Is this tree safe to climb? How would you do it?

Aerial

This tree is in my backyard. I live in Western Pennsylvania and it's just getting to be Springtime here.

I'm interested in learning climbing and this tree is where I will start. I'd like to leave enough of it to be a practice and learning tree, ideally with at least one point high enough to do ascents and rappels from. Is this tree a good candidate for this?

Aerial

newguy18

Since your a beginner,no it isn't safe for you.That tree is rotton and i noticed the conks and the depression/cavity on the trunk.It also looks like it is growing out of a stump as well.You need to find a tree that is alive and healthy maybe not a bad idea to have an arborist come out and inspect it prior to you climbing it.Make sure until you get better you tie in to a limb no less than 4" diameter,just until you can spot defects and such.practice using your throw line and weight or monkey's fist until you get good at it and like mentioned before start off low and use fool proof friction hitches like tautline,blakes,prusik,etc.

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old schooler

Aerial

Any tree that I use to learn this trade will have to be dead or dying. I'll not use my gaffs or axes on a live tree.

I understand that from half a world away you can't just say it looks OK to climb, give it a go. I have already turned a young man away with a very low bid to bring it down because I feared for his safety. I will have other professionals look at it before I proceed.

The tree is coming down, whether by the next wind storm or by a controlled takedown. As the major upper limbs come down, I presume I will have evidence then as to what remains of the tree and it's suitability for training purposes.

Here's a closer shot of a major problem area:

newguy18

it is possible to climb live trees without gaffs and axes,seriously yuo are gonna get hurt depending on those as an attachment point.You said you got a rope flipline so use it with a harness and practice climbing dbrt for living trees and if you do climb that one use gaffs a flip line and a climbl line until you get adept at using the 3 in conjuction with each other.

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old schooler

Aerial

My pick for leaving a long limb is the leftmost one as you view the photo. It will need to be topped off somewhere along it's length. I'm hoping that it will be found to be strong enough to support a rappelling line.

Aerial

Aerial

I will be depending on my lifeline as the attachment point when trying out new hardware and techniques. It's ALL new to me, so every item I incorporate into my kit will be tested extensively, hopefully in what I decide to leave of this very tree.

Aerial

newguy18

heres some of the defects i spotted almost imediatly

Attached Images

defectivetree.bmp (531.5 KB, 71 views)

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old schooler

sawsong

Aerial, please please please, just LISTEN to what these guys are telling you

theyre trying to help you and trying to stop you hurting yourself.

never mind climbing with gaffs and axes, that is NOT the way to start climbing in my opinion. plus, just drop the axe idea. it will end in hospital.

extensive testing is all well and good. but it should be you getting the testing with using the gear, the gear has already been extensively tested, just make sure its designed for the purpose at hand!

plus, too much talk of rappelling,

"I have already turned a young man away with a very low bid to bring it down because I feared for his safety" i rest my case.

you're making it more difficult for yourself and for those trying to help you. they wont keep trying if you wont take their advice and keep arguing and belittling their experienced input. you admit openly you're completely green, so forget everything you dont know, start at the beginning like me, and climb safe.

newguy18

on that note,don't try to train yourself like i did,bad idea i just got lucky and never had an accident.

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old schooler

sawsong

must admit, im training myself to an extent at the moment because ive had to cut my grounding hours down considerably due to university commitments, so there isnt the time at work to spend any time in the canopy. however i am scheduled to meet up with some local pro climbers every now and then to learn from them which is really nice of them.

gonna do my NPTC CS38 soon which is 'tree climbing and aerial rescue'. it's a course and an assessment. should be good. look forward to that but i wont do it until im ready. the next one after that is CS39 operating a chainsaw from a rope and saddle i believe. words to that effect anyway

newguy18

Heres what i found wrong with another pic.

