New way to wrap throwing line

Are you tired of having to untangle your throwing line after unpacking for your first climb of the day? Well, try the Wallace Wrap to keep your line nice 'n tidy and ready to go. Photos are located at

http://photos.yahoo.com/greenbeltlodge

How to perform the Wallace Wrap

1. Start with a loop on your middle finger. It will make it easier when you're finished. (See Fig. 1.) Bend your left arm at the elbow and bend your wrist so it is turned counter-clockwise. It will look like you're ready to do a swan shadow puppet. Drop the line down and on the inside of your elbow. You'll then wrap it around to the outside of your elbow, back up (counterclockwise) the inside of your thumb. Wrap it around (clockwise) to the outside of your thumb and back down to the inside of your elbow to follow the previous loop. (Fig. 2.) It will be following a figure 8 like you were wrapping a rope on a cleat.

It will take a few times to get used to getting it on your elbow and following the same pattern over and over. When you have your line nearly wrapped up, it will look like Fig. 3.

When you have about 18 inches remaining, close your index finger against your thumb to keep the line together. Bend your thumb and contract your elbow so that the line will drop off your elbow and be hanging by your thumb and index finger. Wrap several loops around the whole bundle, where the lines cross in the middle. (Fig. 4.)

To finish, double the line end to make a loop and pull the loop through the top loops of the bundle. (Fig. 5)

Then bring the loop up and over the top bundles and tighten down. (Fig. 6)

When you're ready to use the line again, just undo the last loop and the line is ready to go. It should travel out easily without knotting up.

The secret to the Wallace Wrap is the figure 8. By crossing the lines in the middle, you keep the loops from intersecting each other. You can play the line out before throwing and it shouldn't catch on itself. (I recommend laying the line out before your first throw instead of leaving it in a bundle. the sudden jerk of the throw may take the whole bundle into the trees!)

Please post your feedback and let me know if this helps.

About The Author

I just completed Peter's basic course last weekend in Atlanta. It was a perfect weekend and I learned a lot.

I watched Peter doing a figure 8 wrap and showed him my trick of the thumb and elbow. He thought I should share it with everyone so here it is!

I'm also working on a new method for getting the line in the tree without a weight bag or slingshot. I discussed this with Peter and I'm working on the prototype. It's very accurate, lightweight and inexpensive. When I have my experiments completed, I will post the results here.

-Leonard

The Wallace wrap is cool indeed. It makes my slick line peel off with much less frustration.

The new tecnique for line setting is simple and quite a surprise. I'll let Branch Mgr do a bit more research. It is looking up for a new method for challenging shots without the slingshots.

Interesting solution. Yuo build in and compensate for the twists developed during coiling. How does that work for the smaller throwlines like Zing-It, etc?

How many times have you climbed on the Velocity? It looks brand new. Milking is common and normal on most ropes. They should be dressed and milked properly before any climbing is done.

Don't take too long to unveil your new line installation technique. It's not nice to tease you know

I'll let Peter chime in on the rope. It was brand new and I brought it to Atlanta. It was my first time climbing so I have no frame of reference, but I had to use my full weight with both hands to descend. I tried it again yesterday and got the same results.

I used the thicker line at TCI and thin line when I got home. Both types worked well with the Wallace Wrap.

I hope to have more info on the launching technique before Thanksgiving. I'll post it right away once it is perfected.

I am glad that you decided to take the RTC Classes from Peter. <Great Choice>
He makes it a lot easier for the first time climber than having to learn from books and by trial and error. I hope you will go back after a few months of climbing to take the Intermediate Class including SRT Climbing .
Take Care and Enjoy the New hobby. I am Looking forward to the new tree entry techniques.
I am using the Sling Shoot with a fishing reel and today I will get a new Big Shot delivered from Sherrill. That will keep me busy this weekend trying some more new gear.
Yeahh new gear!!

Cool. This is sort of a 'macro' version of the technique Dick Flowers describes in his book for wrapping up throwline (you do the figure 8 around a pair of fingers). I use that all the time for packing away my 'in tree' throwline (much shorter). Looks worth a try - anything to make handling throwline less excruciating...

Mark F

How are you doing. I came across a way to wrap my carry on "in tree" throwline a couple of months ago that has served me well indeed. Actually if I am making a climb that will have many pitches, I will sometimes let my carry on line just hang down. I do keep an eye on it and if there is a chance of it getting snagged, I will wrap it. When wrapping it, I do the basic butterfly wrap using my thumb and elbow; once I have about two feet left with the throwbag on the end, I take the wrabbed line and fold it in the center and use this new center to wrap the remainder of the line and lock it off as normal. I use slickline for this carry on throwline and have had no problems with any tangles. This is just a way that I am very comfortable with. I hope this adds to the discussion. Have a great day!

Harry

I use about 25 feet of Zing-It when I'm in the tree (too lousy a shot in the tree to need anything longer than that) with an 8 oz throw weight. Zing-It is small stuff, and 25 feet fits over a pair of fingers with a figure 8 wrap just fine. Like you, I mostly let the line dangle while ascending, but I always wrap it back up before starting down; the stuff does like to get intimate with twigs. The only problem with anything about this system is that, since I climb a lot of pine trees, I'm always throwing almost straight up, so the throw bag almost always comes straight back down (perhaps the main reason I always wear a helmet...).

One suggestion which came from Tom Dunlap and written up on Treebuzz that I recently tried and works great is to use an automatic rewind fly fishing reel to hold your throwline. Mine holds about only 30 ft. of 1.75mm fling-it(spectra line).

Take a look through this thread for pictures of the reel.

http://tinyurl.com/7ardx