Tried a rope wrench system for the first time and got myself in a real bind

I tried that new rope wrench setup my buddy recommended on a tall white oak in Portland last week and ended up stuck 30 feet up for 20 minutes. The friction hitch kept slipping on the new rope because I didnt break it in first, and I had to use my foot ascender to inch my way down. Has anyone else had trouble with brand new ropes and mechanical hitches not grabbing right?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire8721mo ago

Pull that rookie move myself once and spent a whole afternoon feeling like a dummy stuck in a tree. Brand new ropes are basically greased eels until you get some dirt and wear on them. Guess that tree gave you a free lesson in patience and gear prep.

smith.parker1mo ago

Respectfully gotta disagree on the "greased eel" thing though. New ropes are definitely slick at first but a few practice ascents with a prusik or mechanical aider should handle that before you're up a tree. Feels more like a gear check moment than a patience lesson, stiffer new ropes just need a quick break-in session on the ground.

irisowens1mo ago

Had you run the rope through any kind of friction saver or just straight over the branch before you loaded the wrench? The way the rope runs over the limb matters almost as much as the break-in, especially with those slicker new coatings that some manufacturers use now.