Climbing Gear

2020-11-01

Since the summer of 2020 I've been active building a tree house, or actually a small group of tree houses and platforms, in the forest Blodstensskogen in Uppsala, Sweden.

The political reason is to prevent the local authorities from cutting down the forest, which they intend to do, so they can build houses there instead.

By now, several posts on the tree house are available; instead, this one documents the climbing gear I use to get up, move around, build, and get down.

harness terminology — Harness terminology. [img: web]

I've spent a lot of time modifying my gear to get it just right, it is a very pleasant game. Below is a photo from one of all the times I worked on it, also showing the tools and other items involved. The tape measure indicates 1 meter.

The climbing gear has to look good, even (especially) to the trained eye. Because if it looks good, it is good.

Attached to the harness are:

Two Prusik slings (or round slings), one black, one red-and-yellow. Used to ascend a climbing rope. Each has two Fisherman's Knots. I use a Morakniv Rope knife and Gorilla Tape to cut and seal the ropes. In my experience, heat sealing isn't necessary and it makes the tail ends look ugly.
A short cotail used to traverse walkways or whenever I need to attach to the left.
Knots: a Figure of 8 and a Fisherman's Knot to the harness belay loop (where the Fisherman's Knot is there only to prevent the tail end from entering the Figure of 8) and a Triple Fisherman's termination knot (loop, hitch) for the carabiner. [Note: Triple Fisherman's Knot AKA Double Scaffold Knot.]
Length: 75 cm from the belay loop to the top of the carabiner.
Rope: Dynamic climbing rope, Ø 10 mm.
A center carabiner used with one of the slings to ascend, and the 8-piece to descend.
A long cotail used for general climbing safety, in particular during construction. The knots are the same as for the short cotail. Dynamic, 136 cm, Ø 9 mm.
An 8-piece used to descend; it is attached to the harness with a snaplink carabiner. I sprayed the 8-piece black so if I loose it, it'll be more difficult to find.

The harness is from Simond, France.

The complete gear, including head torch and drybag, weighs in at 1580 g.

long cotail — I like to have one long and one short cotail - this is the long one.

Various buckles, useful when climbing and building. Some are not from the climbing world but found in industry, sailing, and construction.

novice climber — This is a photo from the very beginning of my involvement. Back then I didn't even have my own climbing gear, but I look so happy I include the photo anyway.
Photo: Erne, summer 2020.

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