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Ultra Light Climbing method 2.0

I agree on the thigh loop. I don't get the concept behind it yet it may be the "one" item to have.

I don't adjust my foot loop at all as it's just a continuous loop of amsteel with a 12" piece of fuel line prusik hitched onto the spare tether.

One thing I have noticed watching videos online is I tend to climb opposite of most. Many videos show people stretching out, stretching up or stretching down. With this an SRT, everything remains mostly in front of me.

My tether is usually no more than 12" above my head when standing up after the reset. When I sit down, the foot loop girth hitch is about waist high. When I move the fool loop up, my thigh never gets higher than 90 degrees. This is simply a rinse and repeat.

By not stretching out, I'm not moving that high per evolution but I'm not exerting myself either. Watching the few videos out there, it seems that too much time is spent lengthening/shortening the foot loop to get the maximum height per evolution.
 
I think ive tried this method just about every which way possible. Both feet, one foot, no thigh loop, webbing, OPLUX...you name it. For me, the thigh strap does make all of the difference. Keeps you a bit more stable, and like @Red Beard was saying during one of our many off line discussions, it allows you to stay more "vertical" to the tree without your opposite foot doing the kickin chicken. Plus, if you use the thigh loop for more than just a stabilization gadget, it can lengthen your strides up the tree. Not much, but it counts.

I am able to match the climbing speed of one sticking with my set up. More repetitions to get up the tree, but each is faster, so its a wash. I think the big question is, is it worth the reduced weight of NOT carrying sticks. Thats a big 10-4 for me. Hate carrying stuff. My whole climbing method, including my main tether and a back up tether for getting around branches, 3 biners, leg and foot loop, all fit in a dump pouch.

I will also say, if your old fat and patient, this is THE method for you. I know cause I is one. I use it to ascend and descend. Gave up rappelling. Its fun, but to much opportunity for me to turn it into fast rope op...
 
gcr0003 said:
I haven’t tried the thigh rig so I can’t knock it. What I did was hang in the tether, put my feet to the tree, let slack out of the bottom tether, progress bottom tether up under my top tether, take the slack out of the foot tether, attach lineman’s belt, stood and cinched lineman’s belt so I was up to the tree, progressed my top tether, leaned into my top tether, unhooked lineman’s and repeated. This method I realize takes one more piece of gear. Its just what I had available to me.
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My first year saddle hunting i did something very similar to this, but instead of webbing i used rope and a board to add a lil extra support. Was very light n effective. I still have this set up in my arsenal.
 
Paid more attention during my daily climb today and largely confirmed what I already knew about my climbing style. Today was also SRT day so not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

91 degrees, dew point 65 degrees.

Climbed SRT 20', set my platform, stood for a few then rappelled down. The ascender I use is a Ropeman1 with an amsteel foot loop attached to the same carabiner with a 2nd carabiner below the first which I loop my climbing rope through. I use to loop my climbing rope through the same carabiner but kept getting rope burns on my pinky finger. No more rope burns but lose about 3" in vertical climb as a result.

Each step up, I was only moving vertically about 12" and during my climb I never got tired or broke a sweat. In terms of mechanical advantage, I did have to move more (more evolutions) but exerted less effort per evolution. This is the same when I 2TC in that I only move up about 18" per evolution but the advantage is it takes less work to push that smaller distance.

I'm also dealing with an arthritis/meniscus/ACL issue in my knee and it never bothered me during this climb. Something to think about for others in a similar situation.
 
Ready to give this another shot, hopefully later today. Some of the improvements are:

1/ new thigh loop that came in today from [mention]always89y [/mention]
2/ tether handles from [mention]pse3 [/mention]at arborealgear.com
3/ knee pad
4/ PVC pipe to keep foot loop open

I really want to like this climbing system so hopefully this does it!

3c22768eb90af413fe2539d60e8f65d1.jpg



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_Dario said:
Ready to give this another shot, hopefully later today. Some of the improvements are:

1/ new thigh loop that came in today from [mention]always89y [/mention]
2/ tether handles from [mention]pse3 [/mention]at arborealgear.com
3/ knee pad
4/ PVC pipe to keep foot loop open

I really want to like this climbing system so hopefully this does it!

3c22768eb90af413fe2539d60e8f65d1.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Get someone take a video. Thanks and good luck!
 
