Tree climbing on spikes

[AlanB]

So, I got in my X-tra large sized tree saddle, because all the ones my buddy the arborist had would not come close to fitting my waist

And we finally hit that nice day where I had an hours daylight, Joey was home and had a minute to educate me some.

So I went over yesterday afternoon, and saddled and spiked up, Joey climbed about 40' up an Oak, and looped a climbing line around the main stem, hanging against a large branch (I had never thought about it but it made sense when he pointed it out)

He gave me the demo, taught me and we rehearsed a Bowline and a Prussik, and away I went..

I said we needed to get his wife out there with the Video camera so at least if I fell, we could get $10,000 for the video. He said no worries, he came to the back yard so we would be near the bucket trucks if he had to do a rescue. (did I mention I am afraid of heights)

Well, the short version is, I did it, probably only about 20', did it a couple times, rappelled back down. Was not real happy and eager when it came that point where you have to unsnap the safety line, and then rehook over the limb to keep climbing.

I climbed and we talked and I had to come back down relatively quickly, my feet were killing me, but second time around, I was a lot more comfortable and balanced.

All in all, I think it is a skill I can acquire and definetely use. I need to buy some more stuff but for now, I am borrowing heavily to do what I need to.

Hats off to all you guys that are proficient in spike or gaff climbing, I will get there one day, but it will probably be a bit slow.

Oh, and those lumberjack competition guys just ain't right in the head.

On Edit, what actually made me want to post this is this super cool website that I stumbled into that really helps me with something I have always wanted to learn.

Animated Knots by Grog

 

[Youare]

My cousin and I use to do some tree work on the side he did most of the climbing and I worked in the hole. One time he let me top the tree we were taking down, what an experience. Sounds like you are going at it in the right way having some one experienced work with you.

There is a good book that if you don't have you should it is written by Gerald Beranek and is called The Fundamentals of General Tree Work. It covers everything related to tree climbing and cutting. I have a couple of his videos one show people climbing trees well over 200' high for the fun of it.

He is a link to his website; A Tree Story: books and videos by Gerald F Beranek

Randy

 

[N80]

I used to climb telephone poles during summer break from college. Did it for three years and got proficient at it, but never comfortable. Most telephone lines are at 25 feet or less, so rarely did we do any high climbing.

But, I did some tree work for my Dad and got up 60-70 feet. Hated it. And probably did it wrong. I did use tree spikes, which are longer than pole spikes, but other than that, I used the same technique as with pole climbing.

When you climb a pole you climb with the belt unhitched. You hold on with your hands and climb with the spikes. The old timers would 'hitch-hike' but it was considered 'illegal' by the phone company. Hitch hiking is like what the lumber jack guys do. You hitch the belt around the post and hitch it up as you go. You can go very fast that way but one slip and you can get in a very precarious situation.

 

[AlanB]

I actually picked up the book that is on the bottom of that same website, the tree climbers companion.

I enjoy reading the books, and learn a lot from them, and think it is important, but I learn best interactively, I can watch someone do it, then ask them questions, then try it myself, then ask more questions, and it just works best for me.

I love learning from Joey in that he has many of the same views I have on safety, small business etc. We are able to discuss the safeties, the way the books say, the way most people do things, and the reasoning behind many things.

While I am a "safety Professional" at work, and have some responsibilities etc. that go with that, I am also cognizant that small business and safety dont always mesh as well as they should.

I think in this endeavor, I will be the one erring on the "extra" safe side, two lanyards in use so I am not ever "unstrapped"

Of course I once watched someone climb about 60' with no harness at all, just the spikes, to set a line...... That line was set while I was still trying to figure out which buckles hooked together :O

 

[teg]

I used to spike up several trees a day and teach others how to do it (back when I worked for the U.S. Forest Circus). The biggest tree I trimmed was Virgin Longleaf Pine trees, too big to get the belt around. Beside, my friend only wanted to limb up the lower dead limbs!!! We had to get on his garage to be able to use a fishing line with a weight to get over the first branch 45-50 feet up I cut the bottom 5 or six branches and lowered my self down and I had only 2 feet of my climbing rope left (120' total). Glad I didn't cut the next limb up. Beautiful trees near Pineville, LA.

I still have my belt and ropes but hung up my spikes after topping a tree and got halfway done and ran out of gas! @#$%^* Went for a ride, around and around, till I was able to spike the tree again.

 

[ore540]

If you want a story of climbing BIG trees, and don't mind reading about an environmentalist, "The Wild Trees" is about climbing the California redwoods. It was a great read and it gave my acrophobia a good workout.

 

[gsganzer]

I used to be a certified arborist (and a certified nurseryman) and put myself through college and spent a year or two after college doing tree work. It's awfully physical and dangerous work. I have three feet of scars that are proof of the dangers that are lurking, regardless of how well you're trained or how careful you are.(Compound broken leg with multiple breaks that required muscle and bone grafts). Be awfully careful. A few safety tips from someone who's been "up that tree" : I always wore a bandana when I did tree work. You could use it to keep the sweat out of your eyes, as a rag to clean something and as a turniquet if you got into trouble. We also carried some womens maxi-pads and tampons in the glovebox. A chainsaw cut is awfully ragged and both of the above are great at plugging and covering a ragged chainsaw wound.

Regarding using spikes (Gafs). Don't use linemans spikes. They're too short and won't allow you to penetrate to solid wood on the thick bark trees. Typically, lineman spikes are 1- 1.5". Arborist spikes can be as long as 3" (although I prefer them in the 2"- 2 1/2" range). I only used spikes on trees that were being removed. You really don't want the spike wounds on a tree you plan to prune as it provides additional routes of entry for tree diseases (also the homeowners weren't too pleased to see the trees all gaffed up).

