Page Contents:
What’s a Lifeline?
JRB recommends that all climbers use a lifeline, specifically a rope that safely connects you to the tree at all times and provides a route to safety on the ground. Think of your Lifeline as a long tether which can also act as a rappel rope or a climbing rope. See the Safety page for additional info:
Features of a Lifeline:
- One end is connected to the tree via a secure anchor.
- Connected to the saddle bridge using a friction hitch or a mechanical friction device, and with minimal slack.
- Ensures fall prevention safety in the event of a stick or platform failure or loss of footing.
- Can be used as a rappel rope, providing a path to ground, either as a planned activity or in an emergency.
- Can also be used for SRT climbing or Hitch Climbing (details on other pages).
Conventional Tether
If you prefer a conventional tether, or wish to use one in conjunction with a lifeline or climbing rope, see:
Components of a Lifeline
1: Saddle / Bridge
Choosing the optimal system and technique is dependent on how our saddle is set up. JRB recommends having 2 bridges on our saddle, particularly for rappel and emergencies. It is important that the two bridges are of different length and separated by at least 6″ in order to ensure that rappel on a Munter friction hitch can be executed without interference between the bridges.
2: The Rope
Please review the information on the Rope page, which covers the different types of ropes, diameters and lengths, with product recommendations and discounts.
3: The Anchor
The Anchor. There are many anchors for a rope in a tree, but for a rappel system, the climber needs a retrievable anchor, allowing retrieval of the rope after the climber has safely rappelled to the ground. JRB recommends the Bloodgood hitch for beginners and the Maverick Hitch for more advanced climbers.
4: The Moving Connection
Whether we are using a friction hitch or a mechanical device, JRB recommends having a 2nd and independent point of attachment to the rope, using the redundant bridge.
4A: Longhorn Agile Hitch and a Munter
Initiating a rappel (or self rescue) when nothing is under our feet is much easier if we are using a hitch that is breakable under the full weight of our body. See the dedicated page for all the choices:
The overall recommendation for a friction hitch is a Longhorn Agile Hitch, tied with a cord that is approximately 75% the diameter (or roughly 2mm smaller) than the rope. If we have two bridges, we can fashion a fairly compact LA. But if we have only one bridge, we need an LA with loops approximately 6″ long, in order to give us room for the Munter carabiner. See:
4B: Mechanical Device and a Hedden Knot
If we are using a mechanical device, consider a Hedden Knot installed above the primary device as a backup. Note that the Hedden cannot be broken under load. We need to get our weight off the Hedden in order to resume rappel.
The Hedden can also be tied with only one hand in an emergency situation:
Rappel
See the Ape Canyon Products here, and use the JRB15 coupon code: Ape Canyon Ascenders and Descenders
Friction hitch is not a rappel device
Warning: Do not attempt to use a friction hitch as a rappel device (on a stationary rope system). Attempting to do so can cause the friction hitch to jam/tighten and to overheat. During rappel, the friction hitch should be in a relatively loose state, manually tended by the climber, serving as a backup only. The climber can interrupt the rappel by gracefully allowing the friction hitch to hold, and can restart rappel by breaking the friction hitch.
Tending the Friction Hitch During Rappel
Important: It is a common problem whereby a friction hitch gets tighter (jams) during rappel. Tending the friction hitch improperly and allowing it to absorb too much resistance during rappel can cause this. No matter what device is being used for Rappel, the friction hitch should be acting as a backup and should NOT be providing braking friction. If you need more than two fingers to tend the friction hitch during rappel, it’s not loose enough. Resist the instinct to balance manual resistance in your two hands. Divert all resistance to the braking strand of rope, not the friction hitch. Consider adding additional friction in your device.
Dual Bridges Recommended
Although rappel is feasible with one bridge, JRB uses and recommends 2 bridges on the saddle. It is important that the two bridges are of different length and separated by at least 6″ in order to avoid interference.
Munter Friction Hitch
JRB prefers using a Munter Friction Hitch for Rappel, requiring only a large, pear shaped carabiner to serve as the friction device. See page for recommendations:
It is important for the braking strand of rope does not flow into the Munter from below. This will cause twisting to be imparted in the rope. Instead, the rope should flow in from out and above. The climber will be able to feel if the rope is spinning and adjust the direction of feed in order to neutralize it. See videos:
Or on a single bridge. Note that the single bridge design is more difficult to use if the friction hitch can’t easily be broken.
Here is a similar demonstration, but on a DSRT system with a doubled rope:
Figure 8
JRB has several figure 8 rappel devices, but does not recommend them for use in saddle hunting. Rationale:
- In order to attach them, they need to be loose in our hands, offering the possibility of dropping them or losing them. This leaves us in a tree (often in growing darkness) trying to come up with a plan B.
- Contacts a Carabiner, allowing metal on metal contact and related noise potential.
- We need a carabiner to use with the Figure 8 device, and the carabiner makes a fine rappel device itself. (use the Munter!)
Other devices
Here’s a simple friction/rappel device. The same technique can be used with many devices, including an ATC or Figure 8.
Unbreakable Friction Hitch
Be sure you can reliably break your friction hitch(s) and be prepared if you find out that you cannot while on a hunt:
The Retrieval Cord
Once we have executed our rappel, we need to retrieve our anchor. Although Paracord and similar products in the 2-3 mm range do work for this, JRB prefers a (minimum) 30′ length of 4-5 mm Nylon Utility Cord. The additional bulk is minimal, and that cord can be used in many different emergency applications. JRB ties a small Bowline on each end in order to make it easy to attach with a mini-carabiner. See product choices here: