# ouch!!!!!! it hurts to climb again



## old timer (Aug 22, 2006)

after many years out of the full time tree game i have started to go up again as my 16 year old son has decided to take the plunge (no pun intended) buy starting work with a local company .boy after visiting this site and others how things have changed , the new safety gear is amazing and so easy to use,he will soon be doing his first climbing course at college should i stop my fun climbing with him nobody here will give me a proper answer. yours old timer,


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## fishhuntcutwood (Aug 22, 2006)

Welcome to AS.

Jeff


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## old timer (Aug 22, 2006)

thanks for the welcome jeff old timer


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## beowulf343 (Aug 22, 2006)

How bad's the pain?

Hell, you're still young. I've seen guys in their sixties still climbing. If you enjoy doing it, keep it up.


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## treeseer (Aug 22, 2006)

My shoulders used to really hurt from arthritis, sanp crackle pop. After I startred climbing more, pain is gone.

I been climbing with my 16 year old this summer, 2 days b4 he's back in school. 

Young 55, 20 more years in the saddle to go.


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## Fireaxman (Aug 22, 2006)

I'll be 57 next month, and I just really got serious about climbing last year, after Katrina busted up a lot of my favorite trees. I had fooled around with it for a number of years, but never really climbed regularly.

After the first couple of weeks I was back in (good enough) shape. Now, never felt better.

Wellcome to AS; but I'm not sure you qualify as "Old Timer" at a mere 48. How about "Seasoned Veteran"?


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## fishhuntcutwood (Aug 22, 2006)

Geez. I'm 28. It hurts me to climb sometimes...


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## sawinredneck (Aug 22, 2006)

fishhuntcutwood said:


> Geez. I'm 28. It hurts me to climb sometimes...




"I thought you were older!!!!" Never heard that before I bet   
Andy


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## fishhuntcutwood (Aug 23, 2006)

sawinredneck said:


> "I thought you were older!!!!" Never heard that before I bet
> Andy



How old did you think I was? The oldest I've had was "37."


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## sawinredneck (Aug 23, 2006)

That thread was what I was reffering to, we went through all of this not 2 months ago!!:hmm3grin2orange: 
Andy


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## fishhuntcutwood (Aug 23, 2006)

Ah yes...I remember. 

I'm getting forgetful in my old age!


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## sawinredneck (Aug 23, 2006)

:deadhorse: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: I resemble that remark!!
Andy


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## pbtree (Aug 23, 2006)

Old timer, welcome aboard. 

I leanred from a guy who kept climbing until he was 74; the only reason he retired then was because his wife was getting too worried he was going to make a mistake one day. Otherwise, I would venture a guess he would still be in the trees...


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## NWCS (Aug 23, 2006)

first tree of the day was a large fir, about 36" at the base, had to give up because i could not get the darn flipline up around the huge ivy vines. this large manilla flipline just does not flip! the wire core does not seem to have the stiffness i would like. so far i do not like it. tomorow i should have some climbing rope and will be roping this one. 


second tree: spiking up a small maple for a removal, about 20ft up my spurs popped out and sent me to the ground on my back! my lanyard never did catch and stop me, maple was too slick and had no branches where i was. by the time i was half way down the weight of my 019T had me pulled sideways in the air. i landed right beside my saw. on impact my helmet snapped a branch off a downed top that the tree service crew left. if it wasnt for my helmet i would have a branch sticking in my skull. this maple was about 8" at the base, why bother to spike it for a removal? i wanted some easy practice.. turned out not so easy! PPE has proven its value yet again! 


score so far: trees 2. climber 0
after the fall i called it quits for the day. more planning needed. 
i fought the tree and the tree won.


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## treeseer (Aug 23, 2006)

NWCS said:


> the weight of my 019T had me pulled sideways in the air. this maple was about 8" at the base, why bother to spike it for a removal?



And, why bother to use a chainsaw for such small cuts on such a small tree?? Reason #496 to leave that stupid thing on the ground, unless it is truly needed.


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## Jim1NZ (Aug 23, 2006)

I hate climbing with a chainsaw! Im with you treeseer


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## Diesel JD (Aug 23, 2006)

I applaud your bravado Ben, but this is the exact reason why I'm staying very close to the ground until I am SURE that I know how to set a backup lifeline so I won't"take the plunge" or I am confident enough with my skills and my lanyard that I won't gaff out. Falling 20' you didn't at least get some bad bruises and some broken bones?? Roping is another matter, I feel very secure in my saddle attached to a good rope, as long as my tie in point is a crotch or limb that is big enough to support my weight.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Aug 23, 2006)

Vitamin C is your friend, gentlemen. Seriously. Take at least 4 or 5 grams a day when you are doing hard physical work that you're not used to. Splitting wood, climbing, digging ditches, lifting weights, whatever.

