sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
Good luck, be safe and have fun!
First Time Cimbing
- Thread starter Cupressaceae
- Start date
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Greener
ArboristSite Operative
For a very general question, I think you got a lot of good responses here, as there are so many variables to climbing. I'm no guru but here are my humble tips. First, always check, check and triple check where your lines are and where you are working, and don't forget to look up frequently, as it keeps you in tune with your process. Golden rule, always make sure you are tied on with two separate lines before you start the saw-EVERY TIME. It can seem tedious, but just ask Jeff Jepson about his fall when his glove got stuck in the throttle and he cut his single flipline and fell to the ground. This sounds crazy, but I talk to myself in the tree, about my process, what is tied, what is not and my plan (go ahead, laugh, but it is effective). This makes sure your awareness is acute. Try to identify a person you respect in the business, and who has been around for awhile, and pick their brain about various situations every chance you get. Books help, but experience is worth way more. Last, start with small lower risk jobs/trees first, and work your way up. Have fun and be diligence with your process on each job.
fraidofheights
ArboristSite Lurker
Hiya Cupressacaea
I'm in the same position as you, except about two months ahead in that I've been able to work with a climber and he's a wicked guy and teaches me lots and lets me work in the tree pruning one branch to his ten but then helps me chip brush.
Oh wait except youre in unviersity or something and so youre probably smarter so you'll be able to read the climbing book cover to cover and not have to bother your gf all the time about what this kis and that is. Well no jepson is pretty easy but i found it tough to read cover to cover it got a bit boring but the pictures were good. Very well drawn;.
Okay, so what I did before he let me in the tree is practice the knots in the Jepson book over and over again tied to a thing in the truck and then man I could practically tie them in my sleep. Then he let me use the old harness thats from the seventies and I did the classic, which is like a bowline to a figure eight to a blake to a stopper figure eight and everyone else is using valvotains but he says not to because a lot of the guys are a bit sketchy with those things and they sometimes dont know how to tie them so they leave them on the rope. Dont run before you can walk and we're just crawling so dont use valvotains for awhile. Other points of wisdom that I wrote down in my field book.
Keep a field book.
Treat your silky like a chainsaw.
Use a cambium saver.
Dont worry about being nervous. Its all about mileage.
Always check your rope before cutting.
Oh and man be careful about those silky's because my first and second day climbing I cut my hand and my arm and I was bleeding like crazy up there because the saw will cut and cut and be almost through the wood and then it just seems to jump out at you and slam you. You'll probably bleed like a stuck pig a few times until you remember point number 2. But if you get all bloody keep climbing unless you're going to pass out because if you come down or if you keep getting asked to climb and say no because you ate to much or aren't feeling it than they'll stop asking and think youre a p*ssy. dont even complain or say ouch or anything. Just bleed and zip it and i think the boys will respect you more.
Oh and don't tell people youre a climber either because we have a guy who tells everyone he's a climbing specialist and then all the boys say that he's not ever been up a tree and so I feel sorry for him a bit but still...
Oh and dont text. Last thing. I dont text anyway and you probably dont cause you were in the army, but if I ever get my own truck and then the groundie starts texting I want to take his phone from him and cut it in half with a chainsaw and then he'll learn his lesson. all the groundies do here is text and who the hell are they texting all time? Jeez. pet peef.
btw why is all the stuff here not in english?
I'm in the same position as you, except about two months ahead in that I've been able to work with a climber and he's a wicked guy and teaches me lots and lets me work in the tree pruning one branch to his ten but then helps me chip brush.
Oh wait except youre in unviersity or something and so youre probably smarter so you'll be able to read the climbing book cover to cover and not have to bother your gf all the time about what this kis and that is. Well no jepson is pretty easy but i found it tough to read cover to cover it got a bit boring but the pictures were good. Very well drawn;.
Okay, so what I did before he let me in the tree is practice the knots in the Jepson book over and over again tied to a thing in the truck and then man I could practically tie them in my sleep. Then he let me use the old harness thats from the seventies and I did the classic, which is like a bowline to a figure eight to a blake to a stopper figure eight and everyone else is using valvotains but he says not to because a lot of the guys are a bit sketchy with those things and they sometimes dont know how to tie them so they leave them on the rope. Dont run before you can walk and we're just crawling so dont use valvotains for awhile. Other points of wisdom that I wrote down in my field book.
Keep a field book.
Treat your silky like a chainsaw.
Use a cambium saver.
Dont worry about being nervous. Its all about mileage.
Always check your rope before cutting.
Oh and man be careful about those silky's because my first and second day climbing I cut my hand and my arm and I was bleeding like crazy up there because the saw will cut and cut and be almost through the wood and then it just seems to jump out at you and slam you. You'll probably bleed like a stuck pig a few times until you remember point number 2. But if you get all bloody keep climbing unless you're going to pass out because if you come down or if you keep getting asked to climb and say no because you ate to much or aren't feeling it than they'll stop asking and think youre a p*ssy. dont even complain or say ouch or anything. Just bleed and zip it and i think the boys will respect you more.
Oh and don't tell people youre a climber either because we have a guy who tells everyone he's a climbing specialist and then all the boys say that he's not ever been up a tree and so I feel sorry for him a bit but still...
Oh and dont text. Last thing. I dont text anyway and you probably dont cause you were in the army, but if I ever get my own truck and then the groundie starts texting I want to take his phone from him and cut it in half with a chainsaw and then he'll learn his lesson. all the groundies do here is text and who the hell are they texting all time? Jeez. pet peef.
btw why is all the stuff here not in english?
Last edited:
Iustinian
ArboristSite Operative
trust your gear
biggest thing to learn is to trust your gear. move around and get comfortable in one spot, tend your slack, back it up with your flipline. keep in mind that even if you lose your balance, you won't "fall" but swing. another thing that seems to help when you're limb-walking etc, is to position yourself so that the limb is between you and your tie-in spot and face your tie in, that way you can brace against the branch instead of walking along it trying to keep your balance. it helps
biggest thing to learn is to trust your gear. move around and get comfortable in one spot, tend your slack, back it up with your flipline. keep in mind that even if you lose your balance, you won't "fall" but swing. another thing that seems to help when you're limb-walking etc, is to position yourself so that the limb is between you and your tie-in spot and face your tie in, that way you can brace against the branch instead of walking along it trying to keep your balance. it helps
