DIY Ladder
During a survival situation, a homemade ladder can be enormously beneficial. Ladders can be used to enter and exit treetop shelters, thereby maintaining your separation from nighttime predators. Ladders can also be used to descend into ravines or caves to collect food, fresh water or game. While a manufactured rope ladder will offer the most security, you can create your own ladder using cordage and wood from your environment.
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Instructions
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1
Determine the desired length of your ladder. Longer ladders will allow for greater mobility but are also much heavier and more cumbersome.
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2
Collect your cordage, be it natural or synthetic. Keep in mind that your cordage will need to be approximately five to six times longer than your finished ladder.
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3
Collect your ladder rungs. Your rungs should be either freshly fallen green wood or well-seasoned wood that hasn't rested on the ground, as grounded wood rots very quickly. Use a hatchet or saw to cut your wooden rungs down to approximately one foot long. Try to find rungs at least one inch thick, though two inches thick is preferable.
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4
Position your rungs on a clear patch of ground, with the thicker rungs toward the top of your ladder, as they will be holding the weight of each rung below.
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5
Cut your cordage in half to create two relatively equal lengths. Tie one end of cordage around the left side of of the bottom rung. Begin with a double overhand knot, which is created by looping the cordage around the rung, crossing the fibers, and running the end under the cross two times.
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6
Wrap the cordage around the bottom rung twice and then tie another double overhand knot.
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7
Extend the cordage to the second rung. Wrap the cordage around the rung one time, add your double overhand knot, wrap twice more and then add a final double overhand knot.
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8
Repeat Step 7 for the upper rungs. If you run out of cordage, tie more to the first length, using a basic square knot.
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9
Use your second length of cordage to wrap, knot and secure the right side of the rungs. As a rule of thumb, you really cannot use too much rope. It is far more preferable to create more rope for a solid ladder than for the ladder to fail during use.
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Cut a three- to four-foot length of cordage. Tie one end to the right side of your top rung and the other end to the left side. Drape this loop around a boulder, stump or branch to hold your ladder in place during use.
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Tips & Warnings
Avoid using vines or tree roots for natural cordage. You will be much better off braiding strips of willow bark or reeds together, as rope made from these materials can be just as strong as the synthetic variety.
Do not attempt to climb your ladder until you have first tested its strength. Stand on the first rung and jump up and down. If the ladder holds without any creaking or straining, slowly climb upward.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit rope image by Antons Trifonovs from Fotolia.com
