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Rapelling down tree

E

Eaton

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
99
Guys I did some practice rapelling down a tree yesterday and am wondering what is your process from gathering ur gear before u get down. Say if I am hanging by my ropeman and got to switch over to the atc descender how do I go about that without falling. And also how can I get my climbing stick off the tree and my platform. Main thing is how do I switch over from the ropeman to the atc. Hope it's not to confusing.

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Hook up with a lineman's belt while you are switching over.

I recommend a gri gri2 or a petzl pro over the ATC for rappeling if you need to take stuff of the tree on the way down because they will grab the rope hands free so you can remove your stuff. It is much safer this way.
 
Eaton said:
Guys I did some practice rapelling down a tree yesterday and am wondering what is your process from gathering ur gear before u get down. Say if I am hanging by my ropeman and got to switch over to the atc descender how do I go about that without falling. And also how can I get my climbing stick off the tree and my platform. Main thing is how do I switch over from the ropeman to the atc. Hope it's not to confusing.

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Click to expand...

You should have the decender backed up with a prusic either clipped off to a leg loop or your lineman's loop. That way if you are knocked unconscious or say some squirrel hunter shoots your control arm because he doesn't see you, you don't fall all the way to the ground. Then you can also let go of the rope and have two hands free to work on your way down if you need to clear or go around branches. You should really practice your hanging switch over just over ground level in case you are climbing and discover the tree your in is not safe or the branch you are thrown into is dead after the fact so you can repel out without having to climb higher first and risk greater injury. I keep a few extra prusik loops of different lengths on me every time I climb just in case I need to rig myself out of a situation.
 
I always hook up another carabiner with my descender to my bridge BEFORE unhooking my Ropeman. Just hook it up, then take of rope man.
With an atc, you could just leave it attached the whole time and tie a quick knot in the rope just after the atc so you can use both your hands while detaching the rope man
I agree with Red that the atc isn't the easiest device to use when you need to make multiple stops on the way down. But you can loop your rope around the top of it and tie it off if you have to.
Also, the extra prussics are a great idea. I always have two or three extra with me just in case
Shaun
 
Ok good advice. My plan was to climb down the stick and aider bringing the tether and ropeman with me some part of the way then take the steps off and then the stick while hanging. That's as far as I got haha. Was wondering if I have the atc already hooked up with a knot or Prussic I could possibly get the ropeman off. May better off to buy a mechanical descender.

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I'll figure it out I watched some u tube videos of how to tie it off.

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Re: RE: Re: Rapelling down tree

Eaton said:
I'll figure it out I watched some u tube videos of how to tie it off.

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Click to expand...
Yeah. It ain't hard.
I like diysaddlers recommendation to tie off the prussic to the tail so you can use both hands. Then you can use both hands to descend that way too. That might be the way to go if you're gonna keep using the atc for that purpose


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Shaun
 
The nice thing about the prussic is that you can stop and use both hands to remove your platform.

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I had looked at the ATC devices but I didn't like the way the functioned so I opted for the Petzel Pirana. I like that I can double wrap it easily to hold myself in place then just half around the left most nub to keep me where I'm at while I work. Even though I can do this I still always back it up with a prusik. The other thing I did toward the end of the season is I switched over to a distel hitch for ascending so if I have a emergency I can always descend on the knot as my belay device, which I had to do last year(Threw into a tree on a very windy day and didn't realize the whole tree was dead until I was 12' off the desk with no limb to stand on anywhere). I use cheap polyester utility chord rated 7kn for climbing, but if I have to descend on it I retire that prusik immediately afterwards.
 
I practiced using the atc yesterday and was successful in hooking it up under the ropeman with the lineman belt around tree and tying the atc off and the taking the ropeman off completely. Then took the lineman belt off and hung by the atc. When u untie ur knots u just have to be careful and pay attention to hold the right rope in place so u don't fall. I'll use this method during the season and see how I like it. Thanks for the advice guys.

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Eaton said:
I'll use this method during the season and see how I like it.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you got it worked out. If you can climb allot in the off season so you get your change over worked out to a point that it's impossible to make any mistakes. Then follow that system like it's religion and it will all be second nature in an emergency when you're all reaction and the frontal part of your brain shuts down.
 
I agree. I will also be wearing a small head lamp just in case I need to see for a min. I haven't even gotten to hunt in the saddle yet and am loving getting to practice with it. Next thing I gotta practice is shooting out of it.

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Eaton said:
I agree. I will also be wearing a small head lamp just in case I need to see for a min. I haven't even gotten to hunt in the saddle yet and am loving getting to practice with it. Next thing I gotta practice is shooting out of it.
Click to expand...

I put a set of stagger steps on a tree outside my house about 60 yards from my target and leave it setup like that all summer for quick practice. I've been contemplating getting a core replacement for a 3d target and putting a handle on it and tie it off to 150' of chord so I can retrieve it from the tree and throw it back out again.
 
Yea that would be kool. I have a rhinoblock that I was just gonna shoot into then take all the steps to get down, then go back up like I would a normal hunting situation so I can get more practice in that way.

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