SRT Question

[emr]

This is what I am currently using to SRT. I use a Pantin which is not pictured. If you notice the small white cored running form the Microcender to the hand ascender, that is some shock cord used to pull along the Microcender. Its only purpose is to keep slack out of the system. The tether to the hand ascender was spiced my me to the length I like. This set up has to be one of the most affordable set up that only incorporates mechanical ascenders

Edit: the shock cord is not really visible in this pic.... sorry about that. The other white cord that is hanging off to the left is the foot strap that goes from the hand ascender to my left foot. This is just some junk hardware rope that I tied to fit me.

 

[treesmith]

This is what I am currently using to SRT. I use a Pantin which is not pictured. If you notice the small white cored running form the Microcender to the hand ascender, that is some shock cord used to pull along the Microcender. Its only purpose is to keep slack out of the system. The tether to the hand ascender was spiced my me to the length I like. This set up has to be one of the most affordable set up that only incorporates mechanical ascenders

Edit: the shock cord is not really visible in this pic.... sorry about that. The other white cord that is hanging off to the left is the foot strap that goes from the hand ascender to my left foot. This is just some junk hardware rope that I tied to fit me.

 

[treesmith]

Thanks emr, but if it's not too much trouble, could you show a photo of the gear alittle more spread out? What I'm seeing is: Left-hand Ascension, gold-colored caribiner w/attached foot tether, blue caribiner w/tether to bronze caribiner, microcender w/green caribiner...(and of course the Pantin.) To use, simply attach the two lower biners to your saddle, the Pantin to your (right or left?) foot, and start up....? I'm trying to visualize this. Am I on the right track? Thanks

 

[emr]

You are correct with the set up. Its super easy. Give me a bit and I will try and hunt up some more pics. Everything is as the shop and I am at home this week painting the family room. Anyway, I will see what I can do about the pics.

 

[emr]

This is all I have. Feel free to ask is something doesnt make sense. I am a huge fan of SRT and I wish I would have learned it years before I did. You wont regret learning it.

 

[emr]

Ok, here is another setup that I used to use. The friction hitch in this pic was a Distal I think. This is a decent setup cause its less gear intensive, but I fell it is better to have my backup as a mechanical ascender. Thats just a personal choice. I still use this setup if I am climbing off of this rig. Thats another topic thou.

 

[sotc]

i use the tree frog in sherrills also. it really does make those long ascents easy. if your wanting to get away from the work of body thrusting i
dont think footlocking is the answer. this vid is when i first got my sequoia and tried my srt with it. ive got it dialed into the new saddle now but youll notice im not making the most effecient strokes in the vid
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[Wagnaw]

Ok, here is another setup that I used to use. The friction hitch in this pic was a Distal I think. This is a decent setup cause its less gear intensive, but I fell it is better to have my backup as a mechanical ascender. Thats just a personal choice. I still use this setup if I am climbing off of this rig. Thats another topic thou.

That's how I do it. ...for the most part. I'll put up some pictures later today.

 

[treesmith]

i use the tree frog in sherrills also. it really does make those long ascents easy. if your wanting to get away from the work of body thrusting i
dont think footlocking is the answer. this vid is when i first got my sequoia and tried my srt with it. ive got it dialed into the new saddle now but youll notice im not making the most effecient strokes in the vid
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Nice vid sotc. You mentioned using the FROG, but in the video, I can't see the Croll chest ascender. Are you using a system sorta like emr showed? Can you list your components? Thanks

 

[sotc]

the croll is in there without a shoulder strap. worked ok but i have the suspenders for my sequoia now with a built in croll. all the mechanical parts from the catalog. i made up my own straps

 

[treesmith]

Thanks for the extra pics, emr. By the way, I'm sure the microcender is replacing the Croll chest ascender. Does it work as well? This system looks very appealing to me, both is cost and compactness. Another question...why the distel on the other system? Just precaution? And what type cord is that tether made of? (As in diameter/break strength?) Thanks

 

[DMc]

I don't know whether I want to try the FROG system, the Texas Climbing System, Mar-Bars or ...you get the picture. Any advice for an SRT beginner? I don't mind the cost of the Mar-Bar system if it's worth it, but I can get the FROG from Sherrill for nearly half the cost. H-E-L-P......! Thanks

Welcome to the House. This is a good place for getting the kinds of answers you are looking for and how they apply to real world tree work.

