Blown out?

[Greystoke]

Winds kicking up this morning so I called it quits for the day (about 20mph). Was supposed to climb and deadwood some cottonwood trees, but seeing as how I am still a :newbie: climber, wind kind of makes me nervous. Just wondering how often you guys get blown out? I know I am probably being a sissy :blush:, but hey, I get to hang out on here now :computer:, and do my job maybe tomorrow. Also I have been in trees before when I probably should not have been, as the wind was ripping pretty good, and I told myself to have a little better judgement next time.

By the way..."blown out" is always the term we used when I was a Timber Faller, and I just noticed that it does not sound as good for a tree climber? :dunno:

 

[Hddnis]

So far I've never been blown out of a tree, wind or otherwise, and I'd like to keep it that way.

If you don't feel safe doing it that should be the first sign to get down and wait for better weather.

I can't give a mph for when I get out of a tree. It varies so much by the tree and what I'm doing. I've climbed ice covered evergreens in heavy blowing snow in an emergency. I don't recommend that, but since I lived through it I can tell you it was a rush and overall done very safely.



Mr. HE

 

[Blakesmaster]

I've yet to be "blown out" but probably should have on at least 2 occasions, one of which was today. Had a fairly tall, lightening struck hickory to take down. Maybe 30 inch dbh, 90 ft, but amongst other trees so it had a relatively small canopy. Oh, and it was on the side of a hill. Winds didn't seem bad on the ground but once I got up there about 65 feet or so I noticed some pretty serious lateral movement, maybe 3.5 feet each way off the center. That got my panties in a bit of a bind seeing how the trunk was split a bit from the strike. Almost called it after a good gust or two and came down but decided to just start roping some massive leads and had the canopy disassembled and on a pile on the ground in about 10 minutes. After the leaves were off it, I chilled for about half an hour, checked out the view, and watched the groundies scurry to get the debris cleared before I started bombing wood. I must say, it felt good but was probably not a smart thing to do. LET IT RUN!

 

[beowulf343]

Had a top blow out of a tree I was in-that's usually a good indication that it's too windy to be climbing.

 

[Hddnis]

Had a top blow out of a tree I was in-that's usually a good indication that it's too windy to be climbing.

That is a warning sign for sure.

But think of it this way, nature windsailed the tree for you so now you're safe to be in it.:hmm3grin2orange:

I've used a stiff wind to land tops and branches in the LZ before. Kind of fun cutting the top out of a Doug Fir 120 feet up and watching the wind carry it sideways about 70 feet. Part of that was the hinge giving it about the first fifteen feet. Nature made zipline.


Mr. HE

 

[treemandan]

I was just in this with boasted 45 mph. I didn't really notice. We were then by the wood line in that wind and got the hell out. We heard cracking everywhere.
Wind does limit what you can do.

 

[ddhlakebound]

It was pretty breezy yesterday morning on the ground as I started up. Got to about 55' in a 75' oak, and it was more than breezy. Tried to tell myself it would be fine, but my body wasn't listening to the crap my mind was feeding it.

Wind was a steady 18-22, with gusts up to 30. I've been fine lots of times in 20-25 mph winds, but I didn't have the stones for that one in yesterdays wind. Some root rot and a big open scar on the backside kept me tense and totally un-confident every time the thing swayed back and forth.

I bailed, and went on to a tiny ground only job. Got the big oak on the ground today, going back tomorrow to try out the new csm and mini mill on the remaining big wood.

Really sucked to make an extra trip for nothing, but better than doing a removal tense as hell with no confidence.

 

[arborist]

When I first started climbing,windy days used to scare the bajesus out of me lol.
Shortly after (as i work primarily on the coast of Maine) I learned to become accustomed to it.Now I absolutely love it.However,that's while pruning a nice specimen in good condition.
When it comes to removing a hazardous tree,I wait to battle it on a calm day.
Better to make an extra trip back,rather than a trip to the morgue.
Safety first.

 

[lego1970]

On a Hickory or Elm, I love windy days. They are flexible trees and for some reason the wind actually gets my mind off any fear factor. I don't really like it when it's dead calm. It's too erie. However in a Cottonwood, White Pine or any other weak wood trees, I'm not a big fan of wind because as you already know the tree is already under strain and putting a 200lb man out on a limb only escalates everything. Also it makes rigging out branches or chucking down branches a lot harder when the wind is not blowing in your favor. I think it's smart of you to take wind into consideration. Not only for the integrity of the tree, but how it affects your balance as your line slacks then tightens up, it affects your drop zone, and affects your cuts. What would normaly be a simple notch and drop of a leader and can go backwards when the wind hits the top of the leader your trying to fell. I think your common sense led you in the right direction. There will plenty opportunities in the future to push the envelope, so wait for day when it feels right to do so.

 

[PurdueJoe]

I called it yesterday on the account of wind. I don't mind the wind so much climbing but in the bucket I tend to be a little more careful because of the boom being in the way. Yesterday, I had a removal and delimbed it up to where the wind was really catching the tops and called it quits because i was waiting five minutes to make every cut for the wind to maybe die down. When it's cheaper to do it on a calm day there's no question if I should stick it out or not.

 

[randyg]

Wind, like momentum, can be very good or very very bad. Often I will make notes on a particular job that I need 20 - 30 mph wind out of a certain directio n, and then wait a month or more for the right day, and then go do it. Day before yesteday, I climbed out of the bucket and up another 15 feet or so to rig top out of this red oak. Wind was gusting 35-40, and I actually waited for gust to finish the back cut so wind would blow top the right direction.

Gotta know your gut feelings. The adrenaline rush of thrill, is close to fear. Makes you feel ALIVE

 

[Giel]

:agree2:

but if you have to wait for the wind to settle a bit before making the back cut...pff, tricky stuff, used to do it, but not an anymore, prefer to come back the next day

Also depends a bit on the tree species (hate strong wind when in tall and skinny poplars, but not too bad in solid elms or oaks). Never been blown out, but have occasionally stopped jobs mid-way through because of wind, the cut off point for me is when the tree is swaying so much that I don't feel comfortable using 2 hands at the same time. That, and not feeling comfy making backcuts

Cheers,

 

[Greystoke]

Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge and stories guys!