Mark T

It's a more efficient technique used for long ascents into the canopy, I think it originated as a caving technique. Essentialy you secure a static line into the tree and use equipment to climb the single length of rope as apposed to the mechanical advantage used most commonly in the double rope technique (both ends attached to the climber - rope running up over the branch). An SRT ascent would see the climber in a more upright position almost walking up the rope. Thats kind of it anyway...!

Hey Steve, Myself and a few colleagues are in the middle of doing the very same thing... practice day on Sat on 130' Corsicans... practice for a tall tree project we've got coming up (weather permitting we'll crack 3 x 210'+ trees in 5 days!). One of the team is an SRT instructor and we're reckoning on using a gri gri at the base in case of the need for rescue (far quicker, safer and easier than rescuing off the SRT line). This sytem does depend on having a few decent branches to send the SRT line over... We're going to attempt to guide the throwline over the 3rd or 4th set of branches first and wrap it - and then the rope - around as much of the stem as possible to increase friction and security. Hope this helps... would of course be interested to hear how other guys approach this. Out of interest, the setup we'll be using will be TreeFlex / Cresto harnesses / Petzl Secur / Ascension with dynamic attachment rope and a footloop, all backed up by a Micrograb / Croll / Pantin.

Like Jon said...!

Treelife Training do their Treemail mode of learning. Worth a look.

I like the way these guys approach things (considered and professional) but feel they've missed the mark on this product... at east thats the way I see it. Conversely... the Hitch Climber is A1.

Don't do it would be my advice... I find it too stiff and it fails to grab reliably even though I've tried a variety of set-ups. I have just tried some of this new Armor-Prus stuff (reviewed on here) and found it to be completely the reverse... supple and reliable. Aside from that... the Ocean eye to eye cost me £20!!!

No worries... Fungi are fascinating things, so much to learn... so much still unknown! Keep 'em coming!

The first looks like it could be some kind of Stereum... difficult to tell though.

Close mate... Yellow Brain Fungus - Tremella mesenterica

... Dolmars!

So far... about 110' Douglas... in 4 weeks time I will hopefully have 3 200+ under my belt! Watch this space!

Not always mate... Risky strategy!

Hi mate, Thanks for your reply... I had seen the figures on the webpage but they are now outdated. I got a response from the AA and it transpires that the 2009 figures have been increased by 4% in line with RPI (Retail Prices Index). Thanks again...

Hi all, Can anybody help me? I'm struggling to lay my hands on the current unit value for the Helliwell Amenity Valuation System... all at the Arb Association are away from their phones at the mo' and I could do with the answer sharpish! Many thanks in anticipation, Mark

Have a look at this... http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5089 You could also try Marcus B-T's website

Hey Mr Ed... been a long week or something?! The 50% moiture content you speak of is news to me and obviously makes chip more feasible but might there be problems with space for storage of round material whilst it dries? Presumably, to kiln dry material, you would need significant energy input? I know several people who have pellet boilers and they all have had issues with reliable, quality and affordable pellet supply (admittedly this was approx' 1 yr ago). Perhaps things have improved now? Do you regularly buy pellet? How do they work for you? With regards to most electricity coming from fossil fuels... sure it does... but I source all my electricity from 100% renewable sources. Not a problem! In addition... any new development could of course generate its own electricity could it not?

Publicity, as long as it's positive, can only be a good thing... keep trees in the public eye so to speak (can trees be out of the public eye?). Myself and a few colleagues have quite a nice publicity event coming up soon... watch this space!!

Best stick to round / split logs as it can be problematic to get chip below required moisture content and pellet can be difficult to get hold of. A good idea is to use solar hot water, geothermal ground-source heat pumps to keep room temps ticking over and top up when required with woodfuel boiler, this way they'll put less pressure on the wood supply... but then... I guess all that is out of your remit?!

They look great through don't they! Useful link David... ta.

G. lucidium for me due to the presence of a stipe, a lot bigger than I've seen before though...

More useful info here... http://www.imlusa.com/html/downloads.html

Follow the link to find excellent info & case studies by Mattheck / Schwarze and others relating to IML products along with other interesting bits and pieces... hope it helps. http://www.imlusa.com/html/downloads.html Might pop it on the ISA Online Journal threat too...

Yes, studied with them at Westonbirt... very good indeed. Its important to realise that whatever route you take you'll have to do a substantial amount of self-study but it certainly helps haveing someone guide you through...

You won't have any issues with Treelife

Thine team shall learn different roles and sing the songs from the Jungle Book to aid passage of miserable jobs