New climber falls out of tree

[iowa_jim]

This is a mild incident, but is perhaps worth sharing. A person I am very familiar with was learning to climb SRT. The rope was set up high in a union, and the base anchor was set. All looked right in front and behind. At about the 25' mark the person noticed that the rope on the other side of the union wasn't hugging the stem as expected. A few more feet up and the climber saw that the rope extended around a dead and skinny branch before attaching to the base. A quick estimate suggested that the climber would drop more than safety allowed, so the climber descended. The branch broke when the climber was 6' from the ground. He landed flat on his back, only suffering a mild concussion and damaged pride.

This could have been much worse of course, and the climber learned a valuable lesson.

 

[teacherman]

This is a mild incident, but is perhaps worth sharing. A person I am very familiar with was learning to climb SRT. The rope was set up high in a union, and the base anchor was set. All looked right in front and behind. At about the 25' mark the person noticed that the rope on the other side of the union wasn't hugging the stem as expected. A few more feet up and the climber saw that the rope extended around a dead and skinny branch before attaching to the base. A quick estimate suggested that the climber would drop more than safety allowed, so the climber descended. The branch broke when the climber was 6' from the ground. He landed flat on his back, only suffering a mild concussion and damaged pride.

This could have been much worse of course, and the climber learned a valuable lesson.

Shooting it up there with a slingshot carries that risk if the canopy obscures everything. I'm not sure how to account for that if one can't see the entire rope. I recently knew I was over the one I wanted, but when I went up, I saw I was being supported by one a good bit smaller that was fully ten feet higher than the one I thought was bearing me. Slingshots are awesome, but that risk is definitely there.
Glad there were no serious injuries. I wonder if he could have tied in and reset his rope when he saw what he was onto.

 

[user 188535]

Phew, good to see he is okay.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Bounce test, always bounce test...

 

[CatMan Fetters]

Use a pair of binoculars if you’re unsure where your rope is set!

 

[iowa_jim]

Teacherman, I was, I mean he was away from the stem and couldn't tie in. There was a point where that would have been possible but he started lowering himself before I reached it. MrMetsa, thanks for your support. JollyLogger, I did a bounce test, and I felt a little springiness but I attributed it to the new rope I was using, sigh. Fetters, that crossed my mind for the future, but I started being much more picky about where that rope lays.

Yep, there were a lot of things I could have done differently, I'm just glad I have the chance to try it again.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Yes, step three is always always to take an honest look at what went wrong and how to adjust to avoid it in the future... one and two being to get the heart rate back below 220 and put on a clean pair of skivvies, of course...

 

[ZinTrees]

bounce test, if in doubt have a coworker help bounce, or clip all your rope/rigging bags to the line for an extra few hundred pounds

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

bounce test, if in doubt have a coworker help bounce, or clip all your rope/rigging bags to the line for an extra few hundred pounds

This is what I do.

Get my buddy to bounce on it with me if I can't see it very well through the canopy. If a bounce from us together doesn't break it, I'm pretty confident in how it's set. No guarantee obviously...but nothing really is when climbing trees with a chainsaw.

 

[ZinTrees]

This is what I do.

Get my buddy to bounce on it with me if I can't see it very well through the canopy. If a bounce from us together doesn't break it, I'm pretty confident in how it's set. No guarantee obviously...but nothing really is when climbing trees with a chainsaw.

I did a bounce test once, no extra weight but was 100% confident it was fine

That was the only time I ever fell out a tree, only from 10ft but that's 10ft too high

 

[telecasterfool]

Well, I'll be the weird one. this is another reason for two ropes. Not being positive about what is happening at the top of a tree is one reason I ascend with a second rope that has a device that "follows", or self tends. It took a while to learn, but now I put the second line in a place that helps my overall plan. Either a safer place, somewhere that helps create triangulation for better work positioning, or somewhere I'm planning on moving to later in the day. Once I'm down to a spar, I don't use the second line.

Sometimes I don't use the second line much, but I've gotten use to managing it, and it's nice when I want it. I know most people wouldn't like it - to each his/her own.

Stay safe out there...

 

[teacherman]

Well, I'll be the weird one. this is another reason for two ropes. Not being positive about what is happening at the top of a tree is one reason I ascend with a second rope that has a device that "follows", or self tends. It took a while to learn, but now I put the second line in a place that helps my overall plan. Either a safer place, somewhere that helps create triangulation for better work positioning, or somewhere I'm planning on moving to later in the day. Once I'm down to a spar, I don't use the second line.

Sometimes I don't use the second line much, but I've gotten use to managing it, and it's nice when I want it. I know most people wouldn't like it - to each his/her own.

Stay safe out there...

I use a second line because I can, as this is a hobby for me, working on my own little bit of forest, The trees are all 80 feet, because they are so close together. Some thinning out is in order, but I rope into two adjacent trees and not the one I'm removing, if I can. That triangulation positioning thing is a real benefit. If I were doing this professionally, it would be whatever it takes to get me up there, moving around, and back down. The OP's situation could easily have been mine a number of times.

 

[pdqdl]

Many folks don't consider that going over the upper branches and tying off at the base puts a 2:1 mechanical advantage on whatever you are tied to. So a 180lb climber becomes a 360lb behemoth on that little limb aloft. Less a bit of friction, of course.

There is a solution, although it takes a lot more time and rope: Isolate that rope, then let a running bowline pull up to the top and hold the limb. The tail must be long enough to reach the ground for easy removal, though.

 

[iowa_jim]

Many folks don't consider that going over the upper branches and tying off at the base puts a 2:1 mechanical advantage on whatever you are tied to. So a 180lb climber becomes a 360lb behemoth on that little limb aloft. Less a bit of friction, of course.

There is a solution, although it takes a lot more time and rope: Isolate that rope, then let a running bowline pull up to the top and hold the limb. The tail must be long enough to reach the ground for easy removal, though.

Those are good ideas. In this case the union was plenty strong, but the rope didn't come straight down as I though, rather it extended across some thin and dead branches before returning. That was my mistake, err, my friend's mistake ...

 

[rabbit box]

Many folks don't consider that going over the upper branches and tying off at the base puts a 2:1 mechanical advantage on whatever you are tied to. So a 180lb climber becomes a 360lb behemoth on that little limb aloft. Less a bit of friction, of course.

There is a solution, although it takes a lot more time and rope: Isolate that rope, then let a running bowline pull up to the top and hold the limb. The tail must be long enough to reach the ground for easy removal, though.

Youtube. Educated Climber. Basal anchor drop test. 4 months ago. Please watch. Very informative on this subject. Stay safe.

 

[Lightning Performance]

If you can't see a single line and it's set position then take it down and try again. Spent almost an hour before to get my line set in the right spot. It can take twenty to thirty shots sometimes in tight spaces. Never had a line slip or drop down. Been almost killed many times by rope guys who won't let it ride down some. That gets me pissed
Two lines are just faster to move around in messy things all storm broke especially limb walking.