I was curious as to some techniques used out there to toss a rope over the next branch once you are up in there.

A throwbag with a cord seems to invite too many tangles for my liking, and tends to get stuck in angiosperms...

I've carried up bamboo sticks into Eucalyptus trees and used those to place the next branch, but they are awkward and I find them slightly dangerous.

I used to toss a nice steel carabiner over the next branch above, but I didn't like them falling on my head.

This setup ended up in inevitable snags, as well.


I now use a monkeys fist loop, unlocked so it can fall apart. There is a danger of having too many loops on your daisy chain and watching it get stuck regardless.


So here's a question- what's your method of accessing the next branch? Did any of these problems drive you crazy, and how did you deal with them?

Any good tricks for getting past that one pesky branch that can find its way into your DDRT loop?

looking forward to hearing some good tricks...

to be honest, i dont think you will go wrong with the monkey fist,
I've tried all sorts of techniques but i always end up resorting to a few attempts with a monkey fist
mind you, i now climb with 10.5mm mountaineering rope and you can hurl that stuff for miles, much better than traditional tree climbing rope.

Steve,

Help me out on the type of mountaineering rope that you're using. Polyester or Nylon? Are you using the DRT with Blake's Hitch or mechanical ascenders?


Thanks
JimK

A nuber of years ago I learned a better monkey's fist. The usual fashion is to make several coils then loop coils around them. Finish as a gasket coil or slipped. The problem with this is that you only get one toss per coil because it falls apart. If you throw a locked coil it might get jammed or hooked.

Tyr this: Tie a hangman's noose but with about five or six round turns. Then pull the noose loop down snug to the round turns. Most times, it will invert if it jams. It also stays tied for may throws. If there is a chance that it might jam I make sure that I make the round turns a little loose. If I'm confident that I won't snag and want a more streamlined weight I dress it out snug.

Tom

I usually just use a monkey fist. However, I always have a throwbag and line in my saddle pouch. When I was taking the facilitator course, Tim made me do numerous crossovers, half of them using throwline, half using monkey fists. So it can go either way for me.

Josh

hi jim.
I climb with beal topgun. Its nylon coated.
I climb drt with a petzl shunt.
I always use a cambium saver with a pulley attatched and decend at a smooth moderate speed so the poor resistance nylon has with regards to friction isn't a problem.
I've had this one piece of rope for a little over a year now and its in good nick still.