Any interest in a SRT video?

[weekender21]

I have a Hitchhiker device which can be used for an SRT ascent. The friction hitch on it has slipped a bit on me a few times. It was disconcerting but I think not dangerous. It did catch eventually. A second seems like a very long time when you are sliding down.

Had to look on YouTube for the hitchhiker device, I wasn't familiar. Looks like there is still a mechanical device required and a pulley. Looks interesting but I don't think an SRT ascent could be more efficient than it is with a MR Safeguard and a hand ascender.

It seems like the recreational tree climbing community awards the effort for the most complicated way to ascend a tree...and we're trying to find the most simple method with the fewest moving parts!

 

[bj139]

Had to look on YouTube for the hitchhiker device, I wasn't familiar. Looks like there is still a mechanical device required and a pulley. Looks interesting but I don't think an SRT ascent could be more efficient than it is with a MR Safeguard and a hand ascender.

It seems like the recreational tree climbing community awards the effort for the most complicated way to ascend a tree...and we're trying to find the most simple method with the fewest moving parts!

There is an ascender required, I used a foot ascender and a knee ascender together to try rope walking. It is fun but overkill for the short climbs used in saddle hunting. No pulley is required for the Hitchhiker (HH) although some people have added one and posted videos. The HH reduces the force on the friction hitch by pinching the rope between the body and two metal bars which provides additional resistance so the friction hitch does not bind or slide uncontrollably.

 

[Letemgrowitllshow]

People that use SRT......
How are you girth hitching your rope around the tree when your rope isn't long enough to hold both ends in hand? Example: your rope is 40 feet long. Preset paracord is 35 feet up in the tree.

 

[robstewart]

People that use SRT......
How are you girth hitching your rope around the tree when your rope isn't long enough to hold both ends in hand? Example: your rope is 40 feet long. Preset paracord is 35 feet up in the tree.

So first I put my throw line up over a branch and bring it back down. In this example I cut off a piece and made a loop that I left in the tree and came back.

I attach the end of my climbing rope to the line and haul it up and over the branch. When the figure 8 gets to the point I’m about to pull it up away from my reach I feed the pull line through it.

Then I just keep pulling the pull line and the tag end meets the 8 and follows the pull line through the loop.

(In the above picture my left hand is holding my throw line as I just passed it through the loop on my climbing rope and the paracord on the caribiner above the figure 8 is for retrieving my rope later. )

So basically if you have a 30’ rope you need at least 30’ of paracord or similar pull line attached to the tag end of your climbing rope to make a 60’ long piece to go over and back down. If you used a 60’ piece of paracord it can also act and your retriever line if you hook it up right.


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[Letemgrowitllshow]

So first I put my throw line up over a branch and bring it back down. In this example I cut off a piece and made a loop that I left in the tree and came back.

I attach the end of my climbing rope to the line and haul it up and over the branch. When the figure 8 gets to the point I’m about to pull it up away from my reach I feed the pull line through it.

Then I just keep pulling the pull line and the tag end meets the 8 and follows the pull line through the loop.

(In the above picture my left hand is holding my throw line as I just passed it through the loop on my climbing rope and the paracord on the caribiner above the figure 8 is for retrieving my rope later. )

So basically if you have a 30’ rope you need at least 30’ of paracord or similar pull line attached to the tag end of your climbing rope to make a 60’ long piece to go over and back down. If you used a 60’ piece of paracord it can also act and your retriever line if you hook it up right.


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Thanks for the pictures. One more question for ya. How are you attaching your pull up rope to the tag end of your climbing line?

 

[bj139]

Thanks for the pictures. One more question for ya. How are you attaching your pull up rope to the tag end of your climbing line?

I have tried a clove hitch as well as a non tied loop girth hitch on the rope and had the throwline slip off. What has not slipped is a figure eight loop tied in the end of my throw line which is girth hitched to the climbing rope about a foot from the end and then several half hitches along the rope to the tip of the rope. Anything else, I don't know about.

 

[robstewart]

Thanks for the pictures. One more question for ya. How are you attaching your pull up rope to the tag end of your climbing line?

So I took my propane torch and heated up a nail and melted a hole through the tag end of my climbing line. Then I fed a short piece of paracord through and did a simple overhand knot. Then I wrapped the whole thing with electrical tape. That created a nice 2-3” loop at the end of my climbing rope.

So I just do a simple overhand knot from my pull one to my paracord loop on the tag end.

I’ve been thinking of ways to make it simpler and better. I’m going to try tying a small loop on each end of the pull line and connecting them with some sort of small gear caribiner. Then I will pull that up into the tree out of sight.

When I get to the tree I think I would disconnect the two ends and clip the pull line to the tag line. Then when I get to the part where I’m about to pull the figure 8 end up I’ll feed the end of the haul line through but connect it to a caribiner behind the figure 8.

