Topping at 230 ft

[Rough Hewn]

That's scary just on a screen Reg [emoji106]

Maybe I'm missing something,
But why did it have to be climbed?
Could it not have been felled? Or winched over?
Genuine question.
[emoji106]

[RC0]

5 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

Yes, very bored with all this simple shite now mate.

Goodbye.

I thought you might be, goodbye 

[RC0]

5 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

That's scary just on a screen Reg

Maybe I'm missing something,
But why did it have to be climbed?
Could it not have been felled? Or winched over?
Genuine question.

I wish. But no. They wanted it cut to 10m. It was hard leaning towards the traffic signals down below, and trying to steer it either side wouldn't smashed lots of other similar tall trees in the process. I looked long and hard at it beforehand and it just wasn't happening

[5 shires]

21 minutes ago, RC0 said:

I wish. But no. They wanted it cut to 10m. It was hard leaning towards the traffic signals down below, and trying to steer it either side wouldn't smashed lots of other similar tall trees in the process. I looked long and hard at it beforehand and it just wasn't happening

Listing to you talk Reg seems like you missing the buzz or just fed up with doing what you do? You sounded so down and dishearten with the whole thing or may be you were piss off waiting for the traffic to clear and wait 15mins..to us mear mortals who may be on occasions do 100ft May be 120ft watching you do what you do is fab to watch,but I know what you mean about posting stuff,there are only so many times you can film your self cutting a branch and or limb and rigging some difficult tree over a house. sometimes telling someone and explaining how it’s done and how you feel at the time is a good listen have you ever thought or have done seminars and lectures about your experiences? I must admit the only thing that I have watched and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up is the Heliloggers and how they remove the trees once they have been processed to a standing stem....may be it’s because it’s something that I will never ever do.

[MattyF]

Think you have a lot more to give us reg you probably have more experience of different trees and climates that only a few in the world have ...That is some thing else at that height , tallest conifers I’ve worked on where 41 metre silver firs and I probably dropped 15m out just because it was so bloody tiring and I was getting chicken and out of my comfort zone at around 25m dunno if I could of coped with that height!
Your bloody right on the ropes as well , had too get in to the top of a wind blown beech a few weeks back so at around 70ft I had tried to transition in to the tree , the weight of two full climbing lines against you and the throw hook line felt like it was dislocating your hips with the weight!

[RC0]

2 hours ago, 5 shires said:

Listing to you talk Reg seems like you missing the buzz or just fed up with doing what you do? You sounded so down and dishearten with the whole thing or may be you were piss off waiting for the traffic to clear and wait 15mins..to us mear mortals who may be on occasions do 100ft May be 120ft watching you do what you do is fab to watch,but I know what you mean about posting stuff,there are only so many times you can film your self cutting a branch and or limb and rigging some difficult tree over a house. sometimes telling someone and explaining how it’s done and how you feel at the time is a good listen have you ever thought or have done seminars and lectures about your experiences? I must admit the only thing that I have watched and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up is the Heliloggers and how they remove the trees once they have been processed to a standing stem....may be it’s because it’s something that I will never ever do.

I didnt get to sleep the night before until around 1am, and had to leave my house at 5am to be on site at 7:30....so wasnt a great start to the day. The tree in the video was the second big one that day, the first was lifting at the root plate due to all the rain we've just had. Climbing old growth firs is physically very demanding....especially spurring/fliplining up the first 100ft or so. Wide stems consisting of 6-10inch soggy, crumbling mossy bark. A second growth fir of similar proportions is literally half the battle of climbing old growth. That tree was mentally taxing also, because of the split, the lean, the traffic and signals underneath, and the grim weather prediction. But, I knew id done worse in the past so if I just put one foot in front of the other itd be ok. Looking down from the top, and talking in the vid at the end I knew I had about 220 feet of logs to cut, in probably 15ft sections. Im aware that Ill have to drag the 372 up at about 170ft, and then the 390 at about 100. Murder on the hips towards the end. I got home about 8pm that night. If I sounded a bit despondant it was probably i mix of all those factors.

