SRT bridge N tether setup(s)

[bfriendly]

So I did my first trial climb yesterday and although I messed up from the get go, I have no doubt this will work!!. Does anyone SRT using a ropeman 1?
Opened the wallet again and ordered a guide ATC, which is the device I like(ATC) and am 100% comfortable with. Hitting the video scene again and about to put the JRB ascender hitch on my rope. I do see this system working very well, but not sure how I’ll set it up exactly. I really don’t want to be tying knots up high.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

So I did my first trial climb yesterday and although I messed up from the get go, I have no doubt this will work!!. Does anyone SRT using a ropeman 1?
Opened the wallet again and ordered a guide ATC, which is the device I like(ATC) and am 100% comfortable with. Hitting the video scene again and about to put the JRB ascender hitch on my rope. I do see this system working very well, but not sure how I’ll set it up exactly. I really don’t want to be tying knots up high.

I’ve seen people do it but I would NOT SRT with a rope man alone, granted in our application we should never see dynamic falls but I personally wouldn’t trust it to life support without backup. Manufacturers even advise against it. It’s one of things that’ll work again and again… until it doesn’t. With the various hitches especially @John RB hitches I would trust them over the ropeman any day. I have a CT RollnLoc for my tether and I know my tether will never see dynamic loading but I still back it up with bee line cordage in a hitch loop. When it comes to life safety redundancy and overkill are the norm for me.

 

[wyetterp]

I prefer a Kong Futura paired with petzl rollclip. Way smoother. Still packs down smaller then a fist. I keep it in my front little pouch on the djmp at all times.

Climbing foot rope?

Yup it packs down nice. Going to try it out next week. Stows away nice.

saddlehunter.com

 

[John RB]

I’ve seen people do it but I would NOT SRT with a rope man alone, granted in our application we should never see dynamic falls but I personally wouldn’t trust it to life support without backup. Manufacturers even advise against it. It’s one of things that’ll work again and again… until it doesn’t. With the various hitches especially @John RB hitches I would trust them over the ropeman any day. I have a CT RollnLoc for my tether and I know my tether will never see dynamic loading but I still back it up with bee line cordage in a hitch loop. When it comes to life safety redundancy and overkill are the norm for me.

I own 2 Ropeman devices... i bought em to test and potentially to use them if I found the right application. I think they're fine for a lineman's belt. But when I examined the very small surface area that they contact on a climbing rope, I am not comfortable for them for my tether or climbing line. And it's not because they won't hold. It's simply because I respect my ropes too much to subject them to that kind of intense and concentrated wear. And regarding redundancy... I regularly get comments from people that they don't think they needed or don't want to take time to configure it.... and that baffles me. In JRB, or SRT, we already need to engage the Garda, and so clipping in a redundant Bridge takes literally one second. The confidence it gives us is beyond comparison. If ya have never climb to 50 feet or more, I recommend it... it will tell you if you actually trust your system. Cheers

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[bfriendly]

I own 2 Ropeman devices... i bought em to test and potentially to use them if I found the right application. I think they're fine for a lineman's belt. But when I examined the very small surface area that they contact on a climbing rope, I am not comfortable for them for my tether or climbing line. And it's not because they won't hold. It's simply because I respect my ropes too much to subject them to that kind of intense and concentrated wear. And regarding redundancy... I regularly get comments from people that they don't think they needed or don't want to take time to configure it.... and that baffles me. In JRB, or SRT, we already need to engage the Garda, and so clipping in a redundant Bridge takes literally one second. The confidence it gives us is beyond comparison. If ya have never climb to 50 feet or more, I recommend it... it will tell you if you actually trust your system. Cheers

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I’m testing this at low level and hope to make another ascent(or 2)in the am. There is a JRB Ascender hitch tied to my rope (bridge connection)as we speak…with a carabiner hooked in where it should be for soft bridge mode. Using the ascender hitch and a single strand bridge crosses up my carabiner though. Your rope bridge (which I like btw) has you clipped in from the side, so it also fits hooking into the ascender hitch and is square so to speak. I messed up first try and tried climbing with my short secondary bridge instead of saving it for the ride down. i was gonna try the munter to rappel but I ended up having to stand and lower my ropeman to get down….what a mess. I should have used the right hand device too. I’m glad I stopped after my first 3 steps! I will use the mechanical ascender for my foot loop for now…..baby steps, but I see a bunch of knots in my future!

