Second anchor or lanyard for limb walking

Hello,

I still consider myself a newbie climber. I've climbed off and on for a few years but never enough to feel good at it.

I can usually throw a good first anchor and ascend to a limb below it and then use a safety lanyard to secure myself. Now, here is where I have some questions when it comes to moving around from there.

Sometimes I'll throw a rather long "lanyard" or second anchor (20feet) over a nearby limb to help with limb walking. I use a lanyard on my sidesaddle D rings with two end snaps and a prusik middle to feed the rope. My problem is I find it very difficult to tighten up the lanyard while I'm moving out toward my destination. It takes both hands to hold the prusik knot and pull the rope taut. However, most of the time I could use a third hand to grab hold of a limb for additional balance. The prusik knot works much better coming back with one hand, but not going out..

Is there an easier system to use with the lanyard than the prusik knot that will allow me to draw up the rope toward my destination with just one hand rather than two hands?


Thanks

treeweasel,
I would suggest the Trango cinch motion lanyard from New Tribe. It allows one handed draw up and plays out easily with a tug on the Trango lever. It is one of the lanyards I learned on and I have found it is the best for my particular climbing style and situations. Here is a link to the site:

http://www.newtribe.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47&products_id=431

It looks like it is even on sale...

treeweasel wrote:

I can usually throw a good first anchor and ascend to a limb below it and then use a safety lanyard to secure myself.

How far below it? You want to be well below it.

My problem is I find it very difficult to tighten up the lanyard while I'm moving

Well, ideally you would use a hitch-minding pulley or an equivalent aid.

Hauula,

Thanks for replying. I've seen this cinch advertised, but I'm not convinced it is what I'm looking for. I say this from viewing the products demo.



It appears in this "belaying" demo that he needs both hands? Of course, "belaying" means lowering another person, right? But as you explained, you use it with a lanyard to limb walk, and in this use it sounds like you do use it one-handed, correct?

Davej,

Thanks for responding. I've got a Sherrill tree catalog in front of me. By "hitch minding" pulley you mean a set up with a micro-pulley like on page 39? Only you would forward the lanyard's prusik instead of the B53 as in the pic?

What's this other stuff on pages 41 - 43? It is hard to visualize using any of these in my situation. I see the trango cinch listed, but what about the Klimair, grillon, micrograb, and others?

Wow, some of those prices definitely are prohibitive!

But I wonder which is best or easiest for one-handed forward and backward movement out on a limb?

treeweasel wrote:

I've got a Sherrill tree catalog in front of me. By "hitch minding" pulley you mean a set up with a micro-pulley like on page 39? Only you would forward the lanyard's prusik instead of the B53 as in the pic?

Well, I don't see an appropriate photo in there. Do a search here on "lanyard" and you can find Tom Dunlap's lanyard on this website, but it doesn't use a pulley. Moss is the one who really favors a long lanyard. After searching elsewhere I finally found the link to Moss's lanyard . This sort of lanyard is designed for one-hand operation. The reddish item is a climb-rated micro-pulley.

Also see how high the climb line is set in this
video?

Davej,

Thanks again. The video helped me visualize the anchor height needed. I don't think I get the anchor high enough for one thing.

Now that I think about it, my first throw is usually not high enough but is also not in a good place for my limb walking. So, I think I need to practice throwing a second anchor that better positions me. And then also throw a long lanyard over another limb for a more secure walk.

I had an opportunity to view the following video which showed how easy it is to advance a rope with the trango cinch using one hand, or at least this video enabled me to better visualize the one handed use.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6884262677400010933#

Hauula's advice looks to be correct, so I'm about to purchase the trango cinch, unless someone else knows of an easier device to us for limb walking.

The Trango Cinch seems to be nearly identical to the Petzl Grigri, but I don't think people here commonly use the Grigri for their lanyards. Maybe one of the experienced people here could explain why?

for my pole stap/lanyard i use a 5/8 wire core strap with a Petsal Macro adjuster attached to my side D, it is an easy one hand op mechanism for both in and out take of the strap/lanyard, as far as i know they are available in all sizes and can be used with climbing ropes as well... have a look around the net you should find them... if not let me know and ill put up a link...

treeweasel wrote:

Sometimes I'll throw a rather long "lanyard" or second anchor (20feet) over a nearby limb to help with limb walking. I use a lanyard on my sidesaddle D rings with two end snaps and a prusik middle to feed the rope. My problem is I find it very difficult to tighten up the lanyard while I'm moving out toward my destination. It takes both hands to hold the prusik knot and pull the rope taut. However, most of the time I could use a third hand to grab hold of a limb for additional balance. The prusik knot works much better coming back with one hand, but not going out..

