what drives most climbers to retire?

[Plasmech]

I've often been curious about what ultimately drives most climbers to retire. Is is usually the fact that their the is eventually beat up to the point where he can't take it anymore? Or rather is it a feeling of having used up all 9 lives and throwing in the towel for the sake of the wife and kids, and of course yourself. Or does it just eventually get old and the desire for a desk job takes over?

 

[Chris Crouse]

Being a desk job person myself I can say that the only sane person who desires a desk job is either a loser or a person who has never had one.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

what drives most climbers to retire

Me for 1 am about to turn 56 next month, I would say if you climb don't STOP . I started to teach this Urban tree Worker class in 2000 and over time I just did not have the time to climb as much as I needed now I have goten fat and the mind says (you know how ) but the body says F@#@$ Y09. I tried last weekend just to go up 70" for a cable was to say the least Very hard. Maybe I could get back into shap maybe not . All in all it was not good. Now I am stuck with this hanging over me and ??. I an't shure what I will have to do. With a Class of 24 or more and all that paper work the Gov. wants it could be hart just to find the time.
I had after 20 of doing Take downs that I may have used up 9 lives but looking back after 10 years of Teaching I kinda wish I could have gone on climbing longer a few days a week than again this is a 40+ hour job. I guess I will have to hire more students and lit them do the side work.
iagain If you are climbing do not stop, DO Not Stop it is far to hard to go back!

 

[GlenWimpy]

I'm 48 , I don't drink or smoke , I eat light , in bed by 8/830 every night , up at 4:30 am every morning! I can out climb ANYBODY! I just can't go 5 days a week. Before I was 35 , I could go THREE WEEKS STRAIGHT , and I mean taking down huge oaks , not trimming peach trees! These days , climb 3 days , take off 2!

I've retired several times , LOL , but , you have to make $! People don't want to work , so I can't quit! I'd love to quit , but for me its a $/support issue!

 

[wiltzzy]

Love this post

Artistree

 

[treeseer]

Why retire? Just slow down a little and you can go forever.


the key for me was to shift to preservation work and leave the big removals to the young bucks (and does). Still lots of high climbing but new techniques to keep the mind fresh, easier on the body and more subtly, but just as importantly, the conscience.

Killing healthy trees ages the soul.

 

[Plasmech]

What's the percentage of does in this field?

 

[Sunrise Guy]

56, 5'10", 155 lbs. I'll climb until I drop dead. Climbing keeps me in shape. If I go a week without climbing, then I need to ease back into it the following week. It is, most definitely, a case of "Use it, or lose it!"

 

[treemandan]

What's the percentage of does in this field?

There is one but she is not here right now.

 

[Plasmech]

There is one but she is not here right now.

We need to get me up in more trees TMD.

 

[oldirty]

Killing healthy trees ages the soul.

can this be verified because it does weigh on my conscious.

edit: conscience not conscious. lol.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

can this be verified because it does weigh on my conscious.

Hopefully you are conscious while you do tree work. Taking down healthy trees may weigh on your conscience, but I have found, over the years, that I have rationalized my old concerns, along those lines, right out of my mind, mostly. I suppose that is a cop-out, of sorts. Still, to this day, I refuse to take out older, great looking trees if an ho just wants a better view or wants a tree taken down for some other bs reason. I do remember thinking, in the old days, before I felled a healthy tree, "Uh-oh, this may be bad karma." Now I just hope it isn't.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

What's the percentage of does in this field?

I see a few does when I do work that backs up to greenbelt land. Once, during rut, this stag thought he was going to charge me. He pawed and lowered his rack and came forward. He was fairly large, too. I fired up my 192 and came toward him. Guess who took off?

Yeah, I know, stag, you were asking about women in our profession. It sounds degrading, to me, but maybe it's a regionalism, for you.

 

[blueatlascedar]

I've often been curious about what ultimately drives most climbers to retire. Is is usually the fact that their the is eventually beat up to the point where he can't take it anymore? Or rather is it a feeling of having used up all 9 lives and throwing in the towel for the sake of the wife and kids, and of course yourself. Or does it just eventually get old and the desire for a desk job takes over?