 

[John RB]

I’m testing this at low level and hope to make another ascent(or 2)in the am. There is a JRB Ascender hitch tied to my rope (bridge connection)as we speak…with a carabiner hooked in where it should be for soft bridge mode. Using the ascender hitch and a single strand bridge crosses up my carabiner though. Your rope bridge (which I like btw) has you clipped in from the side, so it also fits hooking into the ascender hitch and is square so to speak. I messed up first try and tried climbing with my short secondary bridge instead of saving it for the ride down. i was gonna try the munter to rappel but I ended up having to stand and lower my ropeman to get down….what a mess. I should have used the right hand device too. I’m glad I stopped after my first 3 steps! I will use the mechanical ascender for my foot loop for now…..baby steps, but I see a bunch of knots in my future!

I am guessing you're SRT climbing from your earlier comment. Although i did execute plenty of SRT climbs on friction hitches, mostly the double Michoacán, i struggled with the best way to set up a canopy anchor SRT system where the friction hitch is already on the rope.... and ya don't need to slide it a long way to get it in place. I did come up with something but by then, had come up with JRB stationary doubled rope climbing, which i much prefer. As for climbing on a short bridge, i generally would not do so: i climb on the long one and let the short one be my redundancy and rappel beaner

you can do it, but ya might wanna put a 2nd carabiner on it and put your munter in that one.


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[bfriendly]

I am guessing you're SRT climbing from your earlier comment. Although i did execute plenty of SRT climbs on friction hitches, mostly the double Michoacán, i struggled with the best way to set up a canopy anchor SRT system where the friction hitch is already on the rope.... and ya don't need to slide it a long way to get it in place. I did come up with something but by then, had come up with JRB stationary doubled rope climbing, which i much prefer. As for climbing on a short bridge, i generally would not do so: i climb on the long one and let the short one be my redundancy and rappel beaner

you can do it, but ya might wanna put a 2nd carabiner on it and put your munter in that one.


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Well let’s just say I’m “trying” to SRT. I one stick with my normal bridge and when at height, I’ll run my secondary bridge through a prussik loop below my ropeman as my backup. Keeps my redundant connection centered and out of the way. I’ve been attaching my ATC to the short bridge and hooking that prussik to a lineman’s loop and just tend it on the way down. I have no idea why the heck I tried climbing on the short bridge! Oh sure I could climb, but getting down wasn’t gonna happen the normal way. My first SRT was doomed before I left the ground!
I'm not sure how I’ll anchor with the hitch on the rope, but I never remove that prussik loop and just slide it up as I figure 8 my rope from the tag end.
Not exactly sure how , but I do know this is gonna work!

BTW-Did I mention how much fun I’m having doing this? I’ll be 55 on March 30th and I’m having as much fun as I ever did as a kid. This whole saddle thing has me geared up and wanting to live longer so I can keep having fun! No joke! I’m eating better, lost another 10# so I’m right at 190#. Trying to workout a little too! Saddle hunting has made me exercise my brain and body and I have never felt better in my life! Life is good!

 

[gcr0003]

Ropemans are sweet! I’ve climbed on them plenty of times and they’re smooth and fast. You can use one to hole your weight and one for your your foot loop ascender. As @wyetterp mentioned there are some even more smooth ascender devices that don’t take up much more room. If you’re using what you have then I would give it a go with that.

Many times I would use a Michoacan or similar rope hitch to hold my weight and the ropeman to hold my foot loop.

Though unnecessary, you could attach a michicoan above and into the same biner you are attaching the ropeman to and using to hold your weight and that will add an additional grab if it were to fail. I’ve seen this but I have not tried it myself.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

I’ve seen people do it but I would NOT SRT with a rope man alone, granted in our application we should never see dynamic falls but I personally wouldn’t trust it to life support without backup. Manufacturers even advise against it. It’s one of things that’ll work again and again… until it doesn’t. With the various hitches especially @John RB hitches I would trust them over the ropeman any day. I have a CT RollnLoc for my tether and I know my tether will never see dynamic loading but I still back it up with bee line cordage in a hitch loop. When it comes to life safety redundancy and overkill are the norm for me.

You wouldn’t use an ascender in literally the method in which it was developed for?

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

You wouldn’t use an ascender in literally the method in which it was developed for?

