New to climbing but not tree work.

[JimL]

3 weeks ago i took a job with the local power company on the right of way crew. decided to toss in the towel on working on 2 cycle ????. it was ok until all these big box stores started selling CRAP and wanting me to work on it expecting miracles. working on quality stuff was great but when 9 10ths of the work is on this CRAP it gets old.
used to cut timber for myself but got sick of fuel costs and everyone wanting the cheapest.

so. ive been on a chip truck now for 3 weeks. alright work, kinda boring with all the required breaks during the day, 15 at 10, 30 at 12, and 15 at 2. nice bc1800 chippers.
we have 2 chip crews, 4 bucket crews, 2 mowin crews, kershaw, and climbing crew of 5 guys.

bucket foremen do some climbing also. ive never been around climbers much so i have been watching as much as possible.
today i watched a guy fall, im not sure how but he did, i grabbed his rope and proceded to burn the ???? out of my hands(lesson learnt), i wrapped the rope around my body and dropped to the ground, he picked me up some but i stopped him from getting hurt. my hands were worse than he was hurt(his pride).

supervisor says im going with the climbing crew starting tomarrow.

90% of the climbing is done with gaffs.

are there any videos or books on this to help me gain some knowledge? im sorta nervous about it cause i know jack ???? about climbing.

 

[tophopper]

today i watched a guy fall, im not sure how but he did, i grabbed his rope and proceded to burn the ???? out of my hands(lesson learnt), i wrapped the rope around my body and dropped to the ground, he picked me up some but i stopped him from getting hurt. my hands were worse than he was hurt(his pride).

Wow, nice save!

 

[Dadatwins]

Nice save indeed, good presence to realize what happened and grab the rope, next time wrap the tree, not yourself. As to what went wrong, climber was climbing with a rope but not tied-in, big no-no. Climber should always be tied-in or on belay, which is what you did without warning and sort of as a rescue belay. Get a copy of the Tree Climbers Companion, to clarify the terms. I would also advise you to be very careful around this crew, if this incident is standard work practice it leaves a lot to be desired.
good luck and be careful.

 

[clearance]

Jim, my name also. I am a cert. utility arborist, I used to climb around power all day but now I work in the bush away from power lines and tree-huggers. First thing to remember, you and you crew are always #1, you have to go home everyday. The powerline is #2, keep the trees away and the power on. The trees are #3, the work you do on them is always to be in your own best interest. "Clearance, not appearance" are words to live by. There are very few second chances with power, so watch and learn from the stable, competent men at work. Don't let the "spurs are Satan' crowd sway you, it is always safest to use spurs around power, remember #1. Pole pruners (dielectrically tested) can be your best friend, use them. Look up and live, good luck.

 

[Dadatwins]

Jim, my name also. I am a cert. utility arborist, I used to climb around power all day but now I work in the bush away from power lines and tree-huggers. First thing to remember, you and you crew are always #1, you have to go home everyday. The powerline is #2, keep the trees away and the power on. The trees are #3, the work you do on them is always to be in your own best interest. "Clearance, not appearance" are words to live by. There are very few second chances with power, so watch and learn from the stable, competent men at work. Don't let the "spurs are Satan' crowd sway you, it is always safest to use spurs around power, remember #1. Pole pruners (dielectrically tested) can be your best friend, use them. Look up and live, good luck.

There are a zillion comments I could make about most of this, with the exception of You being # 1 which I agree with, and in the interest of not derailing this thread and getting Jim some usable and sensable advice I will refrain.

 

[matthias]

I myself am a certified line clearance trimmer and I can agree with Clearance about everything except the spurs. This is a dead horse that nobody wants to beat anymore so we won't get into it. On the other hand, if you want this job you will either have to climb with spurs or be as fast as the other guys without them because you aren't going to change the way they do things overnight or probably ever. Have fun and be safe.

"Clearance before appearance" would make a good sticker for my hardhat. :Eye:

 

[diltree]

Im with you clearance......appearance is very important, as long as your not at risk.....if you are putting yourself at risk to make the pruning look nice...you are a fool, working around lines is no joke, especially if your climbing and not useing a bucket

 

[JimL]

Most of the work we do is take downs, some trimmings but alot of take downs.

as for what happened , there have been no accidents in 3 years on the climbing crew so i feel safe with them. aparantly a brand new broke or something broke, not sure what it was but it sure hurt my hands when the rope went thru them. it just thought like the right thing to do, he was up around 15 feet, not high.

im looking for a book, webpage, video that covers alot of the basics of climbing.

 

[geofore]

Not high?

Most of the work we do is take downs, some trimmings but alot of take downs.

as for what happened , there have been no accidents in 3 years on the climbing crew so i feel safe with them. aparantly a brand new broke or something broke, not sure what it was but it sure hurt my hands when the rope went thru them. it just thought like the right thing to do, he was up around 15 feet, not high.

im looking for a book, webpage, video that covers alot of the basics of climbing.

