Alternate footlock

[Froggy]

Here's a good topic for discussion. People at just about every seminar you go to on climbing or rigging use the alternate footlock when they are doing limb work. Example: When you have a pretty steep limb to walk and you have no place to stand. You just put a sling around the limb and put your foot into it and you feel pretty comfortable. How many of you all put the time into practicing this. There for being able to do it efficiently. I'd like to have some feed back on this. Any advice is welcome.
Thanks
:Monkey:

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It does not take any dextarity. I do it with some frequency.

I've once used it to get up a 45 degree lateral that was too wet to climb. Last few cuts, I was not going to come back to do them another time. Alternated slings til I got to where I could climb the tree normaly.

 

[treeclimber165]

I like the new avatar, Froggy!

That's a good idea, Froggy. I've never thought of it, but I will definitely keep it in mind (for the rare occassion that I cannot get out a limb).

Since switching to a closed split-tail setup for my friction hitch, I've been trying a couple different hitch ropes. I had a new one today, and brought my old one with me in the tree on it's own biner. I had a tricky lead to climb and needed a redirect for my lifeline since I was about 25' sideways from my tie-in. Rather than unclipping my lifeline and flipping it through an overhead fork, I simply clipped my extra hitch rope around the overhead limb and ran both sides of my lifeline through the biner. That enabled me to get the extra 10' out the limb without having to unclip my lifeline to redirect.
Use what ya got, including your head.

 

[Nickrosis]

I offered him these:

Using webbing to position yourself is a great technique that I've used in the same scenarios you and JPS described.

Like Brian mentioned, redirecting is a great way to get where you want to be. This weekend, I used the biner-girth-hitched-above method to hold my life above me. That works well! The other problem is retrieving the biner.

For redirecting over crotches, it's great, but I don't like having to pull the friction saver through any more crotches than necessary. But like they say, treemen get into more crotches than anyone!

Nickrosis

 

[treeclimber165]

Thanks, Froggy! I used your trick today when trying to get out to the tip of a particularly long lead to set the cable on a crane removal. Even wearing gaffs, I couldn't get a good foothold because of the angle on my lifeline. Between my lifeline, lanyard and whipping that strap out of my back pocket for a quick foothold, I was a lot more secure while setting that cable. Later in the day I was getting compliments from the guys about my 'fancy climbing'.

 

[coydog]

I usually carry a bag of loop runners with me in the tree, they are light and not bulky and good for all kinds of scenarios. I often find a use for them to position my feet prior to making a cut.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

A neat one Strasser used in the ISA TCC was to climb well above the limb he wanted to work on, set 2 krab on a line around a limb and clip one onto each leg of the climbing line. Sorta like a friction saver, or quick-draw that rock climbers use.

this way he was able to hit the limbwalk quick and descend. As he pulled the rope out of the tree, one side freed up and pulled the redirect off the tie in limb.

Note that this method is best uesd for the final section of the tree