Whats your least favourite tree to climb and why?

[TIMON]

I actually enjoyed the challenge of a big monkey puzzle. We did have a mog and a big chipper to deal with it then though.
Stuff I hate....
Big wide overgrown conifer ‘hedge’row reductionism can become tedious.
Brittle ash in the winter (when you’re just not quite sure about your anchor point)
Holly.
Re-re-reducing rotten pops.
Any tree that you ‘wished you had rigged but decided to cut and chuck’ while driving down to the roofing/glazing/fencing suppliers.

[Steve Bullman]

In 22 years i only once had the pleasure of climbing a monkey puzzle.  Thankfully it was dead, cut and drop, and I got away with zero scratches.  Guess I got lucky!

[Mark J]

Poplars are the only tree that's come close to doing a number on me.

 

[Steve Bullman]

  On 30/05/2018 at 22:38, Chessa said:

Besides; it does give me a quiet maladjusted kind of pleasure feeling those scratches in unexpected places, and the burn of the skin rash that flares up on my forearms in reaction to conifer juice.

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That was beautiful

[Steve Bullman]

  On 30/05/2018 at 23:02, Mark J said:

Poplars are the only tree that's come close to doing a number on me.

 

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Tell us the story then Mark.

 

I had a close one also with a poplar a few years ago, probably the closest call I had.  Out on a long lateral with one directly above it.  I was stood on the branch that I was going to cut, and holding the branch above it to steady myself.  It was quite elongated and bowing over.  I knew it was going to release somewhat when I cut the end off but felt I had gone far enough out to minimise this.  Anyway as I cut the end off it catapaulted up, banged into the limb above, about an inch away from my hand.  The force would have literally crushed my hand to bits I suspect.  That was a lucky escape and made me think a bit more carefully after.  We learn by our mistakes they say...I could have learnt the hard way that day

[Graham]

Never a fan of poplar removals and one caused me great pain.  It leaned out from a very steep bank called Paradise and overhung a cottage so when you got 50' up the thing the cottage was 100' directly below.

 

To say 'I wasn't happy' would be an understatement.  This was early eighties so just natural crotch set up and friction turns.  I cut a long lateral, it swung in, the natural crotch broke out and the rope caught in the crotch below....right where my foot was jambed in.  My mate started to lower and I screamed out.  The pain was excruciating and the only thing I could do was put the saw through the rope and take a chance on hitting the cottage.

 

It just missed and I was lucky.   My foot healed but I'll always remember the view of that cottage.

 

 

[buffalo606]

  On 30/05/2018 at 22:46, Chessa said:

I didn’t know they were poisonous. What happens? Do one’s wounds get infected? ?

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I think more covered in dirt than poisonous - so yes infection like hawthorn, blackthorn etc - I've only climbed one in NZ

[Mark J]

  On 31/05/2018 at 03:23, Steve Bullman said:

Tell us the story then Mark.

 

I had a close one also with a poplar a few years ago, probably the closest call I had.  Out on a long lateral with one directly above it.  I was stood on the branch that I was going to cut, and holding the branch above it to steady myself.  It was quite elongated and bowing over.  I knew it was going to release somewhat when I cut the end off but felt I had gone far enough out to minimise this.  Anyway as I cut the end off it catapaulted up, banged into the limb above, about an inch away from my hand.  The force would have literally crushed my hand to bits I suspect.  That was a lucky escape and made me think a bit more carefully after.  We learn by our mistakes they say...I could have learnt the hard way that day

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I was anchored into one stem.  Went to climb up the other major stem, rather than using a strop I thought I'd just climb up 'Bear' style.  The stem was rotten, spikes actually slid down the stem before I took a major swing into the main stem.  It was entirely my fault but I still don't like pops.

[Mark Bolam]

That's nothing.

I have been killed several times when climbing poplars.

[Watty]

Macrocarpa, theres probably worse out there but I just hate working on these trees.