Fireaxman
ArboristSite Guru
Making near 100' assents in Loblolly and Bald Cypress, I am now addicted to SRT. But working (usually pruning and removing dead wood) I find DdRT almost a necessity. I have been making the transition after the assent by either bringing up a seperate DdRT rig (including cambium protector and/or friction saver) or by pulling up the tail of my SRT line and doubling it through a crotch for DdRT.
The first option has not been entirely satisfactory because of the extra equipment I have to drag up the tree and because I occasionally have trouble moving or removing the friction saver from lower levels (hung up in a tight crotch, lines twisted or tangled, difficulty re-establishing a tag line in case I have to return to the tree). The second method (pulling up the SRT tail) does not work especially well because cuttings sometimes hang up in the loop and because of wear to the cambium if I do not use a friction saver in my aversion to carrying up that "one more" piece of equipment. I also would like to get off my SRT line for working to protect it from wear, since I use a higher quality (and more expensive) rope for SRT.
Does anybody see anything wrong or dangerous about this? I am already bringing up the CMI Ropewalker as a backup for my ascenders, and it is easier to pocket the pully for a friction saver than to bring up my 48" Ring and Ring. This rig is giving me far less trouble retrieving than the Ring and Ring (if it hangs in a crotch the SRT rope just pulls out of the Ropewalker and the rope walker falls to the ground) and it lets me restore a tag line without having to double the tag line during retrieval (with the attendant twists and tangles). The only risk I see is the continuous pressure point of the Ropewalker on the SRT line, but the Ropewalker seems to be pretty gentle.
The first option has not been entirely satisfactory because of the extra equipment I have to drag up the tree and because I occasionally have trouble moving or removing the friction saver from lower levels (hung up in a tight crotch, lines twisted or tangled, difficulty re-establishing a tag line in case I have to return to the tree). The second method (pulling up the SRT tail) does not work especially well because cuttings sometimes hang up in the loop and because of wear to the cambium if I do not use a friction saver in my aversion to carrying up that "one more" piece of equipment. I also would like to get off my SRT line for working to protect it from wear, since I use a higher quality (and more expensive) rope for SRT.
Does anybody see anything wrong or dangerous about this? I am already bringing up the CMI Ropewalker as a backup for my ascenders, and it is easier to pocket the pully for a friction saver than to bring up my 48" Ring and Ring. This rig is giving me far less trouble retrieving than the Ring and Ring (if it hangs in a crotch the SRT rope just pulls out of the Ropewalker and the rope walker falls to the ground) and it lets me restore a tag line without having to double the tag line during retrieval (with the attendant twists and tangles). The only risk I see is the continuous pressure point of the Ropewalker on the SRT line, but the Ropewalker seems to be pretty gentle.