Whispers Death
Well-Known Member
Harness, petzl rig, petzl ascension, foot loop, roll-n-clip carabiner, 35' of rope a woodpecker drill and 4 bolts, a throw line and bag.....and not a single stick ever again.
I'm still trying to work out what works best for me but if you want to be ultralight learn how to one aider or stirrups. One aider is faster but stirrups is easier and more comfortable. Either one on a tree with no branches is simple and efficient. It's going around limbs that REALLY slows me down. You have two tethers and a lineman to get around. A climbing harness with sit drag was a must for me, I didn't like the evo for this and I can't say for the kestrel but I don't think it'd be preferred for it either. It is very safe, I tie into my harness with both my main tether and foot tether. Proper safety makes it more time consuming but you could be reasonably safe and go a little faster than I do. Even if you struggle with aiders you can constantly be taking the slack out of the main tether and you can't fall. I use two stealth stripped wild edge stepps most of the time for a platform and they are plenty sufficient for several hours, I love those things. One of the reasons I started saddle hunting was to cut weight and I have by a ton but it's not without its struggles. Getting up in the tree well before light in mornings has been difficult for me. I'm also usually trying to get closer to 30' so that makes it a lot harder than 20. I still have some experimenting I want to try with the climber seat and might try some petzel quick steps for another method but haven't got there yet. I've gotten most of my info from the tactics of justsomedude and noxninja. So for what it's worth thats what I've come up with in the last month or two after hours and hours of experimenting and a small fortune later to feed the newest part of my favorite addiction.
I have the metolius aiders. I have not used them for tree climbing yet, only rocks.I took a piece of pvc pipe... cut slit in it lengthwise & slid it over top step then duct tape/e-tape. I cleaned up the cut ends w sandpaper so they were not sharp. Works great to keep foot squeeze down.Dewey
I'm new to saddle hunting and having this same debate with myself. I don't want to add so much weight that I'm back at the weight of a hang on.
My thoughts are mornings-walking in in the dark and trying to be quiet-give me my hawk heliums-ya there heavy but I can have them up quickly and quietly with just a small headlamp-it took me about 10 times with the heliums to get fast and quiet-short learning curve. Setting up in the dark I'll trade weight for ease of use and quiet.
Afternoons-im still working this out. I have a metilous ladder and maybe I'll try runninng two and girth hitching one to the tree climbing 3-5 steps then moving to the next one removing #1, climbing then setting #1 back up, climb repeat. This would be about two pounds plus any platform weight. I thing a Yates big wall ladder would work better because it uses a spreader bar and I notice the steps getting a little tight when I get to the top of the metoilios ladder. I have access to a petzel grillon and ID so Im trying to make one of these work as a connection to my bridge and rappell down-(in the dark remember-the aiders and speed steps seem to be the most work going down)
Whisper- What do you do when the best tree doesn’t have a branch for your tie in point till too high? I assume you need a limb within 30-35 feet to tie your ascent line onto.Harness, petzl rig, petzl ascension, foot loop, roll-n-clip carabiner, 35' of rope a woodpecker drill and 4 bolts, a throw line and bag.....and not a single stick ever again.
do tell!?!Yes. I've reduced my pack size and what I carry. I'll post the numbers and list again.
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What do you mean by a cinch strap? Have a picture or link?On trees like that, I preset with a climber or a stick ladder or climb paws. Then I put a foot peg or a bolt in the tree at height for future cinching. Most of my trees are preset but not all. Just takes practice. You can also throw the line higher...then put a cinch strap around the tree at the height you want.
Got it. Like you get with a hang on tree stand to secure your safety harness to the tree. Fasten the strap in place and leave a tag line through the strap D link to pull your rope up and around for the cinch point. I haven't done it that way before.Just a strap with a buckle on it or a sling or rope tied around the tree to hold the rope tight against the tree. It binds the rope to the tree at that point so it seems like that is where you are tied in.
Harness, petzl rig, petzl ascension, foot loop, roll-n-clip carabiner, 35' of rope a woodpecker drill and 4 bolts, a throw line and bag.....and not a single stick ever again.
The stepps are finicky. There is a huge learning curve to getting them set up properly. I still don't get them on tight enough all the time. I'm always looking at better options so I'm not pushing them, just saying that if you have them, keep practicing and they will get better.Do you have a detailed explanation of your climbing setup anywhere?
I was determined to switch to the stepp ladder and space them 3.5 feet apart with no aider. I can’t remember who posted the video of their method. Anyhoo, I can’t get the stepps down to save my life, so I am having to look elsewhere for weight/bulk reduction.
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