I have used all the systems you have mentioned and prefer the frogwalker/tree frog over all others. For me it is the easiest and smoothest entry method that I have experienced.

On the Mar Bars, if your knees will still allow footlocking you can get by with just the uppers and this works very well. You could also do the same thing with any of the double-cammed upper ascenders.

If you do go to the tree frog, save yourself some headache and get the proper gear right off the bat. I tried mickey mousing various parts together to try to accomplish that setup and was never satisfied.

The chest harness on the croll is pretty important in reducing the upper body effort of the system. Also the Petzl SRT saddle has a tie in point designed specifically for this. Certainly not mandatory, I know many have successfully modified non-SRT specific saddles for this use; but the Petzl saddle is a nice saddle in its own right.

Dave

 

[emr]

Thanks for the extra pics, emr. By the way, I'm sure the microcender is replacing the Croll chest ascender. Does it work as well? This system looks very appealing to me, both is cost and compactness. Another question...why the distel on the other system? Just precaution? And what type cord is that tether made of? (As in diameter/break strength?) Thanks

I have never used the croll before so I cant comment on how it compares. I would think the croll is better because it is specifically made for that application. I bought the MC because it is more versatile than the croll and I can use it on a lanyard if I want, or I can put it in different locations for different SRT setups. You can also use it to back up a figure 8 while descending SRT(not ideal but it works). You get the point. I personally wouldnt want to work with the croll attached to me all the time.

I chose the distel because that was the first eye-eye hitch that I learned and that was the most secure for me. You need to have a knot that will catch right a way if your ascender fails, and the distal did that for me. I climb now with the VT, or Martin, or one that I made up but none of those seem to catch as fast as the distel while above the hand ascender.

The blue cord is 3/8" Tenex. I am not sure off hand what the strength is, but it is plenty strong. It is the same stuff that Tenex split tails are made out of. I used it cause at the time it was the only rope I knew how to splice. Hope that helps. And feel free to ask more questions since that way I can take another break from painting.

 

[treesmith]

A swabish is a nice starting hitch to get used to the system. It binds reliably, which many people switching from the blakes hitch like. A friend of mine was a swabish nut for a long time, but then he had some pressure to finally switch to the VT. Now he's sold. If I were you, I'd try every knot you can find and pick one for yourself.

Is the HRC compatible with any type climbing line? I know I'm old-school, but I've been using tautline/Blake's for 23 years, and I've always used Arborplex 1/2". I know it's not the most glamorous rope on the market, but it's served me well. Just wondering if the HRC would work with it? Also, would HRT work for split-tailing or is it better suited to eye2eye closed systems?

 

[emr]

Just so you know, you really have to watch rope diameters with ascenders. Many of Petzls will accept rope up to 1/2" but they dont work as well. HRC would work with Blakes or Tautline, but again, not as well it would work with an eye-eye knot. Generally speaking you want your hitch cord sized about 70% to 80% of climbing line. If you are using 1/2" (13mm) rope, you will want about 10mm to 11mm rope for best performance of your hitch.

 

[Wagnaw]

My SRT set up

So, It's all snowy here, and I'm not working today. I figured it would be a good day to get out and take pictures.

Here is a step by step of how I go about SRT usually. I like to use my hitch that I work off of as the back up, so I don't have to carry around extra gear. The last picture shows how I pack up the acender and strap before hanging it away on my saddle. The third pic is to give an idea of how I disconnect my working hitch from the ascender, but depending on the type of ascender you use, it'll be different. I like to tuck the top of my CMI ascender between the micropulley and the one leg of my VT. When I get to the top and lanyard in, just pull the carabiner out enough to lose the ascender, then reclip the VT leg.

