Dan Curtis

Thanks Ben, I'll sleep easy tonight knowing there's a certain outcome from tomorrow:001_tt2:

There's a ditch nearby, I'm not sure how much flows in it though. Fairly wet land generally, it's getting over towards the Fens

I've got a takedown tomorrow of a Eucalyptus that has a large basal wound with a large amount of Dead Man's Fingers fruiting at ground level. The tree isn't MEWP accessible, nor will it fell. I've had a bash with a hammer and I'm thinking there's around 65% sound wood, I'll give it a go with a drill tomorrow to be sure. Has anyone got any experience of the host/saprophyte together? It's a new combo on me...

I carry a couple of cubes, have a couple of old ones at home that I'm slowly salvaging for parts when I need them. The standard in both my main cubes is 50m Skyline or Zing It, I used to really like the Marlow braided line, but after multiple dodgy ones (broken within a week) I stopped using it. There's usually a 10 or 12oz Harrison Rocket on the throwing end of the lines, a 16oz weaver on the tail end. I also carry about half a dozen other bags ranging from 6oz - 16oz. I have a Bigshot, but rarely use it. I can throw pretty high quite accurately. I favour a one handed throw, without any of that basketing gubbins, just a load of faff imo. Ivy covered/dense trees I'll use a heavier weight to blast it's way through. To join the bags to the lines, I'm settled on bowlines girthed onto the ring. I don't really see a need for slips or dropper knots. If I think there's a chance the bag will get stuck then I'll let it run to the floor and take it off before pulling the line back through. I probably throw an average of 5 shots per day, this year so far I've not got a single bag stuck. Last year, probably less than 10 stuck bags. An old krab is great for giving that extra tug on the line when you need to unstick it, just pop a Munter hitch on the top and the bottom and use the spine as a handle. I throw nearly every time I want to set a rope, either anchor points in trees, pull lines, traverse lines etc. Throwline games are one of my summer past times Take the dog for a long walk and see what I can get the bag to do, walk it up and down the tree, multi tree redirects etc. I'm also partial to a bit of boomerang throwing, I have a nice scaffold bar set 3ft off the floor for playing with. Imo, the throwline is an underrated part of our kit. I'm fortunate enough to work with some groundsmen who can set pulls in limbs and set rigging ready for you to get to the cut, massive time and labour saver when it's required.

Could you rig a horizontal traverse line between two other trees and work from that if there aren't any nearby trees suitable for a single attachment? Imo, smashing a big top out wouldn't be the way to go, it'll put a big load into the stem and potentially the root plate. Yesterday I pulled over a Euc in a similar state. It looked climbable but came over very easy on just a winch and pull line. You can't tell what's holding it up there, straws and camels backs etc Should've read the whole thing before posting!

Have a look through this Luke; http://www.treemagineers.com/downloads/hitch_climbers_guide.pdf What you're talking about is covered in the section "managing slack" page 19. It'll give you a lot of other ideas about using the Hitchclimber, worth a read.

After my initial climb with the drum on, I was sceptical. It's growing on me now though, let me know what you think to it Ben

According to IBP, you should really have two points of attachment to an access system. That's not to say it doesn't work with one hitch. It does and a lot of people do it that way. Assuming you're not thinking of having a pantin with it, the double prussik system you describe is a very old caving technique, and if you've ever tried it over long distance, it can be pretty tiring. As you're only tethered to one of your prussiks, it's taking your whole load on it's own when you sit to advance the footloop, and can bind tight. This makes advancing it very difficult. If you're trying to keep gear minimal and low budget, I'd just add a pantin to the system so that you're never fully weighted into one or other prussik while you're trying to advance them. This will minimise binding and keep things smoother

It'd be more like trying to dance on the front of a combine with all the brash on a lombardy:biggrin:

It really isn't. Having done SRT demo's at various shows the last few years, I've heard all sorts of arguments against it, some are as baffling as the one in the OP. Back when I started climbing SRTWP, I was employed at an AAAC. They wanted me to go by the book, which meant consulting the AA on their opinions of it. Trust me, they're not chinese whispers.

No. Personally I don't think there are any reasons that it shouldn't be accepted practice. But imo, we're a long way from it becoming anything like best practice

I'd assume what he meant was something getting stuck on top of your hitch and forcing it into descent. Given a few variables; pulley saver, big natural crotch etc, you may fall fractionally slower on DdRT. Fractionally.

Agreed. What I really meant was, are people stupid enough to be trashing their's or someone else's ropes? Do saws come into contact with climber's tails on a regular basis? If so, there are bigger issues in the industry than what part of the tree the climber is tied to. I've been climbing SRTWP for about three years now, during which I've probably worked with around 40-50 different groundsmen. I mostly base anchor for work, unless rigging or slamming lumps out. In that time, I've only ever worked with one person who made me think twice about the safety of my base anchor with him near it, that was after I'd explained what it is and not to use a saw near it.....twice.

Yes, it's an added part of the system which is in a vulnerable position, but is it any more likely to come to harm than the tail end of a rope? Obviously a rope under tension will cut easier, but any part of a rope which has a lump of tree dropped on it will not fair well. I doubt that. There is obviously confusion about the safety of base anchors, but I don't think the "two bits of rope" issue stems from it.

One of the "allegations" was me. I did hear it from a man who is part of the AA. I will not name and shame that person, it will not gain us anything but unecessary embarassment for their part and hard feelings. Needless to say, they've seen the light.

Available for hire, follow the link below;)

But you'd need a CS41 or equivalent to dismantle the tree:sneaky2:

SRT is a more ergonomic way of climbing. On the whole it is better for your body, requires less physical exertion, has the possiblity to prolong your working life. It can increase the speed of your work, meaning more money in the bank (or an easier way to achieve that at least!) If used in a well thought out manner, it can provide a safer, more stable work postion. In certain circumstances it can also provide the means for a quicker aerial rescue, though this is a debated topic amongst fervent SRT bods. If you want to make the progression from what you're using, I'd recommend adding a rope wrench and stiff tether to your kit bag. That'll be the simplest, cheapest way of doing it. If you've got time, have a good read of this; http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/srt-single-rope-technique/36682-rope-wrench-feedback.html and have a scroll through the SRT forum.

Could you clarify what you mean by this? I understand the principles of what you're trying to acheive but I dont understand how you're "following" anything? It just looks freehanded to me:confused1:

I have a Sawpod jacket that I won in the xmas raffle last year. It's easily the best waterproof I've ever worn, nice and breathable so you don't get damp from your own sweat. I don't know if they ever got into production or not, hopefully they did

Very nice Paul. Does he want anymore? I only have a couple of tonnes of Redwood left

If you're intending to compete you'll need to be there for both days Ian. If not, there will be full events running throughout the weekend, so either day will be entertaining

Depends on the size of the tree and how I feel that day but the bare essentials for me are; Ropewrench/hitch or Unicender Pantin (my knees are too knackered to footlock) 1x Krab 1x Ring 1x Snap attached to my shirt collar for chest attachment Upwards from there I often add; Hand ascender 1x 30cm Sling 1x Revolver

I haven't seen Marcus climb but if you know Ben you'll have seen proper SRT working. I bet if you asked nicely he'd make you one, once he's back and regains his energy:sneaky2: Easily go for the wrench over the zigzag, makes so much more sense!