Tree climbing

Some tree climbers employ a mixture of techniques and gear derived from rock climbing and caving.

Getting to the first branch of a tree is typically the most difficult part of the climb due to the potentially large distance between the first limb and the ground.

Once over the branch, the weight must return to the ground, and may have to be manipulated so as to isolate a single anchor point (doubled rope technique), or for SRT into an optimal redirect.

With the adequate hardware, a throw line, an attached weight, and a launching system (e.g., a bow or slingshot), a climbing rope can be anchored to a branch very high in the tree.

This is done by launching the weight (with the throw line attached) over the desired limb and tying the climbing rope to the unweighted end.

Lead climbing is employed by climber where points of protection are formed by girthing the tree's limbs with slings.

Once the lead climber ascends the tree, they may create a belay or top rope anchor or else simply rappel down.

Drawbacks to this method include the probability of hitting a lower limb or the main trunk in the event of a fall.

A man climbing a palmyra palm
A boy sitting in a tree
A child climbs a tree.
Depiction of a failed attempt at tree climbing, from an anecdote in Frances Fuller Victor 's 1887 book Eleven years in the Rocky Mountains and a life on the frontier (Ch. V.)
Arborist climbing a Norway Maple in Ontario, Canada