope methods for ascent, and if it introduces you to srt (albiet a far from super fast effcient ascent srt) then that is not a bad thing imo. All the components can go on to be used in other srt set-ups. Next time i see you at a show or climbing event i'll say hello rupe and maybe I can convert you:001_cool:

A device like the eddy does make a difference with the rads system, a VT has sit back and will not descend well on a single line. The Eddy also works better than a cinch or gri gri due to its larger diameter cam giving smoother control, it also has the added bonus of anti panic function, its more compact and i think better suited to treework than a Petzl I'd to. As for a Lockjack,, i'm not 100% sure, but i'd say its not suited to single line, it has a smaller and different designed cam action compared to a purpose designed single line device. I've been told it works on a single line tho, and the manual doesn't say you can not use it, but it also doesn't say you can! Use the right tool for the job in my opinion.

You are in a way right rupe, with the footloop tho it is possible to stand and pull with one fluid motion all the slack through and make good progress fairly easily, this is handy to reach the first few branches, then the system comes into its own with its ability to go up or down and work. Like i said its a good system to have in the tool kit, very versatile, not kit intensive easy to set-up, well i'm just repeating my self now. Its a good system for say dead wooding certain pines or other single stemed trees, the ease and speed of setting up, no need to isolate a branch, go up come down on one system job done,

Hi Rupe must of missed your post last night, i look back and see i did say 2-1 my mistake i guess? No offence but the footloop is essential with the Rads it speeds ascent and allows you to use your leg muscles and get into an ascent rythme which cannot be achieved without it, the Rads is not the most effcient (although far easier than footlock or body thrust and more versatile). I then described and showed in the pics that once your in the canopy you can stop using the footloop, your then just using the ascender and tail to advance, and on limb walks and re-ascent the 3-1 advantage comes into its own. Using a pantin on the Rads has proved useless as ascent is not as rapid and is awkard. I think Beraneks technique looks sound, i don't think it would be possible to use left and right foot ascenders on the tail of a doubled line system, hence the video showing a technique where you can use 2 to good effect. I also don't think these systems are over complicated, the rads is so simple its just a handle ascender with footloop, Eddy and pulley very easy to set-up and fairly hard to get wrong and a good intro to SRT to progress from.

I reckon Gerry's (the guy in the you tube clip) system would work very smoothly with a cockjack and ropeguide, he use's 2 petzel pantins, i would of thought a pantin and a petzel basic would be better. Only your missing some of the advantages of SRT, the easier set-up, the benefit of having 2 seperate systems to work the tree etc.

SRT simply means your climbing a single line of rope, you can do it with a normal tree climbing harness. Obviously using a harness apadted to SRT opens up a few more options and makes configuring some systems easier. Rads is just a name for an srt technique.

No you do not need a chest attachment for the rads, the Eddy acts like a hitch only more suited to single line applications. Yes you either tie the line off with a running bowline or attach another belay device to the stem for remote rescue. The good thing about a rads system if an aerial rescue needs to be performed the rescuer can release the tension using the eddy, with other srt systems some extra thought needs to go into how you would relase the climbers weight from the jammers so its good practice imo to tie the system of wwith a belay device. The other good thing about srt is it makes throwlining a little easier as you don't have to isolate a limb, in fact its better if you don't. Another important thing to consider is weight you apply to your anchor, unlike double rope technique you will be doubling the load on your anchor so it will be subject to twice your weight, hence its best to not isolate a limb and your access line going through or over 2 or more limbs.

The great thing about a rads system is once its installed your ready to work, no need to go to the top and tie in first you can work your way there and you already have a nice high anchor point. Here are a couple of other pics, the climber went par of the way up and descended out onto a limb, you can see the ascender left in place with the pulley, as you work your way back in you just pull the tail to tend the slack (the tail is clip to his bridge with another biner) The rope walker/tree frog is so easy to ascend on its like climbing a ladder you just fly into the tree, only the sort of climb where you have a 50ft+ straight access hanging free from the stem are not often, its even more rare that you may not want to do some work on the way up, so a rads system is a worth while system, nearly all the parts can be used in other systems to. Also worth a look at is this set-up using a double rope system, haven't tried it myself yet but looks good. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-_GUggGMmM]YouTube - DLRW[/ame]

O.k here is the rads system it comprises of a right (or left is your a lefty) ascendor an ascending/decending device like the Elderid Eddy i have, a micro pulley, 2 karabiners and some cord to make a footloop. In my opinion in the for us here its one of the more useful srt systems as you can ascend and descend on the same system, with the pulley on the ascender you gain a 2-1 advantage so if you keep the tail of the line with you it makes limb walks easier as you can use the tail to haul yourself back in eliminating slack. Rads is far from an effcient srt system yet its easier and quicker than body thrusting. It works best close to a stem so you can use both feet one to push up the other to stabalise yourself, or once your among branches and forks you can do away with the foot loop just pushing the ascender up and pulling the tail of your line to advance the Eddy. I did take some pictures of the rope walker but they look a mess and would probably confuse more than help.

Well for a change i'll try and beat drew to it! I use a RADS system and have recently been trying out the rope walker, both work with a tree motion.

Francital everest look worth a punt good price to. Only type A tho.