Felling advice required

[ABtrees]

Evening all.

 

I've got a (actually 3) challenging windblown 45ft acacia (root plate lifted) hung up in the top of an Oak on a 40 degree slope over a road (with a fence and a river thrown in for good measure !!!).  Any thoughts / advice on the best (least dangerous) way to fell it - greatly appreciated.  There's no access from the top of the bank and nothing substantial enough to strap/winch it to. Same either side The only thing I can think to do is climb the Oak and try to 'release' it (!) but the outcome may be a bit too instant and binary for my liking and skill set !  Alternatively just drop it and hope for the best and then just keep taking sections off the bottom until it clears or falls back up the hill !  Leaving it and /or dropping the oak aren't really options either.  HELP and thanks in advance.

 

Photos attached show from up the bank and looking across the bank.

 

 

[Khriss]

Don't Climb the Oak! Usual releasing of a hung up with winch mate. Pick yr anchor n don't do it on yr own ( am a right one to talk ) as one catastrophic video is enuff this week. K

[Khriss]

( on a 40 degree bank you have -technically - no escape route )

[D.G.F.S.]

If there’s no decent tree to winch from get hold of a ground anchor and winch from that. You’re asking for trouble climbing the oak.

[stihlmadasever]

Get a throwline as far up the acacia as you can,pull a rope up,severe at root plate and extract the hung up stem from the oak by either tifor,tractor or pulling system, 5:1 would do it by the looks if it.

Repeat

Or put a rope on the butt of the stem after its severed and pull it out.You would need a vehicle to do that,tifor and pulling system would struggle...

Edited December 18, 2018 by stihlmadasever

[ABtrees]

3 minutes ago, D.G.F.S. said:

If there’s no decent tree to winch from get hold of a ground anchor and winch from that. You’re asking for trouble climbing the oak.

Thanks both - and don't worry like I said, skill set and a degree of timidity / reality will keep me from climbing the oak !!!  I can't go down the ground anchor root either (I don't think) the soil is shallow, loose and straight onto the bedrock (such as it is) which is deeply fissured and can be dismantled with a gemmy bar (which is probably why the tree blew over in the first place !) !  Apart from which the angle of the slope above wouldn't help.

[woody paul]

If no tree directly in line as anchor use 1 any were behind it and use a pulley block to redirect. Can not see a problem straight forward job if you are trained or done a lot of them before. 

[D.G.F.S.]

Thanks both - and don't worry like I said, skill set and a degree of timidity / reality will keep me from climbing the oak !!!  I can't go down the ground anchor root either (I don't think) the soil is shallow, loose and straight onto the bedrock (such as it is) which is deeply fissured and can be dismantled with a gemmy bar (which is probably why the tree blew over in the first place !) !  Apart from which the angle of the slope above wouldn't help.

Could you use a few trees as anchors (multiple strops) down to the winch to share the load between them? Other than that you’re options are very limited.

[ABtrees]

4 minutes ago, stihlmadasever said:

Get a throwline as far up the acacia as you can,pull a rope up,severe at root plate and extract the hung up stem from the oak by either tifor,tractor or pulling system, 5:1 would do it by the looks if it.

Repeat

Or put a rope on the butt of the stem after its severed and pull it out.You would need a vehicle to do that,tifor and pulling system would struggle...

OK Am I getting that second bit right - are you suggesting pulling the butt down the hill ?  I can't get above it with the tractor and for the reasons above, there really isn't a decent anchor point above it

[woody paul]

4 minutes ago, ABtrees said:

 are you suggesting pulling the butt down the hill ?  I can't get above it with the tractor and for the reasons above, there really isn't a decent anchor point above it

If you have to ask a question like that you best bet is to get someone in how knows how to do it.