UKC

Hi folks, I'm new here. I joined the forum for some tips and hints, I've done a bit of modest climbing, indoors and out, have also done a bit of rope access work.

I really think my boys would enjoy climbing (they are 4 and 6) so I'm looking to find a way to break them in gently, I've devised a possible tree climbing pulley system which does a few things

Assists climbing
Fall arrest
Safe descent


I'll attach a picture if I can work out how to add an attachment to my posts... Watch this space & wish me luck


Edit: can't work out how to attach a photo, any advice would be greatly received


In case I never work it out the description in principle is this

I intend to:

- fit an Anchor point at a high point of the tree & attach rope
- feed rope down through a PETZL ID or RIG
- feed rope back up to a pulley
- attach a weight on the end of the rope (car tyre or similar)

In my mind this would create a 2:1 pulley system, which will allow the boys to climb up, with the weight giving some upward momentum, should they fall the ID would automatically lock off, or their descent would be steady and controlled.

I am also looking at building a platform up the tree and installing a zip line, so if there are any ideas there also I'd love to hear

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

Among other things it sounds rather over-complicated. Why not simply sling a branch and belay the kids on a top-rope?

<insert rant here about how kids climbed trees solo when I were a lad>

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

Nice idea, and I had thought about bolting some holds to a large overhanging tree in my garden and rigging a self belay system.
But what you really need is an autobelay and theres a reason there not cheap.
In your example, the kid falls and loads the ID, how do you lower him to the ground?

Just a thought.

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

We had a 20m zip line - it was fantastic. Set up from a high tree and we left a ladder leaning against it all the time to get up.

Mainly used by the adults actually whenever they'd had a few beers.......

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

As someone else said, why not just sling a sturdy branch and top rope them?

Even better, if you've climbed outdoors and know how to set up a decent belay, why not take them on some real rock? There's plenty of good easy angled boulders out there that make a great little climb for a 4/ 6 year old.

In reply to Richard Justice:

Hi Richard,

If the ID locks off, it can be reset using the handle, and allow the boys to make a controlled descent, I've only had minimal experience using the ID but that's how I remember it working.

I had contemplated fitting a backup line with an ASAP on it, but there you do have the issue of it potentially locking off and needing someone to come up and reset it/rescue them.

I had also toy'd with the idea of installing steel wire, as I would be buying a reel for the zipline anyway and it would work out cheaper than rope. But I couldn't think of an arrangement that would give the boys the same kind of level of independence as the rope setup..?

In reply to deepsoup:

I wanted them to have a setup more for the climbing aspect and let them feel like they are doing it themselves, ideally an auto belay would be the ideal solution here, but they are so prohibitively expensive

In reply to climberchristy:

Hi christy, you are right, but I've got a couple of fairly big trees about the farm it would be criminal not to put them to use

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

The weight to give upward assistance seems like the part that's likely to complicate matters. I don't have any experience with an ID to assess how it would affect it.

In reply to Luke90:

I was kind of hoping that it might simplify the rigs use for the kids initially, hoping the weight would act like an auto feed, pulling slack through so that they are less likely to find themselves with a bunch of slack that the can fall on, bearing in mind they will be pulling themselves up through branches and not in suspension for most of the time.

It seemed to me quite a simple addition with multiple benefits, on thinking though, the rig would have to be set up to prevent them climbing once the weight reaches ground level, as they would lose the benefit of counter weight at that point.

I suppose 2 options there could be to add a point on the route where an additional weight could be applied, or fit the weight on a pulley also rigged at height (I suppose this would look like a W rig) but would I then lose the mechanical 2:1 advantage and have to increase the weight??? Plus I'll be using a fair amount of rope at this rate.

In reply to Dj_jaimej:

I think a top-rope is amply safe. Another thing that could help is to make a flowerbed (or just a puffy grass mound) at the base of the tree to soften falls. I climbed trees when I was a kid (and still do), and find that they are quite safe without any safety features at all. Yes I fell, and then I learned that falling is painful, I should be careful next time, and most importantly - that I'm not "immune from danger". But it also gave me a lot of confidence, that I could do things on my own - which I still have to this day.
Some people would say that protecting kids too much, deprives them of the knowledge of what a negative consequence is, and that will only come back to bite later.
Just food for thought, I'm not a dad, so might do things differently if I was.