Basic climbing tips

[Deere John]

After reading this thread, I want to pat Treeclimber on the back. The last time we had a back-and-forth row here, with the LoneStarRanger or someone like that, Brian got beat up pretty good for suggesting that our industry is ever so slightly more complicated than the average bystander can appreciate. He's right, ofcourse, as shown above by others too.

Books are great, but they can not replace training, experience and a respect of the fact that you're a long time dead!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Then we read other threads and see what type of training is given in companies that do not have the same concern that we have.

(Man I hear Tom's voice when I read his posts!)

I learned to climb on my own. Learned some knots from other people, since I started by free climbing (scary thought now) when I was not gaffing.

I learned a lot of knots from books too.

I just flinch when someone sais "Try footlocking on a prussik."

 

[Beeboo]

Hello to all--I am back--Sorry for the delay in posting.

Would like to start by saying, "THANK YOU" to all of you with the many idea's & your concern for my well being.
The topics discussed in your posts will help me greatly.

I could use some suggestions on what anyone would suggest to get up the tree???????

I have been told footlocking w\prusik's--etc.........would like to get an overall consensus of what everyone would suggest as the best\easiest way to climb???

As far as getting down, what would you suggest??

Any other comments, would be helpful also, but Please--stop the comments on the danger involved---I have heard that many times & understand the danger involved.

I am looking for idea's---not warning's.

Since my last post, I have ordered the Tree climber's companion book, waiting for arrival.
Plus, I have dropped\felled 1 tree & trimmed 2 other's-----they were the easier one's to do. I dropped one right into the street (ha-ha)--blocked off traffic with my car.

I still have the tough one's to get done---so, any help would be greatly appreciatted.

Here is what I plan to do---secure a safety line about 3\4 of the way up the tree from the ground--climb the tree, any way possible, do the trim work---get out of the tree.

I need help with the climbing & getting down part.

Once again, I thank you for any comments pertaining to the questions asked in advance.

Thank You,
Mike

 

[Beeboo]

ok---I have more to add-------rborist1-----I do not know where you got the info that I bought used equipment, but as far as I can read, it was not from me.

As far as considering myself an arborist, those are your words, not mine. I am not trying to become an arborist.

SO, DELIGHT ME WITH YOUR INTELLIGENCE ON HOW I AM "DISCREDITING THE INDUSTRY"??????????


Maybe you should give it a rest!!

 

[treeclimber165]

Getting up the trees depends on how high the first limbs are and spacing between the limbs. Typically, a climber can use a ladder to get to the first limbs. If they are too high, then you use a throw bag to set your rope on at least the second limb up. Using either the footlock on a prussick, or body thrust with a Blakes hitch, you hoist yourself up till you can step on the first limb. Then it's just freeclimbing (with your lanyard secured, use a second lanyard to clip in above a limb before unhooking the first lanyard below it). If the next limb is too high for you to reach, toss your rope over the SECOND limb up then tie in and hoist yourself up.
Most importantly, ALWAYS keep yourself tied or clipped in! Never untie a lifeline or unclip a lanyard untill you have another secured.

Coming down is just rapelling down on your Blakes hitch.

Please don't be too hard on the guys who have done this for a living for many years. It takes a rather independant, self-reliant person to climb trees for a living. And as such, most of us are capable of being rather difficult at times. I know I can be a total ******* on a job at times because I can see ahead to problems that the other guys don't even consider. I tend to get rather impatient with groundmen who don't know what is going to happen next. Without on-the-job experience, and without SEEING hundreds of situations and how each is handled safely, there is no way to know how to proceed.
Anyways, I hope you don't hurt or kill yourself. :angel:

 

[sgreanbeans]

Beboo,
for some reason, i really think that you are trying to get a rise out of us. if you are not, why dont you take the constructive critisism that you are getting instesd of jumping on the defensive.
We do have a reason to be concerned, if you get hurt doing tree work, that info goes into a national data base. The people who read it control somthing very important to us........INSURANCE RATES! The more that get hurt the higher the rates. So you see, what you do does in fact affect us.

 

[monkeypuzzle]

Treeclimber165 hit the nail on the head.Seeing problem before they happen only comes experience.Most of the time the climber is boss man,keeping the ever watchfull eye on what is going on down below.I've seen guys do this work for years and still just stand there and look.What they are looking at I just don't know.

 

[John Paul McMillin]

i havent responded yet to beeboo , but know i have heard enough . The arborist on this site are very concerned with safety. You cannot teach someone how to climb a tree on this site . You need to find a climber and have him or her show you in person! You can learn the basics , but there are alot of other things to know also. Are you good with a chainsaw or a handsaw? Anyway man get someone to show and train you in person ok. We do not want you to get hurt or hurt someone else! Dont be so critical about us arborist . That is already a bad attitude to have when in a tree. Get some personal training and good luck > john

 

[treeman82]

Well, all I have to say is this. If you cant get your line up there I shall assume that your first crotch is up over 40 or 50 feet. A fall from 30 feet will injure you to say the least. A fall from 50 or more, dont bother to call the ambulance. There is a special form of doctor they shall be calling. I believe they are called morticians? If you had to crash a tree across your road, and tie up traffic for a good amount of time, you should not be getting involved with technical tree work. Pretty much any of us on here would have pieced it out, or put a come along on it to pull it off the road. To crash stuff onto the road, and stop traffic, I am pretty sure you need a permit for that or something.