 

[shaley]

I might add that a wire core flip line would be a good investment if you plan on using a chainsaw in the tree. My neighbor's kid cut through his flip line about 60ft up on a pine he was sparing out. It was Friday the 13th and his 32nd birthday.
He did not have a safety line tied in. I think OSHA rates tree worker (excluding ground crew) in the top 10 of dangerous jobs.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

About twenty five years ago, give or take a month or so, I was chosen to inspect subcontractor work for a telcom (centel if I recall correctly) in the mountains above Lake Isabella California.

We had something like a hundred and seventy attachments and only two or three telephone poles. Everything else was tree attachments. I'll never forget putting two safety straps together after slipping on my hooks with three inch tree gafs. I was going to hitchhike up the first tree, big old pine.

I sunk in the hook and put my weight on it and it kicked right out. It seemed the bark on these trees was almost four inches thick. I got to carry an extension ladder to inspect after that.

I learned to climb at seventeen in Infantry Wireman school in 66. It was almost twenty years later before I got more than a scratch on a fall. That one I picked up a belly and both arms full of heavily creosoted splinters. I didn't go to the hospital. One of my neighbors was an RVN and a wise butt for a girl. I don't know what hurt the most, her digging out some of those splinters or the accompanying remarks.

 

[ToadHill]

As a retired arborist I don't like spikes. I was in the business of saving trees and I didn't take them down. If the object is to save a tree, spikes just leave a path for disease to enter.

 

[AlanB]

As a retired arborist I don't like spikes. I was in the business of saving trees and I didn't take them down. If the object is to save a tree, spikes just leave a path for disease to enter.

How did you climb them? Did you do that Single Rope technique?

 

[ToadHill]

Alan, If I had to go up, I used a bucket. If I couldn't get a bucket in, ropes, and saddles. With a tow behind bucket you only rarely had to clime.

 

[AlanB]

Alan, If I had to go up, I used a bucket. If I couldn't get a bucket in, ropes, and saddles. With a tow behind bucket you only rarely had to clime.

What are ropes and saddles? I actually have easy access to a bucket truck, but you cannot put a bucket truck into my woods, unless you have a REALLY big dozer to bring it out with.

I just saw where you said tow behind bucket, I guess I am not familiar with that either, is that like a manlift?

 

[ToadHill]

Tow behind is like a bucket truck lift but it's on a trailer with out riggers to stabilize it. It has its own engine to run the Hyd system for the lift & the outriggers. It won't go as high as a bucket truck, but if the job required something that big, I farmed it out.

 

[Tdog]

Alan - - I'll just tip my hat to you. I hired a crew to top & take down some trees right next to my house a few weeks ago. I took lots of pictures & paid lots of $$. Those guys were fun to watch - - they were in great physical shape & put on an aerial show the way they worked together. It was clear they trusted one another. Here are a couple of shots.

Jack

 

[AlanB]

T-dog, don't get me wrong, I have no delusions of granduer and doing big tree work. There are just several tasks around my place that I want to be able to get up in a tree and do a little of this and that (small branches etc)

I have a great relationship with an Arborist, (Joey) and when the going get's tough,, I back off and call him , But, that said every big wind there are branches and odds and ends that should be done, that I do not want to call in a marker on.

Kids want a Zip line, son wants a higher tree stand, or big fort, I want a couple of limbs off this tree or that one, and besides that, kinda of like playing a guitar, or speaking a foriegn language, it is just one of those things I want to be able to do.

There are pictures of Joey taking down a big tree over my house on the AlB's house rework thread in the project forum. Then there are more of where I had him back out to drop another tree that dropped some limbs across vehicles in the yard.

I consider myself an above average DIY kind of guy, but there is always a time, like those trees in your pictures, that it is just best left to a professional.

 

[shaley]

Alan, How about a split tail technique. With a cambium saver and a split tail and blakes hitch you can free climb. It's one rope but goes through the rings of the saver so you are only lifting half of your weight. I think most of the procedure in the "Tree Climber's Companion". W.T. Sherrill has a lot of tips in their printed catalog or use to. They have a website now with some info.
Sherrill Tree Climbing Supply: Professional Tree Care

 

[teg]

We had Swedish Ladders that we could used (doesn't dig into the trees too much). They were more of a pain and only used by people that were not comfortable with spikes. Never knew they cost THAT much!!
Aluminum Sectional Ladders
I gave up climbing... saying 'there has got to be an easier way to make a living'. As for what people charge to climb trees... once you do it, you'll understand why they charge so much.

 

[AlanB]

Alan, How about a split tail technique. With a cambium saver and a split tail and blakes hitch you can free climb. It's one rope but goes through the rings of the saver so you are only lifting half of your weight. I think most of the procedure in the "Tree Climber's Companion". W.T. Sherrill has a lot of tips in their printed catalog or use to. They have a website now with some info.
Sherrill Tree Climbing Supply: Professional Tree Care

I was reading about that last night. Just not something I have been exposed too, but I think we have (or can cheaply get) everything it would take to do it. Will probably try several of those techniques in the tree climbers companion.

I think for what limited use I need to do though, I can spike up and be done fairly straight forward. While I see the point on the spikes and disease, just seems like I see a lot of other problems a lot worse to worry about on my trees.

 

[teg]

Just remembered, my friend does he's tree work with his hunting stand! The two piece kind, bottom section straps to your feet and the top section you move with your hands. You move like an inchworm. Very stable, nice platform to work from. As you move up, you cut the branches out of your way.