You will be MUCH less sore the next day. *MUCH* less. You need vitamin C to build collagen, a major building block of tissue.

It will also, uh, cure any constipation you have for the first few days, if you are not used to that much vitamin C, but that will settle down. Um, I mean to say, it will cure it whether you have it or not. Don't be climbing the first few days. :help: 

:biggrinbounce2:


To get around this problem, start small and work up.


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## beowulf343 (Aug 23, 2006)

NWCS said:


> first tree of the day was a large fir, about 36" at the base, had to give up because i could not get the darn flipline up around the huge ivy vines. this large manilla flipline just does not flip! the wire core does not seem to have the stiffness i would like. so far i do not like it. tomorow i should have some climbing rope and will be roping this one.
> 
> 
> second tree: spiking up a small maple for a removal, about 20ft up my spurs popped out and sent me to the ground on my back! my lanyard never did catch and stop me, maple was too slick and had no branches where i was. by the time i was half way down the weight of my 019T had me pulled sideways in the air. i landed right beside my saw. on impact my helmet snapped a branch off a downed top that the tree service crew left. if it wasnt for my helmet i would have a branch sticking in my skull. this maple was about 8" at the base, why bother to spike it for a removal? i wanted some easy practice.. turned out not so easy! PPE has proven its value yet again!
> ...


Wow nwcs, that's a hell of a fall-glad you're ok. Any idea why your spikes just "popped out?" Also, did you have your lanyard double wrapped-that could have helped to slow your fall or even stop it all together. Hope you have better luck next time!

Can I assume that's not you in your avatar?


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## old timer (Aug 23, 2006)

Thanks for the support!!! I'm now climbing again in, as you say diapers Ground crew don't like it much but hey, I still feel 48.


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## NWCS (Aug 23, 2006)

beowulf: i did not have my lanyard double wrapped. i did think about that after the fact.. my back still hurts pretty bad today.


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## Fireaxman (Aug 23, 2006)

Jim1NZ said:


> I hate climbing with a chainsaw! Im with you treeseer



Agree. IF ... IF... I am going to use a chainsaw, I usually tie it to the tail of my climbing line and pull it up after I am safely secured in the canopy. But, Treeseer has me at least thinking twice before I scabbard the Sugoi and haul up the 200t.


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## fmueller (Aug 24, 2006)

A hard maple did that to me once too. I had tree rash all over the inside of my arms and on my chin! Slippery buggers.


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## fmueller (Aug 24, 2006)

second tree: spiking up a small maple for a removal, about 20ft up my spurs popped out and sent me to the ground on my back! my lanyard never did catch and stop me, maple was too slick and had no branches where i was. by the time i was half way down the weight of my 019T had me pulled sideways in the air. i landed right beside my saw. 

A hard maple did that to me once too. I had tree rash all over the inside of my arms and on my chin! I did manage to break the slide somehow and didnt hit the ground.


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## arboralliance (Aug 24, 2006)

*Pics...*

Theres a pic somewhere of an 84 yr old guy blocking ("Bucking") down a big tree; we had an American guy (climber, he's in all the Sherrill catalogues, in his forties I think stocky guy not real tall, sorry dont recall his name, supposed to be one of the top guys around) do a lecture at GreenX Brisbane Aus' (Industry exihibition) last year was showing us some pics...


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## OTG BOSTON (Aug 25, 2006)

*cortizone shots*

like magic for those hurtin' joints. Although doc says three times max, and then its surgery time.


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## old timer (Aug 26, 2006)

*bugger!why is this job so compelling*

After my last interaction with this site, my son and I ( he to be trained professionally!) had to take out the top of a "cedrus atlantica" and reshape one side. He wanted to do all the climbing and cutting, but I wanted to too!!!!!! Isn't it great to be hanging upside down off a rope? Especially at my age??????????

Old timer.:jester:


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## Blinky (Oct 18, 2006)

OK, this is good news... I think.

At 46 and climbing for the first time in years... first time ever in trees, I'm aching and moaning myself to sleep every night.

So, does it ever stop hurting, at my, uh... advanced age?

