Dude...MASSIVE tip on that switch from the base anchor to canopy. No idea how I have not seen that or thought of that. I climb SRT and a lot of the time alone, self taught and have not thought of a good way to do this without having someone untie my base anchor. Plus, having this alpine at the top and canopy anchor lessens, or eliminates the threat of falling if you nick that other side with a saw or something, which I am always nervous about doing when pruning and stuff. I really appreciate that man, absolute game changer - stay safe!
I like your vids man. You don't get douchy with all the unnecessary terminology. You explain things with simple terms and genuinely seem like a cool humble guy!!! I appreciate that!!!
Thanks for that feedback! That's honestly because I probably don't know the fancy terminology. I'm a simple fella and I like to keep things sim0le when possible
Great video! What i really like about your anchor is that it adds redundancy. If the canopy shackle fails for any reason you will only fall a foot or so.
Zach, thanks for showing how you convert from base anchor to canopy anchor. You are a great teacher because of your knowledge and enthusiasm. Blessings to you.
Wow, you seriously answered the questions I had about setting anchors lol. I never climbed rope before, but I just got all the gear for srt. I've been learning as much as I can, before trying to apply any of it in a tree. Thanks for the video, it was very informative and straight forward.
I've always liked your practical explanations, and this video is no exception. I've been just tying off the ground anchor with a bight to itself, similar to what we used to do while mountaineering or crevasse rescue. The one advantage of that over what you do here is if you run into trouble, the groundie who may lower you down doesn't need to have climbing experience or extra hardware. He just holds the loose end, unties, then slowly lowers you down using the friction of the rope around the tree to do so in a controlled way.
Thanks man, it's an honor to hear that from a RUclips veteran such as yourself. I have a nother video coming soon where we put the lowersble base anchor into action just to see how it works with a lighter climber lowering a haveaier climber, I'm imagine you'll find that video handy too. It certainly felt like rock climbing to me 😅
I love ❤️ this. I haven't finished the video so I apologize if you go into further detail later...so I get creating a base anchor so your SRT line is now retrievable! Yay the best of both worlds 🌎. The eze of climbing with ascenders & have both ends of my climbing line on the ground when I am. So I get adding the butterfly 🦋 on my climbing line @ the base for another anchor ⚓️ point for a 2nd Climber that's genius too, but how does one use it to lower me down? I would think If I was injured or required assistance getting down for some reason then someone would have to release my anchor and belay me down on a friction device after anchoring themselves to the tree 🌳.
Great video. Just started drt myself looking forward to switching to srt soon. Was wondering how you run your foot ascender when wearing spurs saw it on one of your other videos. Keep up the great content!!!
Thats great man! There is definitely value in know both systems well. I climb with edelrid talon spurs and part of the reason I chose them is that they have a foot ascender that bolts under the gaff called the tree cruiser. If you have other spurs and want to add a foot ascender, climbing technology makes an ascender and bracket that clamps to your spurs. It can also be attached to your foot.
I think I just took whatever shot was easiest 🤷♂️ I think that big spruce may have kept me from getting back far enough to get a good angle on the union I wanted
I really dug the hitch you used to tie the saw on, I watched it 4 times, can’t wait to try it. If you basal anchor with the opposite side of the rope couldn’t you still leave the extra rope in the bag (to avoid chipper accident) and have more rope to work with for going higher? Great vids, keep ‘em coming!
Haha, thanks, it's just an old school thing. There is no real particular method to it. Just makes sure there are enough bends to not let the saw slide down the rope. I have had it slide before 😅 And yes, you absolutely could. Part of the reason I prefer SRT over DRT is to keep a shorter tail so it's faster to pull it up over branches and such too. I also almost always set my tie in point from the ground with an air cannon (I have a video about that here somewhere) and so I rarely need to move it higher.
I like your way of explaining tree work concepts. Do you ever climb MRS anymore? I would love to see a tips and tricks video on that from you since that's what I've started with, since money is a little too tight for all those SRS contraptions.. One day.
Haha, the cost of SRS gear kept me from trying it for a long time. It's expensive stuff. I do occasionally climb MRS. However, I don't have a bag of special MRS tricks to work with. About the only cool MRS things I know of are remote friction saver installation and the use of a retrievable pulley saver. Do you climb on a hitch now?
