If you’ve ever wondered how to climb a tree with ropes, look no further. This guide will teach you the basics of how to safely climb a tree with ropes.
It might seem a little complex at first, but you’ll eventually understand how do professional climbers, like arborists, climb and scale huge trees that seem to touch the sky with relative ease.
With the right type of climbing equipment, methods and technique, the challenge of climbing trees becomes a lot easier to overcome. And you’ll learn how to safely climb a tree with ropes for tree maintenance work or simply for leisure.
Contents
What you need to prepare
In order to climb trees with ropes, you’ll need some essential climbing gear (depending on the climbing technique). This includes:
- Rope
- Throwline
- Harness
- Ascenders
- Rappel rack
- Lanyard
- Friction knot
- Carabiners
- Belay device
- Helmet
- Gloves
A climbing harness is a piece of equipment that goes around your waist and legs (or chest). It’s used to attach you to the rope and distribute your weight evenly.
Ascenders are devices used to move yourself up the rope. There are two types: mechanical and manual.
Mechanical ascenders are powered by a hand crank, while manual ascenders require you to use your hands and feet to move them up the rope.
Carabiners are metal clips that attach you to the climbing rope. They’re also used to connect different pieces of climbing equipment together. A belay device is a piece of equipment that helps you control your descent when descending a tree.
General steps to climb a tree using only ropes
Now that you know the basics of climbing gear and techniques, it’s time to start learning how to climb a tree with ropes.
There are six basic steps:
- Prepare your climbing gear (including the necessary knots)
- Attaching your harness
- Throwing the rope onto a tree branch
- Ascending the tree
- Descending the tree
- Unclipping from the rope
Attaching your harness is simple. Just put it on like you would a pair of pants and fasten the waist and leg loops. Make sure the harness is tight enough (but not too tight) so that it doesn’t move around when you’re climbing.
To ascend a tree, use a jumaring technique. This involves using a mechanical ascender to move your body weight up the rope. As you ascend, make sure to keep your body close to the tree trunk. This will help you avoid getting stuck in between the branches.
To descend a tree, use a braking system to stop yourself from moving too quickly. There are two types of braking systems: passive and active.
Passive braking systems use rope friction (or friction hitch) to slow you down, while active braking systems use a mechanical device to apply pressure to the rope.
When you’ve finished your climb, unclip from the rope and rappel (or slide) down the tree. Make sure to keep your body close to the tree trunk as you descend.
Main techniques of tree climbing with ropes
Now, let’s get down to brass tacks and learn how to climb a tree with ropes using the right techniques, which are the single rope technique and the double rope technique. And we’ll go through them step by step.
There are two main techniques for climbing trees with ropes:
- Single rope climbing technique
- Double rope climbing technique
How to climb a tree with single rope climbing technique
This is the most common technique used by tree climbers, where you’ll ascend and descend (or rappel down) using a single rope. This technique uses one rope which is passed around the tree and through a carabiner attached to the climber’s harness.
The climber then ascends the tree by alternately pulling on the rope and standing up in their stirrups.
This technique is the simplest and easiest way to climb trees with ropes. But it can be tricky to get the noose around the branch in the right spot the first time.
What climbing gear you’ll need
- 1 x climbing rope
- 1 x harness
- 1 x chest harness
- 1 x rappel rack (or a figure eight, but I’d recommend the rappel rack)
- 3 x ascenders (right handed ascender, left handed ascender and a croll)
Steps to climb a tree with single rope technique
In this explanation, I’ll be using the Frog Ascension System to illustrate how to climb with the single rope technique.
Step 1: Find a sturdy tree
The first step is finding a sturdy tree to climb. Make sure the tree is big enough to support your weight and has enough sturdy branches.
Step 2: Prepare your equipment
Wear your harness and chest harness and attach the rope to your carabiners and fix them to your harness. Run the rope through the rappel rack and attach your ascender and descender to the climbing rope.
Step 3: Identify a strong branch and throw your primary climbing rope around it
Find a branch that’s large and sturdy enough to support your weight. Then throw your primary climbing rope around the branch.
Step 4: Connect the rope to your carabiners and attach the ascender
Once the rope is securely and firmly around the branch, connect the main climbing rope to your carabiners on your harness. Next, attach the ascender and make sure the rappel rack is firmly connected to the primary climbing rope as well.
Step 5: Climb to the top of the tree
Now that you’re safely secured to the tree, start the climb! With one hand on the rappel rack and the other on the ascender, start by moving the ascender upwards while using the rappel rack as a stopper. Keep doing these motions and you’ll slowly ascend upwards the tree.