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[Treeman14]

Good one, Craig.

Hey, you know, I've got this uncle who needs surgery. Gall bladder or appendix or something. Anyway, he can't afford it and he has no insurance, so I figured I would give it a go. I've already got some really sharp knives and dust masks and clean towels and stuff. And I've gutted deer and cleaned fish before. I've been practicing on stray cats in the neighborhood and I'm pretty good. Well, you know, they probably weren't very healthy to start with, so I don't think they ALL died because of me. Anyway, do you think I should get a book or something or maybe somebody could e-mail me a diagram showing all the body parts, just in case?

Oh, duh... Stupid me. I should be on surgeonsite.com.

 

[rborist1]

Good Luck...........

:Eye:

 

[nositting]

wow, quite the response! good advice as well. glad you're getting some education from tree climbers companion. it's loaded!

i can see how some of the posts may come across as harsh, but as others have alluded to, they're only looking out for your safety.

i may be shunned for my thoughts, but i don't mind... i think it's possible to do your own work IN SOME SITUATIONS and can be a great way to learn, however starting slow and low CAN'T be emphasized enough. get familiar with your equipment and think twice before every move. a lot of times, guys get hurt because they're too comforatable with whatever it is they're doing and they don't think. accidents happen in a fraction of a second. i work part time as a physical therapist and spent some time in a rehab hospital working with spinal cord patients. although none of them were arborists, most of them were injured for silly reasons.

i like using an ascender with a footloop and a cammed one way pulley on the saddle to get into the tree. start on a really low crotch - even if it's so low you feel silly. make sure whatever limb/crotch you're using is live and strong and use a buddy on a safety line around a different limb with some sort of friction device at the bottom so he can tie you off or lower if need be. know where your lines are. this is kind of an odd/slow method, and no profesional or amateur does it this way, but it works for me. pay attention to 3 dimensional physics - things won't always fall as you figured. dynamic lines, in theory, may help if you fall a couple feet, but they're REALLY awkward when ascending or descending a larger distance. tried it and hated it.

i guess the bottom line is (forgive me for being redundant), EDUCATE yourself as much as you can by various means and start SLOW and LOW. take your time learning. take your time with your trees - a couple months? year(s)? and last, RECOGNIZE YOUR LIMITS. better to walk away from a job/limb than have it swing and hit you if you have any hesitations. do i get flamed now?

 

[georgia]

Treeman 14<

That reply was funny as SH*T!

 

[sonny]

georgia...
What else would expect, from someone that fishes WITH gators

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[WillClimb]

BeeBoo

BeeBoo -
When you said that there are no 'usable' limbs for climbing, did you mean that they're too small? Or are they too high up to get the rope there? Usually, if they're too small you can just use a ladder to get to them or try hanging from a nearby, taller tree, that has usable branches. There's also the crotchsaver device (ropesaver) which can be wrapped around the trunk of a tree and used as a false crotch.

And you guys out there with the smart mouths....dont forget you started somewhere too!! You keep saying that BeeBoo should learn from professionals and work for them first which is fine. Apparently though, whomever you worked for taught you some pretty bad manners. Some of you need to take some time off from climbing and learn how to spell! Tree climbing and showing your butt dont go hand-in-hand by the way.

Tree Climber's Companion, I have to agree, is an awesome book! I've read it from cover to cover a few times and there's a lot of good climbing information. If you're looking for trimming information though, this is not your book.

Later -
Will

 

[WillClimb]

OK, I read some more of the previous posts and I have to say now that after I read the "dropping the tree in the road" event, maybe BeeBoo needs a little ragging.
Somehow I missed these posts on my first read-through.

BeeBoo, if a tree needs to be removed you can drop it, piece-by-piece, where it stands, by cutting it into logs (blocking it off) and either pushing them or roping them to the ground. This is how arborists avoid killing shrubs, flowers, dogs, people, or causing damage to homes or cars passing by for that matter. You will want to wear spikes when doing this.

Seeing the intensity that this group has for their profession, you may want to think about what you're going to write before posting it. Just a suggestion.

 

[WillClimb]

NoSitting

NoSitting -

My brother-in-law (who is a professional arborist) taught me the basics of climbing and he mentioned to me one time that you don't ever want to sit in a tree during a climb. I'm assuming your username has something to do with this but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, do you or anyone else out there have a good explanation why you shouldn't sit in a tree?
I'm probably showing my inexperience here but I find myself doing it (sitting) from time to time and haven't had any bad repercussions.

Thanks -
Will

 

[treeclimber165]

Hey Will, welcome to ArboristSite.
Just my 2 cents, but I would guess that the 'no sitting' thing has to do with having a good solid 3 point contact with the tree BEFORE making any cuts. SOLID points of contact would be lifelines, lanyards, feet, etc. If you are sitting on your arse and crank a saw, you could get knocked off if something unexpected happens. (kickback, limb popping off when 1/2 way cut, etc.) In my early days of climbing, I learned quickly not to 'shiny hiney' out on a long horozontal limb to make a cut. The trick is to get a good high tie-off for your lifeline BEFORE attempting to go out a limb so that you can be in a safe working position once you get out there. Leaning back against your lifeline, lanyard secured around the limb, feet (or sometimes knees) securely placed where you won't slip.

I have sat down, even laid down while in a tree taking a break.