I usually tie the stems together as high as reasonable and cinch tight. Removing the large outside limbs reduces a lot of weight quickly and I climb the inside. Of course there are many variables, but as a general answer I do the above. In situations like that I almost always climb as high as I can so I can hold the top - no large roping, no swinging around. This also assumes there is no other way (nearby tree, bucket, 20' orchard ladder and power pruner, etc.). Done a lot of topped hemlock and red alder that way, both are very susceptible to rot. Also slow and steady, bad things happen when one doesn't want to be up there and is in a hurry.
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Trimmin' bush and caring for flowers is good 'n' all...
but sometimes ya gotta let the big wood fly and pound the garden. |