learning to climb on gaffs

[Stumper]

Big John's tongue must be in his cheek-if not his brain isn't in his head. I watched my father fall 17 feet and break his back. By God's grace he can walk again-the doctors don't know why. I was a cautious climber before that. Now I stay on the ground whenever possible and climb with great care when I have to go up. Trusting one's rope is good. Thinking we are immortal is STUPID.:angel:

 

[OutOnaLimb]

The one thing I learned early on was that it is OK to be scared $hitless, that is what is going to keep you safe. When you lose your respect for the sky and the tree and almighty gravity, that my friend is when you wind up being the subject of a post on the aboricultural injuries and fatalities forum. Just use common sense and climb safe.:Monkey:

 

[MasterBlaster]

I gotta disagree with the scared part. That should disappear early on as the climber becomes more proficient and at ease with his skills. Being alert and aware will get you a lot further than being fearful.

G. F. Beranek addresses this in his book "The Fundamentals of General Tree Work'. Here is a reprint of his view;

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Originally posted by BigJohn
You need to desensitize yourself to pain.

I've been working on that for 15 years, I wake up in pain

 

[rbtree]

More to improve balance than conquer fear is the sport of slacklining. Well, the fear factor surely comes into play when the line is set at height.

Slacklining is similar to tightrope walking, but using 1 inch webbing which has some stretch. It was started by Yosemite Camp 4 climbers looking for diversion.

http://ms101.mysearch.com/jsp/GGmain.jsp?searchfor=slacklining

 

[BigJohn]

I guess I have just been really lucky both times. I still believe that as long as there is some soft ground beneith you it won't be so bad. If I am working in a wooded area with a lot of big bolders underneath me or over one of the iron fences with spears I know I don't have much of chance. I think if you fall the right way you should be able to walk away from it. Confidence in yourself and your gear should help too overcomeing fear. I think fear can really slow a man down and actually hurt him.

JP you really should see doc about that pain or get a second opinion. Its amazing what surgeons can do today. I lived 5 years with the shoulder until I decided to get it fixed.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Originally posted by TreeCo
Big John,

I just read your post to my wife and she wants to know if both times if you fell on your head?

I told her I didn't think so but I really don't know.

Dan

That's a good one!!!

 

[BigJohn]

I don't believe in only type of face cut for blowing the top out of a tree. It all depends on what I have going on on the ground and what kind of room I have and what I want it to do. The depth and how open the angle of the face determine exactly what the top will do. Like every cut I make I am always makeing a cut that will work best for the conditions at hand.

 

[Ryan Willock]

I don't have a fear of heights anymore as long as I'm tied in. That thread was from two years ago when I was learning to climb.

 

[ptar]

Top Pushing Off While Topping

A top does not 'pushing off'.
In this case, the force is the mass of the top
times gravity (F=mg) and it is acting downward.
There is no horizontal component.
What causes the swing is the bending
moment at the hinge caused by the top
falling. The moment is equal to the force (mg)
times the horizontal distance from the center
of mass of the top (M=Fd).
The bending moment is maximum when the
top is horizontal since this is when the
leverage arm is the longest.