New SRT climber, help please!

[kunsangsean]

Hey everyone,

I did my first SRT ascent yesterday afternoon - and while I did get up and down the tree safely I ran into a number of issues. I did some searches but didn't find what I'm looking for. I'm climbing with a hand ascender, foot loop and grigri.

1st issue: Girth hitching the trunk. Many of the trees where I'm hunting have dinky 1-2 inch branches which I am not interested in hanging my life on. I watched several videos that made girth hitching the trunk look super easy, yet I failed for hours on multiple trees. On cottonwoods with smooth bark - I got hung up on lower branches where the loop was girth hitch could not ascend when I pulled the tag through the hitch. On larger trees with no lower branches, the rope got caught on the bark and would not reach the height of the crotch I had thrown over. How do guys make that look so easy? Any tips? I see one option is to get a telescoping pole but that looks like a pain / extra expense. I ended up climbing on a 2-3 inch diameter maple limb crotch.

2nd issue: Trusting your gear. I've climbed a lot of trees by hand and spent many hours in tree stands with no problems. But hanging from a branch, dangling 1-2 feet away from a tree with no lower branches kind of scared the **** out of me. I know saddle hunting is safer than tree standing hunting in theory, but how do you get your brain to trust your life to the grigri and rope with no physical sense of security below? This issue was exacerbated by the fact that I found at height my ring of steps strap was not long enough to go around the tree and so the only weight relief I could get was standing on my hand ascender's foot loop.I was super excited to have access to more trees and be able to position more fluidly and precisely, but that wasn't quite what I found to happen on this first climb.

I feel like fixing issue 1 could do quite a bit to give me more peace of mind as well as get me closer to the tree trunk on the climb. But there still is the gear trusting.

Any advice welcome, thanks - Sean

 

[bj139]

On not getting the loop to cinch all the way up around the trunk, try to get it as high as possible by moving as far away from the tree as you can. If it is almost there you can only fall as far as the loop will tighten if the rope holds. I wouldn't climb on a 2 to 3 inch branch.

The SRT gear is all fully rated accordng to international rock climbing standards so it should be much better than sticks or other non approved methods. That gives me some comfort.
I do this.

Or this.

Or throw a throwball over a branch.

 

[skell]

I cannot help with #1, I haven't ventured down the SRT path. #2 I can speak to. I had similar thoughts/feelings when I started with saddle hunting. And especially when I started sewing my own. For me, comfort came with research and repetition. I spent a great deal of time researching all the aspects I could think of with my equipment selections. Not just here, anywhere I could find information.

I think if you spend some time learning everything you can about your chosen equipment and how it is typically used (climbing world), it will help. Getting the rest of the way is going to take repetition to demonstrate to your mind that what you learned (specs/ratings/uses) can be trusted. Best done over and over at lower heights

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Interfering branches need to be cut out or if you can't do that, you'll have to tether off, and basically undo your girth hitch, reroute around the tree then do the process again. This is where presets shine. Once you do make it to hunt height your golden as long as you remember to tie paracord on the line so you can have your presets that can avoid the limbs. Side note, doing DRT with a split tail or bachmann knot to can reroute with less work.

This is my first year as well and had a nightmare tree to start out on and learned the above lessons right out of the box. Darn near threw up after getting to height from all that work listed above, had dry heaves. Then again part of it could of been the light breakfast and Bailey's irish cream in my coffee that morning...

Comfort will come with practice

 

[SNIPERBBB]

New York saddle hunters have a good video on using an extra throwball to help isolate your target branch..

 

[kunsangsean]

That's super helpful BJ, thanks. I didn't realize the girth hitch around the trunk provides enough friction to hold even without a limb crotch. Does it ever slip on smooth barked trees like young poplars?

Regarding international climbing ratings for SRT gear, that's a good point. However, it also makes me think about how the tree saddles are not rated to those standards, right? I'm using a tethrd phantom - I didn't read anywhere that had international climbing ratings - which would be a potential weak point in the gear trust.

 

[kunsangsean]

Sniper, you're right that if I can get to climbing height and set the preset how I want it that will eliminate the snags on lower branches issues. But presets do not seem to do anything to help with the bark friction stopping my girth hitch from sliding up the tree. So I guess I'll need the push pole for that.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Sniper, you're right that if I can get to climbing height and set the preset how I want it that will eliminate the snags on lower branches issues. But presets do not seem to do anything to help with the bark friction stopping my girth hitch from sliding up the tree. So I guess I'll need the push pole for that.

Are you talking about when your pulling the line up with your paracord/throwline or after you've already got the rope around the tree and it's getting stuck as you're cinching the girth hitch?

 

[kunsangsean]

Are you talking about when your pulling the line up with your paracord/throwline or after you've already got the rope around the tree and it's getting stuck as you're cinching the girth hitch?