Just an idea but look into patreon. I think you would be surprised by loyalty. If you allowed a little more in depth Q&A people would do a monthly support. I would 💪
Hey Zach. Good short vid. If you ever are light on crew or just want the groundie having an extra hand available, Buckingham makes a mini port-a-wrap that is slightly bigger than your hand. Your friction is then in the tree with you to set and those things are really strong. Would not use it for stem cutting but for limbs it is great with a heavy duty runner and h.d. steel biner. This way the groundie can have all focus on manipulating the limb and undoing the rigging line. Bummer is they are not cheap, like $150 for something that is just welded metal. Don't like only basal anchoring...too much crap can happen down there so ya great vid here how to canopy off of basaling. I think I saw in a previous vid you had a neck tether for srt. If you do, consider a chest anchor so you don't accidentally hang yourself. I think Ohio did away with lynching years ago. Although, considering its voting habits I don't know.
Haha, I love this comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it 😂 i do have a cheap off brand mini porta wrap that I've used maybe once or twice in the tree. I only ever did that when I was alone, but using it will a single groundie makes a bunch of sense. I'll have to remember that! I do use an elastic neck tether. I hope to convert it to a chest harness or suspenders of some sort. I just haven't taken the time to actually do it. I'll be sure to make a video on that when the time comes!
Do alpine butterfly knots reduce the strength of the rope? For the canopy anchor transition could you just attach the quickie around both legs of the rope and have it cinch?
All knots reduce the strength of the rope. I've heard people claim anywhere from 40%-60% of the strength is lost in a knot. If I understand what you're saying, it would not cinch in a way that would make it possible to untie the base anchor.
Yes, absolutely. That's why it's important to have a rescue access line established when you have a canopy anchor. I would even argue that a rescue access line is better than a lowerable base anchor. Most aerial injuries are chainsaw related which means that the climber would be tied in with a flipline or lanyard which makes a lowersble base anchor useless.
You could do the exact same thing I did here. I really really like this midline anchor system. It's so fast and so easy and straight forward. It also offers a really simple rescue rope which is important.
I have not. That sounds like a really handy and quick thing to do, but ANSI guidelines recommend not climbing on rigging gear so I probably will stick to making my usual base anchor 😊 thanks for sharing that thought though!
@ross lee yeah, I won't argue that it's strong. It's string that some of my climbing gear probably. It's more about principles and setting a good example I think. There are so many young people getting started in our industry everyday and I think it's important for them to see things being done appriately as possible. Every rule has exceptions, but a base anchor is not that hard to set up 🤷♂️ just my $0.02
Hey Jakub, I use a makita 36v angle drill. It works pretty good I think. It's the lowest geared angle drill I was able to find when I was looking them up. Most of the time two sets of batteries will get me through a day.
I've never climbed on a pro so I can't say I'm familiar with the difference in climbing experience. I can for sure say that the pro is easier to put on the rope midline. If I understand correctly, it does have a spring bird. In fact the spring on the original is probably two or three times stronger than the pro. The pro had some serious spring problems from what I heard 😬 I just really despise notch and I'm determined to avoid buying anything with their name on it.
@@zaccheus yeah I kinda feel the same way, but still you use their quickie right? I am looking forward to changing the RRP for reg's device , a new one. GL
@Matej Project yeah, I regrettably have a bunch of stuff made by them. All of it I bought back before I really understood how they operated. I'm pumped to see thay device hit the market too. I'm hoping it'll be a nice unit.
@@zaccheus At lest Im hoping it to be 100% safe and without any spring issues. I will gladly go back to a bit less smooth, but not sideloadable AND without knowing the bird can collapse and send me down. The new device looks like its safe and useful.
MISSED A KEY POINT: EVERY I mean EVERY single SRT assent / climb video I watch edits out the part where the climber is done climbing and now must transition / get into / on a limb ( stand on the tree limbs ) .... It's kind of like getting out of or into a canoe from the dock....No one wants to show how hard it is if You're canopy tie is not ideal for an easy transition - step off into the tree😑
Erm, re: using the retrieval line as a rescue rope... what happens if a rescuer ascends your retrieval line and then disconnects you and transfers you onto their system? Then you have the weight of 2 climbers on the retrieval end with no counterbalance. I like your vids bro but that's some dodgy advice there.
Thanks for your comment Joe. I'm far from an expert on aerial rescue, but my basic upstanding is that you should never disconnect the climber being rescued from their climbing system. None of our rope devices in tree work are designed to support two people and therefore it's important to keep the weight of each climber on their own devices. I'm certainly interested in hearing you're thoughts if you know of different practices.