This would then result in my one piece of paracord doubling as haul line to get the rope up the tree AND retrieval line. The trick will be to make sure to reverse this when pulling the rope out at the end of the hunt so the paracord finishes back where it started.





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[Bwhana]

I'm not doing SRT, just rappelling, but I keep reading about guys using paracord. Give dynaglide a try for anything you use paracord now, it is much lighter, more compact, stronger, and has zero stretch. But only if you like those traits!

 

[GiGisDaddy]

I'm not doing SRT, just rappelling, but I keep reading about guys using paracord. Give dynaglide a try for anything you use paracord now, it is much lighter, more compact, stronger, and has zero stretch. But only if you like those traits!

so basically using throw line for both? Higher prices but your benefits offset that,thanks for the input

 

[Letemgrowitllshow]

So I took my propane torch and heated up a nail and melted a hole through the tag end of my climbing line. Then I fed a short piece of paracord through and did a simple overhand knot. Then I wrapped the whole thing with electrical tape. That created a nice 2-3” loop at the end of my climbing rope.

So I just do a simple overhand knot from my pull one to my paracord loop on the tag end.

I’ve been thinking of ways to make it simpler and better. I’m going to try tying a small loop on each end of the pull line and connecting them with some sort of small gear caribiner. Then I will pull that up into the tree out of sight.

When I get to the tree I think I would disconnect the two ends and clip the pull line to the tag line. Then when I get to the part where I’m about to pull the figure 8 end up I’ll feed the end of the haul line through but connect it to a caribiner behind the figure 8.

This would then result in my one piece of paracord doubling as haul line to get the rope up the tree AND retrieval line. The trick will be to make sure to reverse this when pulling the rope out at the end of the hunt so the paracord finishes back where it started.





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I like where your brain is going! Can't wait to get my rope and start practicing

 

[robstewart]

I'm not doing SRT, just rappelling, but I keep reading about guys using paracord. Give dynaglide a try for anything you use paracord now, it is much lighter, more compact, stronger, and has zero stretch. But only if you like those traits!

I’d have to look at the costs and availability. I can get 550 paracord pretty much anywhere and in a variety of colours so I don’t mind leaving it for presets.

On the other hand I’d replace my gear hauling line with something better since I take that with me.


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[Bwhana]

so basically using throw line for both? Higher prices but your benefits offset that,thanks for the input

Exactly! I have a simple rule when it comes to my hunting stuff, the price is the last thing I look at. If it is something I want and will truly use, I get it. I do not intentionally bargain shop. I believe in Dave Ramsey to a point, but he is not a hunter, and he would change his rules and make exceptions if he ever became one!

 

[Swampwalker]

Dave Ramsey is the man!

 

[arm breaker]

I run a petzl tibloc with a home made foot loop ( webbing and a piece of garden hose to keep it open). On that I also hang a pulley to add some mechanical advantage. I’m 99% sure I’m going to get a left hand ascender to replace the tibloc.

On my waist I wear a rock climbing harness and use a safeguard for both ascending and rappelling. Just started with the safeguard and it’s great. A grigri is another option that will work the same. Both will let you hang hands free and don’t require an autoblock but you do what is safe for you.


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Do you wear the rock harness under your saddle or how does that work? With a rock harness that has the sewn in belay loop, do you even need a shorter bridge for this?

 

[robstewart]

Do you wear the rock harness under your saddle or how does that work? With a rock harness that has the sewn in belay loop, do you even need a shorter bridge for this?

Yes, I wear the harness under my saddle. The RCH has a belay loop so that’s what my safeguard is attached to.

I then use a prusik and caribiner to attach the bridge from my fleece saddle to my tether once I get to hunting height, usually above the RCH. Lastly I release tension on my RCH connection so that most, if not all of my weight is in the saddle but there’s not enough slack in the RCH connection to allow me to fall any real distance.

I typically don’t climb wearing the saddle at all. It gets put on at the top. I may change that around in the future and put it on loosely at ground level.


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[arm breaker]

Yes, I wear the harness under my saddle. The RCH has a belay loop so that’s what my safeguard is attached to.

I then use a prusik and caribiner to attach the bridge from my fleece saddle to my tether once I get to hunting height, usually above the RCH. Lastly I release tension on my RCH connection so that most, if not all of my weight is in the saddle but there’s not enough slack in the RCH connection to allow me to fall any real distance.

I typically don’t climb wearing the saddle at all. It gets put on at the top. I may change that around in the future and put it on loosely at ground level.


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Which saddle do you use may I ask? I know you said fleece but I’m not sure how that compares. I have a really nice Misty Mountain RCH and would like to employ it in my setup. I use a mantis and have wondered if the RCH would help with the sag problem while wearing it in.