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Issue with my climber

ajupsman

*Supporting Member*
811
70
New Hampshire
This incident happened to me last year in Ohio hunting on public land. I've been meaning to share it here for a while but it's a long story so I've been putting it off. The story posted earlier today about the man being killed in Michigan after a fall gave me the kick in the ass needed to post my story.

I've been using climbers since 2012. They are my favorite stands to use and I have 2 of them. Summit Goliath's to be exact. I bought one in 2012 and the other was brand new last year. The reason they are my favorite is I feel they are the safest. Once I've hooked both sections of the stand to the tree I attach a rope style tree strap with a prussit knot to the tree, hook my tether in to the carabiner and I'm ready to go. From the ground up and back down I'm always attached to the tree. I felt very secure like this and as you guys know security some times changes to cockiness or complacency. I used them enough that I got to the point I felt could get in to just about any tree with them.

Last year I was hunting a state forest and I had found a spot with lots of deer sign and plenty of climbing trees. I went out one day for an all day sit. Around noon the wind switched so I got down and looked for a new tree. I found one I liked but it had a huge blowdown under it. Screw it I said to myself. I climbed up the blow down about 5 or 6 feet off the ground, hooked in my stand and up I went. I hunted that night and the next morning. Came back the next afternoon and went up the tree for a fourth time. This was the newer stand by the way. It had only been used a handful times. It got dark so I started down. On my second step down something wasn't right. I couldn't get the platform to engage to the tree. I looked down and saw my cable was unhooked! I knew right away I was screwed. To make matters worse my buddy was hunting a total different part of the forest. It was actually the first time we'd done that. I was supposed to pick him up after I was done. I went to call him but it went straight to voice mail. Then I remembered cell service where he was wasn't good. So now, I'm sitting 20 feet up, on the rail of my top section facing the tree. My feet are still hooked to the platform but it's attached to nothing. I think about getting out of the stand and trying to shimmee down the tree but with the big blowdown below me I figure that's not a good idea. With all the branches sticking up If I fall I could easily be impaled. I quickly realize my only option is to call 911. I hate to because I'll feel like a fool but I really had no choice. If I could have got a hold of my buddy he could have come over with his climber, climbed up and reattached my cable. I call 911, give them directions as to where I am and wait. About 10 minutes after calling 911 my buddy calls me. He got in to cell range and got my message. He's probably a mile or so away and is walking up the road. by this time, my legs are starting to go numb and I'm hanging on to my cellphone with a death grip. My biggest fear was dropping it. As I'm talking to my buddy I hear the sirens coming down the road. Once I hear them stop I figure they are at the area I parked. As the 911 operator instructed me to do, I start hollering. It takes them a while to locate me but they do. By now I've been in the tree for almost 2 hours and my legs are numb from the middle of my thighs down. They put a ladder up, climb up and reattach the cable. 5 minutes later I was back on the ground. I was embarrassed for getting in to that situation but happy as hell to feel dirt under my feet.

So as I stated this was my newer climber. I had only used it a few times before going to Ohio. I had thought it was funny the cables weren't in as snug as my old one and there was space between the clip and cable. But I just thought it was a change they made to make the cables easier to move. The stand still worked fine. Well, it wasn't fine and the cable slipped out at the worst time. If you go to use your Summit climber and see this gap between the cable and the clip don't use it. Call Summit and they will tell you how to fix it.

20141112_100510.jpg

I've replayed this whole thing in my head a hundred times and there's a few things I should have done different.

#1 I should have called Summit the first time I used the stand and it didn't feel right. The phone call would have taken a few minutes and it would have prevented this problem.

#2 My buddy and I should not have hunted separate areas, especially with his area having little to no cell service. If we had done what we normally do (hunt with 500-1000 yards of each other) He could have been there quickly and got me down.

#3 I should not have set up over a blowdown. If the ground was clear of rocks and debris I probably would have felt confident enough to free climb down. Even if I fell it would have been a much softer landing than a huge pile of brush.

Now for you guys who don't use safety harnesses, ropes or liflelines PLEASE start doing so immediately. The only thing that kept me calm was knowing I was hooked in. With all the safety equipment out there today there's really no excuse for not using it.

Lastly, I'd like to tell you guys a few things I've changed for this season.

#1 I bought a new HSS vest with the bino straps on it. I also bough a cellphone holder with a carabiner that I hook to one of the bino straps whenever I go up or down a tree or ladderstand. That way it's always hooked to me ready to use and I don't have to worry about dropping it.

#2 I bought the pack of 3 HSS accessory pouches. I have one that's always hooked to my safety vest and it holds 2 folding screw in steps. These can be used in a emergency to get down the tree without having to free climb your way down.

#3 I check my cables and clips every time I use a climber.

#4 I will always make sure if I'm hunting an area with no cell service I'll have another form of communication with me. Every place I hunt here has good cell service but my buddy and I will be bringing a set of walkie talkies with us to Ohio just in case.