@@zaccheus I don't know about the training in the US, but in the UK we're taught to rescue climbers both on their system and in the event that their system is compromised you would safely transfer them onto your system and bring them down with you. Most of our equipment has safe working loads way in excess of the weight of two climbers. The rescue line you mentioned completely relies on the other climbers weight as a counter to stop the rope coming out the tree.
@Joe Newton Yes, it absolutely does require the weight of the injured climber to remain on his or her line. I'm super interested to know what devices you climb in that can support two people. The zigzag, akimbo, rope runner, rope runner pro all specifically say they can only support one person. I don't have much experience climbing on hitches, but I have imagine you'd be able to break one free very easily with two people on it. You could be right on there with it just being the difference in standard between here and there 🤷♂️ If you wanted to make it reliable so you didn't have to worry about keeping weight in both side of the system, all you'd have to do is tie an alpine butterfly on both side of the union and connect them. The the system would be semetrical. Though it wouldn't be retrievable anymore.
@@zaccheus so you're correct in that most devices are rated for one person under normal use. How would you rescue a casualty who had compromised their climbing system then? Over here were taught to introduce extra friction into our system to compensate for the extra weight. Lots of ways to do this: munter hitch, crab/ring, fig 8 etc. I usually pop a bight of rope from beneath my device through a lower d ring, and put a crab through the bight. Petzl have a demonstration to illustrate it quite nicely: ruclips.net/video/uRW1Op4Oz1g/видео.html
@Joe Newton Thanks for sharing that video, that's really helpful. Again, I'm not an expert on the matter, but I guess I would consider it to be an incredibly rare event that someone would incompacitate themselves and damage their climbing system beyond a level of use in the same action. I'm sure it's possible, just extremely unlikely. In that case I would deem the retrieval side unsafe to climb. So if you were uncomfortable with the small chance that would happen, it would be advisable to set up a second, independent access line in the tree. I do have a video coming out soon where we try some rescue stuff. I'll be sure to put a disclaimer at the beginning. I find petzl's methods interesting. I don't think they're wrong, but I also don't think they meet ITCC regs either. Maybe it's all just different methods to the same end 🤷♂️
Dude...MASSIVE tip on that switch from the base anchor to canopy. No idea how I have not seen that or thought of that. I climb SRT and a lot of the time alone, self taught and have not thought of a good way to do this without having someone untie my base anchor. Plus, having this alpine at the top and canopy anchor lessens, or eliminates the threat of falling if you nick that other side with a saw or something, which I am always nervous about doing when pruning and stuff. I really appreciate that man, absolute game changer - stay safe!
Thats great Zachary! I'm super satisfied to hear that this will work nicely for you! Safe safe up there!
I like your vids man. You don't get douchy with all the unnecessary terminology. You explain things with simple terms and genuinely seem like a cool humble guy!!! I appreciate that!!!
Thanks for that feedback! That's honestly because I probably don't know the fancy terminology. I'm a simple fella and I like to keep things sim0le when possible
Great video! What i really like about your anchor is that it adds redundancy. If the canopy shackle fails for any reason you will only fall a foot or so.
Yeah, I guess that's true! I never thought of that. Thanks for bringing it up!
im liking this system the more i learn about this stuff . thanks man keep up the good work
You bet! I think it's good for everyone to learn DRT as it definitely has its place. But I sur can get around in a tree faster with SRT.
I never really considered changing to a canopy anchor until I watched you do it. Sweet tip.
Awesome tips and love your approach: minimal gear, smart, efficient, safe, simple. So much good advice packed into 7 minutes too.
Thanks man!
Thank you for the base/ canopy anchor explanations. I’m definitely going to run this setup, looks incredibly efficient.
I've had really good success with it so I hope you do too!
Practical and sensible advice as per usual! Thanks Z!
Glad to hear it!
Zach, thanks for showing how you convert from base anchor to canopy anchor. You are a great teacher because of your knowledge and enthusiasm. Blessings to you.
Thanks Bill!
Wow, you seriously answered the questions I had about setting anchors lol. I never climbed rope before, but I just got all the gear for srt. I've been learning as much as I can, before trying to apply any of it in a tree. Thanks for the video, it was very informative and straight forward.
Thays great! I'm glad to hear that! Good luck taking in SRT. It took me awhile to warm up to it, but I like it so much more than drt now.
