Rope climbing questions

[mathhunter]

As for me personally whether SRT basal/ or Ddrt I want a trees branch that is at least as big around as my calf. That has been a safe rule of thumb for me personally.

If you are connecting a canopy anchor that will girth hitch the entire tree, the size of the branch truly isn’t important, as it’s only supporting the weight of the rope temporarily while you pull the pull line and rope into position. Once the rope is girth hitched and pulled snuggly, the entire tree is supporting your weight, not just the crotch of the branch. I hope that makes sense

I will edit this to also mention, be sure to check the back and sides of the tree for little splinter branches or twigs that may keep your girth hitch from fully cinching. I bounce on my rope several times at ground level to be sure my rope fully cinched, Because when they break while you’re climbing, your butt ends up puckering pretty badly from the fear of that surprise 8 or 10” sudden drop while the rope finishes tightening….

Thanks. This is exactly the sort of information I was looking for.

 

[John RB]

I've been looking into trying rope climbing for next year. I hunt private very close to my house, so carrying my climbing sticks out to my hunting spots isn't a big deal. However, I don't have that much time to hunt (often just a couple of hours) and I get a bit annoyed at the amount of time I spend packing and unpacking and setting up and taking down my climbing sticks. I've been watching some of the videos by JRB and I really like the idea of having paracord presets in my best spots so I can get hunting faster and then get back to time with family quicker when the hunt is done.
Anyway, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the different climbing methods that I can use to get me up in the tree. However, I'm not completely clear on how people set up once they are up in the tree. In particular, I have the following questions:

1. It seems like it wouldn't be a good idea to have the rope you climbed on hanging down to the ground while you hunt. Movement you make up in the tree might shake the rope near the ground and alert a deer. Do people pull the rope up in the tree while hunting, and if so what are good ways to store the rope in the tree?
2. Some of the rope climbing methods involve the rope going over a crotch in the tree that might be much higher than where you end up hunting. In these cases, it doesn't seem natural to use the rope you climbed on as a tether. Do people carry a shorter tether with them for using once they get to hunting height and then transition back to the climbing rope when they rappel down? Are there other options to use the rope you climbed on as a tether at hunting height even if the rope is going over a crotch 20 feet above your hunting height?
3. Certain rope climbing methods restrict what side of the tree you will be climbing on. Are there good ways to transition to the other side of the tree for setting your platform once at hunting height?

Thanks for any help those of you who are more experienced rope climbers can give me.

Good questions.

1. Do NOT leave your rope hanging down to the ground. Leave it deployed but draped over your platform or a branch in the tree so you can rappel anytime. Letting it hang will get attention from deer. I learned it the hard way. 'Had a giant literally under me sniffing my rope many years ago... never got the shot.

2. On a leaning tree or one where the crotch is way up over head, I Do not come off of my climbing rope. I simply pinch and deflect the climbing rope against the tree. See video.

3. If ya wanna switch to the other side of the tree, I just use the other end of my climbing line and tie an anchor with it. Even on my DSRT system, There is an extra friction hitch on the long end of the rope for exactly this purpose.

JrbTreeClimbing.com, affiliated with RockNArbor.com

 

[Alaska at Heart]

If you are talking presets with ropes, why not buy some cheap sticks and set those in your favorite spots as presets.....instead of setting up and remvoing sticks every time? On our smallish hunting property, I put up two preset stick setups late last spring with the idea of using a Millennium mobile stand with mounting block system. Instead, I got into saddle hunting and used those preset sticks to quickly get up, set my platform, shift to tether, haul up my bow and be hunting. On another local private soot, I put up my OG 32" LW sticks as presets. I recently bought a used Predator platform with the goal of installing it on a preset stick setup, so I don't even have to haul my primary EDP plaform and install it. My saddle hunting has been exclusively a daylight endeavor.....late morning, midday or afternoon....so I was setting up sticks and platofrm with light. Using presets and the Predator, it will be quite similar to climbing up to a fixed stand location.....so early morning entry will be in the cards for '24.