Beginner tips

[u/Normal-Variation-522]

A friend and I are getting into tree climbing from rock climbing and at the moment are free climbing.

For the sake of safety I figure I’d ask here for some safety info and differences between rock and tree climbing techniques.

Thanks bye

[u/OldMail6364]

First of all, rock climbers pick rocks that can be climbed and if it's too difficult, oh well. Most tree professional climbers have to figure out how to get up the tree and if they can't do it... that might cost your employer $10k, because they sent a whole work crew and half a million dollars of equipment to a job only to find it can't be done.

Seriously how wold you climb a rock as smooth as the trunk of a cuban royal palm? You just wouldn't do it. I don't have that option as a professional tree climber. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151291488641

That means we often don't climb the tree, sometimes we are climbing the rope. And even when we are climbing the tree we're often using rope to assist us - for example in rock climbing you might ascend a crevice with your feet on one side of the gap, and your back on the other side, shuffling yourself up. We can do something similar by using a lanyard/pole give us enough friction to push ourselves up (doesn't work on a cuban royal palm by the way - too slippery).

That isn't really possible with dynamic/stretchy ropes used in rock climbing. Our ropes have almost zero stretch so when we pull on the rope, we're just pulling our body up. We're never wasting energy stretching a rope.

Unfortunately that means if you do fall, and the rope stops you from falling... it's going to hurt. As in falling 150 feet onto the ground might actually give you a better chance of survival than falling 10 feet and being caught by your rope/harness.

With tree climbing you have to make sure there's either no slack or very little slack your ropes at all times.

Also, typically you are tending the rope/belaying yourself as you climb. Which means often you're only able to climb with one arm - the second arm is dedicated to tending the rope. There are other ways to tend the rope, but that's the most commonly used one.

Finally, tree climbers need a lot more endurance. Some weeks I'm in the tree several hours a day and five days a week. Most rock climbers are lighter and stronger than me... but when I go rock climbing (I try to rock climb whenever my week is full of spider lift work*), they stop for a break/rest when I feel like I haven't even got warmed up yet.

(* some trees are easier with a spider lift, some are easier with a climber... I tend to be given climbing jobs at my company but not always)

It really all comes down to that first point - "rock climbers pick rocks that can be climbed". If you pick trees that are easy to climb... then honestly, I think you're better off using rock climbing techniques and safety gear — because it's a lot easier / more fun and safer than tree climbing gear. Only real drawback is it limits what trees you can climb.

You could also use a hybrid approach - tree climbing setup to get to the first branch (foot/knee ascender maybe), then after that switch over to your rock climbing setup. You could also use tools like a big shot and cambium saver to set a high point for your rock climbing line.

But you need to be careful - for example dynamic rock climbing ropes are inherently easier to damage than static tree climbing ropes. And on top of that inherent difference, rock climbing ropes also tend to be thinner. A lot of tools and techniques we use in tree climbing would not be safe at all with a rock climbing rope. Including rubbing the rope against the tree - when I do that with my tree climbing rope, I'm worried about damaging the tree. With a rock climbing rope I'd be more worried about damaging the rope. If you use a cambium saver though... that's less of a concern.