My father is not a big fan of heights and stands either. I highly suggest a climbing stick or ladder setup as they allow for more secure climbing and hanging. If by yourself, climb to the top of your climbing stick, about 16' at the top rung and a few feet above that tie a strap around the tree with a carabiner attached to it (it should be on a side other than the one the climbing stick goes up). Run a rope through the carabiner and attach 1 end to the treestands seatand pull it up to the desired height and tie it off to the climbing stick. Climb up the stick/ladder and attach the treestand so with your hands on the top rung you can comfortably step on to the platform, this will put the platform at 12' to 13' feet high. If you can attach the stand to a split trunk tree so that there is the comfort of feeling the tree in front of you even better. I prefer my stands MUCH higher, but my father won't climb into them, so I set up 2 or so like this and he always feel comfortable. Put itin a pine and you also get the bonus of lots of branches to block outline and the comfort of handles (branches).