Forced to Forfeit

[Jonesavenue]

After reaching about 55' I decided the risks far outweighed the rewards for this particular job. The bark was loosely attached (no pun) and dark black and brown underneath, there were signs of insect infestation and several cavities from previous limb rip outs. About 10' higher than where I am in the picture my gaffes began to sink substantially deeper and the wood became noticeably spongey. The last fifteen-20' did upturn vertically. If you notice my TIP in the tree rear to me it's level with me (no Bueno) and in position to take the 10-15' top the TIP was well below me (definitely no Bueno). I had several ideas for removing the top that didn't involve climbing above the bend into the vertical portion but nothing seemed to mitigate the risk enough to proceed so we spoke with the homeowner and walked away.

The access to the tree was down a 20-30 degree grade and through a wooden privacy fence. Very limited access to bring in equipment in my opinion but that's debatable.

I come from an industrial rope access background and have slowly navigated the waters of tree work to continue climbing. There are some obvious benefits to rope access that don't translate like engineered anchors and backups. I'm a bit gun shy.

So did I psyche myself out or how would you have approached this particular tree?

P.S. This wood appeared dense (heavy) with plenty of water/sap weight below the backout point mentioned prior.

 

[HuskStihl]

Well, you made it about 50' higher than I would have. So there's that.

 

[ArtB]

come from an industrial rope access background

What is downhill ? Had a similar situation where the downhill was clear of other houses and there was another tree I could anchor to (or bury a deadhead). Couple of runs of wire rope and snatch blocks and pull the thing over downhill ?

Similar situation was at my son's house and tree was threatening the house, pulled it over and repaired a fence afterwards, easier than fixing house after next windstorm ($5K homeowner policy deductible).
To be sure to not snap off the top of the tree, used a come along and chain takeup vs. winch, pulled about a foot a day till it was leaning away from house, then all the way down.

 

[BC WetCoast]

What kind of tree?
I'm sure it's deceiving from the pic, but it looks like you could have just blown a top alongside the house.

It there was a tree near by, you could have rigged the top into that tree. Tough to tell from the pic.

If you're uncomfortable in the tree, you're uncomfortable. There will be lots of 'man suit' comments, but sometimes it's better to walk away and let someone with the experience and comfort level remove it.

 

[Jonesavenue]

It's a shagbark hickory and there is a tree behind it within 20' that I was using for a crappy TIP, and another 15-20' a fence surrounding the entire backyard. Our plans were to rig a natural crotch into an adjacent tree and butt tie the top out. The adjacent tree was a bit small but more than likely would have held. The issue was the almost 20' gap between my hickory and it as well as a 6' tall fence between the two. Not to mention the butt tie would have to free fall into a swing towards the natural crotch rigging in the adjacent tree putting a lot of extra load forces on a slightly questionable tree. I was genuinely afraid the hickory would snap from notching the top out more than the rigging failing.

I've attached a rudimentary 3D model of the scenario from a birds eye. It's probably 70% to scale.

 

[JeffGu]

Regardless of your age or experience level, there are going to be times when you psych yourself out like that. Bark sluffing off, riddled with bugs, rotting stems... sounds like damn near every Siberian Elm removal I've ever done. I tell the customer that the tree is in worse shape than I thought, that I don't want myself or anyone else hurt or their property damaged, so it's going to take me a little longer than I thought it would but I'll give you a discount at the end if you think it took too long. Then I spend some time looking the job over better, after a good night's sleep. Talk it over with the crew, if you have one... even the dumb suggestions and ideas are good because they get you thinking about more possibilities. There is always a way to get them to the ground safely, even if it's ugly and not very graceful. If you have to rent a spider lift that will fit through a gate, or take a section of fence down, so you can piece the whole thing down in 40 lb. chunks, then do it and get your job done. Talk over your plan with the homeowner... you might be surprised. If it makes better sense, they may very well agree to pay the rental fee on the equipment to get the job done without hurting anyone or breaking their stuff.

Life is a real p*sser sometimes, and we bite off more than we can chew, or convince ourselves that we have. Keep telling yourself, "I'm looking at this job the wrong way. I can do this. Think!" and the answer will usually present itself. When it's all over and finally on the ground, do an extra good job of cleaning up and mow the guy's lawn if you have to... the lessens we learn from these near disasters are what make us stonger, smarter and better at what we do. The easy ones teach us damn near nothing.

I can guarantee that you are not the first or only one to get yourself into this position. I have at least one every year that leaves me shaking my head and wondering what the hell I was thinking when I bid it.

 

[acer-kid]

Where's the picture of you at 55'?

 

[Jonesavenue]

There isn't one of my stopping point. The pic included is about 10' shy of where the tree turns vertical and I backed out.

 

[bayard]

a man has to know his limits.

 

[Pelorus]

and his limitations.

 

[crotchclimber]

How far is the tree from when a crane could park?

 

[Jonesavenue]

Probably 60' from the roadside

 

[crotchclimber]

That would be no problem for our 38 ton crane. Get some quotes from crane companies.

 

[ropensaddle]

Can you not set a block and rig it from there? I may be missing it but it appears as if it could be rigged at the point your in in the picture. With a tagline of course and a hinge cut peel it to the side "just saying" I'm sure on site might be different leaners always make a climber nervous but its alive at least. Is the rot on the tension side of the wood? Did you probe to see the actual amount of sound wood ? Can you guy the spar by placing tightlines I've done it on bad dead trees to pull the lean enough to justify my weight and rigging to limit violent shaking of the stem! It might be better to rent a tow behind take a section of fence out and be done with it!

 

[Jonesavenue]

My concern taking the top out was strictly based on the weight of the wood that came out on the way up. I could barely lift the branch sections that were cut out and there were about 5 lateral branches left in the top plus 10-15' of the main stem. The decay was opposite the tension side and the smaller cavities on the tension side. I didn't probe. You can't tell from the picture but the top overhangs the house by quite a bit. I didn't do this at the time for fear of pulling the top pieces onto the roof but I should've just thrown a bag and and ran some rope over the uppermost portion and load tested with my partner. Then just single rope to the canopy and remove smaller pieces..

 

[ropensaddle]

Well regardless at least you are safe, which is what matters more than a bit of profit!

 

[Zale]

Judging from pictures can be difficult. Hickory is pretty strong wood even when there is decay present. When I have been in trees like that, I will just start taking small pieces and take my time. Working above your rope is never fun and can be a complete mind****. You made the safe choice. No tree is worth injury to one's self. Did you completely walk away from the job ?

 

[Jonesavenue]

Judging from pictures can be difficult. Hickory is pretty strong wood even when there is decay present. When I have been in trees like that, I will just start taking small pieces and take my time. Working above your rope is never fun and can be a complete mind****. You made the safe choice. No tree is worth injury to one's self. Did you completely walk away from the job ?

I have good news. After simmering for two days I contacted the home owner, returned to the site and safely removed that dirty pirate hooker of a tree. After making it to the ground and inspecting the cut wood I found it to be in much better shape than I had previously thought. There were small sections of decay and cavities but for the most part the wood was sound. I found a small stress fracture in the rings from about 10 years ago that was interesting to see. My partner and I load tested the canopy in every crazy angle imaginable and after that I had a nice clean ascent to the top where I was able to dismantle piece by piece until we reached about 18' and open felled.

 

[Zale]

Nice job.

 

[unclemoustache]

Good work! Now that I see the bark I can tell you I wouldn't have done it, but I'm not properly trained and educated on climbing.
Very glad that everything worked out well and that you took your time to be as careful as possible. The moustache salutes you!!