 Re: How do you spikeless climb big palms?
As Quercus mentioned, use your throwline to set a high anchor point. The method he describes is ideal for species such as the Phoenix canariensis palms (tall & fat). You can use your preferred ascent technique to reach your anchor pulley and this will allow you to remove approximately 2/3 of the fronds on one side. Descend, shift your anchor pulley to the tail end of the anchor rope, reset and ascend to remove the remaining number of fronds. Using a portawrap as the ground anchor allows you to remove most of the slack in the anchor rope as well as providing a tie-off point.
Contract climbing in Darwin a few years back involved a lot work with Carpentaria acuminata palms (tall & skinny with trunks as hard as steel). I would use the same method as described above however, the ascent was always backed up with my (rope) polebelt double wrapped/ choked against the trunk, in case of overhead failure. Upon reaching the top, I would reset the anchor point with a double wrapped cambium saver that could be retrieved from the ground. I would use this high point to work on as many surrounding palms as possible.
On one particular job, I was assisted by another climber familiar only with with the spurs and polebelt technique. I watched him ascend to the top and whilst reaching for his saw, his weight momentarily shifted - spurs kicked out
and he was back on the ground in a matter of seconds. His natural instinct was to grab the trunk of the palm and in doing so, took (his) bark off inside both elbows and both knees on the way down.
You could familiarise yourself with this technique by trying the Adjustable False Crotch (Tree Climbers Companion pg. 50). |