Climbing

[YoungTreeGuy]

So Ive been climbing for about 5 years now. Basically use the same gear as other local climbers in the area.

I use saddle with a sliding D-Ring in the front with 2 leg straps. Lanyard made from 1/2in climbing rope, and a saw snap with an old seatbelt. Usually throw my safety line to nearest crouch and tie a sliding noose knot with 3 wraps on bottom 2 on top( more than this seems to make it hard to ascend/decend) then knot the tail end so it doesn't losen up(throw ball if I can' reach the first crouch). I'll work off any branches on my way up to the top, take the canopy out, take the wood down to But-log. So... Tree gaffs, Saddle, 1/2in Climbing line, 2x 3/4in swing line, and a 1in Bullline for the big trees.

Is there any special gear I should be using? Will OSHA give me a hard time about what I'm using now? Any suggestions?

 

[treeclimber101]

So Ive been climbing for about 5 years now. Basically use the same gear as other local climbers in the area.

I use saddle with a sliding D-Ring in the front with 2 leg straps. Lanyard made from 1/2in climbing rope, and a saw snap with an old seatbelt. Usually throw my safety line to nearest crouch and tie a sliding noose knot with 3 wraps on bottom 2 on top( more than this seems to make it hard to ascend/decend) then knot the tail end so it doesn't losen up(throw ball if I can' reach the first crouch). I'll work off any branches on my way up to the top, take the canopy out, take the wood down to But-log. So... Tree gaffs, Saddle, 1/2in Climbing line, 2x 3/4in swing line, and a 1in Bullline for the big trees.

Is there any special gear I should be using? Will OSHA give me a hard time about what I'm using now? Any suggestions?

Why don't you try a cable base lanyard , they are really safe , next to impossible to cut , they come in long length like 8ft 12ft and 16 ft. ,with a micro cam its really easy to change the length ,it can be done one handed , I tried one and threw my rope lanyard away that day.. Also 1 inch bull line is really heavy for anything more than trunk work , go 5/8 or 3/4 the less weight sure does make a huge difference on fatigue... I also use pads for my gaffs that helps with the sore shins and hurting insteps..

 

[YoungTreeGuy]

Good Rope Man can cut down fatigue for climbers

I've got my ropers trained to pull the tail line up to me when they have the line free leaving about 10 feet so the line doesn't slide threw and have to pull it back up making for more work. Then let them get to what needs to be cut up chipped or loaded. I'm usually setup by the time they are cleaned up enough to continue with the job. This esspecialy good for those cut and leave jobs. If my legs start to hurt I usually will throw an ACE bandge on under my pants but I'm pretty comfortable right now. As for the cable lanyard that sounds like a good idea for safety but I won't make a cut that I can't see. We have a bucket for trimming and we try to stay away from climbing trim jobs because of gaff holes in the tree. But in there is always a few jobs a year where some1 wants tehre tree topped or trimed and our bucket can't get to it. Will your cable lanyard cause damge or do you coat it with something?

 

[treeclimber101]

I've got my ropers trained to pull the tail line up to me when they have the line free leaving about 10 feet so the line doesn't slide threw and have to pull it back up making for more work. Then let them get to what needs to be cut up chipped or loaded. I'm usually setup by the time they are cleaned up enough to continue with the job. This esspecialy good for those cut and leave jobs. If my legs start to hurt I usually will throw an ACE bandge on under my pants but I'm pretty comfortable right now. As for the cable lanyard that sounds like a good idea for safety but I won't make a cut that I can't see. We have a bucket for trimming and we try to stay away from climbing trim jobs because of gaff holes in the tree. But in there is always a few jobs a year where some1 wants tehre tree topped or trimed and our bucket can't get to it. Will your cable lanyard cause damge or do you coat it with something?

no its a wire core lanyard with a rope coating, i like it obviously for the safety aspect and the easy adjustment it is like night and day, I was oldschool to but when I tried one I never went back,

 

[TreEmergencyB]

I've got my ropers trained to pull the tail line up to me when they have the line free leaving about 10 feet so the line doesn't slide threw and have to pull it back up making for more work. Then let them get to what needs to be cut up chipped or loaded. I'm usually setup by the time they are cleaned up enough to continue with the job. This esspecialy good for those cut and leave jobs. If my legs start to hurt I usually will throw an ACE bandge on under my pants but I'm pretty comfortable right now. As for the cable lanyard that sounds like a good idea for safety but I won't make a cut that I can't see. We have a bucket for trimming and we try to stay away from climbing trim jobs because of gaff holes in the tree. But in there is always a few jobs a year where some1 wants tehre tree topped or trimed and our bucket can't get to it. Will your cable lanyard cause damge or do you coat it with something?

Your worried bout hurting the tree with a steel core laynard and you were spikes while pruning a tree or "trim jobs" those arnt very nice to our trees!!

 

[Glennak]

no its a wire core lanyard with a rope coating, i like it obviously for the safety aspect and the easy adjustment it is like night and day, I was oldschool to but when I tried one I never went back,

True they are safer if you hit them with a saw. I heard of one breaking because the cable had kinked inside the rope covering. It must have been like this for a long time. Just something to check from time to time.
The fellow was OK because he was using 2 flip lines.

 

[canopyboy]

no its a wire core lanyard with a rope coating, i like it obviously for the safety aspect and the easy adjustment it is like night and day, I was oldschool to but when I tried one I never went back,

I like my wirecore for ease of adjustment and safety when I'm cutting. Regardless of whether you can see the cut, things happen up there you don't expect and you can nick your line while you're trying to get your saw out of the way of something that didn't go as planned.

And this is all good when you're attached only to the tree you're bringing down and it's a solid tree. On dicer trees, I like to be attached at a higher TIP from a nearby tree if I can. But then it bothers me that I have this wire core lanyard and my climbing line supporting not only me, but the dead tree I'm working on if it starts to go. I've been thinking I'd like to start using non-wire lanyards in this situation, just so there is the option to cut myself off the bad tree if needed. After all, you'll never be able to release the snaps if it's holding up the tree.

And does this thread really belong under rec climbing? Sounds too much like work, even if some of us think it's fun.