Great Stuff. Great information. Be looking forward to watching the sequent to this. Thanks a lot Zaccheus.
I'm glad to hear it! The next video should be out next weekend.
Thanks Zac! I like the new Clogger hat!
Haha thanks! Bo from some of my other videos got it down at TCIA amd gave it to me.
Great tip on the canopy anchor!
Thanks!
Thanks for the content , respect!
Been doing almost this exact procedure since watching this the first time
Has it worked well for you?
@zaccheus for the most part, only thing is occasionally it snags on a stub on retrieval and I have to go back up. Not very often though.
@personwhoexists4491Aye, thats always a bummer. Wish I knew a way to avoid that 😅
Sweet video. I learned something. Thanks!
Thanks, Judson. I'm glad to hear it!
I've always liked your practical explanations, and this video is no exception. I've been just tying off the ground anchor with a bight to itself, similar to what we used to do while mountaineering or crevasse rescue. The one advantage of that over what you do here is if you run into trouble, the groundie who may lower you down doesn't need to have climbing experience or extra hardware. He just holds the loose end, unties, then slowly lowers you down using the friction of the rope around the tree to do so in a controlled way.
Thanks man, it's an honor to hear that from a RUclips veteran such as yourself. I have a nother video coming soon where we put the lowersble base anchor into action just to see how it works with a lighter climber lowering a haveaier climber, I'm imagine you'll find that video handy too. It certainly felt like rock climbing to me 😅
Dude, absolutely awesome keep up the good work👍👍👍👏👏👏
Thanks Rob!
Love your content man..and appreciate the time you put Into these to inform our tree community
Could you do a video on the lowering base anchor?
Yeah! I'll have a video with a little more info about that next week!
Thanks man, I'm glad to hear it's appreciated!
@@zaccheus absolutely..I hope 2023 brings great things to you and yours.
@@groundpounder24365 thanks! I hope the same for you too!
Great tips. Thank you for sharing.
Nice helpful tips Zac, Thanks 👍
You bet Dave!
Great video buddy God bless happy New Year
Thanks Bill! I hope you have a Happy New Year aswell!
I love ❤️ this. I haven't finished the video so I apologize if you go into further detail later...so I get creating a base anchor so your SRT line is now retrievable! Yay the best of both worlds 🌎. The eze of climbing with ascenders & have both ends of my climbing line on the ground when I am. So I get adding the butterfly 🦋 on my climbing line @ the base for another anchor ⚓️ point for a 2nd Climber that's genius too, but how does one use it to lower me down? I would think If I was injured or required assistance getting down for some reason then someone would have to release my anchor and belay me down on a friction device after anchoring themselves to the tree 🌳.
Glad it's helpful!
Awesome job brother
Thanks Todd!
Great video. Just started drt myself looking forward to switching to srt soon. Was wondering how you run your foot ascender when wearing spurs saw it on one of your other videos. Keep up the great content!!!
Thats great man! There is definitely value in know both systems well. I climb with edelrid talon spurs and part of the reason I chose them is that they have a foot ascender that bolts under the gaff called the tree cruiser. If you have other spurs and want to add a foot ascender, climbing technology makes an ascender and bracket that clamps to your spurs. It can also be attached to your foot.
happy new year! climb safe🖐
Thanks, Luc! Happy New Year to you as well!
Interesting throwing from the base of the tree. I probably would have done it from the outer perimeter. Or maybe you did it further away...
I think I just took whatever shot was easiest 🤷♂️ I think that big spruce may have kept me from getting back far enough to get a good angle on the union I wanted
Many thanks.
Wooo
Hoooo that’s sweet
Thanks man!
I really dug the hitch you used to tie the saw on, I watched it 4 times, can’t wait to try it. If you basal anchor with the opposite side of the rope couldn’t you still leave the extra rope in the bag (to avoid chipper accident) and have more rope to work with for going higher? Great vids, keep ‘em coming!
Haha, thanks, it's just an old school thing. There is no real particular method to it. Just makes sure there are enough bends to not let the saw slide down the rope. I have had it slide before 😅
And yes, you absolutely could. Part of the reason I prefer SRT over DRT is to keep a shorter tail so it's faster to pull it up over branches and such too. I also almost always set my tie in point from the ground with an air cannon (I have a video about that here somewhere) and so I rarely need to move it higher.
More knots than a sailor on a sail boat!
