How to make a Ladder in the Woods (Video)

Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

– Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you spend extended time in the wilderness, you may find you need a ladder. Ladders can help you reach resources above you, view the land around you, and move from one place to another. You can lower yourself from a high perch, or safely access terrain below you.

Information and its Source

In this article, we’ll see three videos by Dave Canterbury. In them, he demonstrates how to construct ladders in the wilderness. Mr. Canterbury is best known for his YouTube videos, and for his role on the cable television show, Dual Survival.

Canterbury left the show after it came to light that he had exaggerated his resume. He later apologized for doing so. But this poses a dilemma for me. I created NatureOutside partly in response to dubious information I found floating around the Internet. And being untruthful undermines the credibility of anything one may say later. So, I hesitated about showing you these videos.

But I believe that the value of information should outweigh its source. For example, in my professional career I take suggestions from coworkers with a fraction of my experience. They sometimes see things I miss. And often, I learn this way. So let’s consider the information Mr. Canterbury conveys and judge it on its own merit.

I hope you can learn from the videos below. But, as always, consider everything with a healthy skepticism.

Practice Safety

If you try to make any of these ladders, do so under safe and controlled conditions. While you’re learning, don’t put yourself in a situation where you can fall be injured. Start low and slow.

The videos demonstrate a number of knots. You can find detailed instructions for how to tie many of them on the website, Animated Knots. Learn to tie each of the knots securely before assembling a ladder.

Ladder Videos

The links below include some affiliate links.

Here are the three videos. The first shows how to make a rope ladder you can use to lower yourself from a high place. The second shows how to use a “ladder hitch” to make a rigid ladder you can raise after you’ve constructed it. In the third video, Canterbury uses a simple half-hitch to construct another rigid ladder.

The cordage he uses is Mule Tape. This flat, low stretch polyester tape is used to pull electrical cables through ductwork. Canterbury sells the material on his website. I prefer 550 paracord. But either cordage will work and their prices are comparable. So experiment and use what works best for you.

Enjoy the videos. And let me know what you think in the comments below.