The rope is over the limb, around the tree, I feed the tag end through the girth hitch and pull the tag end through to cinch the girth hitch - but it's getting stuck on the tree - sometimes stuck 10 feet below the anchor height.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Maybe try changing the angle of your pull so it's farther away from that tree.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Also you can hook your retrieval rope to your girth hitch to hold it out and away from the trouble spot. Also saves you from forgetting to do so later. Or do the alpine butterfly method

 

[gameflogger]

I did experiment with a zebco attached to a slingshot, it was much easier for me than trying the throwbag. New York saddle hunters video is awesome, but deceiving. That dude is a throwbag champion, he should be hunting with his throwbag instead of a bow with the precision he has pitching it.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

I did experiment with a zebco attached to a slingshot, it was much easier for me than trying the throwbag. New York saddle hunters video is awesome, but deceiving. That dude is a throwbag champion, he should be hunting with his throwbag instead of a bow with the precision he has pitching it.

How far into the video did you go? About half way through addresses busy trees.

 

[Redhorse3e351]

Sounds to me like you are Girth hitching in a pretty tight crotch. Maybe I am misreading but thats what it sounds like. Maybe try anchoring to a different spot if the crotch is your ultimate goal for hunting height you can always reposition to the crotch once at height.
As far as the comfort/ trust is concerned I would start low to the ground tied off and experiment. I'm a bit of a risk taker myself but test your gear at ground level. And I really mean test it. Slip off the tree with your footing, bounce in it, turn upside down. You get the point. I trust the labels on my gear but I have more faith after my own trials and errors. Just be sure to be at ground level while playing tarzan. Hope you can get it mastered just keep practicing and researching.

 

[gameflogger]

I

How far into the video did you go? About half way through addresses busy trees.

i watched it the whole way through, but I never could perfect it, kinda like watching Phil Mickelson play golf....... it looks easy when a pro is doing it. I have just enough hand/ eye coordination to efficiently pick my nose, sometimes!

 

[bj139]

That's super helpful BJ, thanks. I didn't realize the girth hitch around the trunk provides enough friction to hold even without a limb crotch. Does it ever slip on smooth barked trees like young poplars?

Regarding international climbing ratings for SRT gear, that's a good point. However, it also makes me think about how the tree saddles are not rated to those standards, right? I'm using a tethrd phantom - I didn't read anywhere that had international climbing ratings - which would be a potential weak point in the gear trust.

I only have two commercial saddles a Trpophyline Ambush Pro and Aero Evolution. Both are sewed with super thick thread and would probably lift an elephant. @always89y sewed a saddle and sent it around the world for us to try. When I saw the quality of the stitching I went right up a tree and didn't worry at all. I worry more about straps, sticks, platforms and fancy friction hitches.

The last accident I heard of was due to a girth hitch slipping around a trunk and down. The rope had been double passed through a quicklink at the girth hitch to keep it tight at the top. It was pulled partially down and the girth opened up but got stuck and did not come down. The climber climbed up to unhook it but the double pass through that kept it tight, now keep it from tightening. He fell and sustained a broken leg. I used the girth hitch around the trunk to climb SRT maybe 50 or so times in the last year. All the saddle hunters here use a similar girth hitch tether and they hold well in general. That is about all I know. I know to use any backup available while climbing even if it takes an extra 30 seconds to deploy. I have more time to do that than to sit around with a cast.

 

[bj139]

I was out hunting yesterday and hit this crotch on my second throwball attempt. It was relatively low, around 20 feet. There was the usual scrub brush around interfering with the swing. This past spring, I went to the park with a throwball and line and just practiced throwing over branches. I did this a few times for about two hours each time. On a nice spring day it is most enjoyable kind of like just spending a few hours on a nice sunny day tossing a football back and forth. If you throw the football you get better at it. Same with the throwball. You can't expect it to be any different. People spend many hours shooting their bow but almost no time throwing the throwball. Unfasten the throwball if it looks like it might get stuck before pulling the line down. Bring your climbing gear. I have had to climb up three times to retrieve a throwball where the line had broken and it was still hanging in the tree. You need a second throwball for this since your first one is up there.

 

[bj139]

Here is how I do it. This 54 second video has the most views of all my videos. LOL. Keep the legs of the V short for best accuracy. That is what I've found works best. All the other videos I watched show the weight nearly dragging on the ground. Accuracy is key just like shooting at a deer. The NY saddlehunter guy looks like Tom Brady just throwing a football through the crotch.

billj139

I am just an old guy having fun tree climbing and playing with sewing machines. Both these things grew out of an interest in saddle hunting from a tree saddl...

www.youtube.com

 

[kunsangsean]

Thanks for the encouragement and help. Yesterday I got up a tree much easier. I chose a tree with less rough bark and did the multi-throw to position the rope without branch interference. I also initially had not fitted my saddle right so it felt like it was slipping when I was sitting, that made a big difference once it was right. I do think I'm still going to need a push pole for certain trees. I am also certainly going to need a second throwball, as I can already see how easy it is to get stuck!

 

[bj139]

Thanks for the encouragement and help. Yesterday I got up a tree much easier. I chose a tree with less rough bark and did the multi-throw to position the rope without branch interference. I also initially had not fitted my saddle right so it felt like it was slipping when I was sitting, that made a big difference once it was right. I do think I'm still going to need a push pole for certain trees. I am also certainly going to need a second throwball, as I can already see how easy it is to get stuck!

Good to hear you are getting comfortable with it. Comfortable sitting is one of the keys. It is a bit uncomfortable at first just sitting halfway up a tree wondering what to do next.