Before meaningful discussion can take place everyone has to be speaking the same language. Without a common, accepted lexicon the development of perfectly sound theories will be lost in translation.
Dr Roger Mortimer referenced this phenomenon in his Suspension Trauma presentation we featured yesterday and, to a degree, the same thing is happening in the SRT Access/Work Positioning debate.
The recognition of Single Rope Work Positioning as a partner to SRT Access is a major step forward for tree climbers but there are still plenty of words and abbreviations which cause confusion.
For example, what term should be used to describe your top anchor point? TIP (tie in point), anchor point, suspension point, primary suspension point (a redirect being a secondary suspension point)?
Some abbreviations become almost redundant, certainly confusing, when you are talking SRT Work Positioning.
In the DbRT world the TIP usually meant the top anchor point but now it could mean the base anchor point (in the basal anchor scenario that is in fact your tie in point or TIP).
The lexicon issue existed long before the SRT Work Positioning debate flared up but now it is exacerbated by the sheer number of abbreviations being used to describe the various tree climbing configurations and systems available.
Until we can all agree on appropriate terminology and definitions the tree climbing community will continue to talk in never ending circles.