Yes, it is an ascender for objects for arborists like branches and redirects and also a progress capture device , not people or life safety. I would not use it by itself. A rope wrench or something to that affect is life support ascension device. Not ropemans, but to be fair, in our applications we shoukd never see dynamic loading there fore it should hold and work fine…. Until it doesnt.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

See

I own 2 Ropeman devices... i bought em to test and potentially to use them if I found the right application. I think they're fine for a lineman's belt. But when I examined the very small surface area that they contact on a climbing rope, I am not comfortable for them for my tether or climbing line. And it's not because they won't hold. It's simply because I respect my ropes too much to subject them to that kind of intense and concentrated wear. And regarding redundancy... I regularly get comments from people that they don't think they needed or don't want to take time to configure it.... and that baffles me. In JRB, or SRT, we already need to engage the Garda, and so clipping in a redundant Bridge takes literally one second. The confidence it gives us is beyond comparison. If ya have never climb to 50 feet or more, I recommend it... it will tell you if you actually trust your system. Cheers

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

See i am completely the opposite. I keep my tether tensioned so I am unable to generate a fall with an significant force, however in methods using a linesman rope, a slip or cut out even while tensioned can generate some hard forces in a short fall. I refuse to use a ropeman on my linesman but am comfortable using it on my tether (although I prefer a friction hitch). While SRT climbing the rope should be secured to the tree and under tension. That is literally what ascenders were created for. Am I saying don’t back it up? No. But will I say using a device literally for what it’s created for is somehow unsafe… Nope I won’t say that either.
Furthermore if we are climbing and rappelling on a belay device like the gri gri plus, or a fall arrest mechanical, they are safe to arrest a fall with up to a certain force point (that point is generally higher than the human body can sustain).

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Yes, it is an ascender for objects for arborists like branches and redirects and also a progress capture device , not people or life safety. I would not use it by itself. A rope wrench or something to that affect is life support ascension device. Not ropemans, but to be fair, in our applications we shoukd never see dynamic loading there fore it should hold and work fine…. Until it doesnt.

I think you should research a little more. Ascending on a rope is what the rope man was created for. It is also a mountain climbing mechanical not an arborist mechanical.
Did you know that gri gri plus and other belay devices are actually tested and approved to arrest fall forces? I think there is a lot of confusion on here about when and how devices should be used. And I don’t mean to offend you. I am saying in general people get wrong info and don’t understand when applications are ok to use. Using a friction hitch is always the safest method. And you are correct redirects can lead to a branch breaking and a possible short fall. We usually use static rope so that fall is gonna hurt on any hitch or device. I do like that you specified backing it up with a hitch. That’s advice everyone can use!

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

See

See i am completely the opposite. I keep my tether tensioned so I am unable to generate a fall with an significant force, however in methods using a linesman rope, a slip or cut out even while tensioned can generate some hard forces in a short fall. I refuse to use a ropeman on my linesman but am comfortable using it on my tether (although I prefer a friction hitch). While SRT climbing the rope should be secured to the tree and under tension. That is literally what ascenders were created for. Am I saying don’t back it up? No. But will I say using a device literally for what it’s created for is somehow unsafe… Nope I won’t say that either.
Furthermore if we are climbing and rappelling on a belay device like the gri gri plus, or a fall arrest mechanical, they are safe to arrest a fall with up to a certain force point (that point is generally higher than the human body can sustain).

Well said and yes my main point is backing it up, like i mentioned previously when it comes to life safety redundancy and overkill is a must. Remember, its not the fall that hurts, its the sudden stop.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

I think you should research a little more. Ascending on a rope is what the rope man was created for. It is also a mountain climbing mechanical not an arborist mechanical.
Did you know that gri gri plus and other belay devices are actually tested and approved to arrest fall forces? I think there is a lot of confusion on here about when and how devices should be used.

Yes and in those applications (rock climbing) they have mulitple points that will “catch” a fall. Main thing is back it up. And also if youre having a dynamic fall more than a foot or 2 while saddle hunting youre doing something wrong. And to Johns point earlier the teeth in the rooeman prematurely “tear up” the rope.i uses hitches with a dual stationary rope method (jrb method). Only mechanical i have is my CT RollNLoc on my tether which is still backed up my bee line cord.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Yes and in those applications (rock climbing) they have mulitple points that will “catch” a fall. Main thing is back it up. And also if youre having a dynamic fall more than a foot or 2 while saddle hunting youre doing something wrong. And to Johns point earlier the teeth in the rooeman prematurely “tear up” the rope.