Attached Images

defectivetree2.bmp (737.6 KB, 49 views)

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old schooler

newguy18

I literally am self taught,i bought the tree climbers companion and went from the with 50' of rope and a pole climbers harness.I trust noone else will be STUPID enough to try that one.

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old schooler

Treelore

This tree is a fantastic candidate for removal. I wouldn't personally be trying in any way to be keeping this tree for any reason to "learn on" even if you thought you had removed dangerous components.
I did notice in the background a couple of trees that would be great to learn ascending on and the use of a throwline in a confined space.
I will say however it is your life and go ahead and learn the mechanics of timber at the pace that you see fit. It's kinda like diving... You can test the depths and nitrogen buildup for yourself if you want. but there are charts and many hundreds have died before you getting this information so for me it was always better listening to those that had gone before me...But hey we love statistics it usually gives us another idiot law and some other reason why we have to waste hours on practising safety and not doing the job we came to do so go for it!!!

crucificio

That tree is way unsafe to climb, I personally have climbed much more dangerous trees but only because I had to take them down safely. Because you are a beginner there is no way you should even consider climbing a dangerous unsafe tree, learnon the live healthy ones.That particular tree is easy to drop without going up it.

TreeDimensional

Ah, come on Treelore, I would bet that treeseer would have a plan to save that tree.

All kidding aside, find a better tree to learn and practice in. From reading your other posts it is apparent that you have made your mind up to do this work, at least on a part time basis. At the risk of being repetitive, find someone who has been in the industry for years, and work with, or for them. They will be your mentor, watch what and how they do everything, and keep an open mind.

Have your spouse put a lock-down on your wallet and credit cards, I think your are wasting a lot of money on stuff that will litter your garage, once you become acclimated to the industry.

My hat is off to you for starting this undertaking at the age of 61, I really hope you take the advice of others here so you live until your 62. One of the best guys I have ever had working for me was in his 60s, he had a fantastic work ethic, and appreciated the opportunity to work outdoors.

Aerial

Thanks again newguy, those mark-ups are easier to see than your first set. My biggest concern is with the upper limbs, especially the left most one.

Aerial

Aerial

Your prior objections were noted, you don't need to repeat yourself.

I am not arguing with, or belittling anybody. I'm getting input from everybody who posts, including you. I'll argue a point, if I feel I have a valid case for it, but I most certainly do not argue in the sense that I feel you are implying.

And I resent your accusation of belittlement. If you are refering to my "come out of the woods" comment that was meant as humor, as signified by the smiley face I put on it. You are going to have to retract that statement young Wallaby or I shall piss on your shoe. <- see, I'm kidding with you now.

Please keep in mind that I am not you. I do things differently than you do, and have for nearly thrice your age.

Aerial

Eric Frei

I can see a few wet shoes coming.

Quercus better put his fishing Waders on!

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Aerial

Well Ekka, you can look at your shoe after you check the other thread. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with you, so to speak, but I couldn't let one comment you made slide by without expressing my feelings about it.

You see, I'm a sensitive guy, and mean spirited comments hurt my feelings.

Aerial

Aerial

That's good advice that bares repeating. I am looking for such a person

What's with this 61 stuff, I'm only 60.75!

Aerial

Aerial

Well my "backyard" is 160 acres of mostly old growth trees, so there is no limit to my "practice trees", but I won't use my gaffs on any viable tree. That's why I bought a pair of Jumar swiss made ascenders.

The tree in question is definitely a goner and will eventually be completely removed as it threatens an outbuilding (not seen in the pictures), as well as anyone who walks in my backyard.

Sometime I'll tell the story of how I went cave diving at age 15 without another diver. Or how a friendly farmer let me and a friend take his ancient airplane out of his barn to see if it would still fly. This while we were both taking flying lessons, but had yet to solo. But I was a young pup then, thought I would live forever and nothing could hurt me.

But I've always heard that safety is job one, and now at my age I believe it.