 

I have been asked in the past to go out the the East coast of the US to speak at some of the ISA seminars, but theres nothing I want to say to them really. And most if the time they dont know when Im being serious and when Im joking. Different culture

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by RC0
Edit: up the "first" hundred feet or so

[5 shires]

8 minutes ago, RC0 said:

I didnt get to sleep the night before until around 1am, and had to leave my house at 5am to be on site at 7:30....so wasnt a great start to the day. The tree in the video was the second big one that day, the first was lifting at the root plate due to all the rain we've just had. Climbing old growth firs is physically very demanding....especially spurring/fliplining up the 100ft or so. Wide stems consisting of 6-10inch soggy, crumbling mossy bark. A second growth fir of similar proportions is literally half the battle of climbing old growth. That tree was mentally taxing also, because of the split, the lean, the traffic and signals underneath, and the grim weather prediction. But, I knew id done worse in the past so if I just put one foot in front of the other itd be ok. Looking down from the top, and talking in the vid at the end I knew I had about 220 feet of logs to cut, in probably 15ft sections. Im aware that Ill have to drag the 372 up at about 170ft, and then the 390 at about 100. Murder on the hips towards the end. I got home about 8pm that night. If I sounded a bit despondant it was probably i mix of all those factors.

 

I have been asked in the past to go out the the East coast of the US to speak at some of the ISA seminars, but theres nothing I want to say to them really. And most if the time they dont know when Im being serious and when Im joking. Different culture

 

Knowing all the facts of course helps and ya early starts and long hard climbs take it out of your body and we’re not 20 years old anymore,you need to get over here and have a chat with the lads over here you have so much to give and I for one would come to hear your experiences.

[RC0]

1 hour ago, MattyF said:

Think you have a lot more to give us reg you probably have more experience of different trees and climates that only a few in the world have ...That is some thing else at that height , tallest conifers I’ve worked on where 41 metre silver firs and I probably dropped 15m out just because it was so bloody tiring and I was getting chicken and out of my comfort zone at around 25m dunno if I could of coped with that height!
Your bloody right on the ropes as well , had too get in to the top of a wind blown beech a few weeks back so at around 70ft I had tried to transition in to the tree , the weight of two full climbing lines against you and the throw hook line felt like it was dislocating your hips with the weight!

Hello mate. Theres a lot of fake people people and groups in our job, who've somehow maneuvered themselves into positions of Authority, whether their roles be in teaching, consulting, safety or whatever. Lots of experts on the net too. All spelling out the dos and don'ts. Out here in BC is no exception either. Youll often see them lit up like a Christmas tree in brand new looking, branded clothing each and every time. No rips or stains. Wagging their fingers and making up rules. Its always been a great incentive for me to offer an alternative to these T.wats. while I dont profess to be a teacher, I like to demonstrate, in particular to up and comers that the reality of how things are done on a worksite, for money, under pressure, can be very different than what you were told about in college, or on that refresher course. If by comparison I can just prick enough people's curiosity to question the credentials of these experts and rules, then it was a good thing. Other than that, Ive put up so much content on YouTube, Im just repeating myself. Did you happen to see big stem wobble from December, same site. Its a bit different: 

 

[RC0]

23 minutes ago, 5 shires said:

Knowing all the facts of course helps and ya early starts and long hard climbs take it out of your body and we’re not 20 years old anymore,you need to get over here and have a chat with the lads over here you have so much to give and I for one would come to hear your experiences.

Thanks mate. Id like to visit one of the annual trade shows again at some point, catch up with old and new faces but I just haven't gotten around to it. No it a long time since i was in my 20s, but am actually doing much harder stuff now than what I did then. So I cant reallly make a physical comparison in how I feel. There was in fact plenty other 20something year old climbers on that site, but this job wasnt for them. The other contractor who was climbing is called Ryan Murphy, mid-late 30s I think. Excellent climber. He had a shi.t of a tree to deal with also. 

[Rough Hewn]

I wish. But no. They wanted it cut to 10m. It was hard leaning towards the traffic signals down below, and trying to steer it either side wouldn't smashed lots of other similar tall trees in the process. I looked long and hard at it beforehand and it just wasn't happening

Thanks Reg, for taking time to explain your decision.

[emoji106]