I spent hrs vista pruning a thin but very wide area of under-canopy today to see the beautiful autumn valleys from the house. There is a family of deer that hangs out back there most days so i put this in the wilderness category, they even walk around while im up in the trees. Some squirrel left gifts all over the trees i was in, thanks little buddy! The view blocking area was about 75-100 feet and the trees were close to eachother... I decided totraverse from oak, to cherry, to poplar, to sketchy oak... i only pulled myself over with the tail on the sketchy one so i could bail if it cracked... it survives hellatious wind storms so i doubt it would snap with just me in it, but on a leaner with rot it calms the soul to have bailability... not to mention swinging like tarzan away from a falling tree would be epic... funny how insurance policy allows for "controlled" swings =)

It was fun for the time i was aloft even with achy pole saw arms, i thanked my trusty fiberglass buddy for setting all those traverse lines and tossed him down. The only frustrating thing was that all my stuff was in my way... specifically ascenders and frog strap. I dont like to lean into metal or get snagged, i used to keep them i a bag for this reason but my man-purse broke ("dude, its a satchel, indiana jones has one"). Rather than buy a new bag I've ordered a tibloc to see if it works as a bungeed rope walker, then ill just have a pantin and tibloc for DRT self tending speedy rope walking and possibly say goodbye to ascenders... less weight and less stuff =) i think im getting gearnaphobia, gadgets clang around and get in my way.

On that topic, the yates screamer is the only piece of extra gear that has actually simplified my climbs, it gets the knots away from my friction hitch... just look at this photo, im double crotched with the same exact setups just the right is home made and the left is organized and streamlined thanks to a screamer and a grizzly spliced i2i beeline. Its so straight that you cant really see the friction hitch but its behind the green thing on the left. The stiffness and length of the grizzly splices helps to break the knot loose correctly as does the stiffness and length of my figure 8s on bites that make up the orange i2i that i made. Same thing, just one is messy looking haha... but not as messy as that squirrel!

looking good nice rig.

Im pretty interested in this 'yates screamer' thing that you've used. Is it just taking the anchor further away from your body so that it is not next to the hitch? Maybe you could you post a clearer comparison picture, showing how it is tidying your climbing system?

Also, the system on the right... have you backed up with your anchor knot with two fishermans? This may seem like a silly question, but why have you done this? Alot of extra tail, or just as a precaution?

Yes, the reason i love the screamer is that it keeps my standing end knots away from my friction hitch, it's very hard to see in this photo because of the camera angle.. it's more visible in this video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8tjrAYaOm4

The double fisherman back up knots are an insurance standard most rock gyms. At my work we're required to back up with at least one knot, i've noticed some rec climbers don't do this!? The reason i use two back up knots is because while i'm working the canopy one of them will usually come undone. I also feel that if my carabiner is double locking i should double lock my anchor hitch with two backup knots (application of my college logic class to climbing). I have seen knots accidentally tied wrong by experienced climbers so i think not to use a back up is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet, it just raises the fatality statistics and insurance rates for the rest of us.

I have developed a variation of the anchor hitch that increases the bend radius around the carabiener... i want to post it soon and get the fourms opinion on it.

best back up Adam is a spliced eye...

I'll defer to Bruce Smith.

Myth #17

http://www.onrope1.com/mythbusters.htm


P.S. Don't kill the messenger

yep...but still a spliced eye is the best