Why don't yall 2TC?

[BTaylor]

I should prolly clarify that the tag end of the tether with the biner on the right would represent the rappel rope and in application would be above the shebangalang. Left side tag would be the rest of the rappel rope going to the ground.

 

[Chopper070]

I played around with a different variation of two tether climbing a couple years ago. The main reason I didn't pursue it any farther was because of an incident I had when climbing a tree only to realize there was a bees nest in it. I am allergic to bees and that incident made me realize the importance, for me at least, of having the ability to get back down the tree quickly in an emergency. Having sticks already placed on the tree make that a possibility.

I'm thinking of trying this method this year. But I would definitely use my rappel line from one sticking as the top line.....quick emergency out!

 

[CharlieTN]

Got out yesterday to play around and dial in my system more. I have the CGM setup with the Amsteel on the foot tether. i tried switching the Amsteel out for some 7mm accessory cord I have and it worked well, so well in fact that I’m considering getting a length of 6mm TRC to use. It’s stiffer than the 7mm so it’ll make moving it easier, won’t snag on the bark like the Amsteel does, and it’s way stronger than the 7mm as well. In addition, the existing Amsteel prussik on the foot loop worked well on a short scrap piece of TRC in testing, didn’t slip at all. This will still keep it quite compact and light weight as well, only adding a tad bit of weight over the Amsteel.

 

[CharlieTN]

Being fairly new to 2TC I thought I would share some thoughts and observations. These are in no particular order

1. If you are coming from 1-stick climbing, the transition should be fairly straight forward. You’re already likely familiar with climbing with aiders. Using the foot tether is a lot like that. Toe to the tree and pressure straight down. You’re also used to the idea of moving your tether often.
2. The progress of 2TC is really very straight forward, honestly more straight forward than any other tree climbing method. (I’ve never used rope climbing for saddle hunting so I won’t comment on that although I have a background in rappelling and rope work)
3. There are a lot of cheap ways to try it and as others have mentioned it really is a great backup system that requires minimal to carry with you. A simple daisy chain for the tether and a loop of 1” webbing or accessory cord is all you truly need.
4. Passing branches is no more difficult in 2TC than it is with 1-stick. Attach yourself to the tree safely with either a lineman’s above the branch or a second tether, the move your main tether above the branch, reattach to it, then undo the backup tether. There, you’re safely attached above the branch. Then work your way up the tree till you can move your foot tether above that branch.
5. Don’t go for Herculean moves. Keep your progress movements around what your aider step distance is and you’ll find it really is not very physically taxing. I’m 53, 255 lbs, and not in great shape and I can do it without pouring the sweat. Also don’t get in a hurry. Truly, one or two minutes will NOT ruing 95% or more of your hunts.
6. I find I like using the thigh loop on most trees. It makes me feel more stable which causes my body to relax and makes me much less likely to sweat a bunch. As I get better at it I may find I don’t need it.
7. How your climb looks will be different from others depending on your age, flexibility, body shape, and such. Also I imagine it will change some depending on the clothing you’re wearing. This is no different than 1-stick climbing. It’s a bit different for each person.
8. Stick with it. Just like any other climbing method there is a learning curve. It’s likely the first few times it will stink and you’ll want to burn your gear. As you do it, it will suddenly start to click and then you’ll have it down. I see so many try 1–stick or 2TC once or twice and then loudly announce “It’s just not for me.” Of course not, you didn’t try it enough to really figure it out. Give it literally 15-20 climbs on a variety of trees and then give it a fair shake. 1-stick climbing is the same.

I’m sure more will come to me and I’lll share those as I think of them.

 

[Samcirrus]

Got out yesterday to play around and dial in my system more. I have the CGM setup with the Amsteel on the foot tether. i tried switching the Amsteel out for some 7mm accessory cord I have and it worked well, so well in fact that I’m considering getting a length of 6mm TRC to use. It’s stiffer than the 7mm so it’ll make moving it easier, won’t snag on the bark like the Amsteel does, and it’s way stronger than the 7mm as well. In addition, the existing Amsteel prussik on the foot loop worked well on a short scrap piece of TRC in testing, didn’t slip at all. This will still keep it quite compact and light weight as well, only adding a tad bit of weight over the Amsteel.

Can't go wrong with 6mm trc. Been running it for several years now. Imo its the perfect pairing with CIV, Resctech and ultra tech.

 

[CharlieTN]

Can't go wrong with 6mm trc. Been running it for several years now. Imo its the perfect pairing with CIV, Resctech and ultra tech.

My lineman’s is Restech with TRC and love it. That’s what got me to thinking about using it for the foot tether so I tested it with the Amsteel prussik and it worked great.

