This article describes equipment and techniques for self-rescue after a tree landing. With practice and care, you can use these techniques to get yourself out of a tree with no assistance. If you decide to follow any of this advice, try it in a safe setting first, and proceed at your own risk. If you have any comments or contrary advice, please let me know.

Preparing the Kit

The tree self-rescue kit weighs about 2 lbs. and contains the following:

120 feet (35m) of 5mm Perlon (climber's static rope)
(Or you can use 9/16" tubular webbing, which is more compact)
One long climber's sling (9 feet of webbing, tied into a 4-foot loop)
Two short climber's slings, tied or sewn (1-foot loops)
Two locking carabiners (round aluminum stock is best)
Small pliers or wrench (for loosening quick links)
Pocket knife (for unforeseen problems)
(Or one multi-tool instead of pliers and knife)
One stuff bag (to carry the above)

At the loose end of the rope, tie a 1-foot loop, using an overhand or figure-eight knot. Make the loop big enough to pass the full stuff bag through. Using one of your carabiners, clip the loop to the drawstring of the bag. Clip the long sling and the two short slings to the other carabiner and put them in the bag. Finally put any tools in the bag. (I recommend tying a lanyard to them and clipping it to one of the carabiners.) Then close the bag. Put the stuff bag in a harness pocket where you can easily reach it.

Securing Yourself to the Tree

In the event of a tree landing, first secure yourself to the tree. Open the rescue bag and pull out the long sling. Girth hitch the sling around a stout branch or the trunk, if it is narrow enough. (I recommend carrying a tied, rather than sewn, sling so you can untie it and wrap it around the trunk if necessary.) Recall that you clipped a locking carabiner and two short slings to the long sling. Now, one riser at a time, unclip your harness carabiners from your glider and clip them to the short slings (one sling to a side). When you're done, you'll be detached from the glider and your harness carabiners will be clipped into the short slings, which in turn are clipped to the locking carabiner and the long safety sling in an upside-down Y arrangement. (See diagram at right.) Make sure all the carabiners are locked.

Once you are securely attached to the tree and detached from your glider, you can consider retrieving the canopy. The pliers or wrench may be useful for loosening the quick links to free your lines. Don't risk your own safety to retrieve the glider. If you are able to free it, roll it into a ball and drop it to the ground. If you can't free it safely, leave it for later.

After dealing with the glider, pass the free end of your rescue rope over your stout branch and pass the stuff bag through the loop you previously prepared in the end of the rope. This creates a girth hitch, which you should cinch tightly around the branch. Now drop the stuff bag to the ground. (If you use a brightly colored stuff bag it will be easier to see after you drop it.) If properly stuffed, the rope will pay out cleanly.

If the rope doesn't reach the ground, you have a problem. You must decide whether to climb down to a lower branch, make several rappels, or wait for outside help. For the sake of this article, I'll assume that the rope reaches the ground or you can climb down to a lower branch safely. Once the rope is securely tied to the tree, prepare for a "carabiner wrap" rappel.

Rappeling to the Ground

WARNING: Rappeling is the most dangerous part of self-rescue. Practice the following techniques in a safe setting first. Start small--for example tie your rope to a beam somewhere around your house and stand on a chair to try your first rappel. Then move to a higher practice structure as appropriate.

Using your second locking carabiner, wrap the rescue rope around the straight side of the carabiner, opposite the gate, five times. (See diagram below.) Clip this rappel carabiner into your two short slings, alongside the carabiner clipped to the safety sling. Make sure that the tree end of the rope feeds into the rappel carabiner from the top and the ground end emerges from the bottom. Lock the carabiner.

Now snug up the rappel rope so there is no slack between the rappel carabiner and the tree. Hold the ground end of the rope securely in one hand and don't let go. Test your braking friction by pulling in some more rope--until the safety sling goes slack--and holding yourself on rappel. If you don't have enough friction, take more wraps. If you have too much friction, take fewer wraps. It's best to determine how many wraps you need during practice sessions, not in a tree.

Now unclip from the safety sling. Always keeping hold of the rappel line, lower yourself slowly. Descend no faster than one foot a second to prevent the carabiner from getting too hot and damaging the thin rope. Once you're on the ground, you'll have to unclip from the rope and abandon it. Unlike the rappel method used by mountain climbers, the technique described here offers no way to retrieve the descent line.