Conifer climbing tips

[flashover604]

Hi all.

I'm sitting here watching it snow at lunch time, cruising the Tree House and thought I'd pose a question. How do you climb a pine tree?

I get the fundamentals of srt and ddrt, but my question is how is it different? How do you set your Climbing line in a dense conifer? Seems to me that most of the upper limbs are spindly and wouldn't hold well as a TIP. If you don't want to climb in gaffs, how do YOU go about accessing the top of the tree? I can get a line set fairly easily in a "regular" tree with wide open limbs and crotches, but pines and the like have neither usually.

I hope this isn't too basic of a question, I've just never dealt with it yet.

Thanks in advance!

 

[SimplyArbor]

I shoot a line trough the top, making sure to hang over a couple decent limbs, then get the SRT line to run down the trunk. Or if I'm feeling lazy, just hit a lower limb and alternate lanyard/life line up (or free climb ) I typically SRT most prunes and just advance an SRT line when doing a removal.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Break out the Big Shot!

 

[flashover604]

I figured I could shoot through the top and probably catch a few limbs. I just wasn't sure if that's what you folks usually did. Basically basal tie and hope you got some beefy limbs in the top.

 

[greengreer]

Srt- bigshot to where you're gonna blow the top (if removal) base tie, run up to the tie in amd reset with a choke on the trunk.
Ddrt you can pull up a pulley on another line and base tie to ascend easily.

 

[BOTS]

spurs and flip line if removal, no need to set a line.

if SRT, just make sure and get rope over two limbs and you want climb line right up against trunk for strength...first thing I do is go right up to where rope is and inspect it....then move it close to trunk if not.

 

[Grendel]

That's what I do too Scott.

Take the best shot you can get and then advance your line manually to your final selected TIP. I'm usually base tied, and will slack that line off and advance with a little 50'er and my HH, then reset the access line when I'm where I want to be. . .

 

[treebilly]

I don't get to do many conifer prunes(never) but when I set a line I try to be close to the stem and get the down line as close as possible with at least a whole wrap on the way down. Funny to read this as I had to do it twice today. Removals of course.

 

[SeanKroll]

I like a bit of a wrap, but sometimes go entirely without any wrap.
I would go more on bounce testing, consideration of backup branches/ crotches with a base tie, and a good visual inspection.

What species are you climbing, Flash?

 

[SeanKroll]

I figured I could shoot through the top and probably catch a few limbs. I just wasn't sure if that's what you folks usually did. Basically basal tie and hope you got some beefy limbs in the top.

I've been on a finger sized cedar branch right at the collar, 1' over a huge crotch. Stood up to bounce testing and route walking. Shearing a green branch right at the collar is hard.

 

[flashover604]

I'm not climbing any yet. I was just looking out the window today at a big spruce and wondered to myself how I'd climb if I had to remove it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Very carefully...

 

[Brocky]

Burinawa?

 

[sotc]

Spruce branches tend to ridiculously limber/strong

 

[Altissimus]

I know the feeling ... Setting SRT w Bigshot , working my up feeling pretty good. Once in true visual of my line placement , hey that's not really cool ... W Lanyard around stem slack off and fix it.

 

[Jed]

Sorry to break-in here ladies, but did anyone think to suggest spurs and flipline yet?

 

[Grendel]

The easiest way to get up a conifer!

 

[Mick!]

Why simplify things?

 

[Altissimus]

... absent mindedly thought it was a Trim.

 

[Mick!]

So? Use a ladder and spur it round the back.

 

[BOTS]

spurs and flip line if removal, no need to set a line.

Right here Jed...

 

[treebilly]

So? Use a ladder and spur it round the back.

I was gonna say that but was afraid of the backlash

 

[Raj]

Flop it, make it fit the yard!

 

[flashover604]

I've done that Raj! I put it right into the corner of the fence. It was within a foot of the corner. The lady couldn't believe it! I had to cut my notch at head height to shorten the tree, but it fit like a glove.


Not OJs glove...


I felt pretty good that day!