Anything over nine feet off the ground has the energy to break your neck. We are but frail beings. Good save! Why don't you wear gloves? Rope can still burn you through the gloves but gives you a bit more time. Some hate gloves and some like gloves. Myself, I like thin leather or synthetic. Should of had the heavy gloves today when I was attacked by a wild rose bush with the hook back thorns clearing the work area.

 

[JimL]

i never wear gloves.
now i remember them saying "8 feet can kill ya"

 

[PWB]

Fell about 12 feet once, landed on my feet (concrete barnyard) shattered my left heel in about 30 pieces. (Not a tree job). LUCKY!! Could have been a lot worse, was back to work in 3 months. Also slid down a rope, slipped of a truck ladder (same job) and used my hand as a brake. Had gloves on, hand still looked like old leather for weeks, hurt too. BE CAREFUL!! Broken heel was 25 years ago, the surgeon did a good job, but it's never the been the same since.

 

[clearance]

matthias-I don't want to argue about spurs or spurless but I have never seen or heard of any qualified treeman climbing around power without spurs here in British Columbia. I am certified by B.C. Hydro after having attained the trade of utility arborist. Who certified you and what training did you recieve? Please don't tell me it was the I.S.A., thanks Jim.

 

[Dadatwins]

i never wear gloves.

If you are going to be a groundman for a climbing crew, you need to learn to wear gloves in my opinion. If there is any kind of rigging involved get a pair of tight fitting leather gloves for rope handling or you risk tearing up your hands. Some climbers prefer not to wear gloves, I like the Atlas style grip gloves when climbing. Did you order the Tree Climbers Companion?

 

[matthias]

matthias-I don't want to argue about spurs or spurless but I have never seen or heard of any qualified treeman climbing around power without spurs here in British Columbia. I am certified by B.C. Hydro after having attained the trade of utility arborist. Who certified you and what training did you recieve? Please don't tell me it was the I.S.A., thanks Jim.

Manitoba (where I work) has no certification program so I was sent on a two week course in Olds, Alberta with certification from the IVMAA(Industrial Vegetation Management Association of Alberta). Our practical was 1.spur up 2.tautline down but...

Our contract states spurless climbing except on removals. You don't need spurs to climb 30' Box Elders or 40' Elms. Any conifer that needs trimming gets freeclimbed to a work position and then two tie-ins. Do you mean to say nobody climbs around power AT ALL without spurs? Do you leave your spurs on regardless of each climb or are you mainly climbing conifers in the bush?

 

[clearance]

matthias, thanks for answering, the cert. program here is six weeks in school and 1200 hours of supervised work experience over two years. Spur up, tautline down, yes, thats how we do it. Free climbing is outlawed here, I used to do it all the time but now I don't. All the utility guys I know climb with spurs At All times, conifers or not, removals or not. Guys who do not work around power should not be handing out advice to Jim, there are other utility workers at this site, lets hear from them too. Power is deadly and worker safety is always to be #1, to the exclusion of trees, public opinion and so on. I like the fact that those who beak off about how trees should be climbed, trimmed, etc. are strictly prohibited from working anywere near powerlines, in this province anyways. I know a couple of guys from Davey in B.C. who went out to Manitoba to do hydro work. They said that the power co. man that supervised them was just awesome and he took no b.s. whatsoever from customers that complained. Must be nice, B.C. Hydro bends over backwards to appease the treehuggers, not the men that carry out this thankless task.

 

[matthias]

I forgot to mention 1200hrs as well as the course. Yeah, we haven't had a bad hydro guy yet. Mind you most of the towns we trim in are rural communities and most of the people see trees as an all around nuiscance so complaints are few and far between. The groundman took some grief the other dat for the branches I dropped on some potato plants. Granny could barely walk but she could still chew his arse out. Always good for a laugh.

 

[diltree]

we have done right of ways for Boston Edison, New England Power, Mass Electric, and many municipals in mass.......and i have never heard of a Line Trimmer that doesn't use Spike in a right of way....its absurd, I personally spike up to a nice crotch and tie in....and as I descend trim for clearance We recently purchased a nice 4x4 off road aerial lift, it has been nice in a lot of right of ways...but if we cant get that in....break out the gaffs!!!

 

[JimL]

I climbed my first tree today, 26"dbh hard maple, removal. Once you get tied in and up the tree, the rest is pretty easy, im still learning the terms and stuff involved in climbing but im getting the hang of it.

 

[lxt]

jimL, be careful out there, 3 weeks & the claim once your tied in its easy!!! WOW!!! after goin on 19yrs in this trade I still think its tough(of course its usually some big ugly thing.) just be safe dont wanna read about you or anyone in the fatalities section of this site. AHH WHATTA RUSH LXT....................

 

[JimL]

well getting to the top was the most difficult part.