High Lines

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a cam hook might work in a crack or chainsaw cut too.......time for some r&d
 
a cam hook might work in a crack or chainsaw cut too.......time for some r&d

You might be on to something here. Bring a couple of kerf-sized rock climbing cams and you might be set!

-1 for the no slip knot. I've tried to lower two people on my friction hitch before and I couldn't get it to budge. There's no way to know that your friction hitch will release with the weight of a log hanging on it.

Find something else, I say.

love
nick
 
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  • #29
Started the job today. Will try to post pics later. Highline worked out pretty well. As for a lanyard, I used a twent five foot piece of Fly through an ART positioner. I had the same concerns about enen a VT jamming up. So far so good. Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
Once made a Hail Mary cut in a heavy Euc top. I had a good tie-in point in a neighbor tree. If something bad happen I could just float away, not slam. I was confident with that, but afraid my safety would pull me tight to the trunk if it split out. So before putting in the back cut I transfered the safety snap to my Levi 501 double tack stitched belt loop. Then revved my ol' Mac SP 81 to the top end and smacked it in the back of that top and powered in without any hesitation. Man, what a ride when that top let go. Shook me like a rig doll and I tossed the saw. Which was tethered to the trunk. The tension in the top broke over a foot of hingewood across the stem, splintered like a broken broom handle, but the amazing part is the belt loop held through it all.

Before I did anything else I looked down to check for stitch pulling on the loop, the material in the waist band was pulled enough to show thread separation, it was going to give first. And that got me to thinking about break-away loops for just those special occasions. Girth hitched to the Dee and snap into it. Engineered to break at a certain load. Less than the breaking point of your back. For expert use and those special moments only, of course.

All fine for hazardous situations, but the whole thing with that Euc top only confirmed to me that the next time I'll go a little higher and take it out in smaller pieces. That's the wiser thing to do. Avoid having to make Hail Mary cuts!
 
I have thought about using a key ring or a nylon/rubber ring as a break away. Fortunately since I moved to boise I have not needed a breakaway lanyard.
 
Once made a Hail Mary cut in a heavy Euc top. I had a good tie-in point in a neighbor tree. If something bad happen I could just float away, not slam. .......

All fine for hazardous situations, but the whole thing with that Euc top only confirmed to me that the next time I'll go a little higher and take it out in smaller pieces. That's the wiser thing to do. Avoid having to make Hail Mary cuts!

Interesting idea, for sure...thanks for the sage advice on smaller pieces. I always appreciate your experienced input.
 
A break away flipline for working in dead trees has been something missing from the tree service industry for way too long. I've heard of a half dozen ways to improvise something in case the tree breaks, but there isn't anything in production for this purpose. If anybody was feeling inventive, I know there's a demand for a product like this and probably some money to be made if you owned the patent. It wouldn't be a huge seller because it's a fairly specialized situation, but I've had several people call me asking for something like this.
 
I still like the idea of using load rated zip ties that Butch mentioned. I've never had to try it myself, though. Or rather, I should say that in the few situations were it might have come in handy I wasn't smart enough to try it.:|:
 
Sean, I think the liability issues involved in trying to explain and justify this item to some insurance man sitting behind a desk will pretty much remove any chance of it being marketed. Desk people just don't understand our job nor the mindset required to be successful at it. The idea of something designed to fail just won't register.
:(
 
A karitool (sp?) might be an ideal item for such a situation. There has been a couple of cases where friends have clipped into them and the gate has failed.
 
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  • #37
Ok some pics. This has been really slow going but made many times easier through the use of the highline. Will definately be keeping this in my bag of tricks. The guy on the stem is one of my climbers. I did a fair ammount of it but I'm superstitous about having my picture taken in iffy situations.

56" Chestnut Oak. Dead, rotten and hollow at ground level but solid as a rock up top. We're down to about 12 feet and still solid.
 

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Nice work, rhino!

Dicey tree, eh? Solid up top means a lot of weight being held by that rotten shell.

were you able to bomb out sections to avoid shock loading on the stem? Excuse me as i haven't read the whole thread.

Some pics of the two healthy but technically challenging black cottonwood removals from the last 3 days here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/sets/72157604945699349/

video to follow.
 
The ones I use are heavy duty 120 lbs cable ties. If I used the regular ones I would probably use 3 or 4.
 
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  • #49
Finally finished that beast. We bombed everything out. Made walls of tires and plywood to contain it since it was on a hill. High line worked pretty well. Definately need a static line though. Really mushy but kind of fun when you gaffed out. Like a bungee cord; nice soft stop at the end.

The base was totally hollow and like paper machee. I have no idea what was holding it up. At about six feet off the ground i was able to just rip it apart with my hands. No chainsaw needed. Crazy stuff, but we came, we, saw, we rigged and we conquered!
 
Glad to hear it went well. I always enjoy trying out new techniques and having them work flawlessly in a new, challenging situation.
:)
 
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