Ouch

I was climbing a eucalyptus i was using a bow line for my attachment from my harness to the rope and i clipped a spare rope onto and took my weight of the rope and the bow line came undone and i fell 20 ft and broke 5 bones in my arm

Sorry to hear that you got hurt. The bowline is not a goood knot for life safety conditions unless it is backed up by using the Yosemite Tie-off. Tree climbing is a very dangerous operation without the proper technique and training, but i guess you already figure that one out yourself.
Hope you recover fully .

Your post surprised me a bit, Hazman. As a rock climber, I would never tie-in with a bow line. The figure of 8 knot is the safest way to go, for the exact reason you mentioned - they can come loose when knot tension is released.

Did your fall happen recently, or were you reporting a past tree climbing experience to help us save our own necks? (arms)

i fell 20 ft and broke 5 bones in my arm.

Pssst - Hey buddy, you only have 3 bones in your arm. (I whispered that so no one else on the forum would hear!)

Hey, Austrailia huh? If you're down under, does that mean you climb in the opposite direction from us? Interesting to think about.

Only joking with you mate. Hope you're OK, be safe!

What about your carpel tunnel and your funny bone?

arm/hand

arm/hand

Ah, that's a different. In that case you have 30 bones, hand and arm combined.



Look on the bright side, your percentage of broken to non-broken bones is WAAAYYY lower now. Hope everything heals well for you.

Hazman wrote:

I was climbing a eucalyptus i was using a bow line for my attachment from my harness to the rope and i clipped a spare rope onto and took my weight of the rope and the bow line came undone and i fell 20 ft and broke 5 bones in my arm

Hazman, I'm sorry to hear about your injuries. It's probably small consolation to know that you could have easily died if you were up higher in the tree or had landed badly from 20 ft.

Can you post more details about the situation leading up to the fall? It's very helpful to climbers out there to understand what conditions lead to the accident. For instance, what type of rope were you climbing on? Details that would be helpful are:

1. Rope diameter
2. Rope construction (12 strand, 16 strand, 24 strand, static kernmantle, arbo rope?, other?)
3. Or if you don't know the construction who is the manufacturer and what is the brand?
4. What climbing technique were you using (SRT, DdRT, split tail or traditional, what kind of hitch?)

Additional info:
A pro climber that I know who was trained in Britain uses a Bowline to anchor their rope to the carabiner that attaches to their harness. They use a separate split tail for their friction hitch. On a recent climb they tried 11mm 24-strand arborist rope and noted during their pre-climb harness check that the Bowline wouldn't set properly. The climber immediately switched to a Double Overhand Noose (or Scaffold Knot). They normally climb on 16-strand 1/2\" arborist rope.

There are several knots that are better for this purpose than a Bowline. Any climbers who are teaching themselves need to be asking a lot of questions on the tree climbing forums. Basic safety protocols were not followed in the two serious beginner accidents that have been reported on this forum. Having background in other climbing disciplines is not sufficient preparation for tree climbing.
-moss

Hazeman
I don't know many climbers that use a bowline knot for their main tie in. I agree with Moss, other climbing disciplines do not always apply to tree climbing. TCI has a DVD- Tree Climbing Basics, that might be of good use to you if you are self taught. A better idea would be to get some training, even though it costs money. (You are worth it by the way)!

Beware eucalyptus trees. By nature they are brittle. Again, trees are different from the rock climbing world. They break, die, and topple over- part of the intrigue of tree climbing. They also move in the wind- that you will never find in rocks.

In the \"Tree Climber's Companion\" (2nd Ed) there is a table on page 68 where both the bowline and the clove-hitch get checkmarks in the \"tying in\" column. I'd think they definitely deserve asterisks or question marks there. I'm sure the author is not thinking that a mere clove hitch should be used alone -- but there it is in the table. In fact shouldn't every \"lifeline knot\" be defined as one that includes a safety stopper? The figure-eight is probably the only knot that might not need one.

In rope rescue we back up the figure 8 with an overhand or double fisherman too

In rope rescue we back up the figure 8 with an overhand or double fisherman too

Baker wrote:

In rope rescue we back up the figure 8 with an overhand or double fisherman too

Is that why the TCI DVD shows a stopper below the Blake's hitch?

That sounds painful. I hope you have a full recovery of your arm.

I prefer the double fisherman's knot as my working end tie in point. Although I have heard and tried the triple fisherman's knot it was a bit bulky.The double fisherman's knot cinches down nicely so the carabiner is less likely to have the gate side loaded.