 

[Wagnaw]

Other SRT and Ascent set ups

Here are a few other set ups I put together just to have pictures of them. Most of these are nice if you are pruning some massive trees, and you have more than one climber go up the same access line.

 

[Burnham]

Nice pics, Andrew.

Here's some that are not as good, imo, but I find it is hard to photo yourself rigged up on rope.

This is the Sherrill Tree Frog system, as upgraded by me.

First pic is the components I use. Second is the bits Sherrill includes that I replaced.

The rest sorta show the system mounted and ready to climb .

The very best resource for anyone looking to find out about SRT has to be Smith and Paggett's ON ROPE...well worth the investment.

 

[Burnham]

Here's a link to an earlier thread on the Tree Frog, with a few more pics, and some duplicates...and good followup discussion. I should have looked this up first :roll:.

http://gypoclimber.com/showthread.php?t=9950

 

[Wagnaw]

That tree frog set up looks nice. The fact that the system backs itself up with the croll is what I like the most. Too often, friction hitch back-ups will hold open and not catch when I test them out. ...maybe they would if I started falling and heated up the hitch on the way down, but I really don't want to have to find out if I'm right on that one. Mechanical backups are the way to go, IMO.

 

[treesmith]

Thanks for all the pictures and advice fellas. I've tried footlocking and can't seem to get the hang of it. Might be able with an ascender instead of a prussik, but my klemheist kept binding up. Might not be doing something right. I had to pull up to a red oak limb once to cut back a storm-damaged end, and came up with a good alternative to bodythrusting. I ran a running bowline up to the limb, then threw another leg of the same line over the limb with a leather friction saver on it, then installed a micropulley (in the loop) which was attached to my saddle. This gave me the ability to haul myself straight up to the limb (30-35 feet). Probably not impressive to you SRTers but definitely less labor intensive than bodythrusting 15 feet out from the trunk of the tree. Just getting older and looking for easier/better ways to get the job done. Please keep the info coming...I appreciate it............Scott

 

[Wagnaw]

Thanks for all the pictures and advice fellas. I've tried footlocking and can't seem to get the hang of it. Might be able with an ascender instead of a prussik, but my klemheist kept binding up. Might not be doing something right. I had to pull up to a red oak limb once to cut back a storm-damaged end, and came up with a good alternative to bodythrusting. I ran a running bowline up to the limb, then threw another leg of the same line over the limb with a leather friction saver on it, then installed a micropulley (in the loop) which was attached to my saddle. This gave me the ability to haul myself straight up to the limb (30-35 feet). Probably not impressive to you SRTers but definitely less labor intensive than bodythrusting 15 feet out from the trunk of the tree. Just getting older and looking for easier/better ways to get the job done. Please keep the info coming...I appreciate it............Scott

That's a great trick! ...and if you added a friction hitch above that micro pulley in the middle, you could have stopped to take a break.

 

[Burnham]

That's a great trick! ...and if you added a friction hitch above that micro pulley in the middle, you could have stopped to take a break.

Yeah, and avoided augering in should you have lost your grip.

 

[treesmith]

I did leave enough tail left over to tie in with a tautline hitch. I made it about half-way before needing a break. It wasn't high-tech, but it worked. Just takes a lot of rope to reach very high as it's a three-legged system. I suppose it would translate into a 2-to-1 mechanical advantage, but I can tell you, you haul and haul and haul...you get the picture...s-l-o-w.

 

[Wagnaw]

There's a guy, Kevin Bingham, who set up something similar to that for the aerial rescue at the ITCC in St. Louis this past year. I won't even try to describe the exact way he did it, but it worked really well, and he finished the whole rescue in the 5 minutes allowed. His method involved friction hitches so you can stop, work, etc... WAAAYYYY complicated though...