I was practicing with some throw bags and managed to get two of my three bags stuck in this 75 foot black ash in my backyard, so I decided it was time to start practicing some climbing in order to eventually retrieve these stuck throw bags. My third throw was to a lower crotch (~55 feet) and didn't get stuck so I was able to pull my climbing line up into the tree with that and get things going.
I tied up a split tail system and spent 5 or 6 hours yesterday going up 10 or 15 feet, securing myself with a lanyard, practicing footlocking and controlled descents. Today, I warmed up a bit with the same routine, and then started going higher, tying slipknots in the running end of the line as I ascended, and made it all the way up to the crotch.
At that point I hung around looking for a way to set a new line in a higher crotch so that I could retrieve my stuck gear, but alas, I ran out of daylight.
After descending, I realized that all I needed to do (maybe...) was to climb from the other side of the tree. If that doesn't work, I'll need to arrange to have Moss visit again so I can learn how to deal with this situation.
My daughter took a couple pictures, so I'll try to get them out of her camera and onto the board.
A couple questions:
a) does anyone wear a cup (or some other kind of "package protector") when climbing? There were a couple close calls with "the boys" that could've ended pretty painfully.
b) I had a tough time with the secure footlock, especially when starting out and there wasn't a lot of weight on the rope. Are there any particular type of shoe that works really well with footlocking?
I tied up a split tail system and spent 5 or 6 hours yesterday going up 10 or 15 feet, securing myself with a lanyard, practicing footlocking and controlled descents. Today, I warmed up a bit with the same routine, and then started going higher, tying slipknots in the running end of the line as I ascended, and made it all the way up to the crotch.
At that point I hung around looking for a way to set a new line in a higher crotch so that I could retrieve my stuck gear, but alas, I ran out of daylight.
After descending, I realized that all I needed to do (maybe...) was to climb from the other side of the tree. If that doesn't work, I'll need to arrange to have Moss visit again so I can learn how to deal with this situation.
My daughter took a couple pictures, so I'll try to get them out of her camera and onto the board.
A couple questions:
a) does anyone wear a cup (or some other kind of "package protector") when climbing? There were a couple close calls with "the boys" that could've ended pretty painfully.
b) I had a tough time with the secure footlock, especially when starting out and there wasn't a lot of weight on the rope. Are there any particular type of shoe that works really well with footlocking?
I think that's where the first Tarzan yell came from. Protective gear is a good idea.