Haha! It's not too hard to remember when you have to use them every day 😂
That’s very useful, although I don’t think a rescue climber can go up the other end as it is not fixed from that end and the rope may just come down
That's what I'm worried about too. I'm gonna make another video testing that out.
I like your way of explaining tree work concepts. Do you ever climb MRS anymore? I would love to see a tips and tricks video on that from you since that's what I've started with, since money is a little too tight for all those SRS contraptions.. One day.
Haha, the cost of SRS gear kept me from trying it for a long time. It's expensive stuff. I do occasionally climb MRS. However, I don't have a bag of special MRS tricks to work with. About the only cool MRS things I know of are remote friction saver installation and the use of a retrievable pulley saver. Do you climb on a hitch now?
Just an idea but look into patreon. I think you would be surprised by loyalty. If you allowed a little more in depth Q&A people would do a monthly support. I would 💪
Thanks for the thought Matthew! I've heard of it, but I'm not super familiar. I'll take a look
Hey Zach. Good short vid. If you ever are light on crew or just want the groundie having an extra hand available, Buckingham makes a mini port-a-wrap that is slightly bigger than your hand. Your friction is then in the tree with you to set and those things are really strong. Would not use it for stem cutting but for limbs it is great with a heavy duty runner and h.d. steel biner. This way the groundie can have all focus on manipulating the limb and undoing the rigging line. Bummer is they are not cheap, like $150 for something that is just welded metal. Don't like only basal anchoring...too much crap can happen down there so ya great vid here how to canopy off of basaling. I think I saw in a previous vid you had a neck tether for srt. If you do, consider a chest anchor so you don't accidentally hang yourself. I think Ohio did away with lynching years ago. Although, considering its voting habits I don't know.
Haha, I love this comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it 😂 i do have a cheap off brand mini porta wrap that I've used maybe once or twice in the tree. I only ever did that when I was alone, but using it will a single groundie makes a bunch of sense. I'll have to remember that! I do use an elastic neck tether. I hope to convert it to a chest harness or suspenders of some sort. I just haven't taken the time to actually do it. I'll be sure to make a video on that when the time comes!
Do alpine butterfly knots reduce the strength of the rope? For the canopy anchor transition could you just attach the quickie around both legs of the rope and have it cinch?
All knots reduce the strength of the rope. I've heard people claim anywhere from 40%-60% of the strength is lost in a knot. If I understand what you're saying, it would not cinch in a way that would make it possible to untie the base anchor.
If your rope settles off a twig in the first few feet of ascent, it hurt to fall on your saw.
From experience
Oh, I'm sure, that's an excellent point
Looking forward to alternative to knee ascender video.
Glad to hear it. It's coming, I promise. I gotta make sure I don't post all of my winter video ideas too fast or I won't have anything come February 😅
No need to wait.
doesnt switching to a canopy anchor completely negate the alpine at the basal for lowering though?
Yes, absolutely. That's why it's important to have a rescue access line established when you have a canopy anchor. I would even argue that a rescue access line is better than a lowerable base anchor. Most aerial injuries are chainsaw related which means that the climber would be tied in with a flipline or lanyard which makes a lowersble base anchor useless.
What canopy anchor do you recommend for srt, for Petzl zig zag, with chicane?
You could do the exact same thing I did here. I really really like this midline anchor system. It's so fast and so easy and straight forward. It also offers a really simple rescue rope which is important.
Ever just base tie to the porte with a biner and have the groundie unclip it so you can canopy anchor?
I have not. That sounds like a really handy and quick thing to do, but ANSI guidelines recommend not climbing on rigging gear so I probably will stick to making my usual base anchor 😊 thanks for sharing that thought though!
@Zaccheus that's also one of those mindless sure things if you tie to it. Good for thousands of pounds mbs
@ross lee yeah, I won't argue that it's strong. It's string that some of my climbing gear probably. It's more about principles and setting a good example I think. There are so many young people getting started in our industry everyday and I think it's important for them to see things being done appriately as possible. Every rule has exceptions, but a base anchor is not that hard to set up 🤷♂️ just my $0.02
Hi Zaccheus - what battery tool are you using together with GRCS to fast winch limbs up? Thank you.
Hey Jakub, I use a makita 36v angle drill. It works pretty good I think. It's the lowest geared angle drill I was able to find when I was looking them up. Most of the time two sets of batteries will get me through a day.
Could you do a video on the lowerable base anchor?
I absolutely will. It's in the works for the next video!