 

[Center Punch]

Being fairly new to 2TC I thought I would share some thoughts and observations. These are in no particular order

1. If you are coming from 1-stick climbing, the transition should be fairly straight forward. You’re already likely familiar with climbing with aiders. Using the foot tether is a lot like that. Toe to the tree and pressure straight down. You’re also used to the idea of moving your tether often.
2. The progress of 2TC is really very straight forward, honestly more straight forward than any other tree climbing method. (I’ve never used rope climbing for saddle hunting so I won’t comment on that although I have a background in rappelling and rope work)
3. There are a lot of cheap ways to try it and as others have mentioned it really is a great backup system that requires minimal to carry with you. A simple daisy chain for the tether and a loop of 1” webbing or accessory cord is all you truly need.
4. Passing branches is no more difficult in 2TC than it is with 1-stick. Attach yourself to the tree safely with either a lineman’s above the branch or a second tether, the move your main tether above the branch, reattach to it, then undo the backup tether. There, you’re safely attached above the branch. Then work your way up the tree till you can move your foot tether above that branch.
5. Don’t go for Herculean moves. Keep your progress movements around what your aider step distance is and you’ll find it really is not very physically taxing. I’m 53, 255 lbs, and not in great shape and I can do it without pouring the sweat. Also don’t get in a hurry. Truly, one or two minutes will NOT ruing 95% or more of your hunts.
6. I find I like using the thigh loop on most trees. It makes me feel more stable which causes my body to relax and makes me much less likely to sweat a bunch. As I get better at it I may find I don’t need it.
7. How your climb looks will be different from others depending on your age, flexibility, body shape, and such. Also I imagine it will change some depending on the clothing you’re wearing. This is no different than 1-stick climbing. It’s a bit different for each person.
8. Stick with it. Just like any other climbing method there is a learning curve. It’s likely the first few times it will stink and you’ll want to burn your gear. As you do it, it will suddenly start to click and then you’ll have it down. I see so many try 1–stick or 2TC once or twice and then loudly announce “It’s just not for me.” Of course not, you didn’t try it enough to really figure it out. Give it literally 15-20 climbs on a variety of trees and then give it a fair shake. 1-stick climbing is the same.

I’m sure more will come to me and I’lll share those as I think of them.

Thanks for this post. The other day I tried practicing while walking the dog with my wife and that was a mistake. Her impatience rubbed off on me.
What's the thigh loop technique? A quick search didn't turn up anything.

 

[CharlieTN]

Thanks for this post. The other day I tried practicing while walking the dog with my wife and that was a mistake. Her impatience rubbed off on me.
What's the thigh loop technique? A quick search didn't turn up anything.

Here’s a couple of videos that show it off. Jerry Grose only uses it on larger trees. It appears that Jerry Mills uses it most of the time if not all of the time. The Thigh loop goes on the leg you’re not using to stand up with. It attaches to your main tether and is basically tensioned along with your main tether to your saddle when you sit back in the saddle. For me I find it helps me to be more stable as I move up my foot tether, thus keeping me relaxed. Jerry Grose (Custom Gear Modifications) does not make the thigh loop pictured here anymore and just sells his foot loop to be used. The thigh loop wasn’t designed to be strong enough for life-bearing but some people were using it that way so he went to just the foot loop which is meant to hold your full weight.

I mount mine like the second video, above my safeguard so that I can adjust the safeguard as I need to. Also, sliding up the friction knot helps to keep the rappel rope tether in place.

 

[tailgunner]

My brotha....i love when people get it....eventualy it clicks ....just takes time to learn the ropes...literaly

 

[mschultz373]

First time trying 2TC. Went with the wife and dogs to the park so I climbed a sycamore and a hickory. I didn’t yet get a hitch onto my footloop so had to pick trees with no branches.

Going into it, I thought slam dunk I was gonna be hooked. And as a complete n00b I’m committed to ironing out kinks and practicing more. But I found it pretty cumbersome compared to one sticking. The main sticking point (no pun intended) being that, advancing the tether line while on a stick/aider with a linesman “felt” more secure than standing on a foot loop. with any tree lean, that foot loop only insecurity was only heightened.

The other thing to iron out is a way to move the tether without putting fingers under it. i remember seeing a few different methods people have used here for that so I’ll refresh and try one.

My 11’ linesman-converted-to-footloop worked very well, though.

 

[mschultz373]

Wow, so I’m an idiot, I just realized; since I’m using a ropeman1 with a carabiner for my footlop webbing, can’t I just use that to clip into if I need to move my maim Tether around a branch???

