Video: How to Navigate Obstructions While Climbing

Transcript for How to Navigate Obstructions While Climbing

Jared Shaffer: To go around limbs, I’m going to pull out my tether and use it as a second lineman’s rope. So, when I pull it out of my pouch, I’m going to take and hook to the opposite side from where my lineman’s rope is hooked. So, I’m going to girth hitch this by passing the rope through the spliced eye and tightening that down.

Now, I’m simply going to take this rope and go above the limb that I’m trying to go around. With that rope above the limb, I’m going to connect it to my opposite side on the saddle, and then I’m going to tighten it and take the weight off of the other lineman’s rope. Now I can take this rope off, and I can continue my climb with the rope now above the limbs.

When I’m coming down the tree, I simply do everything in reverse. I take my second rope, pass it around the tree, hook it to my saddle, and then I’m going to tighten it up to the point where my top rope is loose. And I’m going to take it off, connect the carabiner to my saddle so it’s not flopping around, and then I can continue down the tree.