I've been lurking here awhile, this is my first post. I can say without a doubt this site has saved me much time, aggravation, pain... probably my butt. This is an unexpected 'career' change for me... never woulda thought I'd be a greenhorn again at this age. I've been thinking on it ever since Hurricane Fran and a near miss with a windthrown oak started me learning seriously about treework... now I'm doing it. 

Thanks to you folks for sharing your knowledge so generously.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 19, 2006)

I'm serious about that vitamin C. It works. I'm 50 (not really, that's just what the calendar says) and have been splitting wood like a madman lately. Very little soreness. Oh, and before I split it I have to haul it, and I'm getting rounds that are typically 20 - 24" thick and from 18" to 36" across. I'm stacking those by hand. The big ones at ground level, obviously, but the smaller ones do get lifted. When I say small, I mean stuff up to 24" or so. Rolled up a ramp sometimes, but it's still hard work. And the big ones get rolled off the truck and manhandled into place, so there's a lot of pushing and shoving. Feeling great!

You should also be taking glucosamine and chondroiton. Those for your joints and the C for your ligaments & muscles.


The best medicine, though is treeseer's attitude. 



treeseer said:


> Young 55, 20 more years in the saddle to go.


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## old timer (Oct 19, 2006)

*[welcome aboard] BLINKY*

dont worry about the pain,the more you do the easier it gets ,after starting to climb again it took three weeks to get in any shape ,but it still hurts somtimes,when it does i know i am working harder and thats good . my 16year old son who is in training with a local tree care company still cant match me yet now iam nearly fit ..and yes BLUE RIDGE MARK is right vitamins do help yours. old timer


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## arboralliance (Oct 20, 2006)

*Here, here!*



BlueRidgeMark said:


> I'm serious about that vitamin C. It works. I'm 50 (not really, that's just what the calendar says) and have been splitting wood like a madman lately. Very little soreness. Oh, and before I split it I have to haul it, and I'm getting rounds that are typically 20 - 24" thick and from 18" to 36" across. I'm stacking those by hand. The big ones at ground level, obviously, but the smaller ones do get lifted. When I say small, I mean stuff up to 24" or so. Rolled up a ramp sometimes, but it's still hard work. And the big ones get rolled off the truck and manhandled into place, so there's a lot of pushing and shoving. Feeling great!
> 
> You should also be taking glucosamine and chondroiton. Those for your joints and the C for your ligaments & muscles.
> 
> ...




Great words of advice BRM, I always take Vit D or fish oil capsules to carry all that goodness you mentioned above into the cells or it mostly washes through, also take creatine and find that keeps me very fit in between not climbing or sustains my levels of fitness...

How do you take your Vit C ?


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## BlueRidgeMark (Oct 20, 2006)

I take the buffered kind, powder, in a glass of water. (Im sensitive to acids.) Toss in a couple of heaping teaspoonsful, stir, and down it goes. I'm using a brand that has a lot of bioflavinoids. Looks like compost and tastes like dirt!  But so what? It's only a quick few gulps of nasty. Big deal! I don't understand grown people who always have to have everything nice and sweet.

I've been considering the creatine. What kind are you using? How do you take it? So far, I've only read a bit about it.


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## TackleTree (Oct 20, 2006)

One thing with creatine is that you must consume a lot (like 3-4 times) of water. It causes dehydration and cramps.


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## OTG BOSTON (Oct 20, 2006)

TackleTree said:


> One thing with creatine is that you must consume a lot (like 3-4 times) of water. It causes dehydration and cramps.



What exactly are the benefits of creatine?


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## TackleTree (Oct 20, 2006)

It helps to build lean muscle mass. It allows your muscles to retain water. Thus the need to increase water intake.


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## OTG BOSTON (Oct 20, 2006)

*creatine*

I just asked some of the gym rats in the office here. I guess "everyone" is using this stuff (except me). Supposedly it will help you get stronger and it tastes awful.


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## TackleTree (Oct 20, 2006)

I haven't used the stuff since College 95-99. I always bought the EAS brand but I know there are more brands out now. The stuff I used really tasted like nothing. Just mixed it with water. I guess if You use some type of juice it helps to dissolve it better but I just used water. It kind of works like steriods in that it allows your body to retain more water in the muscles which helps. That is why you see your local gym juicer who looks swollen. Its effect are less than a steriod and less side effects. Warning though, when I took it there wasn't any long term studies done on the long lasting effects of creatine supplements. They may have some now but you might want to research it. Also none of these products are governed by the FDA. So stay with a reliable brand and look at the content label to see the amount of creatine in a serving. Some brands will be cheaper because of less creatine.


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