24 is provided to allow pivoting of adjacent sections and thus folding of the ladder into the compact orientation shown in fig1 the illustrated embodiment shows a ladder intended for use as a ladder tree stand combination in this case a u shaped top 70 which supports a seat 72 is attached to the ladder a side to side pivoting stand off member 74 is pivotally attached by means of a vertical pivot pin to u shaped member 70 a series of u shaped members 73 can be provided with similar pivoting stand off members 74 to position the entire length of the ladder at a desired distance away from the tree when it is secured thereto by strap 17 u shaped members 73 are preferably pivotally attached to riser sections 62 63 etc as seen in fig1 and 19 while the side to side pivoting of stand off member 74 allows overcoming of surface irregularities in the tree or other structure 11 thus the stand off members can be pivoted vertically to deal with irregularities in the surface of a tree by placement thereof either above or below the vertical orientation as well as lateral adjustment provided by pivoting of member 74 a folding platform 76 for supporting a sportsman is pivotally attached to brackets 77 which may be welded to the sides of ladder riser components 62 and 63 as shown in fig1 straps 78 or similar.