A lanyard is fine to attach on the side D's if you're putting it around the trunk or a limb that's between your waist and shoulder height. If you're going to hang on your lanyard it should be attached to your center tie-in point on your harness. It is extremely uncomfortable to hang on your side D's, they are not intended for that.

I attach my lanyard to my center harness attachment 99% of the time.

I call my lanyard a "short adjustable lanyard". It's 15 ft., used to be 20 ft. but I shortened it.

Here are photos of my first adjustable lanyard

The hitch cord is 8mm HRC, the pulley is a Petzl Fixe. Now I use 8mm Beeline and a CMI Micropulley.

The lanyard can be operated one-handed to tighten or release. Prusik knot seizes up when you load it and requires two hands to release. That's fine if you're using a lanyard around the trunk but not on a limbwalk.

To learn limb walking safely, set your main climbing rope at least 30 ft. above the limb you're going to walk on. More than 30 ft. is better. You don't want an extreme rope angle when you're going out. If you slip off the limb going out the swing back impact to the trunk can be equivalent to falling to the ground.

Here's a photo of my current short lanyard configuration (on the left)

Same photo larger
-moss

Thanks Moss,

What a great bunch of info. and pics, couldn't be any clearer. BTW the hitch you are using is that a Valdotain Tresse? I have no idea how to pronounce such a hitch, let alone tie it, but I found it in Tree Climber's Companion. The instructions to tie it are there, but your hitch in the pics. looks slightly different?

So what you are saying is that the hitch you are using (Valdotain Tresse?) moves a lot easier than the Prusik, right? Requiring only one hand forward and back, with your pulley self-advancing forward with one hand, and coming back with just one hand.

Thanks for the center harness attachment tip; it makes a lot of sense. So what I see myself practicing this spring are three attachments. My original main anchor throw as high as possible, then another "lanyard" which you have illustrated, perhaps twenty feet attached to my center harness, and finally a shorter lanyard to use with my D's as a safety backup up close . . . does this sound like I got it?

Thanks

Monkey,

You referring to a Petzl Micrograb? A purple mechanism with a bolt?

treeweasel wrote:

So what you are saying is that the hitch you are using (Valdotain Tresse?) moves a lot easier than the Prusik, right? Requiring only one hand forward and back, with your pulley self-advancing forward with one hand, and coming back with just one hand.

It's a VT variation called an XT, photos here
As I mentioned, Prusik tends to bind up. There are many possible hitches that will work better for an adjustable lanyard. VT is a little finicky than most, don't recommend it for your first eye-2-eye hitch. Take a look at the Knut, XT or the Distel first. Use a life support rated cord.

treeweasel wrote:

So what I see myself practicing this spring are three attachments. My original main anchor throw as high as possible, then another "lanyard" which you have illustrated, perhaps twenty feet attached to my center harness, and finally a shorter lanyard to use with my D's as a safety backup up close . . . does this sound like I got it?

A couple of things here. You may be putting the cart before the horse. Before you start working on advanced climbing skills like limbwalking it would make sense to learn how to advance your main climbing anchor (TIP) beyond what you can throw from the ground.

In general, to climb safely all you need is your main climbing rope. You can quickly fashion an adjustable lanyard from the tail of your main rope using the "third rope" technique. This is a very useful technique to know. Do a search on the Tree Climber Coalition website for more info on that.

You can also tie in with the other end of your main climbing rope, essentially creating two "long rope" systems from your main climbing rope.

If you use a dedicated separate adjustable lanyard you would only use one. If you are not cutting down a tree there is very little need to attach a lanyard to your side D's. That is a specific work climbing technique. There's nothing wrong with attaching a lanyard to your side D's but it is limiting since you can't hang off it, you have to have your feet on the tree. If the lanyard is attached to a limb above you are better off attaching it to a center point. Think in terms of moving your lanyard to the right place on the harness per situation, not one lanyard for side D's and one lanyard for a center attachment.
-moss

yep, just looked up the proper name, it was is advatised as an adjuster (because thats what it is) but after looking at the instruction booklet that came with it, it is a grab, as i said it comes in differant sizes and the macro is the one i have for my larger diam 5/8 pole strap and suits 12mm- 19mm rope, there is also the micrograb for smaller diam which i havent looked to far into as i use no less than 13mm rope as i find smaller diam hurts my hands after a cppl hours of prussuking...