Introduction to Climbing gear, ropes and knots for tree work

we are yes we're recording we're we're up about 40 feet up in the tree recording like 25 feet it feels like it feels a lot higher than that yeah all right guys we are 25 feet up in a tree and before we're done with this video we're going to show you knots we're going to show you the equipment we're going to show you everything that you may need to get familiar enough with it so that you if you're going to go start working at a tree company when you walk the first step into the door you at least are experienced or at least familiar enough with the equipment so you know what you're looking at and from there you're going to have to take your training to the next level and we got my buddy keith kalphus coming in to help us figure it all out so what are we waiting for but let's do it all right guys we are going to be walking through the basics today right what do we have all right here we have two sets of tree climbing gear we have a cougar weaver saddle it's more of an advanced saddle in here we have another weaver saddle it's a basic sell there's double loops on the legs with a floating d-ring which is it's an awesome stance saddle very very strong okay so these are saddles yeah for climbing okay the sl the saddles are equipped with flip lines it's a steel bra a steel braided flip line okay and it's a lot stronger and safer in the tree this is actually triple action one two three here we have the buck strap this is i'm sorry this is a rope bridge but this is called a floating d block okay it's a dual locking mechanism let's get into one two see yep again this yeah do it again let's see it one more time you're so fast this holds all of your body weight in the tree and it's got a micro pulley on it so when you click one and two and you want to make sure this thing is always cleaned check this point of attachment right here every single time before you go on the tree okay and then these things are only rated for every six months you're supposed to actually replace it or retire it because it's holding your body weight so never ever ever climb with old gear and then also one other thing never never ever climb with a carabiner that you got from the local hardware store this is rated for climbing there's different types of carabiners rated for rigging and for climbing and a cheap carabiner will just fall apart and break on you so there's a there's a massive difference okay you can pick up a truck with this inspect the ropes make sure these double knots are nice and tight no tears are freezing the ropes when you flip this around remember all this is inspected you're making sure everything's working yeah it snaps back clip it onto the d-ring now you should always have two points of attachment while you're in the tree at all times everybody's got to start somewhere everybody's got to start somewhere right and the most important thing is if you are going to start you make sure you do it safe okay what is this thing keith what is this rope called is this the secondary light this here is the buck strap and say just to be safe just have them both connected at the same time at the same length so the reason that there's two of these is when you're going up in a tree and you get to a crotch one stays connected and then the second one goes over the crotch and at no point are you to ever be unbucked in the trees saying oh i can do this no you're always bucked in at all times means and you're always looking and making sure and double checking that everything is always fully connected we've got your saddle on now you got to go through the ropes what do you do before you start throwing ropes up in trees and what what do these ropes mean actually maybe we should start with that keith so this right here is your lifeline and this is your work line for roping and rigging and the difference is this one holds your body and this is for climbing up and down the tree this one is for lowering branches safely to the ground okay you should never switch the ropes out your lifeline is always your lifeline until it becomes frayed or scarred or ripped or or compromised then you should retire it and get a brand new lifeline and your work line is always your work line and you also inspect that the same as well if there's any rips or tears or anything it's compromised you get a brand new one so you never switch them out okay first yeah these are a basic set of climbing gaps these are old school but they work tremendously great the longer ones here for trees shorter ones you see here for climbing telephone poles like the uh the city electric guys these are sick they're lighter weight they're more expensive and comfort in the tree is extremely important oh wow those are so beautiful see how it's got velcro soft all of this for a tire swing man [Laughter] a lot of work a lot of work all right ready to go up the tree got my safety gear on uh hard hat spikes saddle everything's checked and i have a flip line and a buck strap just to be safe i have two straps on the tree and i have two lifelines and a work line step step flip step step all right i've come to the sucker in the tree pulling out my hand saw and making sure this never touches this if a saw or knife even touches this it could just split under pressure now you're going up to set the lifeline right yeah okay right here this branch right here yeah even though it's a small branch before i cut that i'm gonna yell clear because there's a drop zone and nobody can be in it clear clear is that is that the right response all clear all clear right i throw it down away from the ropes into a drop zone how far up do you gotta go to set a lifeline in most cases as high as you safely can clear clear all clear and i've seen keith up at the tops of some pretty scary trees wow you're up there there is not a chance i'm going up that high that's just not for me it's definitely going