"v" notch

[Gord]

That's an interesting idea rhino I'll have to give that a go.

 

[Burnham]

With your DdRT setup, choke your line off with your biner, then run the tail of your rope back through the biner. Tend the tail of your rope and your knot at the same time. This way, you can come down on your DdRT set-up without binding up your friction hitch and when you get to the ground, you can pull the whole set up back down to you.

Or spike down.

Pic? Not sure I'm visualizing this quite right.

 

[Bounce]

I'd be interested to hear your story sean, I understand if you don't want share it though

I don't mind. It was pretty standard doug fir removal - spur climb up cutting branches as I went, dump the top out, and then push over sections of the trunk on the way down. The kind of thing I'd done a thousand times. My SOP was to shorten the trunk down to a height that could be felled from the ground, tie my rigging line to the top of the spar with a clove hitch and two half hitches, then rappell down the rigging line with my fig 8 (which is not a Piranha so it works on diameters up to about 3/4"). This day I was using a brand new bull line, a piece of 5/8" Treemaster, which is a real hard lay 3 strand. Because the rope was new and fairly stiff my half hitches wouldn't stay tight and came undone, allowing the clove hitch to roll out. I got about 1/2 way down a 75' spar and then fell the rest of the way, catching the motor of my 036 in the face in the landing and shattering my left ankle. If I had used a running bowline I'd have been alright, but I was using the clove hitch because that's what I was taught to do (stupid me for not questioning what I was taught). Now I realize that if I had used my climbing line to rappell on instead of my rigging line, I'd have been ok that way too. The issue wasn't so much the knot but the fact that I was using a rope for something it wasn't designed for. Now, I use rigging lines for rigging and climbing lines for climbing and I understand why we call them that.

 

[Burnham]

Sounds like you got off fairly easy, though I'm sure it didn't seem that way at the time. Tough way to learn a lesson, wasn't it? Awfully glad you came through ok, Sean.

 

[TreeRhino]

Some pics. It really works quite nicely. The only change i make sometimes is to leave a long tail on my anchor side and tie another biner on it for the tail of the rope to run through. Usually on pitchy trees. keeps the rope a touch cleaner

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Cool.

 

[Burnham]

Thanks very much...I just about had it figured, and your pic is nice and clear.

 

[pantheraba]

So, it looks like you get down, clear your hitch paraphernalia from the line and then pull that long bight through the biner...right?

 

[sotc]

Thats pretty clever rhino, i'll try it

 

[TreeRhino]

So, it looks like you get down, clear your hitch paraphernalia from the line and then pull that long bight through the biner...right?

You can do that or just pull the tail while letting slack out at your hitch and pull it to you in a controlled manner if you don't want to bomb your biner out of the tree.

 

[rumination]

Very clever. I'm going give that a try sometime.

 

[Bounce]

That is the most ingenious trick I've seen in a while. I'm gonna try it out this weekend.

 

[sotc]

Wait, your basicly decending SRT on your hitch, do you put a friction device below your hitch?

 

[squisher]

Yah what Willie said, that's what I'm seeing in that pic too?

 

[Burnham]

Yah what Willie said, that's what I'm seeing in that pic too?

Ditto, I thought about that too, but I bet you get a fair amount of friction added to the descent by the tail running through the biner, and you could tend that with your off hand to add some more.

But I bet I'd be happiest switching over to a RQ3.

Edit: Doh, Rhino said exactly the same thing at the getgo...

With your DdRT setup, choke your line off with your biner, then run the tail of your rope back through the biner. Tend the tail of your rope and your knot at the same time. This way, you can come down on your DdRT set-up without binding up your friction hitch and when you get to the ground, you can pull the whole set up back down to you.

Or spike down.

 

[Bounce]

Is it really srt? It seems like the other leg running back up to the biner would also be taking some of the load. Heck, I don't know...

 

[Burnham]

You can do that or just pull the tail while letting slack out at your hitch and pull it to you in a controlled manner if you don't want to bomb your biner out of the tree.

Gonna have to play with it in hand to understand how this goes...as well as the additional biner at the tail of the anchor...

Fun, Rhino. Thanks again.

 

[brendonv]

That looks neat. To bad it's raining.

 

[TreeRhino]

It will make sense once you try it. I guess it is SRT, but running your tail back through gives you enough friction to keep your hitch from binding up. You just have to work the hitch and the tail.

Hope it helps you guys out. I wish i could take full credit for it, but i learned it from an older and wiser tree guy.

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

i too learned it from an older climber right after i dropped my false crotch

 

[JIML]

seems like u could clip a micro pulley on your saddle and run the tail thru it.. that way you wouldn't have to tend the tail of your rope?

 

[brendonv]

I tryed that method post earlier int the thread today, worked awesome.

 

[Burnham]

Cool, Brendon.

 

[Bermy]

This might be the same thing....

To get down from the top of a spar (or palm trees in my case!)
Tie a butterfly knot in the middle of your climbing line ( so both ends reach the ground), clip a krab in it, choke it round the spar, tie into the side coming though the krab, use a fig 8 as well. Rapp down the one line. When you get to the bottom, pull on the other side of your climbing line (remember its tied to the krab) and it pulls the whole lot down.

Sorry if I missed the plot on the other description and it works out to the same thing!

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

bermy thats how i get down out of palms on a daily basis