 

[Samcirrus]

Wow, so I’m an idiot, I just realized; since I’m using a ropeman1 with a carabiner for my footlop webbing, can’t I just use that to clip into if I need to move my maim Tether around a branch???

Technically, yes! But you're better off having a soft hitch on there just hanging about above your footloop attachment point (RM1 &C) that you can hook into when needed for branch pass.

 

[mschultz373]

Technically, yes! But you're better off having a soft hitch on there just hanging about above your footloop attachment point (RM1 &C) that you can hook into when needed for branch pass.

Why is that better? Simply for a better interface or actual safety? Just trying to understand. I appreciate the feedback!

 

[tailgunner]

Safety....and im not safe...just sayin

 

[tailgunner]

Got to forget 1 stick movements ....going as far and high as you can gets streinuose.baby steps walks right past a stick like nothing is there for you to reach down grab and reset....1 stickers count moves and pride their selves on doing less clumbsy looking moves...according to every 1 sticking video on youtube where they just dangle there to reach down and disconect a stick then reconect it without dropping it which is just extra steps period......2tc. Is like walking ....you dont cout your steps you just simply step up like you take steps to walk away from your truck effortlessy and relaxed.....an adjustible foot loop makes all the difference.....two tether is less work than climbing a ladder where you step up left foot then step up right foot.2tc.you step up 1 foot then sit down and rest,then repete...easy peasy

 

[CharlieTN]

First time trying 2TC. Went with the wife and dogs to the park so I climbed a sycamore and a hickory. I didn’t yet get a hitch onto my footloop so had to pick trees with no branches.

Going into it, I thought slam dunk I was gonna be hooked. And as a complete n00b I’m committed to ironing out kinks and practicing more. But I found it pretty cumbersome compared to one sticking. The main sticking point (no pun intended) being that, advancing the tether line while on a stick/aider with a linesman “felt” more secure than standing on a foot loop. with any tree lean, that foot loop only insecurity was only heightened.

The other thing to iron out is a way to move the tether without putting fingers under it. i remember seeing a few different methods people have used here for that so I’ll refresh and try one.

My 11’ linesman-converted-to-footloop worked very well, though.

The first time for me felt sketchy as well with my left leg literally shaking trying to not kick out on me. A couple of things that helped massively: 1. Shorten the length of the foot tether. The longer it is the more likely you are to have a kick out. 2. Hook your other leg around the tree and that gives you that additional point of contact for stability as you move your main tether up.

Once you get the system dialed in and your moves adjusted to the right amount you’re only talking a few seconds in any position so it goes much smoother. For me I did find that using the thigh loose helped a lot to make me more stable as I moved the foot tether up which helped me to relax and not get tired or sweaty.

I made up some simple tether tenders using some plastic clips I had bought from EWO. They came as a prussik tender with webbing sewn between them. I took them apart, tied on some paracord in a cobra weave and they work great. I like the fact I can take them off if I’m pulling down my rappel rope through some branches or on a very rough barked tree. They will work on 9mm ropes.

 

[Dope on a Rope]

I always see it done like the one on the left, has anybody tried it like the one on the right? Then your foot loop is not on a pendulum.

 

[CharlieTN]

I always see it done like the one on the left, has anybody tried it like the one on the right? Then your foot loop is not on a pendulum. View attachment 100913

I imagine it could be done but my only concern is that it could be fairly fiddly to get the lengths set right given that each tree is different in diameter, plus it changes as you climb up. The other thing I would add, even with aiders that have the same split attachment, they can still kick out if you’re not careful.

 

[Dope on a Rope]

I imagine it could be done but my only concern is that it could be fairly fiddly to get the lengths set right given that each tree is different in diameter, plus it changes as you climb up. The other thing I would add, even with aiders that have the same split attachment, they can still kick out if you’re not careful.

I one stick with a 3 step aider (both amsteel and webbing style) and never have a kick out… but I can’t do a single step aider with the single point pendulum type attachment without a kick out. So for me this is the biggest drawback to 2tc so far. But I’m wondering if there’s another way to polish this turd and make it a viable backup option(for me). I’ll have to play around with it but figured I’d crowd source any lessons learned

 

[mschultz373]

I’m gonna keep messing and see what I can do. My foot tether is probably too long. I also want to eliminate more metal and quick links - I think that would help not only cut noise but create a bit more grip on the bark…

I have a hammock hanging daisy chain I’m wondering if I could try for foot tether too. I like that it would be no metal - but it’s technically only rated for 200lbs…. My weight exactly almost…Supposed to use two on either side for a hammock, obviously. But I like the idea of that a lot.