Nick Harrison

I recently had a read thru a new srt book from America, published by tcia, can't remember actual title...anyway in there it says the FC should be at least 3mm smaller (diameter) than the climbing line, so yours clearly meets that criteria but I'm not sure how the friction is affected with a 5mm difference between the 2?? I'd certainly keep trying with the Knut, might mean trying different rope combos but once you find a good match you'll be more than happy I reckon..failing that its the sj all the way imo Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

I also use the Knut, but on my side strop , always works perfectly, as well as the wraps you put in the knot I'd also check the diameters of the main climbing rope versus the diameter of your friction cord, something you may already be aware of but thought worth mentioning Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

couple more pics here of the job...from the aerial shot you can see the surrounding kiddies playground which made this job essential due to safety issues but also made it a very sensitive job too. I have friends who take their children to this park and the sculpture is a much appreciated feature enjoyed by both kids and adults, which meant we really had to get it right. hopefully now the remaining 3 sculptures will be in-situ for a good deal more time for everyone to enjoy. As David has already said, Treelife were a valuable contributor to getting the job done ....for me it was great to be involved, was just a shame that technical problems (translated means cameraman didn't check the camera was still rolling ) meant the second big cut wasn't captured on film. All in all a good day working on a spec that will most probably not come up again, great experience for all...and hopefully for the general public who will get to still enjoy the amazing carving work that just about covers every inch of the sculpture

these pics aren't the best but they'll give a bit more of an aerial view of the job that David is talking about. They were taken from the mewp part way thru the job, the last one i've arrowed where the barriers were as they aren't too clear from the shot.

Hi Ian, I'm one of the climbers on David's team so thought it worthwhile chiming in here. It's a good question re legal stand point if something went wrong and we were attached to the 2 side holes, because as you say the manual cleary shows the central hole as the attachment point to be used, however, it's using this central hole (whether with a single or a double rope system) that we've found is causing the rope(s) to be pushed into the plastic molding on the handle which then causes the friction on the rope as you ascend....so bascially still not sure which is the best/safest way to attach to the ascender?? someone else on here has asked the question of how bad is the glazing on the rope...i took a close look at the rope once David noticed the damage to the ascender and it didn't seem particularly excessive in my opinion, (i'm not LOLER qualified but the rope is in for a LOLER check this weekend so it'll be interesting to see what gets picked up there). There certainly is wear to the rope, whether that is from general usage or not we can't be sure. However you look at it, unnecessary friction on a rope isn't great, so for that reason alone it would make sense to find a way around the issue. What was a little worrying was that both myself and the other 2 climbers on the team failed to notice the damage to the ascender, despite checking our equipment on a weekly basis. I think this might be due to the fact that the ascender has been seen by us as a climbing aid and not part of our life line equipment, since i've been on the team we've always used the ascender with a backup friction hitch. Hopefully this thread will at least give a heads up to other ascender users and may even lead to some refinements further down the line, whether that be from petzl or simply how us climbers set these systems up....it's all progress:thumbup1:

Oh well, looks like I'll have to take a sicky then

Saw this event in the latest 'essential arb' mag and thought i'd post a heads up on here for those that may not know about it...looks like it could be quite interesting hopefully this link'll work, if not check out the Institute of Chartered Foresters website...is at a few other sites as well as Kew ICF Ken James Workshop - Trees , Wind Loading & Biomechanical Implications, RBG Kew, London

Am sure the offers will flood in once the footage goes public! Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

was lucky enough to have been involved with the above works at Burnham, pictures don't do the trees justice really. site is definately worth a visit for those interested in the vast world of veteran tree management...hopefully the stuff we've been doing will help these great trees out live us all..

somehow missed that first time round, great idea to test different scenarios like, really useful, cheers:thumbup1:

Get what you mean, it's one of those that'll need some time getting used to I guess, Lj has gotta be an improvement over friction hitch that can undress/slip if you're not careful, cheers

Think I get what you mean, presumably from what I can see in the pic you're talking bout the first rw? Maybe with the tether on the zk2 it might be easier to keep the rw and Lj away from other? Might be a bit dense but what does m/a stand for?? Guess its a suck it and see scenario, luckily one of the fellas on my team has just got a Lj, so think ill have a mess about on his and see how it goes, cheers for the feedback

Yeah, I kinda imagined it would be a little crowded on the srt with all that metal clanking about...think I will give a try out tho at some point, never want to miss an opportunity to look ultra shiny up a tree:thumbup1: Interesting what you said bout the zk2 being much better, will need to work on my boss to dig his hands abit deeper:thumbup:

Cheers...Any particular reason you didn't get on with it?? Did you try it out with the new rw, I've only ever used the first rw which doesn't have that firm tether on it..

Had been wondering about this setup, is the Lj well suited to using on srt with the rope wrench? Wondered also if sj could be used with the rw?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

a valid point

managed to get a get of jail free card for a few hours, lovely having a long walk with no requests of piggy backs and ice cream! out sledging and snowman building yesterday (with the girls)...we're just about to venture out also i think, is way too pretty to stay in

Walk out yesterday near Ashridge Estate and saw this great tree that seemingly won't give up...looks like it failed at some point and then resurected itself and keep on towards the light...also couple of pics of deer who kept still just long enough to capture... .

And good will to...etc etc? Lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

here's a couple of messages we found at work the other day (hampstead heath), is nice to know that there are folk getting positive stuff from urban tree scapes that some people probably take for granted. also nice that they should choose to share their positive experiences with others ..

Yep! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just as an add on to David's post, here's a short video that I took from a safe distance as we pulled the tree over. Not great quality, i was trying to keep an eye out for any members of the general public who might have decided to ignore our various signs and hazard tape rather than focusing the camera properly, obviously gotta sort my priorities out [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYBRrhJoaqg]Failed Scots pine - YouTube[/ame]

there were a couple of groups of fruiting merips, only spotted a small gano looking at pics after coming away. shame you didn't make it, david said you might see us there...am sure we'll be back there in the not too distant future, the whole area is a great place to lose hours simply exploring:thumbup1:

Sure did, was a real treat, had a gentle scramble on the lower limbs, she's a truly majestic tree, got some pics which don't really do the tree justice, something you gotta see in the flesh to fully appreciate I reckon...cheers for ident on the pholiota by the way Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk