MBI

Ready to Fall?

By David Lane

They say that one in every three bowhunters will fall from a tree stand at some time in his life. Well, my life almost ended when I fell from a portable tree stand on a cold November afternoon. I thought it could never happen to me, especially since I always use a full body safety harness. But they also say that most falls occur while transitioning into the stand, which is what I was doing. Unfortunately, I had not yet secured my safety harness. This is a lesson I would not soon forget.

I was going to hunt a stand that I’d hung a couple of weeks earlier in a big oak tree. It was a twenty-minute hike from where I parked my truck to the stand located at the top of a ridge. I arrived at the base of the tree and ascended the ten steps to the platform above. As I stepped into the stand, it shifted under my weight. I tried to grab the tree, but it all happened so fast, there was nothing I could do.

The next thing I knew, my body was shaken as I hit the ground. “I can’t believe I just fell,” I said to myself. My first thought was to get up quick, like it never happened, but reality set in and I decided to take it slow and check for injuries. My neck and legs were okay, but I couldn’t move my left arm, and every breath brought excruciating pain. I later found out that I had separated my shoulder and bruised some ribs.

As I stood up, I was actually thinking that my injuries weren’t too bad, considering I’d fallen about fifteen feet. Then I saw the blood dripping onto the front of my coat. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from…until I put my hand to my head. That’s when I started to panic; a gaping wound had ripped the flesh from my skull. I knew I had to get out of the woods before I lost consciousness or I’d bleed to death.

I made it to my truck. Luckily, there was a small tavern only a short distance away. By the time I drove there, I could barely see through all the blood in my eyes. The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was stumbling through the doorway and yelling, “I need some help!”

I came to in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room. At the hospital it took thirty stitches to close the laceration. I had a concussion and had lost a lot of blood. I spent two days in intensive care for observation to make sure there was no hemorrhaging near the brain. Today, I have a six-inch scar that extends from the top of my head to my left temple to remind me of the accident. I don’t feel too bad about that; it could have been much worse. From the lack of debris in my head wound, the surgeon guessed that it was caused by hitting a tree step on the way down. Another inch to the right and I would have lost an eye.

Like most accidents, mine could have been prevented by any number things. I should have had another step to make sure I was level with the platform. Another step placed above the stand as a hand hold would have helped, too. Some people suggested securing the base of the stand with a ratchet strap. While those things would’ve prevented the fateful events of that day, I kept thinking, “What if next time it’s something else that causes me to fall?” I wasn’t going to ever return to hunting from a tree stands unless I was sure that I could keep myself from falling again. The more I thought about how to prevent a fall from occurring, the more things I thought of that could go wrong.

Eventually I realized that even if I did everything I could to prevent a fall from happening, it could occur at any time. That’s when I knew what I needed to do. The only way I’d ever be comfortable hunting from trees again was to be ready to fall at any time. That meant having my safety harness connected at all times.

I now use a climbing strap (attached to the rings on each side of the harness) while ascending any tree. To get around limbs and enter the stand, I carry a separate strap to attach my back tether BEFORE disconnecting the climbing belt. Sure, it takes a little more time, but that’s nothing compared to the hunting time I lost due to my fall.

On trees that I plan to return to, I use a thirty-foot climbing rope tied around the tree above the stand. The other end is tied around the base of the tree. I then attach my tether to the safety line using a Prussic climbing knot. This knot is designed so you can slide it up or down as you climb, but if you fall, the knot will grip the safety line.

Prussic Knot

Epilogue

Four weeks later I was back hunting in a tree on that same ridge. Snow had covered the landscape, but that wasn’t the only change. My safety harness was attached to the tree from the moment I left the ground until the end of the hunt. I saw two small deer in the distance that evening. All in all it was a pretty uneventful hunt…just what I was looking for.




		Ready to Fall? By David Lane They say that one in every three bowhunters will fall from a tree stand at some time in his life. Well, my life almost ended when I fell from a portable tree stand on a cold November afternoon. I thought it could never happen to me, especially since I always use a full body safety harness. But they also say that most falls occur while transitioning into the stand, which is what I was doing. Unfortunately, I had not yet secured my safety harness. This is a lesson I would not soon forget. I was going to hunt a stand that I’d hung a couple of weeks earlier in a big oak tree. It was a twenty-minute hike from where I parked my truck to the stand located at the top of a ridge. I arrived at the base of the tree and ascended the ten steps to the platform above. As I stepped into the stand, it shifted under my weight. I tried to grab the tree, but it all happened so fast, there was nothing I could do. The next thing I knew, my body was shaken as I hit the ground. “I can’t believe I just fell,” I said to myself. My first thought was to get up quick, like it never happened, but reality set in and I decided to take it slow and check for injuries. My neck and legs were okay, but I couldn’t move my left arm, and every breath brought excruciating pain. I later found out that I had separated my shoulder and bruised some ribs. As I stood up, I was actually thinking that my injuries weren’t too bad, considering I’d fallen about fifteen feet. Then I saw the blood dripping onto the front of my coat. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from…until I put my hand to my head. That’s when I started to panic; a gaping wound had ripped the flesh from my skull. I knew I had to get out of the woods before I lost consciousness or I’d bleed to death. I made it to my truck. Luckily, there was a small tavern only a short distance away. By the time I drove there, I could barely see through all the blood in my eyes. The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was stumbling through the doorway and yelling, “I need some help!” I came to in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room. At the hospital it took thirty stitches to close the laceration. I had a concussion and had lost a lot of blood. I spent two days in intensive care for observation to make sure there was no hemorrhaging near the brain. Today, I have a six-inch scar that extends from the top of my head to my left temple to remind me of the accident. I don’t feel too bad about that; it could have been much worse. From the lack of debris in my head wound, the surgeon guessed that it was caused by hitting a tree step on the way down. Another inch to the right and I would have lost an eye. Like most accidents, mine could have been prevented by any number things. I should have had another step to make sure I was level with the platform. Another step placed above the stand as a hand hold would have helped, too. Some people suggested securing the base of the stand with a ratchet strap. While those things would’ve prevented the fateful events of that day, I kept thinking, “What if next time it’s something else that causes me to fall?” I wasn’t going to ever return to hunting from a tree stands unless I was sure that I could keep myself from falling again. The more I thought about how to prevent a fall from occurring, the more things I thought of that could go wrong. Eventually I realized that even if I did everything I could to prevent a fall from happening, it could occur at any time. That’s when I knew what I needed to do. The only way I’d ever be comfortable hunting from trees again was to be ready to fall at any time. That meant having my safety harness connected at all times. I now use a climbing strap (attached to the rings on each side of the harness) while ascending any tree. To get around limbs and enter the stand, I carry a separate strap to attach my back tether BEFORE disconnecting the climbing belt. Sure, it takes a little more time, but that’s nothing compared to the hunting time I lost due to my fall. On trees that I plan to return to, I use a thirty-foot climbing rope tied around the tree above the stand. The other end is tied around the base of the tree. I then attach my tether to the safety line using a Prussic climbing knot. This knot is designed so you can slide it up or down as you climb, but if you fall, the knot will grip the safety line. Prussic Knot Epilogue Four weeks later I was back hunting in a tree on that same ridge. Snow had covered the landscape, but that wasn’t the only change. My safety harness was attached to the tree from the moment I left the ground until the end of the hunt. I saw two small deer in the distance that evening. All in all it was a pretty uneventful hunt…just what I was looking for.