Ten metre fall, picture intensive.

[treejackyl]

hard core

glade your ok took a few falls doing carpentry...but not since ive started working on trees,hope i dont have any,and lets hope you dont agian

 

[treevet]

You are lucky to get this lesson and live to talk about it. Like ropensaddle said hitting the roof was prob your savior. I took a 40 foot fall about 30 years ago in the early morning on a tree covered with lichens (a fungae/algae) that looks blue green on the side of a tree and spreads during warm humid periods. They are slippery as ice and I was free climbing up tree when my feet went out from under me . Half way down , like you I hit something ( a branch) slowing my fall. I broke three ribs. I worked the rest of the day but had to take off for a while after puncturing my lung w rib while rolling over in bed that night. It is the best lesson I ever learned.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

First off; I’d like to second ADRPK “Glad to hear your alright. Two things from me. One, cheers to you buddy on the articulate writting, very well discribed (good pics too). Two, thanks, about to start climbing myself and really appreciate you pttuing yourself out there like that to help us all be a little more aware. Glad to hear your back at it,”

Really well described, good work!

Secondly; I’ve always been nervous about the 2 rope false crotch for just that reason. Even if you were tied in twice suppose you didn’t cut all the way through the anchor line? One quick slice on a tight rope might not sever it entirely but could be enough to cause failure after the fact, say while you were thrusting into a new position.

I sometimes set a remote crotch in a tree other than the one I am working in; to counteract excessive lean of the tree to be worked in, or because the tree is structurally questionable. In either situation the false-crotch anchor line is out of my working area.

Did you come up with any alternative tie in methods? Would a ladder and spike combination work to limit pruning damage while providing a safe work station for the climber? That probably would have been my choice, but I have no idea how palms react to spike wounds.

I’ve also been toying with pipe staging. We had a Teak deck, built around this 24” DBA Norway maple with a huge crotch swell 20 feet up. The staging was slicker than goose ????. Prolly too much set up time for palm pruning, but definitely worth having in your bag of tricks.

I can rent a 50’ tow behind lift for $250 per day, and if there are more than say 10 or 15 of those in-and-out prunes to do, it can be a real life saver.


Just my 2 cents, but I think this is a question of the technique (i.e. remote or 2 rope false crotch) being unsafe for the application. I would love to hear of a good alternative.

Best of luck, Corey.

 

[MrRecurve]

The best technique is prevention, I should have sighted my rope before I cut, instead of assuming I was clear.

Thanks for all the support guys, its good to talk about it and hear what others have to say. I am having more touble getting comfortable in the tree than I thought I would, so am working through things slowly, regaining my confidence.

The injuries still ache like a bastard after a day in the harness and the nerve damage in my thigh and backside looks like it might be permanent, so I have a constant reminder to be careful!