The amount of time to get a line set and start climbing is from 1-2 hours. With hilly ground, the high side of the tree is the best place to shoot from. The arrow can land 100' down the mountain below this point as it is lowered by the fishing reel. This distance means cooperation among the group is quite helpful to retrieve the arrow, attach a 400' throwline, begin reeling in the fishing line, add the climbing line, stow the throwline as it is pulled, etc. These operations all happen on both sides of the tree, and it helps if people don't have to run back & forth.
The second question about resetting the initial line set is addressed in the link posted earlier. Zack did just that over at:
http://www.treeclimbing.com/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,49/func,view/id,131267/catid,276/limit,6/limitstart,0/
The answer to the 3rd question is yes, SRT ends when there is no line anchored overhead.
Buy the 2 hour Recreational Climber DVD video as a Christmas present for yourself for twenty bucks. Its from this page:
http://www.atreestory.com/videos2.php You can see a sample film clip of how its done for yourself.
It is recommended that the skills for single rope technique be aquired prior to climbing the big stuff. The first time I ever saw or used a borrowed figure eight descender was on a 165 foot rappel, which was a big mistake. It could have been catastrophic.
Two problems combined due to inexperience. First, my arm cramped up from clutching the rope too tightly for too long. Plus, I could smell the nylon rope melting, and when I burned myself on the hot aluminum, I almost let go of the rope. Both were opportunities for instant death. Here's a shot of that tree from my website,
treedr.com. That photo was taken by Jerry Beranek, and several other pics were taken in the top, over 330' feet above the ground. Those pics, plus hundreds of others, are on the
A Tree Story CD-ROM, which is what prospective old growth climbers need to know prior to entering the grove. Do not fail to notice the 2 word sentence on that web page that says: "The biggies". These are not tourist shots of big trees. These are actual climbs. Take some time and relive with us what its like to be up there in the top.