Sciadopitys

What is a nice loose helical?? I will try again tomorrow with the VT and try a number of wrap and braid combinations! I'll get it right eventually! Steve - i am climbing on 24-strand, 11mm Poison Ivy with the friction hitch made of 8mm Heat Resistant Kernmantle Prusik cord. I'm sure i'll get it right eventually!

In the tropical rain forest, relatively few species of trees, such as teak, have visible annual rings. The difference between wet and dry seasons for most trees is too subtle to make noticeable differences in the cell size and density between wet and dry seasonal growth.

Tried the rope guide again today! still finding the same thing! The lack of friction above just causes my friction hitch to get extremely tight, and everytime i desend a little i have to loosen the hitch before i even attempt to ascend, or i struggle to tend the slack cos the hitch is so tight! I played around with no. of wraps and braids. Tried the distel - i usually have 4 wraps on the distel with a normal cambium saver and it works a treat! Not with the rope guide!!! It jams almost straight away! 3 wraps (as books teach you it) doesn't lock up under load, but after ascent it often doesn't grip the rope when i sit back! Not what i need - it put the shits up me several times!! The rope guide does make ascending easier i know, and the pair of gloves made all the difference (thanks Steve!!) but it is just really annoying having to loosen up my hitch all the flippin time - it drives me crazy! I am wondering if my weight has anything to do with it cos i am well built and weigh 100kg. Anyone else struggling with the rope guide?

The pantin is great when ur up against the trunk and footlocking is tricky! Otherwise i prefer to footlock!

Oh, some of the guys i work with work a ddrt off the SRT, but i seriously doubt that the system i have seen them use is that reliably! They go up on ascenders and clip a carabiner into the lower one with a micro-pulley on it, then set up the Ddrt tghru that pulley! I have always been taught that Petzl hand ascenders are not to be trusted when shockloaded and they can rip the rope and fail - so i have not climbed like this! I suppose you could just tie an alpin butterfly and clip the pulley intio there or just tie a prus. loop around at the desired height and away you go! Whats your thoughts Steve? Have u tried this? E

I use SRT quite a lot. I secure one end of the rope to the base of the tree (or another tree!) with a running bowline with Yosemite tie-off. Then climb the other end with two petzls ascenders (left + right) clipped together with a carabiner and clipped to my harness using a rater webbing sling. I just footlock the single rope and i fly up the line (much quicker than footlocking a double line!) I have heard that mechanical ascenders should be backer up with a friction hitch, but i personally just use the left and the right one (thats it!) what are the chances of em both failing together?? surely one backs up the other! If anyones trying this for the first time please be aware that the limb you are climbing to is subjected to twice the force you put on it with your own weight as the other end of the rope is secured to the tree!! (remember your physics from school?) And take care when u reach the canopy not to climb through the crotch or over the limb you are anchored on, because once you reach that limb and go over it nothing is securing you to the tree! Yopu can fall out!!!!!!! I love SRT, i think its faster and uses less energy than footlocking a double rope!!!! And you have the added bonus of having a rescue line in place should the worst happen!! You can even set up the system with a petzl ID at the base of the tree so that the ground crew can lower you to safety should anything go wrong (pass out, bee attack!!) on your ascent!! It saves a someone climbing the line and doing a complicated rescue!! (i know its not likely to ever happen, but its good to get your mind thinking about what you'd do if it ever does happen!) As for cost..........a couple of ascenders (or 1 and a friction hitch), a carabiner and a webbing strap - not that expensive i don't think! And a static rope helps - we use snakebite! I didn't think SRT was that common but the guys i'm working with swear by it, and i can see why! I'm a big fan! I think footlocking the single line is much easier then mesing around with footloops and stuff. Whats everyone else reckon? W

Nah, not a pheonix the first pic - itsa Trachycarpus fortunei (chusan palm) from china! Hardy to about -11 celsius as is Chamaerops humilis from the Medd. it also will grow in UK climate. As will Pheonix canariensis from the canary islands and Washingtonia filifera from thedeserts of Southern California! All are common in the garden centre in UK, but only do well in milder parts of the country like western scotland, west of ireland and the SW. E

The other day someone shouted out a scenario at work! Someone is footlocking a double line, and he (or she!) gets stung by bees or hornets (or simply passes out in the heat or cos they are diabetic) so the person is unconcious hanging on their klemheist on a double line! How do ya rescue em? They are hanging in mid air with no branches around them! I'll tell you what we came up with later and compare it to what you guys throw out there!!! I look forward to hearing what you come up with! We had several hours discussion and a full afternoon practicing! Ed

