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Throwball and Paracord Presets
Whether climbing DSRT, SRT or MRS, the use of an arborist throwball is the preferred way to get a rope in a tree. If the tree will be climbed again, leave a loop of paracord in the tree (a paracord preset) as described in the following video. See the Shopping List for product choices if you do not own a throwball. Related pages:
This video shows an alternative method for coiling up the throwline, so as to ensure it can’t get disorganized and tangled in transport and storage.
This video shows how to make sure your paracord spool doesn’t become a mangled mess!
This video show how to deal with the situation when you run out of paracord and don’t have quite enough left on the spool to rig a preset.
JRB End Loop
The JRB End Loop was created for rope rigging. It works not only in a tree crotch, but also in a False Crotch or Floating Anchor. Please see the dedicated page:
Attach Rope to a Cord
The following video shows options for using the JRB End Loop to rig a rope into the tree.
If there is no JRB End Loop and we simply need to attach a climbing rope to a throwline or paracord, use two bull hitches in series.
False Crotch and Floating Anchor
In the video below, these concepts are introduced:
- A false crotch is an artificial rigging point installed by the climber to substitute for a non-existent crotch. Warning: The materials used to create the false crotch take load and therefore are subject to deterioration from the elements, which could jeopardize the climber. What are the chances that the false crotch has become compromised since it was set a day ago, or a week ago, or a month ago? It’s impossible to speculate. But clearly, we should NOT climb on a false crotch that was set in a prior season. But what if we neglected to remove it? Might we be tempted to climb on it the next year?
- A floating anchor is a similar concept developed by JRB, representing a location on the tree where an anchor will be remotely installed around the trunk. The materials used to create the anchor absorb some load, but because the rope is rigged around the trunk, a compromise of the anchor will not jeopardize the climber. Therefore, we can rig and climb on a floating anchor that was set the prior season.
Besides the advantage listed above, consider that removal of a Floating Anchor is a less complicated exercise: To uninstall a Floating Anchor: Rig a rope on it, climb, install platform, stand on it, cut out the floating anchor, leaving the ring in place, then rappel and retrieve the rope and the ring will come down too. To uninstall a False Crotch: Climb on it, set a separate anchor at approximately the same height (JRB Hitch or Maverick) with one end of the rope, transfer over to the new anchor, then remove the False Crotch Manually.
This video shows a more detailed rigging of the floating anchor.
“Ready SRT System” rigging
This video demonstrates a way to rig a “Ready” SRT system into a tree without needing to tie or remove a friction hitch.
Maverick Hitch, Houdini Rigging
The following rope rigging technique is useful in SRT scenarios where the first branch in the tree can be used to get a throwball into, but is not trustworthy for a climb.
Stuck Throwball Recovery
If a throwball gets stuck, one way to get it down is a hitch climb. If you try to pull it down, be aware that the throwball can get dislodged and come at you hard causing injury. Protect yourself by pulling AROUND the base of an adjacent tree, ensuring that you are not in the line of pull.