Climbing Procedure

When using Tethrd Climbing Sticks to ascend the tree, follow these steps.

1. With your saddle on and equipment ready, attach your lineman belt around the tree and securely to your saddle based on previous instructions in this course; see “Attaching Your Lineman Belt.”
2. Once your lineman belt is secure, grab your first climbing stick. Hold the climbing stick against the tree no higher than the top of your kneecap or bottom of your thigh and pass the attachment rope around the tree trunk.
3. To secure the rope to the climbing stick, pass the rope in front of the stick and weave it behind the attachment button starting from the bottom left side.
4. Pass the rope behind the button to wrap over the top and pull down on the loop on the right side of the button to tighten.
5. Once the rope is wrapped tightly around the button, weave the rope through the bottom right notch of the button, then keep the rope tight as you weave it through the opposite top-left notch.
6. Pull down on the rope once secured in the first two notches to tighten. If there is any slack in the rope, repeat steps 2–5 to ensure it is as tight as possible for your safety.
7. Now weave the rope through the bottom-left notch of the button, then through the opposite top-right notch, keeping the rope always in front of itself, not passing behind at any point.
8. Pull down firmly on the rope to tightly secure it in all four notches of the button. The rope should look like an X going through each notch. If there is any slack in the rope, repeat all steps.
9. Secure the end of the rope to itself on the right of the climbing stick with a half-hitch knot.
10. Once the rope is secured tightly to the button, push down firmly on the climbing stick to set it tightly against the tree. The rope on the tree should extend up from the stick at a 30- to 45-degree angle from the ground.
11. With the climbing stick secure, you can now climb up onto it with your foot on the bottom and then top of the stick’s platforms. If the stick is not tight enough to hold your weight, step down from the stick and repeat all attachment steps before continuing to climb.
12. As you climb up the climbing sticks, adjust your lineman belt height to always be above your waist on the tree. Once you are standing straight up on the top of your first climbing stick, take out your next one and secure to the tree no higher than the top of your kneecap or bottom of your thigh.
13. Repeat steps 2–12 for your second and third climbing stick. If you encounter any obstructions along your climb, follow the safety steps outlined in “Moving Past Obstructions” later in the unit.
14. Once you have reached your preferred hunting height on the tree, you are ready to attach your tether based on previous instructions outlined in this course; see “Attaching Your Tether.” ALWAYS keep your lineman belt secured to the tree while attaching your tether.
15. Once your tether is secured, you can unhook your lineman belt and place it in an accessible spot on your saddle for your descent later.
16. You are now ready to attach your hunting platform to the tree and retrieve your sporting arm for hunting; see "Attaching Your Platform" later in the unit for these steps.