I have just sat the ISA CErtified Arborist test in December in New Jersey. I got 92% which i was very pleased with. I found the test very challenging, but studied extremely hard for the test, putting in many hours of reading. Some of the questions still were tricky. As for the CEU's, i don't think 30 over 3 years is many at all. I have got 9 already and i only got certified in Dec. And i am going to the Penn-Del Shadetree symposium next mon and tues in Lancaster, PA where i can get another 11 i think. And if ur an ISA member you get a quiz every month in Arborist News worth 1 CEU, and you can even do em on line! Over here in the USA the ISA certification is highly recognised as the industy standard for tree work. I wish it was more recognised in the UK. Maybe it will be in the future! What i find rediculous is how in Pennsylvania to do tree work you do not need to have any certificates or be licenced or anything! Anyone can do tree work - no NPTC's - no anything! No loler examinations on equipment, no chainsaw boots or chainsaw trousers either! Not as strict as UK. not sure if all theStates are the same!?!?! E

I am fairly new to footlocking. An instructor used to tell me to practice, practice, practice and i would reap the rewards eventually! I practiced and simply couldn't do it for months. I now climb in USA in PA were chainsaw protection isn't a requirement for arborists footware so i can wear any boots i like in the tree. I am wearing some fairly cheap boots, good grip and flat sole. I have absolutely no problem getting a good lock on a double rope or single rope! (My main problem is holding my weight if i miss a lock! I feel like my forearms are gonna explode by the time i reach 50ft!! I reach the canopy a lot quicker then body thrusting but i need to rest for 5 minutes before beginning work!) Has anyone else experienced this problem footlocking with chainsaw boots? Are there any good boots with chainsaw protection that suit footlocking? Cos i wish i could bring these boots back to UK and climb in em!! but i suppose chainsaw protection is there for a reason! Has anyone ever heard of accidents to feet whilst working in a tree canopy?? When footlocking a double line i used a long loop with a klemheist knot (and remember to take up my figure 8 with me for descents!) I have also been using a couple of petzl acsenders clipped together with a carabiner and secured to my harness with a rated webbing sling and footlocking the single line in SRT. I find this very useful in dense canopies when isolating a crotch proves difficult - just fire up a line, and tie one end around the base of the trunch with a running bowline with Yosemite tie-off, and climb up the other end with the ascenders by footlocking the single rope! Once up there lanyard in and set up your traditional system! You can leave the single line in as a rescue line in case of emergencies! It is worth mentioning i think that when using this method be careful when you almost reach the crotch your rope is overt, cos if you climb over that crotch, you'll fall out the tree!! and also when using this method care is needed when selecting a crotch, because you are subjecting it to twice the load of your weight as one end of the rope is secured to the tree!! Sorry this is long - got carried away!! Look forward to reading some feedback and seeing if anyone esle in UK uses SRT. I never did til i came to USA. Ed

I began climbing in USA recently and had to do a drugs test before i was hired! I believe this is very common practice in the States these days especially with a job such as ours! What is even worse then the initial pre-employment drugs test is the random drugs tests! A friend told me he had to give up smoking weed completely because he had a HGV licence and his company policy was to test employees randomly! One day they turn up for work and you are told you have a drugs test in an hours time! Probably on a monday morning!! Even a few drags off a joint are not worth losing your job for! I can see both sides of the coin tho! I think the use of drugs whilst working in the Arboricultural profession is totally unacceptable! BUT.......... is smoking a spliff on a friday night after a hard week really gonna make you any less able to carry out your work safely and efficently on monday morning? I think not! I think drug testing for dope is maybe going too far!?!?! As for coming into work a little hungover, mmmm, i think it happens to the best of us occasionally, and i think my response to this if i was an employer would be to give you the shittiest job i could find for the entire day! This will make you think twice next time your in the pub on a schoolnight!

I used an Echo top-handled saw a couple of times, it had a nice long bar on it, and seemed a rearly good saw! But if i was buying one for myself i would buy Stihl everytime! Can't beat German engineering! They can't win wars but they build great chainsaws!

I'm working in the States at the moment, and all the guys i am working with are using Blaze or Poison Ivy 24 strand ropes. I've been using the Poison Ivy, i found the Blaze a bit too thin (11mm) and it really hurt my hands when ascending! Poison Ivy is meant to be 11.7mm (not much different!) but it feels a bit nicer on my hands! Not sure about the New England ropes, i look forward to reading what feedback you get! Ed

Interesting!!! I have always climbed with the traditional 2-ring cambium saver! I recently tried the ART Rope Guide and i found that when ascending within the tree it is much more difficult to hold my weight with one hand whilst tending the slack of a vt friction hitch. I find ascent much easier with a little more friction above like provided by the 2-ring cambium saver or a natural crotch! I also find that due to the lack of friction in the rope guide my VT tends to bind and lock up much more then with the 2-ring cambium saver! I would appreciate some feedback from all you guys who say its worth the money, cos i think i must be missing something!! But on decents and limb walks, its awesome! Look forward to hearing your guys feedback! Ed