comments on ...labor saving tools/
techniques while working aloft..
jumar /gibbs / lockjack / traditional climbing tricks, also safety of ascender use ??

Reply to post by mark burke, on April 21, 1999 at 22:14:14:

Do you use any of these tools?

How do you use them?

How do you feel about ascender safety?

Tom

Reply to post by Tom Dunlap, on April 21, 1999 at 22:14:14:


I climb with the traditional system,using a blakes hitch . I have met a few climbers who use handled toothed ascenders. I personally would not climb using a "toothed ascender "
Although I would use it to ascend only, not while pruning etc.

I had a demonstration with Lockjack at the ISA MAC Competition. It seems it works well for ascending but requires practice for working aloft. I am curious about the mechanism/material used to control friction on the rope also general wear and tear.

Reply to post by mark burke, on May 01, 1999 at 11:30:48:

My company policy, and what I teach, is that ascenders, whether rope, sling, or mechanical, are not for body support to da any work. If, while ascending, the climber needs to cut a limb away they MUST be safetied in with a flipline. Also, the ascenders NEVER touch anything. Twigs have been known to push the cam open. Pushing the ascnder over a limb can lead to a couple of problems.

The Lock Jack sometimes shaves off the fuzz of my rope. I see what I would call "whiskers" around the top of the device after a long descent. No more than I might expect around the rings or biners in my cambium saver/false crotch.

You are right the LJ demands attention while working.

First strom call of the season. A willow that we pruned about three weeks ago split. I hope that I don't end up with egg on my face...

Strong limbs and snug ropes,

Tom

Reply to post by Tom Dunlap, on May 05, 1999 at 17:24:56:

>>If, while ascending,the climber needs to cut
>>a limb away they MUST be safetied in with a flipline.

What's your policy on verticle assent off rope, is three point contact good enough? or must a locking lanyard be used?

I had a guy moved to a spray truck a couple of years ago cause he refused to use the line. He felt his level of compitance was to the point he could scamper up the tree 60-70 ft free.

Reply to post by JohnS, on May 05, 1999 at 18:53:17:

ANSI Z133.1-1994,9.1.2 says that unsecured free-climbing is acceptable when the climber is under twenty five feet. That is the law of the land.

The only time that I allow free climbing is:
No chain saw use
Multi-stem trees, or many branches to lean and brace on
No higher than three feet off the ground

Other than those exceptions, we wear saddles and fliplines. Even with those exceptions, most of the time I have the guys wear a saddle and flipline. After all, we're arborists, not monkeys.

To illustrate how fragile we are I propose this scenario to any climber who gets ruffled about having to tie in: Stand on a milk crate, keep your legs together and fall. Can we do that without getting hurt? No one has ever taken me up on the fall test, they use saddles.

If someone thinks that they can climb without a saddle, their thinking is on a different track than mine. What else do they think they can do? Not make good cuts in the top of the tree becaue no one can see them anyway? Peoples style is shown in a variety of ways. Keep your guy on the ground.

Tom

Reply to post by Tom, on May 05, 1999 at 21:10:44:

i am a professional arborist who will ot climb most big
trees without my harness and hitches.
However, while spending several years in Panama , I
often observed the natiives {black, white and ,Indian }
climb and prune the tallest of trees and palms with
nothing but thier bare hands, feet and machetes.
They also were able to drop large limbs perfectly from
even the most precarious positions. I was humbled!
Maybe if we grew up around tall limbless palms,then
we to would be forced to learn to climb without ropes.