Aerial

Eric Frei

Save your taint paint brush troll, you have been dealt with. I've managed to pry the clay from the shit you sprout. Your perspective has been brought into check without the need to medicate you.

Direct link to the solution of your psychosis.

Revolutionary new gear for the arborist

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quercus

MATE, I WISHED YOU TRIED TO GET ME TO TAKE THIS BACK...

YOUNG WALLABY (SAWSONG) MAY HAVE ONE THIRD OF YOUR AGE, HE ALSO MANAGED TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE TENTH OF YOUR STUPIDITY...WE AT TREEWORLD HERE, HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OAK AND BEECH BUT WHOM ARE WILLING TO LEARN THE RIGHT WAY.WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STRAIGHTEN OUT PEOPLE IN THE PAST AND THEY ARE WELL RESPECTED HERE. YOU ON THE OTHER HAND ARE EMBARRASING YOURSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WE WON'T FORGET ABOUT THAT...
YOU RESENT HIS AQUISATION OF BELITTLEMENT? HMMMM DO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ALL RESENT THE FACT THAT YOU DO THINGS THE WAY YOU DO...
WE DO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ARE NOT YOU... BECAUSE THEN WE'D ALL BE FRIGGIN' STUPID... YOU DO THINGS DUMBER THEN ANYONE ELSE OUT HERE? INSTEAD OF DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
FEEL FREE TO PISS ON MY FISHING WADERS NOW, IF YOU FEEL LIKE NEVER EVER POSTING OUT HERE AGAIN...

sawsong

this err 'young wallaby' thing aint gonna stick is it?

quercus

nah mate... Not even for a while....

sawsong

thank goodness for that!!
right, time for me to go play with the big oak in the field.

gonna take some photos, theres some kinda fungus on the base of it just above the soil, looks a bit like Inonotus dryadeus which i believe is common on oaks, but i dont think it is, it has a smooth rounded exterior to it rather than the sponge like exterior of inonotus dryadeus but im told it might be related.

tree's huge, but with a good number of thick limbs reasonably low down. gotta be more confidence inspiring than the willow i was in last week!

Therrin

<cracks knuckles>

So you really don't want our opinion on how to climb it for "practice", what your asking is "how do I take this tree down without hiring a competent person to do it?"
Why the HELL would you want to PRACTICE in a tree that you think has the possibility of just blowing down in the next storm???? Doesn't that just scream UNSAFE to you?

Ahhh, you've mentioned topping. Since you're familiar with it, do tell, is this a technique you have any skill with? Do you plan on using it in the future?

How can you say that you have a *family* and that the tree currently threatens ANYONE WHO WALKS IN YOUR BACK YARD..... and be too cheap to have it taken down IMMEDIATELY by trained professionals? You're screwing around with people's lives here.


Not much has changed huh?

All I'm reading is "I want help" and after that it's "I'm doing it my way, and here's how that's gonna be". You aren't listening to anyone.

I might disagree with OSHA and all this other stuff on different levels, but when it all comes down to it, tough! As per my insurance I need to align myself with OSHA regs. So I might not LIKE the biners they use, I may have ARGUMENTS against them, but in the end, I'm using what they call for.

Granted, my insurance didn't require qualification. They were pleased however with my background and I beleive it helped to grease the skids so as to allow me to operate at a level I'm trying to live up to, whether I belong there or not.

LISTEN to these guys.... they aren't giving you any unsound advice.
You have any idea that this advice is worth your life?

newguy18

No it won't we'll just call you grasshopper.

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old schooler

Therrin

I'd be happy to take the moniker "young wallaby" if you guys need someone to throw under the bus =)

I can handle it

crucificio

160 acres (wow) thats loads that is. Ha ha stop ya boastin boy, you aint got nuthin on half the people here, the outbuilding you talk of isthat your house? perhaps a tent? all them trees and only one outbuilding? 160 acres . nah you are just a waste of space thats you.this isnt.bye bye