Ty Frost has a message for all deer hunters. Be careful if you're using a tree stand. Use a safety harness -- and keep it snug.
On Sept. 21, the Superior hunter was climbing into one of his 11 portable tree stands when he fell about 15 feet, severely lacerating his left forearm when it snagged on a steel climbing step on his way down.
He was wearing a safety line designed to quickly arrest such a fall, he said.
"But it wasn't snugged up real tight," he said.
It finally arrested him about 6 inches before he would have hit the ground, Frost said.
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Frost, 61, was treated at an emergency room, where many stitches were required to close the foot-long laceration in his arm.
"From my elbow up to my wrist, it took all the meat off down to the tendons," said Frost, who has been bow hunting for 37 years.
He's hoping for a complete recovery.
"I can wiggle my fingers," he said. "It's tingly."
According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, tree stand accidents are the leading cause of injury to hunters. One in three people who hunt from an elevated stand will have a fall resulting in serious injury, DNR officials say.
All of Frost's stands are set up for safety harness use, he said. He's especially conscious of tree stand safety because about 15 years ago, while not wearing a safety harness, he fell from a deer stand. He broke five ribs and punctured a lung in that fall. He crawled 2½ miles to a road and called for help.
In his recent fall, his safety rope had too much slack in it as Frost climbed out of his stand. The stand itself had come loose from the tree, perhaps because he bumped it on his way up, and he was planning to re-attach the stand while standing on his climbing steps.
He never got that opportunity because the stand gave way before he could get completely out of it.
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"Double-check your gear before you get into your stand," Frost said. "And get rubber-coated (not bare steel) climbers (climbing steps)."
Three-point rule of tree-stand safety
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recommends that hunters follow the three-point rule when using tree stands. Always have three points of contact to the steps or ladder before moving. This could be two arms and one leg on the ladder or one arm and two legs in contact with the ladder before moving.
Be cautious that rain, frost, ice or snow can cause steps to become extremely slippery. Check the security of the step before placing your weight on it.
