Pennsylvania Game News - September 2018 - 30

CLIMBING CONNECTED
Wearing a full-body harness is essential to staying safe
when using a tree stand, but a harness can prevent falls
to the ground only if it is connected to the tree.
That means you must wear your harness, and be sure
it's connected to the tree, at all times you're in the stand,
as well as when you're getting into and out of the stand,
or climbing or descending trees.
A hunter using a climbing stand should tie-in the
safety rope or strap that pairs with the harness before
beginning to climb.
Most safety ropes and straps have a sewn or knotted
loop on one end, and the opposite end can be wrapped
around the tree and through the loop, then cinched
tightly. There's often a separate loop, many times a
carabiner loop held by a prussic knot, onto which to clip
your safety harness.
Consult the manufacturer's instructions to ensure
proper installation.
You'll want to move the safety rope or strap up the
tree first, then tighten it, each time before moving the
platform up the tree. If the rope is at or slightly above
eye-level as you stand on the platform, you should have
plenty of room to raise the platform to a higher standing position before moving the rope up the tree again
before climbing.
Make sure you have proper contact with the stand
and tree every time you move.
It takes only a little longer to climb with a rope, and
if the stand fails due to breakage or a pin pulling out of
the climbing band, or if a fall occurs because slippage or
loss of balance, the harness and rope will prevent falling
to the ground.
With pre-installed hang-on stands - and especially
ladder stands - the most practical way to stay connected
to the tree is through a safety line, commonly referred
to by the brand name Lifeline, that hangs to the ground
from above the platform.
Because the safety line is installed above the platform,
the tree must be climbed first, but other safety ropes
or straps can be used along with your harness. When
installing a safety line at a hang-on stand, a linemen's style
belt can be worn while ascending the tree. A linemen's
belt might not be an option for many ladder stands, but
a separate ladder and linemen's belt could be used to
install the safety line before the ladder stand is installed.
When using a ladder stand, climbing stick or tree
steps, make sure to maintain three points of contact
(two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand)
with each step.
The important points are to always take your time
and be safe when using stands. Always put on your
safety harness while you're still on the ground, and keep
it connected to the tree at all times until you're back on
the ground.
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between $49 and $159, he said. Safety
lines, often referred to by the brand
name Lifeline, cost about $35 each.
Leach, of Marion Center, had a safety
harness in his backpack on the day of his
Nov. 1, 1989 fall. He intended to put it
on once he settled in, but the stand broke
loose as he was hoisting up the pack and
his bow.
Leach's broken right leg was repaired
with an inserted rod that, all these years
later, now is complicating a needed knee
replacement.
Wearing a harness clipped to a safety
line might well have prevented injury
for Rich Golias, of Ulster, who was
suspended in a September 2003 fall that
occurred when a stand's ladder caved
in because it wasn't strengthened by a
support bar reaching to the tree.
"Although I suffered no injuries, the
fall taught me to always inspect your
equipment," Golias said.
Inspecting equipment looms large in
tree-stand safety, Louk said.
The Treestand Manufacturer's Association recommends inspecting harnesses and all stand components for wear
or damage before each use. Replacement
parts should come only from the original
manufacturer, and if parts are unavailable or equipment can't be repaired
by the manufacturer, or equipment has
exceeded its recommended expiration
date, it should be destroyed and replaced
with new equipment.
Safety harnesses and ropes should
not be reused after a fall has occurred.
The Treestand Manufacturer's Association also warns against using homemade, permanently elevated or modified
stands, or any stands or harnesses not
certified by the association.
Though it might be hard to imagine
well-constructed, regularly maintained

Pennsylvania Game News - September 2018

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