Times you had to instantly rappel?

[Marmuzz]

Okay let's hear some stories.

Often around here people say "You should climb/hang on your rappel rope [insert MR Safeguard] so you can bomb outta the tree immediately if you need to."

How many times have you needed to instantly rappel for safety reasons, and why (hornets, snakes, spiders, unsafe tree, lightning, other injury, etc.)?

I'm looking strictly for anecdotes on when and why. No doubt the opinions about what constitutes reasonable vs. safe will come up but let's hear some real life incidents before throwing around hypotheticals.

 

[raisins]

I'm guessing most common reason is:

"I had Taco Bell and a six pack of Natural Light last night"

 

[Marmuzz]

@raisins I figured. Hence the bolded safety reasons.

 

[shamus275]

Instantly bail? Only once, my wife fell going down the steps of the front porch while carrying our toddler and broke her hand while I was 30-minutes away up a tree. The wife’s hand…not our daughter.

So not really “safety” but “emergency”.

 

[brydan]

For work yes but not hunting. The closest was years ago in a climber I had a whole heaping helping of lighting come up on me ridiculously fast one evening. Jacked down as fast as I could and hustled back to camp. Left it all in the woods for the night.

 

[raisins]

@raisins I figured. Hence the bolded safety reasons.

Sorry, I'm a bit slow today....while trying to be funny.

 

[NimbleTimbo]

maybe not and emergency but last season I was up in a tree and realized after light it was an ash and was deader than I liked (emerald ash borer). At first I was gonna just sit a bit and then take my time and move trees but soon the wind gusted pretty heavy and the creaking freaked me out and I got down in a hurry. Not sure it ever fell down but I was sure glad to get in a live tree instead.

not for safety per se but 2 seasons ago I had to rush a shot with my inline ML and hit it a buck a little high. It dropped but I could no longer see it-- I was worried it would get up and take off and heard a lot thrashing down the hill. I stuffed a quickload in, slung the gun over my head and shoulder, and rappelled down and ran up to finish him off. He only had use of his front legs but had made it 50 yards down the hill but was trying to keep going.

 

[Nosaj]

I was about 12' off the ground with my one stick and saw a buck eating leaves about 75 yds away. I chose to bail instead of repositioning so the deer would not be coming in to my back and trying to get my bow up into the tree. Unfortunately the buck never came through on the run I was on. I do not believe he saw or heard me bail.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Had to make a few emergency bathroom visits.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Oh and one time I got a bit dizzy going up so came back down for a bit till I recovered

 

[gcr0003]

First hunt of the year last week I decided that a circle k breakfast sandwich would be a good choice. When that sandwich finally hit me in the tree I had to bail fast. I almost didn’t get the rappel rope connected in time. Close call. Do not trust gas station hot food lol

 

[Chandler96]

I have only had to bail once with my rappel setup. I was hunting for about an hour and the neighbor (the landowners neighbor) decided to shoot his shotgun using the woods I was hunting in as a backdrop. The first shots just scared me from the sound but the next few I could literally hear BB's whiz through the woods. They had to be withing a few yards of me. I instantly repelled and sat at the base of the tree trying to call the landowner cell. I left my one stick up there and had to come back with my cousins SRT setup to get my stick down. Turns out it was the neighbors' kids just shooting for fun, but I was scared lol.

 

[Empostarr]

I was in my yard doing a practice climb and sit before season. I had been sitting for about 20 minutes when there was this howling and a huge gust of wind. Then I heard the thunder. I rappelled down and left my rope in the tree. I only had to go 50-75 yards, but by the time I got back to my house it was a full blown storm.

 

[TreeRecon]

Not for hunting, but tree work. Gust of wind came during the back cut on a Leyland Cypress. Pinched my saw. I bailed while the ground guy used a Maasdam. It was a 25' top. 65' tree. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

 

[Nosaj]

First hunt of the year last week I decided that a circle k breakfast sandwich would be a good choice. When that sandwich finally hit me in the tree I had to bail fast. I almost didn’t get the rappel rope connected in time. Close call. Do not trust gas station hot food lolView attachment 95863

When I started reading this post the picture was so big I could only see the crown and the top half of the tree on the screen. After reading the post I was not sure I wanted to see what was at the bottom of the tree when I scrolled down.

 

[Marmuzz]

So, we have a few good safety mentions. Evacuating dead trees or an impending storm seem like good reasons to rappel instantly. @Chandler96 and @shamus275 your respective examples seem like very unique outliers per typical hunt experiences but thanks for sharing. @SNIPERBBB you raise a good point about physical ailments. Even temporary dizziness could be dangerous, let alone a cardiac or stroke episode.

What else?

 

[peacemaker636]

I was on public ground earlier this season. Not wearing orange since it wasn’t gun deer season yet. I had literally just gotten up the tree when I heard some bullets whizzing by. Not sure exactly how close, but I wasn’t going to stick around. Must have been a small game hunter shooting .22s without a good backstop.

 

[BTaylor]

Every hunt at dark. I am BATMAN!!

 

[TNSTAAFL]

Every hunt at dark. I am BATMAN!!

Also every hunt on every other 1-stick move as I adjust my belay to the best height for the next move. Not really what OP was asking, but same spirit, as it is a big reason I use my rappel rope to climb and not a separate tether.

Moreover, I 1-stick/rappel to limit total bulk and weight, so why would I bring 10 feet of extra rope when I already have 40 perfectly useful feet with me? Makes me realize that I should consider ditching my LB and bring an extra biner & hitch cord and repurpose more of that 40.

This enjoyable thread focuses on the validity of the argument of instant rappel on the pro side of the pro vs con list. I agree it is an overplayed hand in terms of likelihood or frequency. As insurance, however, it is underplayed. I've never needed my cars airbags, but if I ever do I'm glad they go with me on every ride.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[John RB]

Okay let's hear some stories.

Often around here people say "You should climb/hang on your rappel rope [insert MR Safeguard] so you can bomb outta the tree immediately if you need to."

How many times have you needed to instantly rappel for safety reasons, and why (hornets, snakes, spiders, unsafe tree, lightning, other injury, etc.)?

I'm looking strictly for anecdotes on when and why. No doubt the opinions about what constitutes reasonable vs. safe will come up but let's hear some real life incidents before throwing around hypotheticals.

It was probably 10 years ago. Afternoon hunt, rope climbing a tree i had climbed the year prior and had a paracord preset in already. In those days, I was an MRS/DRT climber where it's natural to use a little hip thrust in ascent. Halfway up, I noticed a hornet buzzing me angily. I felt him land on my right side neck an instinctively slapped myself as he stung me. I am allergic and immediately panicked. I broke into rappel mode as fast as possible and got the hell down. As i disconnected, i looked up and found the grey nest of a bald faced hornets which was way out on the outer tips of branches about halfway up the tree. There were a dozen flying around the nest angrily. I just got out of there. I don't think I got a full sting because my reaction and swelling wasn't as bad as I had experienced in the past, but it's definitely something I am aware of now and look for when climbing and when doing yard work and pruning.

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