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How to get down after losing climbing stick?

Were you using a buckle strap or a rope mod on your stick that came lose?
I like using an amsteel daisy chain on my steps but they can accidentally get hooked with clothing or when pulling gear up putting slack in the rope and causing the step to slide down the tree.


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You shouldn’t be climbing sticks without a lineman’s belt. Put LB low on the tree as a tether and hook in. Remove your tether and lower yourself on you LB. repeat until you reach the ground.
 
Stay in the tree until help arrives and carries your stick up to you? Lol.


Lots of good ideas in this thread. I would one stick down. I also have a aider I could girth hitch around the tree to “one stick” with.


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ImThere said:
Stay in the tree until help arrives and carries your stick up to you? Lol.


Lots of good ideas in this thread. I would one stick down. I also have a aider I could girth Hitch around the tree to “one stick” with.


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The ole girth hitch method! Never fails!


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CJP2017 said:
Recently, i was practicing my climbing methods & systems - at night w/o using any artificial light.

I use XOP climbing sticks, each w an extra aider step made from straps. I'm still trying to figure out the best method for carrying the 3rd & 4th sticks up the tree.

This time i figured i'd use a loop in my pull up rope b4 pulling up my bow. Once i was standing on my 2nd step & pulling up on the rope i hit a snag. I assumed my stick was stuck in the tall grass & kept pulling. I finally turned my head lamp on & realized my pull up rope had somehow got in between my 1st stick and the tree & I managed to twist the stick so it was no longer cleated to the tree.

The bottom aider loop on my 2nd step is about 8' from the the ground - which is a bit higher (and also an unstable platform) than i'd like to jump from.

I ended up using my linesman belt, tree strap, & rope bridge to make a clumsy, sweaty, tree-scraping descent of the final 8'.

Afterwards i began to wonder what if this were the 2nd or 3rd stick? It would be a much more potentially dangerous situation.

Does anybody have a method or tools that can help descend a tree safely in the event of a climbing stick / step failure?


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I use paracord on my sticks and hook the third and fourth stick to my saddle that way the are with me and there is no chance of them knocking my lower sticks out of whack. All I have to do is reach back and grab a stick and connect it to the tree.
 
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Apex7 said:
I use paracord on my sticks and hook the third and fourth stick to my saddle that way the are with me and there is no chance of them knocking my lower sticks out of whack. All I have to do is reach back and grab a stick and connect it to the tree.
Click to expand...

This


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Always keep a 20-30’ rope in your pack for emergency decent. Tie a figure 8 in one end. Put around tree, put the other end of rope through loop on figure 8 and tie a foot loop in where you are comfortable. Then stand up in it to tighten it down. Work your way down the tree. I believe John Elber.. always keeps a rope with him. I know I do.

If the tree is thin enough you can use your linesman tether. Just stay attached . As others have said it will take you longer to get down p, but you will get down safely.


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I did it a couple years back. Turned a stick sideways up halfway up. Was hunting out of lock-on. I used my lineman’s belt and skimmed down to the stick and turned it right up. It worked.
 
Can't you use your lineman's belt as a second tether with a foot loop further down? While standing on it move your main tether down then hang from main tether and slide lower tether down till you can stand straight legged. Then move top tether down, lower yourself with leg in foot loop to bottom tether. Rinse and repeat.
 
bj139 said:
Can't you use your lineman's belt as a second tether with a foot loop further down? While standing on it move your main tether down then hang from main tether and slide lower tether down till you can stand straight legged. Then move top tether down, lower yourself with leg in foot loop to bottom tether. Rinse and repeat.
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this is how I was saying to do it on my earlier post! As a matter of fact I have climbed trees this way it is just slow!!!
 
I keep a treble hook with one barb cut off. To fish for dropped items. I've never dropped a stick though. But I go slow when climbing and descending. You could always use you lineman's as a Foot loop girth hitched to tree and the use your tether to inch down to next stick.
 
Paracord loops on your saddle to carry sticks up. Keep 20-25’ of 5-8mm rope in your pack for bail out maneuvers . I can always go back up and retrieve my sticks, getting me to the ground is what’s important.
 
Apex7 said:
I use paracord on my sticks and hook the third and fourth stick to my saddle that way the are with me and there is no chance of them knocking my lower sticks out of whack. All I have to do is reach back and grab a stick and connect it to the tree.
Click to expand...
Hailey_Phillips said:
I would just one stick method back down. Set tether right above climbing climbing stick you are standing on, set it so it’s tight as you slowly lean down off your aider. Unhook stick, lower it a foot or two or however far you can while suspended in your saddle. Reattach stick. Stand upright and lower tether and repeat.


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I really like this idea & will have to practice it a few times!

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