I'm curious what you think about the thigh band. I've never used one, don't see a reason why you'd need one but many swear by it so it must be doing something.
 
gcr0003 said:
Gave the ole 2TC method a shot today. I haven’t been in a tree in a few months. It’s not hard but does seem a bit slow like I imagined. Given it was my first time it’s not a bad start. Using a lineman’s belt and putting both of my feet in the foot loop I was able to stand pretty straight and advance the tethers efficiently. Im going to work on a different two foot loop tether attachment. Having two feet in a v shape to the tree is rock solid. I felt very comfortable and stable. @Red Beard lied about not sweating though, I was drenched. Granted, it is 95 here today. I do realize I’m climbing a somewhat dead or dying tree before anyone says it. View attachment 48898View attachment 48899
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I think @Squirrels mentioned to me in a conversation once that he attempted a stirrup style double foot loop. I was supposed to try to make one and never got around to it.
 
I just got back from doing two climbs…man the thigh band really took me from what could only be described as looking like a human flounder on the tree to an actual tree climbing primate. Not a good one, but it’s leaps and bounds better. The pvc pipe foot loop is a no-go as it kept wanting to roll out from under my foot so I will swap that out with something else. I am going to keep practicing this method for sure.
 
MNFarmHunter said:
Here's my 2TC setup. Both ropes are sewn eye Oplux.

Tether: Rope, Kong Duck, biner
Foot rope: Rope, Amsteel continuous loop prusik hitched to rope
View attachment 48599View attachment 48600
Click to expand...
I have had an idea after seeing @always89y amsteel foot loops. With the spliced eye at the top of the foot loop you could use a distel hitch on both tree tethers and clip the carabiner into the spliced eye on the foot loops. I’d probably feel more stable with the 2T foot loops and a lineman belt.
 
I recorded my 2nd attempt up the tree from today - going about 16ft up. What’s interesting is that when I was climbing I wasn’t really getting the feedback that I was too far away from the tree but watching the video I think my bridge is definitely too long so I will try to shorten that up next run. With practice I think I can definitely speed this up but I am way happier climbing with the thigh loop than without it.




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@_Dario, having a loose step will cause your foot to roll around which is why I use the fuel line but I also found I didn't like having it fixed to my foot like I do with my aider or SRT foot loop. After resetting my tether and sitting down, I found it easiest to take my foot out of the loop before setting that rope. Otherwise, My leg would end up fighting me when resetting that rope.

I am curious, what was it about the thigh band that you found better and did you find your one leg fighting you as you lifted/reset your tether?

@JSEXTON23, that could be a doable option too. I may be misunderstanding the concept but it almost sounds like a knaider/swaider type climb using 2TC. At least for me, I found the less thinking and stuff involved, the simpler it is. By not adjusting the foot loop or really making any adjustments aside from the tether/bridge adjustment, it's just KISS.
 
Man for someone that works with computer software for a living you’d think I’d come up with a better quality video than that..

@MNFarmHunter without the thigh band I would kind of dangle in the wind when trying to put my foot in the loop. The thigh band seems to give you a lot of stability in that regard.
 
_Dario said:
I recorded my 2nd attempt up the tree from today - going about 16ft up. What’s interesting is that when I was climbing I wasn’t really getting the feedback that I was too far away from the tree but watching the video I think my bridge is definitely too long so I will try to shorten that up next run. With practice I think I can definitely speed this up but I am way happier climbing with the thigh loop than without it.




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Click to expand...
Just watched your video and saw what we do similar and what we do differently.

Per evolution, we're going up about the same height in terms of vertical feet. What was different though is how we reset. In your video, you kept your feet on the tree with your ass sticking out. For me, once I reset my tether, I fully sit down in my saddle with my knees on either side of the tree. Then and while sitting, I reset my foot loop, put my foot in and largely stand straight up to repeat the process. As such, the only time I use my legs is when I stand up.

Out of curiosity, what saddle do you have? I have an Aero Merlin which allow a more complete "sit" as opposed to other saddles that are more "butt slings". I'm almost wondering if the type of saddle makes a difference.
 
As an aside, I don't do anything google so I have no idea how I'd post a video of how I climb. That's also what I think the most frustrating things about this. Unlike sticks, 1-stick or even SRT, there are many ways to do this.
 
I have a cruzr xc and a transformer. Just happened to grab the cruzr today. I will try again with transformer too this week.


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Another difference was that your foot rope was higher than my tether during the first evolution. To start, both ropes are about neck high. The first time I step up and reset my tether, I set my tether/bridge length. I have no idea if this makes a difference aside from my overall tether/bridge length may be shorter.
 
That’s a good point and likely why I was further away from the tree than I would have liked to be.
 
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