How Much Rope for SRT & Rappel?

[DB4x4]

How long of a piece of rope do you carry for SRT and/or rappelling and why?

I came up with an idea to reduce the amount of rope required (specifically for SRT), but I am curious to see if this is a new idea or just common knowledge for the SRT/rappel gurus...

 

[bj139]

Why don't you post your idea?
I carry a 35 foot piece for SRT.
I have hit a higher crotch than I intended and before I pulled the rope up realized I didn't have enough to reach the ground.

 

[Swingin' Free]

I carry '45 foot of HTP. Daisy chained and it's easy to handle

 

[mattsteg]

It sounds like You have a secret.

Minimum amount is enough to get from your anchor point to where you clip in, plus a safety knot. Sometimes it's nice to have more if you really need to horse your rope around vs. Relying on your throw line.

 

[bj139]

Is this secret passing your throwline spool through the rope loop and then pulling it up? If so, this is common knowledge among people that carry a minimum length of rope to save weight. Youtube videos on this are scarce.

 

[DB4x4]

Is this secret passing your throwline spool through the rope loop and then pulling it up? If so, this is common knowledge among people that carry a minimum length of rope to save weight. Youtube videos on this are scarce.

I wouldn't call it a secret, or even an idea really. More or less, a misconception followed by a moment of clarity and common sense? I dont know, haha. Anyway...

All of the SRT videos I've watched showed the climber pulling the loop end of the rope up/around the tree and back down to the free end. Using that method, I think you would need ~40' of rope to SRT to ~25' high:


But if you used your throw line or preset paracord to tie a double sheet bend to the free end of the rope, and pulled the free end up instead, I think you could probably SRT to ~25' with only 30' of rope...because as BJ139 said, you could run the pull line through the rope loop while it is still near the ground:




The paracord / pull line would then run the rope through itself, therefore creating the girth hitch. I didn't know if this was common practice, especially since I have yet to see a video of anyone doing it, but I thought if nothing else, it may save some weight and bulk for those of you who are SRT-ing.

 

[bj139]

Once I used a fixed length of shorter rope I had to figure this out as well. The videos of tree climbers on Youtube show them with a rope bag with 150 feet of rope throwing maybe 50 to 70 feet high so they just pass the tail of the rope through the loop. You could think of the throw line as a rope extension from the tail. The loop in the rope must be larger than the throwline spool to get it through. I was going to tie an aluminum ring to the end of my rope then realized the spool of throwline would not go through so it was a no go. Learning is fun.

 

[Nate B]

Once I used a fixed length of shorter rope I had to figure this out as well. The videos of tree climbers on Youtube show them with a rope bag with 150 feet of rope throwing maybe 50 to 70 feet high so they just pass the tail of the rope through the loop. You could think of the throw line as a rope extension from the tail. The loop in the rope must be larger than the throwline spool to get it through. I was going to tie an aluminum ring to the end of my rope then realized the spool of throwline would not go through so it was a no go. Learning is fun.

Just a thought...you could use a triangle quick link like @DanO carries. That would work just like an aluminum ring but give you an opening to pass the line through easily. I added them to my rappel lines & they work great.

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[bj139]

Just a thought...you could use a triangle quick link like @DanO carries. That would work just like an aluminum ring but give you an opening to pass the line through easily. I added them to my rappel lines & they work great.

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Good idea. I had thought the ring would reduce rope on rope friction but I don't think that is much of a problem anyway. I have seen the steel quicklinks but did not know there is an aluminum version. When I push the rope up a limbless tree using my electrical PVC conduit pushpole, I found it easiest to minimize the weight I am trying to push up the tree at the end of the pole. The steel quicklink made a noticeable difference in ease of pushing up. You have to push it up around the rough bark and the less weight trying to fall down the better. If throwing a throwbag over a crotch it doesn't matter but I don't want to keep re-configuring the rope for pushpole or throwbag so a larger loop works best for both. I just use a spool of 300 pound test dyneema fishing line on the original spool with a stick for a handle for my throwline.

 

[DB4x4]

I have a 40' piece of rope that I am contemplating cutting down to ~32'. It will mostly be used to one stick up and rappel down, but I am contemplating using preset paracord to SRT next year.

Am I cutting myself too short at 32'?

EDIT: I like to setup ~25' when possible, but will go lower if not possible. I typically don't like to go higher than 25' in bow season because of poor shot angles and don't feel the need to go higher in gun season. (I used to go 30+ with my climber back in the day)

That said, there's no guarantee there will be that perfect branch at 25' every time, so I am nervous about cutting myself too short, but I also don't want to carry a giant daisy chain of unnecessary rope around all the time. Thoughts?

 

[bj139]

I have a 40' piece of rope that I am contemplating cutting down to ~32'. It will mostly be used to one stick up and rappel down, but I am contemplating using preset paracord to SRT next year.

Am I cutting myself too short at 32'?

EDIT: I like to setup ~25' when possible, but will go lower if not possible. I typically don't like to go higher than 25' in bow season because of poor shot angles and don't feel the need to go higher in gun season. (I used to go 30+ with my climber back in the day)

That said, there's no guarantee there will be that perfect branch at 25' every time, so I am nervous about cutting myself too short, but I also don't want to carry a giant daisy chain of unnecessary rope around all the time. Thoughts?

The perfect spot to sit in the tree can be higher than your rope can reach. I have thrown a throwbag and hit the higher crotch (the next one up from 27 feet) than I was aiming at. It would have been a fine spot to sit but my rope was too short. I pulled the throwline down and hit the 27 foot crotch. Five more feet would have done it. Your 40 feet should be about right, IMHO.

 

[Bourdeau]

I always seem to find a higher spot to move to especially with presets I have not used yet. I climb up to the original location and use my tether to hang in the saddle while I throw a line up higher or sometimes just throw the cinch end of my climbing rope higher to get to a better spot for more cover, more branches to stand on, etc... a few times I have hunted and changed the para cord location for the preset before leaving. I carry 42 feet minus the stopper knot and the rope used to tie the figure 8 cinch loop probably more like 38 feet with the knots...