Spiking technique

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darkstar said:
"""then touch/hold yourself upright momentarily with the opposite hand while you flip/roll the lanyard up from the slack side. This will gain you the maximum advance upward with your flip.""""


Umm Burnham i never tried that:D:D:D
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Musta never had to spur climb a big tree then, or struggled hard when ya did, bro...:)
 
No ,i did i just never touched myself and held my self upright.
It would have made the ladies blush.

Umm ,sounds good for maximum advance upward though.Got to hand it to ya there .
 
Just to tack what's helped me, set a lifeline up first, keep your back straight... and don't spike when you're pruning.
 
Blinky said:
Just to tack what's helped me, set a lifeline up first, keep your back straight... and don't spike when you're pruning.
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top rope is good......speedy to set a high tie in and begin work....

Also very nice if bark is loose or wet....:D
 
First of all welcome .Secondly I'm a pole climber not a tree climber. Climbing a pole ,two steps ,flip the line,strap ,whatever . Get your position ,plant both feet where you are comfortable . Don't extend your reach anymore than you can handle comfortabley .Better to take a step up,sideways or down than screw up your back or knees . Let the groundie handle the load .He or she can do it a lot better than you trying to act like a squirrel in a tree ,pole what ever .

If your knees get to killing you ,get on the the "high side " of the tree ,pole whatever . .

You know,sometimes I miss it but not really that much :lol:
 
Burnham: I'll add a few pointers...note that Willie said "lean back a little". Take that literally, as leaning back very far past vertical makes the work much harder...it tires your back and legs because we are designed to stand upright, and it tires your arms because you have to haul yourself so far upright to be able to flip your lanyard and step up.

Don't be afraid to adjust the length of your lanyard frequently. Proper adjustment allows easiest climbing position (see above reasons), and easiest flipping.

When actively spurring up or down, let a little more slack into the lanyard than you would have if you were standing on your spurs and working...keep the perfect adjustment with your hand position and allow more or less length as the situation demands...when you stop to rest or work, shorten up the lanyard so you can lean back on it and use both hands to work.

Develop the ability to draw all the slack to one side, then touch/hold yourself upright momentarily with the opposite hand while you flip/roll the lanyard up from the slack side. This will gain you the maximum advance upward with your flip.

You can ease the leg tension a new climber often experiences on spurs by keeping one knee locked and one knee jacked, or even pulled free and wiggled around in the air, then reverse to ease the other leg.

I don't know how one gets used to the sensation of gaffing out one spur...but time will provide you with that comfort. You won't fall, and you will get so you don't even notice it.

Good luck, and welcome to the TH!
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Nicely said. I could not say it better myself. Except of the last part:
You won't fall, and you will get so you don't even notice it.
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You forgot the grumpy feeling that comes over me when I kick out because of loose bark or something like that :) Splinters or road rash on the inner part of my forearms can put me in a 'mood', thats for sure.
 
squisher said:
Seriously a ladder? I think climbing a ladder with spikes on and tranitioning to the tree would be a hell of alot harder than just spiking up, but of course I've never tried it so I could be wrong.
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I do it on most large butted trees..it's easy, just watch your step. Helps to have a lifeline set first.
 
Frans said:
Nicely said. I could not say it better myself. Except of the last part:

You forgot the grumpy feeling that comes over me when I kick out because of loose bark or something like that :) Splinters or road rash on the inner part of my forearms can put me in a 'mood', thats for sure.
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Not ever been much of an issue for me...might be because I tend to follow the FS ppe mandate for long sleeves when working in the field, including climbing of course. I'd never spur without wearing gloves and a sturdy long sleeved shirt.
 
darkstar said:
No ,i did i just never touched myself and held my self upright.
It would have made the ladies blush.

Umm ,sounds good for maximum advance upward though.Got to hand it to ya there .
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Man, oh man...:lol:. You got me there, Dark. Missed that sly reference completely!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #46
re: Thor's Hammer

i should have made it clear that i do have a little experience in prunning and that the times i have been asked to have ago on spikes im a bit sketchy to say the least!

I gaffed out once and fell bout 10 feet trying to get down at college so it may be also due to confidence but this information is great and its always good to be given information from more experienced others!!!! :D
 
I've got that one too! Twice!

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Keep'em sharp. Pole spikes - I hated the euro style gaffs on geckos - might like them now I'm a little better.

Practice on straight stuff, no leaners. Preferably soft green wood - pine etc. 12" or greater stem.

I learned alot by just playing around on them with a belay and no lanyard, then adapted to using lanyard in conjunction. Sort of climb natural at times when the tree dictates and then with traditional form at times if that makes any sense.
 
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