Ascending
The climber ties a loop (or noose) to one end of the rope and then throws it over the tree branch. He or she pulls on the other end of the rope to tighten the noose around the branch and then attaches a carabiner or locking carabiner to the loop.
The climber uses this carabiner as a handle to ascend the tree. Make sure the rope is not too tight or too loose when you attach the carabiner.
Descending
You can also use the single rope technique to climb down a tree. To do this, tie a loop in one end of the rope and throw it over the tree branch. Attach a carabiner or locking carabiner to the loop.
Then, hold on to the carabiner and let go of the rope. The carabiner will act as a brake and slow your descent.
Make sure you have a good grip on the carabiner before you let go of the rope. If the carabiner slips out of your hand, you could fall and get injured.
How to climb a tree with double rope climbing technique
The double rope technique is more complicated than the single rope technique, but it provides more stability and safety.
What climbing gear you’ll need
- 1 x climbing rope
- 1 x throwline
- 1 x harness
- 1 x ring
- 1 x cambium saver
Steps to climb a tree with double rope technique
In this section, I’ll explain the basics of how to climb with the double rope technique.
Step 1: Find a tree, prepare your equipment
Follow Step 1 and 3 in the single rope technique above.
Step 2: Throw your throwline onto a sturdy branch
Place the throwline through the large ring of the cambium saver and place the ring at the edge of the throwline basket. Then, attach the line to the throw back make the throw.
After a successful throw, attach the throwline to the climbing rope and pull them through the cambium saver.
Note: Prior to the throw, you should give a verbal warning that you are about to make the throw as a safety precaution.
Step 2: Attach the climbing rope to the harness
Next, attach the climbing rope to the harness and make a friction knot and attach it to the harness. Make sure all the equipment you need for the climb are attached and worn correctly, including safety gear like gloves, climbing boots and a helmet.
Step 3: Begin the climb
With one hand on the climbing rope and the other on the friction knot, push your body upwards while moving the friction know upwards at the same time. Each motion will allow you to ascend, so keep doing this until you’ve reached your target anchor point on the tree.
Step 4: Make the switch
Once you’ve reached the anchor point on the tree, make the switch by removing the cambium saver (because you will only use this for the final anchor point). Use the lanyard and climbing line to make the switch.
Note: During the switch, make sure you’re still attached to the tree with at least one line.
Step 5: Continue the climb
Once the lanyard and climbing line is secured, continue the climb. Lean back slightly while moving upwards. Make sure the line is tight and keep up with the sliding friction knot all the time.
For an easier ascend, make use of the nearby branches as much as possible. To move to the next level, toss the throwline to the next branch and repeat Step 4 to 5.
Ascending
With this technique, the climber ties two loops, or nooses, at the end of the rope and throws them over the tree branch. He or she then attaches a carabiner to each loop.
The climber uses one carabiner as a handle to ascend the tree and the other carabiner to attach the rope to the tree trunk. This technique provides more stability than the single rope technique, but it’s more complicated to use.
Make sure the loops are tight around the tree branch when you attach the carabiners. If the loops are too loose, they could slip off the branch.
Descending
To descend a tree using the double rope technique, tie two loops at the end of the rope and throw them over the tree branch.
Attach a carabiner to each loop. Then, hold on to the carabiners and let go of the rope. The carabiners will act as a brake and slow your descent.
Make sure you have a good grip on the carabiners before you let go of the rope. If the carabiners slip out of your hand, you could fall and get injured.
Common tree climbing methods
Not only will you need the right equipment but you’ll also need to learn the correct techniques to climb trees. There are three main methods that climbers use: ascending, descending and traversing.
Ascending is when you move up a tree, for instance when you’re starting your climb. To ascend, you’ll use a climbing technique called jumaring. This involves using a mechanical ascender to move your body weight up the rope.
Descending is moving down a tree, for instance when you’ve finished your climb. To descend, you’ll use a braking system to stop yourself from moving too quickly and injuring yourself.
Traversing is when you move horizontally across a tree, for instance when you’re repairing a branch. Traversing is the easiest technique to learn and doesn’t require any special equipment.
Final thoughts
Climbing a tree with rope is a great way to get some exercise, enjoy the outdoors and do some much needed tree pruning and maintenance.
It’s also a great way to get a bird’s-eye view of your surroundings. Just make sure you have the right equipment and know the correct techniques before you start climbing.
I hope this detailed guide will help you understand better about how to climb a tree with ropes!
