Direct aid bail technique?

Alright, another problem and hopefully a thoughtful solution will come of it! I plan on having to do some direct aid climbing of smaller trees to keep the torque on the tree down to increase safety (don't worry, this is in the name of science!). I assume that most of you know what direct aiding is so I'll spare a small blurb about that... but what I do need is a quick bail technique. I'll be climbing in the rainforest of Costa Rica, and if there are nasties (ants, wasps, etc.) that want to start biting, there is no quick exit of the tree.

The fastest solution I have come up with is this. Carry an extra webbing sling and be trailing a rope. If something bad happens double wrap a girth hitch around the trunk to get enough friction to serve as an anchor clip on a 'biner and rap' down. Quick and dirty... this only leaves the problem of the rope still being in the tree. Any thoughts on how to make a fast get away also retreivable? Maybe double the rope over and 'rap down on a doubled line, but that would mean trailing the rope somewhere in the middle, which wouldn't be too bad.

Also any suggestions on how to make direct aiding easier would be most welcome! tricks and tips are fun.


mateo

I understand direct aid climbing in rock climbing context but am not clear how it would work in tree climbing. I can imagine climbing on both ends of a longish lanyard the way conifer climbers do in the canopy

In a rainforest situation you should be able to put a bail-out line on an adjacent or overhanging large tree. I've done this to get in smaller or diseased trees that were not structurally sound, works great. You could swing out of the tree or rappel depending on the hang angle.

Honestly it's not going to matter how fast you move any bee or wasp can keep up with you. The important thing is not to be pinned if you're under serious attack.

I like the story I read on one of the arborist boards about the climber who accidentally chainsawed a hornet's nest in half (it was buried in a vine). He froze and was not stung. His coworkers all ran and were severely stung. Hornets are well known to key into movement.

It might be advisable to carry a big stinking cigar, a cloud of smoke is most effective for deterring biting and stinging insects. Just as long as you don't pass out from puffing on it
-moss

Direct aiding, how I understand it works very simply. It's basically two webbing slings both girth hitched around the trunk of the tree; one clips directly to your saddle attachment, the second (and lower one) is used as a footloop and only clips to your saddle as a backup (with a loose double-fishermans loop). So you advance the upper loop, sit in saddle; advance the footloop, stand up;advance the upper loop, etc.

A large overhanging tree would be great, but I'll be using this in secondary forests, with no large overhanging trees.

Moss- how much climbing in the rain forest have you done, and where were you when you did it?

mateo

I've only climbed in temperate zone trees, sorry for the confusion. Thanks for the explanation of direct aid in a tree climbing context!
-moss

mateo--

Try the TCC site at
TCC Forum

Joe (who manages the site) spends much time in Panama (right next door to Costa Rica) teaching scientists how to climb. He probably has a lot of experience dealing with situations you might encounter.

Joe had a very serious encounter with Africanized bees last year, so he probably is about as prepared and knowledgeable as anyone to provide assistance.

Best luck--enjoy the land of "pura vida!"

I'll actually be down in Panama through the same outfit that Joe teaches through in 5 days. So I'll learn a lot there, but I was just curious about what folks here had to say.

mateo

Mateo,
I just realized that you could use a Rope Guide (See Sherrill's Arborist Catalog p.29).
Here's why: Some guys on TB site have suggested to use it as a quick escape cinching device when we are doing complete tree removals. I use it all the time like this. So when I'm removing trunks, beside lanyarding in, I cinch the RG around the trunk with my main rope running thru it and my main friction hitch holding of course. Then if something happens I just rappel down (after removing lanyard of course) and the best part of it is that it's completely retreivable from the ground.
It is pricey, but other alternatives could be the Prusik adjust RG on the same page or you could build your own using some of the suggested plans already spelled out on the Treebuzz site. Do a search there.