Climbing queen palms, help needed

[n8huntsman]

I also worried about them being to flimsy or awkward. I then talked to a guy that uses them for their intended purpose; hunting. He said they work great. Although hunters do it without a second TIP, I don't think I would. As far as safety goes, would a flip line be a sufficient back-up? I'd rather use an SRT as a back-up because it would be a good way to learn the ropes without relying on them alone, but if a flip line alone is enough, due to cost, I may go that route.

 

[n8huntsman]

SRT is the way to go for queen palms. We do it all the time. Just throw your throw weight over the top (no big shot needed for any queen palm), tie it to the trunk, and use RADs to ascend.

RADS looks promising. Would this be prefered over a tree frog setup? I'm still looking for an alternative to throwing over the top of the palm, but I'm having trouble finding any examples of pushing a running bowline up the tree, so going over the top may be my only option?

 

[jefflovstrom]

RADS looks promising. Would this be prefered over a tree frog setup? I'm still looking for an alternative to throwing over the top of the palm, but I'm having trouble finding any examples of pushing a running bowline up the tree, so going over the top may be my only option?

What Mike was saying is that srt is not gonna hurt the palm, it's common to do it that way.
Jeff

 

[Safari17]

Palm Trees always SRT

I always SRT my larger palms , big shot over top tie of snake bite and frog system all the way up .. Ive done several work shops on palm trees climbs and palm rescue on full skirts w/ Jose Mercado and always found out that SRT is the only way for me ...

Later in SO-CAL

 

[lostcoastland]

trimming queen / king palms

Loop runners around the trunk work. 30' isnt very tall

30' is more than tall for a gardner type guy. you slip on a queen and its like a greasy pole, no taper , hard and smooth. polesaws do just fine but honestly queens and kings are really tough to do for a climber most of the time without spikes, plus frequent trimming needs. What will work for you is what most guys do when they realize they might not have to climb for a hangar or rig a little tree...put three sticks together..stories have been told of four and poles have broken..after that the SRT. my favorite thing to do is just cherry pick everything from the roofs with the power pruner Ilike the idea of srt on them though i though it messes up the fronds. also watch out for the big torpedo seedpods that havent opended they weigh a ton and are sharpened on one end. Ya those seed pods are HEAVVY and make a mess..I put a burlap under each pod at the base of the tree and polesaw them off, other wise it's like trying to pick up ball bearings. prolly figured that one out allready but yea!

 

[Safari17]

Palm climber

Queen palms I usually go climb on my rope walker and Mex fan palms I srt .. I'll try and post some pic and videos I have made over the yrs climbing these monocots :jester:

 

[Safari17]

Queen Palms seeds

This queen palm had several large seed pods , this one was the smallest :msp_w00t:View attachment 234365

 

[lostcoastland]

This queen palm had several large seed pods , this one was the smallest :msp_w00t:View attachment 234365

Damn, thats the biggest ive seen by far.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Damn, thats the biggest ive seen by far.

Yeah, pretty common, no big deal though.
Jeff

 

[mikewhite85]

Those things are like missiles. They'll kill ya!

I usually lower the seed pods- opened or unopened- with the opposite end of my climbing line. Makes for much less of a mess.

 

[lostcoastland]

pods

how tall of a palm did that come out of ..that thing is freakishly huge, Pods that are 2ft long weight like 30-40 lbs, hows that not a big deal..that pod must weigh 100 lbs easy, you'd get yanked out of the tree trying to lower that on your climbline

 

[jefflovstrom]

how tall of a palm did that come out of ..that thing is freakishly huge, Pods that are 2ft long weight like 30-40 lbs, hows that not a big deal..that pod must weigh 100 lbs easy, you'd get yanked out of the tree trying to lower that on your climbline

Pretty much the norm here.
Jeff

 

[lostcoastland]

would this pod grow like that in one or two years? Ive never seen anything like that trimming trees in LA, OC, IE for a year and a half..Hard to believe two hours south and they grow " pretty much the norm 6 feet" all the ones ive seen are about 3 ft. max...pardon my inexperience in the area but that seems somewhat special to me and the guy who obviously took a picture, " OH yea every queen palm i do the seed pod is Six feet tall, NO, SEVEN feet tall..Around here we use em for canoes...." Is san diego just a whole other world where things grow to gigantic proportions..Things were like that in Humboldt county where i worked a little while back, i swear the house flies were giant...the trees were big...everything grew big

 

[n8huntsman]

I think I'm gonna give RADS a try. Can anyone recommend a harness in the $250 range?

 

[Eltorcho]

the tree bicycle. on that note as anyone used one before?

 

[lostcoastland]

the tree bicycle. on that note as anyone used one before?

the guy in the video has..

 

[bomar]

heres your answer lol Pruning Palm Trees | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[lostcoastland]

queens,pods,polesaws,other palm trees, lizards

i cut little notches in the torpedo's (unopened seed pods) so the rope doesnt slip, it helps to undercut the fronds a little bit because they peel and will hang from a thread and are hard to cut the little thread when its laying inbetween old fronds especially with a pole saw from the ground. My favorite tool for queens and kings that dont need to be lowered the pole saw. Cuts quick! dont forget that undercut. For cutting and tossing spiky palms like phoenix and canary's i chainsaw the spike off both sides about a foot and a half up so i can grab it safely..i am all about chaps when trimming those too cuz they will spike your thigh if your climbing and ESPECIALy if your removing a canary ( the short ones) on the ground with a 361 the tip of the frond will hit the ground and the spiked end you just cut will swing around or jump back at you and come down & drive the spike in, chaps help. when dragging those out to the chipper you drag em from the tip..feeding the chipper butt first so it doesnt really get you...!!:taped: then try to find some dumpster to throw the mulch in so you dont get your whole load turned around and have to pay garbage fees which can be 80$ a ton in a 20 yrd box can be 400$. happened one time in san bernadino because we had ONE century plant, it was a freaking huge century plant..the juice from those things makes you itch like crazy by the way if you ever get one of those. We ground the stump out and found a straight blue lizard , it was an amazing blue lizard never saw one like that..

 

[mikewhite85]

heres your answer lol Pruning Palm Trees | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That is the toughest dude in a dress I have ever seen! Wielding a hatchet barefoot at the top of a palm!

 

[n8huntsman]

Can you guys look over my shopping list and suggest changes? This will be for the RADS.
Thanks

harness	new tribe	nikosi	large	$339.00	SAD533
rope	sterling	HTP red	200' X 3/8"	$188.00	HT3820E
throwline kit	zing it		1.75MM	$40.00	THR101K
LANYARD	2-IN-1	W/ PRUSIK	10'	$92.00	FLI114K
DESCENDER	PETZL	GRIGRI2		$99.95	ASC215
ascender	CMI	EXPEDITION	LEFT HAND	$58.00	ASC148
caribeiner	ROCK EXOTICA	ROCKO		$17.95	CAR136
caribeiner/pulley	DMM	REVOLVER	WIRE GATE	$27.00	CAR309
NYLON FOOT STRAP				$31.00	ASC112
strap	daisy chain		48"	$22.00	CLI901
HELMET	PETZL	ALVEO VENT		$105.00	SAF174
				$1,019.90

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