Rope climbing technique I dismissed for years finally made sense after a storm job

I used to watch guys use the Blake's hitch and thought it was just outdated... slow and clunky compared to a mechanical ascender. Then last February we had a big ice storm in Portland and my ascender froze up on me halfway up a 60 foot maple. Had to borrow a guy's rope and fumble through a Blake's hitch just to finish the day. After that I spent a weekend practicing it in my yard and now I keep both systems in my kit. Anyone else have a backup method they initially ignored?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer96517d ago

Wait, did you have trouble with the Blake's hitch slipping at ALL before you got it dialed in? Mine took more than a weekend to get right, that first sloppy wrap taught me real quick about proper tail length and friction wraps. Prusik minding pulley is a game changer for that system too.

the_angela17d ago

@jennifer965 did my first Blake's hitch slip land me on my butt in the dirt? You bet it did, learned the hard way about tail length.