Yes, I could have done a retrievable abseil with cambium protection for when I pulled the rope down from the top, but this way, if there was any issue of the rope getting tangled as it fell then I could sort it out on the way down. (Besides, I like down-climbing in trees. Rocks are a different story as by the time you get to the top your arms are like jelly!)
There are 2 advantages of the fixed rope setup as opposed to leaving the rope running through the tie-in point and belaying from the ground or the top.
1) the rope is not being pulled through the branches with a person's weight on it on occasions, leading to abrasion.
2) because I don't have to belay the climber I can climb with them, giving instruction if required.
(Here's me making light work of a large overhang on El Capitan
....no, I'm not fooling anyone am I? It was just a kid's climbing wall at our village festival!)
Michael
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There is, nevertheless, a certain respect and a general duty of humanity that ties us, not only to beasts that have life and sense, but even to trees and plants. --Michael Eyquem, seigneur de Montaigne
