“moves” with the climber, providing a natu- ral rhythm for controlled movement. Perhaps the greatest benefit of MRS is how climbers exert roughly half their body weight when climbing a tree, which makes advancing the rope and repositioning easier. “If the job requires a lot of limb-walking but no redirects, I will prefer MRS because of the 2:1 mechanical advantage,” Hanrahan noted. Relocating tie-in points is another key ad- vantage of MRS, especially when climbers need to change position frequently. “If the job requires me to relocate my tie-in point, MRS is better because it is just about impossible to relocate an SRS tie-in point while alo,” he added. However, MRS is not without its disadvan- tages. Jamie Chambrelli, regional safety manager at SavATree, explained how the mechanical advantage of MRS can lead to greater exertion and fatigue for the climber. “MRS requires twice the amount of rope to be moved per foot, so ascending can be a much more physical and repetitive task,” he said. Friction is another disadvantage of MRS. Multiple friction points in the canopy in- creases resistance, making the system harder to use with more complex work. “While climbing in MRS, the climber must stay aware and carefully plan out canopy movements,” Chambrelli instructed. “Going under, around limbs, and redirecting will increase the overall friction in the moving system.” For large operations, these drawbacks can spell a very slow and exhausting process unless a more efficient system is used. “For removals, I almost always use SRS as it is easy to set up a choking lifeline from the ground and lanyard-flip my way up the tree,” Hanrahan shared. SRS/SRT SRS — formerly single rope technique (SRT) — has become popular over the last sever- al years. With SRS, the rope is stationary, and the climber moves along the rope. This
What’s most important to remember about friction-based climbing is its reliance on solid, foundational knowledge on knots, hitches, and rope performance.
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