TRAINING & EDUCA
TRAINING & EDUCATION All photos courtesy of Michael “House” Tain
Running Bowline
HITCHES,KNOTS, AND “DO NOTS”
RIGGING Timber hitch By Michael “House” Tain T
ree care professionals use rope in a variety of ways every day. No matter how skilled, talented, experi- enced, or smart a climber or branch manager may be, if one is using ropes, one is using knots, hitches, or sadly on occasion “do nots” to attach the rope to
various forms of woody debris. Almost everyone has a favorite knot or hitch, or perhaps just one that they’ve gotten into the habit of using and never let go of to see if something else is available or better. If the chosen hitch or knot is easy to form, strong and
12 Arbor Age / May/June 2011 Cow hitch with a better half
secure,then no change may be needed. But having an idea of what might be available can also be useful, particularly in specific scenar- ios or situations where “old faithful” is just not up to the task at hand. As with all attempts to learn or incorporate new tools or techniques, users need to start slow, and use their better judgment and experience before incorporating a new knot or hitch into their rigging system. After all,“Tree Wizard 2011,” who expounds so knowledgeably on the Internet, may very well be an experi- enced 30-something climbing arborist who just tried this knot out today on a huge oak takedown and it rocks,or it may be a 12-year- old who talks a good game and has read a couple of knot books.
www.arborage.com
Halter hitch