#5 I now have my suspension relief strap attached to my vest at all times. I just stuff it in my front pants pocket to keep it out of the way. I always thought I would just attach it when I needed it. After this incident that may not be as easy as it sounds. Every thing is easy to do on the ground, in the daylight and in normal conditions. Change the situation to 20 feet off the ground, dark outside and you're in a state of panic and doing simple things like hooking on a strap become much more difficult.

Sorry guys for the long story but I figured it needed to be told. Best advice I can give anyone hunting off the ground is buy the right equipment, read and follow all the instructions of your equipment and if something doesn't look or feel right stay on the ground. It's better than the alternative.
 
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Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Thanks for the post. I haven't use my summits yet this year, but I'll be sure to double check them.
 
Great reminder post, thank you for taking the time to write it for sure!! These are all things we need to think about before we rush out there to hunt. I can't say how many times in the past I headed out to a stand or even up at college out on vast areas of federal land and never even mention to someone where I was headed. The year I did fall while putting up a treestand was one of those situations. I went with a roommate and he headed down one two track to look for a spot. I elected to go down another, telling him I was going a short ways. Well, that short ways down turned into a long, long way's down the two track because of lack of deer sign. When I found 'the spot' I was putting up that stand well before harnesses were even thought of so I was hanging on to screw in tree steps and the tree. I was lucky, when the chain broke on my homemade stand and I fell to the ground it only knocked the wind out of me. Could have been much worse if I got hung up on a step or went unconscious. The swamps of the UP aren't very forgiving and it could have taken them a long time to stumble across me.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
This thread is now a sticky so its easier to find. This and the one Dale posted of his fall are great reminders of what can and at some point will happen. Thanks for sharing your story and if it helps just 1 person it was well worth it. Glad you got out of your situation unscathed. Hanging from a harness with your full weight is not good for your legs. Hang there for 15-30 min and you could lose them from cutting off blood for that long.
 

matt hougan

Junior Member
338
0
Dayton area
Fellas, anytime you have questions about Summit Tree stands I'd be glad to help. I am the Ohio sales rep. Same goes for Moultrie, Code Blue and Knight and Hale. Glad to help my TOO friends
 
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Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Fellas, anytime you have questions about Summit Tree stands I'd be glad to help. I am the Ohio sales rep. Same goes for Moultrie, Code Blue and Knight and Hale. Glad to help my TOO friends

MATT! Where ya been buddy. Long time no see. How's the job going?
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Thanks for sharing your story. It's always a good thing to remind everyone about safety. You're right about complacency. It will bite you in the ass quicker than anything.

I've always looked at those summit clips with skepticism. Just never saw how it was a good idea to trust everything to a small pot metal clip. When I had a climber it had the clovis pins. Even then I was skeptical.

Good lesson to everyone that it's the little things that seem insignificant that will bite you n the ass.
 

NAC1989

Junior Member
447
75
Clark county
I'm glad you got out of it and I appreciate the post. I know this year safety has been a much higher priority for me. I purchased a 3 pack of HSS life lines this year and don't know why I never used them before. I like the fact of being attached the whole way up and that last step from the ladder sticks to the stand has always been sketchy but I feel a lot safer now. Ill be sure to check my summit climber before I use it.
 

moundhill

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,327
103
Hebbardsville..
Yep, thanks for sharing. Sometimes people need a good eye opener, but not the hard way. I'll echo the fact that everyone should wear a harness. There's literally no reason to not wear one when you're in a tree.
 

ajupsman

*Supporting Member*
811
70
New Hampshire
Fellas, anytime you have questions about Summit Tree stands I'd be glad to help. I am the Ohio sales rep. Same goes for Moultrie, Code Blue and Knight and Hale. Glad to help my TOO friends

Matt, Just wanted to let you know (and everyone on this site) Summit was great to me after this incident. The guy I spoke with was very sympathetic about my situation and explained to me how to reset the clips and to check the cables to make sure they are set in properly. He assured me the stand was fine now that the clips were reset. However he still offered to send me a new one in case I wasn't comfortable using the old stand anymore. I took him up on the offer. Not many companies would make that offer. I was very impressed.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
My butthole was puckered just ready that. I bought a used Summit and hate it. Never seen a climber that wanted to slide down a tree as bad as this one. It's junk as far as I'm concerned. I had a Summit Goliath for a while and it wasn't as bad, but would do the same. IMO, the rigid cables are a poor design.

Glad you made it out alright. Thanks for sharing this with us. Makes for a great reminder that no matter how seasoned we may be, things can and will go wrong.
 

matt hougan

Junior Member
338
0
Dayton area
Doesn't surprise me at all. I obviously know those folks personally and they are some of the finest people you will ever meet. Monte leads his team with great integrity and they are bursting with pride about Summit products and service. Wait till you see what's new for 2016......amazing
 

Bigcountry40

Member
4,555
127
Fellas, anytime you have questions about Summit Tree stands I'd be glad to help. I am the Ohio sales rep. Same goes for Moultrie, Code Blue and Knight and Hale. Glad to help my TOO friends

Matt I have a summit vipper with clips that are worse than that, I had no idea that they were that important and just thought they were a fail safe. What can I do to fix this problem?