Hi SH,
Need some help on this one. Almost had a 911 in the woods last night for the first time in over 50 yrs of hunting. Hitch jammed on the way down and if it weren't for a nearby tree that I could grab onto and unload/redress the Blake's hitch, I might have had to get some help. It seemed like a very right knot; I am still new to DRT but a saddle hunter since 2005. Really thought that the knot was tied correctly, so let's look at other pieces of the puzzle:
-DRT with a tending tie to standing line; no mechanical ascender
- Rope is 10mm Sterling SafetyPro : used about 40 times for successful DRT ascends/descends; rope condition seems fine though surface is a bit shiny
-Weather was cool and dry
-Assent seemed a little bit harder than normal but attributed it to lots of friction from wide white oak tree crotch
-Knot jammed almost as soon as I got down several feet from tie-in point; going back up and redressing not did not seem to work until much further down.
Here's my thinking:
1. Lots of friction in the tree crotch meant slower/more difficult slide for rope which meant more downward weight on Blake's hitch causing the jam
2. The tending line-- after the line from saddle exits the Blake's hitch, tied at the end into a poachers knot with a carabiner in it, which then hooks into an Alpine butterfly loop, which then pulls the knot up instead of manually sliding it up-- may have been pulling up at the same time I was trying to pull down. I'm going to test this theory this afternoon.
3. The knot was just wrong and I'll test that again this afternoon.
4. Sterling rope was a specific recommendation from a climbing gym with several hundred members; it may be that this is just the wrong rope.
Everyone's thoughts are most welcome; let's keep this to serious advice as there are more hunting trips in the near future and I need to be responsible for not just myself but for others' time in the woods as well.
Thanks all; please let me know what you think.
Orion
Need some help on this one. Almost had a 911 in the woods last night for the first time in over 50 yrs of hunting. Hitch jammed on the way down and if it weren't for a nearby tree that I could grab onto and unload/redress the Blake's hitch, I might have had to get some help. It seemed like a very right knot; I am still new to DRT but a saddle hunter since 2005. Really thought that the knot was tied correctly, so let's look at other pieces of the puzzle:
-DRT with a tending tie to standing line; no mechanical ascender
- Rope is 10mm Sterling SafetyPro : used about 40 times for successful DRT ascends/descends; rope condition seems fine though surface is a bit shiny
-Weather was cool and dry
-Assent seemed a little bit harder than normal but attributed it to lots of friction from wide white oak tree crotch
-Knot jammed almost as soon as I got down several feet from tie-in point; going back up and redressing not did not seem to work until much further down.
Here's my thinking:
1. Lots of friction in the tree crotch meant slower/more difficult slide for rope which meant more downward weight on Blake's hitch causing the jam
2. The tending line-- after the line from saddle exits the Blake's hitch, tied at the end into a poachers knot with a carabiner in it, which then hooks into an Alpine butterfly loop, which then pulls the knot up instead of manually sliding it up-- may have been pulling up at the same time I was trying to pull down. I'm going to test this theory this afternoon.
3. The knot was just wrong and I'll test that again this afternoon.
4. Sterling rope was a specific recommendation from a climbing gym with several hundred members; it may be that this is just the wrong rope.
Everyone's thoughts are most welcome; let's keep this to serious advice as there are more hunting trips in the near future and I need to be responsible for not just myself but for others' time in the woods as well.
Thanks all; please let me know what you think.
Orion