For me it was a spinal fusion of the L3,L4,L5 that pretty much shut me down. Prior to my back going kaput on me, I had 24+ years of mostly manual climbing. I can now do some slow easy climbs, but I don't do much these days. Before the surgery I was a solid 185-190 lbs @ 6'. Now I range in between 210-215 and when I climb I feel like I weigh 300

 

[treemandan]

can this be verified because it does weigh on my conscious.

Can we just say " killing healthy tree for dirt cheap weighs heavily on the soul"?

Just sum it up like that and as far as anything else goes; if one has the abilty to TD a tree one has the ability to plant a new one. Anything else would be on the lines of " no matter what you do it has an impact" which is the truth to which there isn't anything else.

 

[tree MDS]

Can we just say " killing healthy tree for dirt cheap weighs heavily on the soul"?

Just sum it up like that and as far as anything else goes; if one has the abilty to TD a tree one has the ability to plant a new one. Anything else would be on the lines of " no matter what you do it has an impact" which is the truth to which there isn't anything else.

The way I see it; someone is gonna cut the tree down anyway...might as well enrich MY bank account instead of some other hack.

No guilt here.

 

[Gumnuts]

I'm 48 , I don't drink or smoke , I eat light , in bed by 8/830 every night , up at 4:30 am every morning! I can out climb ANYBODY! I just can't go 5 days a week. Before I was 35 , I could go THREE WEEKS STRAIGHT , and I mean taking down huge oaks , not trimming peach trees! These days , climb 3 days , take off 2!

I've retired several times , LOL , but , you have to make $! People don't want to work , so I can't quit! I'd love to quit , but for me its a $/support issue!

Similar - 53 yo tho / 3days on 2 days off...lets body heal - I smoke tho.$/support issue too.....2 days down lets me catch up with other stuff....
often depends on how hungry for $'s for other projects...retired several times too.LOL - cheers

 

[beastmaster]

I'm 51 years old, 160lbs and I Climb 5 days a week. I am to lazy to work out anymore so climbing is the only exercise I get these days. The only time I feel old is when I look in the mirror. I work with a bunch of youngsters who feel their in competition with me, but I still do all the difficult removals and scary stuff. I don't know how I could ever retire. I need money and what else could I do? I make a pretty good living, I'm healthy why change now. I use to have my own buisness and that stress almost made me crazy .

 

[treeseer]

can this be verified because it does weigh on my conscious. edit: conscience not conscious. lol.

evidently it has weighed quite heavily on both. :jester:

Killing good trees for low pay weighs on conscience and consciousness, and wallet!

mds just wait--at 3 a.m. some day you will sit bolt upright in bed in shock, realizing that you have wasted your time and talents (= your life) to deforest your home, your community, just for a few lousy pieces of silver, when you know darn well that Tree Preservation doesn't cost; it Pays.

Sweet Dreams!
:yoyo:

You know I'm messin with ya, right?

 

[tree MDS]

evidently it has weighed quite heavily on both. :jester:

Killing good trees for low pay weighs on conscience and consciousness, and wallet!

mds just wait--at 3 a.m. some day you will sit bolt upright in bed in shock, realizing that you have wasted your time and talents (= your life) to deforest your home, your community, just for a few lousy pieces of silver, when you know darn well that Tree Preservation doesn't cost; it Pays.

Sweet Dreams!
:yoyo:

You know I'm messin with ya, right?

I'm getting ready to really start hitting the books seer. Time to kick it up a notch.

I need my licence for next spring. Also I'm starting to realize more and more that I need to do more to distance myself from the local "competion". I know guys with shat for expierience that still manage to do takedowns without getting killed - and most HO's dont really know the difference when they get home from work...a stump is a stump after all - heck most seem to think huge ruts and dents in thier lawn is SOP.

You still Det. Dendro?? I gotta re-subscribe to arborist news, I enjoyed learning from Dendro.