Climbing down.

[Mschmeiske]

I always hate climbing down after a hunt with an aider.... I feel ok on the way up, but I don’t feel as stable on the way down and my knees don’t care for it as much either.... and juggling a linesman belt in the midst

I feel like the tether and points of contact on the stick would keep me stable enough and relieve pressure on my knees.

So I considered 25’ of oplux for a tether and just slowly lowering myself with a friction hitch as I come come down and skip out on a linesman belt? I’ll still need the aider, but I feel like I won’t be as worried about stability and it would take pressure off the knees. (Stepping down is not as easy as up anymore on my left knee)

Does this sound like a stupid idea?
In my head it seems ok, worst come to worst I go swinging like Tarzan a second?

Any dangers you can think of? I mean it seems similar to DRT or whatever it is you folks do.

 

[Letemgrowitllshow]

If your gunna go with the 25 foot tether I would just rappel down

 

[sweats]

Probably should just look into rappelling down.

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[lhold450]

I rappel down with oplux when I climb with my spurs and when I use WE steps and knaider/swaider. 40’ of oplux, an extra biner, and a madrock safeguard fit in a fleece dump pouch from doublesteps.com and weight less than 2lbs.


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[enkriss]

I hate coming down with aiders also. Doesn’t matter what kind but I do feel more steady and comfortable with a movable aider that stays fixed to my foot...

I mean rappelling down seems like a good idea if you are going to do that. But then if you are going to rappel why not one stick?

Dammit!!! Did I just talk myself into trying one sticking again?

 

[Mschmeiske]

I just don’t like mechanical stuff.. I got rid of my ropemans for that reason. And one guy I watched looked sketchy as heck with whatever he was using....it seemed like if he let go accidentally, he was free falling.

 

[Mschmeiske]

I hate coming down with aiders also. Doesn’t matter what kind but I do feel more steady and comfortable with a movable aider that stays fixed to my foot...

I mean rappelling down seems like a good idea if you are going to do that. But then if you are going to rappel why not one stick?

Dammit!!! Did I just talk myself into trying one sticking again?

I feel like too much slack is introduced in one sticking... I just don’t feel like it’s a good idea for me personally.

 

[Swampman]

I think lowering yourself down with a friction hitch sounds sketchy. If you slipped and grab the knot you could get down very quickly! Rapelling seems safer in my opinion

 

[Weldabeast]

 

[Letemgrowitllshow]

That was slick

 

[enkriss]

I like that but doing that way the rope would slip out of my hands and would splatter all over the ground. Might try it backed up with a prussic or something

 

[HomeTownJB]

You can rappel without using a mechanical device like the Safeguard. I assume that's what you were referring to as being sketchy? You could use a figure 8 or an ATC backed up with an autoblock. It's a great way to go. Fast, efficient and fun! Coming down is no longer an arduous task. You'll almost find yourself looking forward to coming down.

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[Weldabeast]

I recently started using this technique.....maybe not the safest option but haven't died yet

 

[EricS]

I think lowering yourself down with a friction hitch sounds sketchy. If you slipped and grab the knot you could get down very quickly! Rapelling seems safer in my opinion

X2

I did that one on accident while adjusting my tether. Luckily I was only a few feet off the ground “practicing”.
Aiders are no fun coming down. If I’m only using a one step aider I just use the Cain method on the way down and skip the aider.

 

[enkriss]

X2

I did that one on accident while adjusting my tether. Luckily I was only a few feet off the ground “practicing”.
Aiders are no fun coming down. If I’m only using a one step aider I just use the Cain method on the way down and skip the aider.

What’s this Cain method you speak of?

 

[Jtaylor]

I recently started using this technique.....maybe not the safest option but haven't died yet

I think that's supposed to be used in an "emergency" situation, might put a decent amount of friction with the rope on rope. I'm just wondering how many descents it would take before wear started showing up.

 

[Weldabeast]

I have maybe 20 times so I cant answer.... maybe @TJutte can chime in. I'm using 9mm htp and after decent the rope has a stiffness to it but that stiffness goes away after u shake it out or daisy chain back up....if I get 4-5 seasons out of it then I'm good with that...

 

[Jtaylor]

I have maybe 20 times so I cant answer.... maybe @TJutte can chime in. I'm using 9mm htp and after decent the rope has a stiffness to it but that stiffness goes away after u shake it out or daisy chain back up....if I get 4-5 seasons out of it then I'm good with that...

Yeah true, not like we're using it like a rock climber would and I think most arborist and tactical style ropes could probably take the abuse of a few seasons.

 

[Mschmeiske]

What do you gentleman use to descend? Maybe I’ll look into some options.

 

[drew13]

Rappelling is a fun and safe way to get down the tree and is my primary descent method now. But I think that your plan to use a long tether as a lifeline and slide your prussik down as you descend is a perfectly good solution. That’s what I did for years when using fixed tree stands.