@@zaccheus can't wait!
How do you like the original RR vs Pro? And why doesnt the original have a spring bird?
I've never climbed on a pro so I can't say I'm familiar with the difference in climbing experience. I can for sure say that the pro is easier to put on the rope midline. If I understand correctly, it does have a spring bird. In fact the spring on the original is probably two or three times stronger than the pro. The pro had some serious spring problems from what I heard 😬 I just really despise notch and I'm determined to avoid buying anything with their name on it.
@@zaccheus yeah I kinda feel the same way, but still you use their quickie right?
I am looking forward to changing the RRP for reg's device , a new one. GL
@Matej Project yeah, I regrettably have a bunch of stuff made by them. All of it I bought back before I really understood how they operated. I'm pumped to see thay device hit the market too. I'm hoping it'll be a nice unit.
@@zaccheus At lest Im hoping it to be 100% safe and without any spring issues. I will gladly go back to a bit less smooth, but not sideloadable AND without knowing the bird can collapse and send me down. The new device looks like its safe and useful.
@@matejkubis I certainly hope it is. Have you ever tried the Akimbo? It's not for everyone, but I prefer it over either rope runner.
How are you ascending without a knee ascender
I've been meaning to make a video of it, but it does use both feet. I'll get something put together before too long here
MISSED A KEY POINT: EVERY I mean EVERY single SRT assent / climb video I watch edits out the part where the climber is done climbing and now must transition / get into / on a limb ( stand on the tree limbs ) .... It's kind of like getting out of or into a canoe from the dock....No one wants to show how hard it is if You're canopy tie is not ideal for an easy transition - step off into the tree😑
Erm, re: using the retrieval line as a rescue rope... what happens if a rescuer ascends your retrieval line and then disconnects you and transfers you onto their system?
Then you have the weight of 2 climbers on the retrieval end with no counterbalance.
I like your vids bro but that's some dodgy advice there.
Thanks for your comment Joe. I'm far from an expert on aerial rescue, but my basic upstanding is that you should never disconnect the climber being rescued from their climbing system. None of our rope devices in tree work are designed to support two people and therefore it's important to keep the weight of each climber on their own devices. I'm certainly interested in hearing you're thoughts if you know of different practices.
@@zaccheus I don't know about the training in the US, but in the UK we're taught to rescue climbers both on their system and in the event that their system is compromised you would safely transfer them onto your system and bring them down with you.
Most of our equipment has safe working loads way in excess of the weight of two climbers.
The rescue line you mentioned completely relies on the other climbers weight as a counter to stop the rope coming out the tree.
@Joe Newton Yes, it absolutely does require the weight of the injured climber to remain on his or her line.
I'm super interested to know what devices you climb in that can support two people. The zigzag, akimbo, rope runner, rope runner pro all specifically say they can only support one person. I don't have much experience climbing on hitches, but I have imagine you'd be able to break one free very easily with two people on it.
You could be right on there with it just being the difference in standard between here and there 🤷♂️
If you wanted to make it reliable so you didn't have to worry about keeping weight in both side of the system, all you'd have to do is tie an alpine butterfly on both side of the union and connect them. The the system would be semetrical. Though it wouldn't be retrievable anymore.
@@zaccheus so you're correct in that most devices are rated for one person under normal use. How would you rescue a casualty who had compromised their climbing system then?
Over here were taught to introduce extra friction into our system to compensate for the extra weight. Lots of ways to do this: munter hitch, crab/ring, fig 8 etc. I usually pop a bight of rope from beneath my device through a lower d ring, and put a crab through the bight.
Petzl have a demonstration to illustrate it quite nicely:
ruclips.net/video/uRW1Op4Oz1g/видео.html
@Joe Newton Thanks for sharing that video, that's really helpful.
Again, I'm not an expert on the matter, but I guess I would consider it to be an incredibly rare event that someone would incompacitate themselves and damage their climbing system beyond a level of use in the same action. I'm sure it's possible, just extremely unlikely. In that case I would deem the retrieval side unsafe to climb. So if you were uncomfortable with the small chance that would happen, it would be advisable to set up a second, independent access line in the tree.
I do have a video coming out soon where we try some rescue stuff. I'll be sure to put a disclaimer at the beginning.
I find petzl's methods interesting. I don't think they're wrong, but I also don't think they meet ITCC regs either. Maybe it's all just different methods to the same end 🤷♂️