SRT ascent in white pine

[moss]

A friend took some photos while I was going up a 116 ft. white pine. I SRT'd up 69 ft. to the first solid live branch then switched over to DdRT climbing. After that I couldn't be seen from the ground through the branches so the photos end there. I got up to 106 ft. and enjoyed the view and a little breeze on a hot day.
White Pine climb

 

[rmihalek]

Great pictures Andrew. That's Paul that you're with right? He was at the Franklin Park climb I recall.

How many tries did it take to isolate a limb to set up for the first SRT pitch?

Was it difficult to set a new pitch for DdRT once you were aloft?

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Great pics AJ. I've been talking to some of the folks in our Design/construction dept. They received a grant for a rock climbing program. When I heard about it I suggested we change it to tree climbing (of course!). I'm still waiting to hear back, but the initial response was positive. Stay tuned for more details.

 

[moss]

Great pictures Andrew. That's Paul that you're with right? He was at the Franklin Park climb I recall.

How many tries did it take to isolate a limb to set up for the first SRT pitch?

Was it difficult to set a new pitch for DdRT once you were aloft?

Here are some answers for you:

Yep, that is Paul. He's looking to climb this Saturday afternoon, I'm out of the picture for a couple more weeks due to ongoing project. Let me know if you want to try and climb w/Paul.

It took one shot to get the branch. That was it. 69 ft. (edited, it was 69 not 79) through dead branches etc. what you'd expect in the woods. The Big Shot is a great tool.

It was fairly easy to set the DdRT TIP, it just depended on how high I wanted to get it. At that point the branches were close together so it was tough to throw very high. My next tie-in was about 15 ft. above the SRT tie-in. After that I was just flinging the end of my lanyard to advance up the tree.

 

[moss]

Great pics AJ. I've been talking to some of the folks in our Design/construction dept. They received a grant for a rock climbing program. When I heard about it I suggested we change it to tree climbing (of course!). I'm still waiting to hear back, but the initial response was positive. Stay tuned for more details.

That's great news, maybe in the long run they can do both.

 

[CJ-7]

What are you using for your doubled up suspender line which bears your full weight? Looks a bit thinner than I would be comfortable with. Good pics and that looks like a mighty fine climbing tree!

 

[OTG BOSTON]

AJ, was paul taking those pics from another tree?

 

[moss]

What are you using for your doubled up suspender line which bears your full weight? Looks a bit thinner than I would be comfortable with. Good pics and that looks like a mighty fine climbing tree!

I'm using 5mm Maxim Tech Cord, 22kn tensile by New England Ropes:
Tech Cord specs

The pine is a nice climber, there are a few more near it that could use some exploring. One thing I've noticed about these wild white pine is that there is very little sap on them. The place where there is sap is usually near the top where branches break from wind. They have such a bad rep for gumming up rope and gear with sap, I'm realizing that it's because white pine in residential areas are covered with sap from pruning cuts.
-moss

 

[moss]

AJ, was paul taking those pics from another tree?

Good eye Greg. My friend Tom was on the ground using a telephoto. The tree is on the side of a hill so Tom walked up the hill a little and zoomed in with the telephoto so he was able to stay level with me for part of the climb..
-AJ

 

[CJ-7]

Amazing what they have done with cordage in the past few years. 3/16" = 5000 pounds, wow. 3/16" stainless steel 9x16 I believe is rated at 3900 pounds. How DO they do that?

I do know that many of-roaders are going with soft winch cables now.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

AH, I see. You definitely have some great shots there. One of my biggest regrets is that I haven't been taking pics all along. I do have some really good ones from when I was first getting started (hilarious actually)