Spur climbing question

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Never climb with only spikes and a lanyard. Always have a life line. This will make you more comfortable, give you more positioning options, and also give you a chance to rest your legs and think about what you're doing.
Most importantly, the life line is a much faster descent system and there are a thousand reasons why you would need to get out of a tree quickly.
When you free climb with spikes you're trading safety for time. This might seem like it's worth it at the beginning but as you get better at working with safe techniques, you'll actually find them to be faster and easier.
 
Never climb with only spikes and a lanyard. Always have a life line. This will make you more comfortable, give you more positioning options, and also give you a chance to rest your legs and think about what you're doing.
Most importantly, the life line is a much faster descent system and there are a thousand reasons why you would need to get out of a tree quickly.
When you free climb with spikes you're trading safety for time. This might seem like it's worth it at the beginning but as you get better at working with safe techniques, you'll actually find them to be faster and easier.

Indeed.
I however would use the term whenever possible, in exchange for never.

Carry on...
STIHL the BEST
 
When ascending with double wrap lanyard, keep both hands on the tree like holding a women's waist and bring it up(lanyard) as you climb.
I'm kinda new with spur climbing and i find it effective when done this way, well maybe for that particular tree i guess.
What I've seen new guys do is when one spur slips panic and lean into the tree trying to bear hug the tree and in return your Spurs naturally angle out away from tree causing now both Spurs to loose contact, so learn to not panic and just keep both Spurs angled into tree, the spur that slipped will bite within a few inches and even if not just transfer wieght into remaining spur and regaff tree withother actually easier than it sounds main idea is to not panic it's instnck to want to bear hug the tree making things much worse!!!
 
Thanks I was mostly intending on climbing a couple maples and pines that needed to come down. I have also been searching around on the site and found that you can double wrap your lanyard around the tree to make it stop you from falling when you "gaff out" also correct me if I'm wrong your most likely going to be stopped by your lanyard once it runs out of working length or if if your grip it tight enough it will stop you almost immediately? Thanks

Also on dead tree that are a little risky to climb I have seen arborists tie into a nearby tree when they spur climb how will that help if the trees starts to topple when your in it. Thanks
Read some comments here and it has not been mentioned that the most important thing ( besides doing a visual check on your lanyard to make sure it’s snapped to the “d” ring on your saddle and not your underwear) is the angle. If you place the hooks so that they are pointing at the center of the trunk, you won’t slip.

The mistake for beginners is focusing too much on digging deeply into the tree; wears you out pulling them out, and when they do kick out — which they will more often with a narrow angle to the bark— you will slide. Really unlucky, both kick out at once, and down you go.

So why is it so hard to get the angle right? Because as a beginner, you feel safer right against the tree. Wrong. You are safer lengthening your lanyard and leaning back — that’s how you open the angle between hook and bark.

Don’t believe me? Practice a few feet off the ground.

Starting out, no one explained this to me and they sent the new guy up an alder to hang a wire rope off a skidder winch. Got around 20 ft up and kicked out, slid to the bottom on the smooth bark over hard wood, speared my ankle .

Wasn’t bleeding much so I went back to work — got lucky, as the gaff somehow mashed down the upper of the boot and just stuck in me at the ankle bone. If it had poked me in the calf above the boot — very different outcome. They sent someone else to hang the cable.

Once you get good at spur climbing, you can go up a hardwood that is only 4 or 5 inches diameter with no limbs with confidence. If you want to be a climber, you have to be able to do that, which comes up when you are chunking down your spars. Although I usually leave a nice stub every 15 or 20 ft if available, cause why the hell not?

You can also choke your climbing rope below your flip line to limit a fall, and move it down as you cut firewood maybe 50 ft or more up. I usually do that with my rope, but have not fallen on hooks since that day in 1987.
 
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