up that high i am not going up that high side it's not happening i would never get myself back down again [Music] so i went up in the tree okay and i threw the lifeline around the crotch of the tree and i tied off a blake's hitch how do you tie that knot you should know this knot but then you can upgrade into mechanical ascenders and zigzags and petzl hardware and all these fancy things but you should know how to do this because if you go buy some fancy 300 mechanical ascender and it gets broken or compromised in the tree and now all of a sudden you don't know how to tie the most basic knot you're stuck in the tree because you didn't take the basic steps first remember this arm's length okay i'm gonna take these two and bring them together i'm gonna go behind right okay never in front but behind and i'm gonna wrap it around four times one two three fourth and then go and take these four loops and adjust them so it looks nice and clean and then let the tail end fall behind so back down around back up through two so come around and you take just the first two create some space i can usually do this very fast on my own but take some space and run the tail end of the rope through this pull out all the slack and then make sure this system is nice and clean pull it tight and see how there's there's a bite on here around the back yep and then that's what allows you to but it's not finished because you have to pull up the slack like this in the tree and the name of that knot again is this is the blake's hitch blake's edge or the monkey fist or the monkey fist that's right all right so pull the slack out pull the tail end of the rope up while you sit your butt down in the tree and test it to make sure that it holds and then you tie the figure eight knot so this doesn't back out on you it doesn't run and now you are free to work in the tree like this [Music] all right stan you're about to go up yep you have your ground saddle spikes flip line your lifeline's already set we're gonna tie you in take the tail end of the rope and now you're gonna tie your blake's hitch sit down in the rope a little bit see it's not sliding that's a good good nut okay now what now we're going up the tree all right so you're going to like you're literally like you're humping the tree but in that quick action you flip up boom right there all right now take two steps baby steps yeah one two now you see how you're putting your body weight back yep just relax and step like you're walking up the tree now tend the line tend the line by pulling the yeah okay so now i'm ready to go up again right yep and you can just keep your hands on the flip line yep yep and then yeah [Music] okay so this is my view from up here as i'm going up i'm tending the rope so pulling down pulling up at the same time making sure my slack is good i'll take my one two baby steps flipping my rope up now i gotta tend my rope which tending the rope means okay i got my rope tight i'll take the two baby steps get myself comfy now let's hump the treat and with that the gopro went back down to the ground i guess it didn't want to climb to the top with me but i do want to say in a serious note you guys don't spike a tree unless it's scheduled to come down this one will become firewood this winter [Music] hey if you do one of those cool like repelling moves let me know i think he's gonna do it now how do i how do i rappel down squeeze that yeah now relax flip it that way yeah and now take your fingers there and just little bites yeah yeah now kick down and choo [Music] so the monkey fist what i'm doing to go down is i literally squeeze and pull then let go way cooler [Laughter] so that's the way a pro comes on a tree the amateur does the baby steps all right keith you're going to show us how to properly put your rope away yeah so when you put your ropes away you don't want to just stuff them in a bag because then it'll be a real pain to take them out next time yeah so just take five minutes to fold up your ropes so you hang it around like this it's kind of like tarzan this is the way i do it i go full arm length loop it around me like that and i do another one and i do another one [Music] see this okay take it off like this you got this end hanging now watch go around like this make sure it's nice and clean and run wraps on it then like this this this if you do it at the opposite end from the carabiner then you can hang it or you can just go like this and hang it these guys go to find out more information on all of what we're about to show these guys keith make sure you go to the isa the international society of arbor culture then reach out and find a mentor or a tree care safety professional a tcsp then also oh yeah and learn about the ansi standards z133 because a lot of these standards were literally written in blood by people actually getting injured so that's why all this stuff is available see you later all right guys that's the end of our video that was keith kalpas walking us through how to do the basics so that when you guys go in if you're going to start working at a tree company when you walk in the door at least you'll be familiar with some of the equipment gears techniques and what they mean and how they actually get applied but what you do with that information you found today is up to you to take it to the next level make sure that you get a mentor make sure you follow all safety protocols and make sure that you learn a lot more than what we taught you in this video we just want you to be safe that's all we got for you today god bless go get him you guys and we will see you on another one and if you want more really cool videos of course go over to keith kalphus the landscape employee trip he's got tons of really good stuff there he's actually been a mentor to me for a long time he's he was the one that got me started on youtube in the first place and that's it for today see in the next one [Music]