Please consider your responsibilities: After an accident happens, whether to yourself or a friend, it is haunting to realize that knowledge you posses could have prevented it. Please get yourself safe and then help a friend.
In memorial; this video is dedicated to Dane
In tragic irony, on Sept 11, 2022, JRB filmed this video, and on that same day, the saddle hunting community lost a brother and a friend who died in a tree. All of the details leading up to the accident are not known. What is known is the following:
- Dane was practicing his climbing (not hunting) on public ground, breaking in his brand new saddle, an area without cell phone reception.
- He was in a minimalist saddle consisting of two leg straps and a waist belt. (similar to a Rock Climbing Harness, or Fall Arrest Harness, but with smaller straps. These devices limits blood circulation in the legs very quickly in the event of a loss of footing.)
- As evidenced by a camera timestamp in the area, he was on the ground about an hour before the incident.
- He became stuck in the tree, hanging from a short rope matching the description of a tether, with nothing under his feet.
- Additional gear was on the ground, including a long rope, (matching the description of a climbing or rappel rope), and a figure 8 rappel device, presumably dropped or forgotten.
- He was stuck only about 6-7 feet off the ground, but did not have a knife to cut himself out.
- His screams were heard by a young squirrel hunter who got to the scene before loss of consciousness, but there was no way to get him down (no knife). The hunter ran to a better location to get cell phone reception and call for help.
- He lost consciousness soon thereafter, and inverted and the autopsy confirmed the cause of death as: “positional asphyxiation”. (Effectively he suffocated after losing consciousness and inverting.)
After the incident, there was much speculation about other health issues, but the autopsy showed no evidence of such. See article linked below, which is written about a Fall Arrest Harness, and explains that the timeline for these types of incidents is surprisingly fast. Apparently, death could result in 30 minutes or less. See article:
Ten Rules for Saddle Hunting Climbing Safety
This video describes JRB’s ten rules which every tree climber should consider, regardless of your climbing method.
- Tie In, and stay tied in for the entire climb. A Lineman’s Belt is NOT an adequate tie-in.
- Buy In, buy good gear from a good supplier.
- Homework, do your research, from CREDIBLE sources.
- Tree: Consider the tree, and look for hazards above you in all nearby trees, particularly dead branches.
- Manage Slack, less than a foot at all times.
- Strength; the strength of each component must be much greater than the working load.
- Inspect all parts your systems, including friction hitches, metal fatigue, etc.
- Practice; your climbing, and everything you do or might need to do in a safe environment.
- Consider the Stability of all parts of the system.
- Consider Murphy’s Law. If it can go wrong, it will. Every climber has a potentially unique system. Analyze YOUR climbing system and THINK about everything that COULD go wrong and have a plan when it DOES go wrong. Add redundancy where you can!