Fast Climbing System Lets You Pedal Up Rope

Fast Climbing System Lets You Pedal Up Rope FARM HOME Miscellaneous Climbing a rope to get up a tree or tower is faster and easier with a HAAS Ascent System A conventional technique called rope walking uses a 2-point system where the operator pulls himself up the rope As he climbs he is alternately secured to the rope by the climbing harness or by a “rope grab” on one foot The HAAS system adds a third point with a tether from the harness to the other foot “With my system you are simply transferring your weight from one side to the other as you go ” says inventor Michael Frankhauser Weaver Leather “It is a motion similar to back pedaling on a bicycle ” The secret to the system is a bungee cord that extends from the support point on the harness through a tether to the second foot Properly installed on the climbing harness it allows the climber to step down on a secure point while pulling the other foot up the rope Once that foot is in a new and higher position the foot in the tether can be raised and the motions repeated The bungee cord provides needed elasticity for the tether capturing all of the advancement of the other foot Frankhauser says the HAAS system has made climbing accessible to people who’ve never climbed before as well as those who climb for a living “I’ve had a lot of people up in trees that couldn’t imagine doing it before ” he says “I’ve even had my mother-in-law use it ” The HAAS Ascent system is available from various arborist supply companies for around $149 95 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Weaver Leather 7540 CR 201 P O Box 68 Mt Hope Ohio 44660 ph 330-521-7640; michaelf@weaverleather com; www weaverarborist com

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