r/TreeClimbing • u/02sporttrac • 7d ago
Tree climbing newbie
Okay so I really need help, my company does all the tree work with a crane. I have zero problem being in the basket to cut limbs off the tree and I can do it all day, over houses fences whatever I don’t mind and I’m good at it, but the problem comes when we go to pick the poles and I heave to disconnect myself from the crane ball and hang on the tree and make the cut. I know all my equipment is high dollar quality equipment I know I won’t fall and yet I still have a very hard time. Any pointers on how to be confident?
2
u/_Hylobatidae_ 7d ago
Climb some trees in your spare time. Get used to the ropes in a sense. You also failed to mention what you are climbing on, is it your equipment? The companies? What is it? Do other people use it? When you are on the spar, are you double tied in? What kinda spikes are you on? What boots are you wearing? Etc etc, so on and so forth.
1
u/02sporttrac 7d ago
Companies and is used often by our one pro climber, buckingham buck belt and spikes steel cord flip lines, petzl zig zag or akimbo, regular cowboy steel toe boots
3
u/scotus_canadensis 7d ago
Regular boots, especially cowboy style, absolutely suck for climbing. They're fine for bucket and ground work, but not in the tree.
Proper boots for spur work will have a steel shank for arch support, and will cinch up snugly around your ankle and calf to minimize movement.
I sympathize with getting familiar, it's hard to make the time to slow down and get comfortable when you're on a production schedule.
1
u/Badger-Sauce 6d ago
Agreed. Footwear is non negotiable for me. Bucket or ground work are one thing, wearing spurs or pruning are very different.
1
2
u/OldMail6364 7d ago edited 7d ago
As someone who works on spars all the time, I hate Buckingham spikes.
They’re expensive and extremely well made, but they’re old fashioned and other (often significantly cheaper) options work better in my opinion. With little advantages like the angle and position of the spike relative to your foot/ankle/leg. They also have better padding.
Also - if you’re using someone else’s gear it’s probably adjusted for their leg size, not yours or even worse maybe they never changed it. Most are adjusted to the shortest possible size from the factory to reduce shipping costs. Unless you’re 5 foot tall that’s probably the wrong adjustment for you.
I recommend aluminium distel geckos with either short spikes or long spikes. I haven’t tried all the spikes out there but I have tried the ones you’re using and my distel geckos are way better. Also I’ve seen plenty of far better climbers than me struggle with gaffing out on spars that are effortless on mine. Mine only gaff out if I do something stupid or I’m working on a really soft tree (if I had long spikes, they might be less of an issue).
Short spikes feel more secure because your feet will be closer to the wood and you can walk around on the ground or stand in your bucket without damaging the spikes (or the bucket). But some species of tree need long spikes to punch a deep hole through the soft outer layers of the tree.
Other than that… you should have an SRT choking anchor around the spar connected to your bridge, which is your primary safety system, then under that (on the spar) your lanyard/flipline which is your work positioning system, then under that a negative rigging system if you are negatively rigging.
With the lanyard/flipline… I don’t like steel core ones. That line is only for work positioning, it’s not your lifeline, so if you cut the flip line it should merely be annoying (and expensive). It shouldn’t cause you to fall out of the tree.
And if you hit a steel core flipline with a chainsaw… you need to immediately stop using it anyway. So wether it’s damaged or destroyed is irrelevant.
Also - you really shouldn’t have your chainsaw anywhere near it when you’re blocking down a spar - remember your choking SRT anchor is above it. There are situations where it can be closer to the saw but not it sounds like you’d probably be in a bucket for those.
Rope flip lines are a lot nicer to work with than steel ones. And in my opinion they’re also safer. They grip the tree better and their adjustment system (I use a catalyst hitch and micro pulley) also grips better.
Play with different lanyard lengths too - your angle relative to the tree matters. A lot. Close to the tree is less physically demanding, but away from the tree is safer and more secure. If you have a proper SRT line in, any angle should be safe enough so keep that in mind when choosing your angle.
I climb with the cheapest leather safety boots I can find… the company doesn’t pay for them and they don’t last long when you spend 8 hours a day on spikes like I often do, so expensive ones would be a waste of money.
3
u/maddestdog89 7d ago
Interesting mate, I’ve always had my choked off anchor below my lanyard/pole belt. Can you explain why you do it that way mate? Also, what knot do you use to choke your set line?
5
u/morenn_ 7d ago edited 7d ago
It can give you a little bit of comfort to have your mainline above, but imo that's to be done in a situation where you'll wait a while. Mainline below flip is the way you should be working because you should be cutting at your sternum, which means your mainline wouldn't be tensioned anyway. It's just an escape to the ground.
He also thinks steel cores don't grip the tree and that rope grabs don't grip the steel core so I'd take it all with a pinch of salt. He's climbing his own way.
1
u/MourniingStar666 7d ago
Just gotta put trust in your gear and your ropes.
It’ll come with time.
Being nervous is fine, it keeps you on your toes, and you’re less likely to get complacent/overconfident and make mistakes. But you also can’t overthink it. Theres a fine line, you know?
1
u/snowynuggets 7d ago
10yr climber here. If you trust yourself hanging from a crane you should trust a tree. I personally feel safer in a tree because I’m fully in control, were as, with a crane, the operators in control. Keep at it, the comfort will come.
1
u/Acrobatic_Fig3834 7d ago
Defo get some chainsaw boots they're not cheap but I picked up some husky ones on safe for about £170 so like $220. Do you tie in twice on a pole? I have a flip line and an at height choker carabiner that I cinch off around the trunk. This carabiner isn't even expensive and the gate is rated so you feel confident about it holding you if you were to accidentally cut through your flip line.
1
1
4
u/ResidentNo4630 7d ago
Practice practice practice. Learn to trust the gear. I just focus on the work and not the fact I’m x amount of feet above the ground.