That is true… ropeman are aggressive on the rope. But I have also seen a 42” fall melt a prusik to a tether. It still holds but what can you do to get yourself back up or to safely get down. Interestingly enough, even though mechanicals are more likely to fail than a properly tied friction hitch, OSHA actually recommends mechanical devices be used in place of friction hitches for elevated workers. I often wonder why that is… the only answer I can come up with is human error. Someone is way more likely to tie a hitch incorrectly or not inspect it than they are to use a quick attach mechanical device.
But to the OP’s original post. I have climbed up SRT with a ropeman 1, a ropeman 2 and even a regular rope grab from SMC. They all worked great. I tethered off at height and switched to a figure 8 to rappel. As long as you have a good strong branch if you basal anchor or a positive girth hitch for a canopy anchor (meaning it’s somewhat level, pulled tight, and has no small branches inside the hitch area…) It is perfectly safe to use a mechanical ascender because that is what it was created for

 

[MNFarmHunter]

Picture time!!!


Climbing and descending SRT in it's most basic version is shown above. Swap the (2) prusiks out for mechanicals and the process is smoother, possibly faster but at added expense. Now, take the bottom mechanical, place it above the bridge mechanical, tie the foot loop to that and you can use mechanical advantage to make the climb even easier.

The Kong Futura or Petzl hand ascender are "the best" but you can also use a Kong Duck or Ropeman and a carabiner to do the same thing. The biggest differences are cost and ease of use. I use a Petzl hand ascender but have also forgotten it on occasion which required me to use my spare Duck.

The key is to trust your equipment and understand how you can multi-purpose it.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

That is true… ropeman are aggressive on the rope. But I have also seen a 42” fall melt a prusik to a tether. It still holds but what can you do to get yourself back up or to safely get down. Interestingly enough, even though mechanicals are more likely to fail than a properly tied friction hitch, OSHA actually recommends mechanical devices be used in place of friction hitches for elevated workers. I often wonder why that is… the only answer I can come up with is human error. Someone is way more likely to tie a hitch incorrectly or not inspect it than they are to use a quick attach mechanical device.
But to the OP’s original post. I have climbed up SRT with a ropeman 1, a ropeman 2 and even a regular rope grab from SMC. They all worked great. I tethered off at height and switched to a figure 8 to rappel. As long as you have a good strong branch if you basal anchor or a positive girth hitch for a canopy anchor (meaning it’s somewhat level, pulled tight, and has no small branches inside the hitch area…) It is perfectly safe to use a mechanical ascender because that is what it was created for

Yes and I also don’t use prussic bc of they’re “lockability”. But I would agree with you and tell you OSHA choice for that IS bc of human error.

 

[MNFarmHunter]

On the topic of knots, bends and hitches, there are some that I would consider mandatory and some that I would consider interesting. I choose the word "interesting" carefully because everyone has different preferences and styles but I don't personally see them as necessary, YMMV.

For me, the list includes:
Munter hitch
Scaffold knot
Alpine butterfly
Bowline
Adjustable bend
Prusik
Klemheist
Double fishermans
Figure 8

Knowing these, I am 100% confident I can climb anything and get myself out of anything. Even better, they're easy. Are there more and/or better knots, bends and hitches? Maybe, but the more exotic they are, the greater the risk. Again, this isn't to dissuade you from trying other techniques, even I try other methods just to know and/or test them, but I also go back to the basics (K.I.S.S.) once it's time to be serious.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Here is some info so that people understand the test methods that all mountain climbing ascenders go through. These are different than the standards for belay devices like safeguard and gri gri which have to have fall arresting qualities as well as operation in both direction.

EDELRID

www.edelrid.de

 

[cedar paul]

As most know on here I am a srt snob- I simply use a foot ascender and a Roperunner ( of course I had it ) and it is pricey. I see when srt is described on here a RADS system is what is referred to and while it works it is slow and labor intensive. If one has the luxury of presets a base anchor and ascending the way I do at 65 is super fast,safe and easy. Set your ROS or platform on the way up easy peasy. Reverse on the way down. I know many don't have funds for such devices and I wouldn't suggest a novice using one but it simply the way to fly!