What gear???

[Doug Tait]

42 minutes ago, john87 said:

Yes, it was quite fun!! [in a perverse way!!] I think one mistake i made was roping up a tree with a ten metre trunk.. Would feel loads safer with some branches round you!! Would be a lot better if i was more certain of the condition of the tree too, and that my anchor point was not going to fall off. Seems that conifers are very prone to bits just falling off, wonder why that is??

 

Feel LOADS happier on spikes though!! That is great fun, not so funny when up the tree you stop to take a photo and drop you glove!! happily it was easy on the way back down!!

 

john..

You're right, the feeling of being exposed is worse than the height for me. Much nicer to be enclosed by branches. Anyway confidence will come with practice, and the saying is "low and slow" until you get a feel for things.

 

Check your anchor point before climbing by loading it with weight should help you trust in it, no need to shock load it.

 

And if you are taking photos, well, we like photos on here so do share...

[john87]

31 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

You're right, the feeling of being exposed is worse than the height for me. Much nicer to be enclosed by branches. Anyway confidence will come with practice, and the saying is "low and slow" until you get a feel for things.

 

Check your anchor point before climbing by loading it with weight should help you trust in it, no need to shock load it.

 

And if you are taking photos, well, we like photos on here so do share...

Yes, i think branches would be a HUGE comfort!!

 

Ok, maybe not the best choice of tree for my first go!!

 

What worried me, is, if you look in the second photo, see all the dead branches stuck up there??.. How did i know that "my" branch was not just about to fall off??

 

In the third photo, yes, branches would be awful nice!!

 

In the last photo, the i tree i spiked up, how the heck are there gate hangers about 15 feet up?? I went past these just by flipping the flip line over them.. Was easy, just leant into the tree and flipped it over.. Felt so much more safe than the first tree, i was giggling like an idiot all the way up, well, about 18 feet. Went home then as the sun was terrible and i have to avoid the sun in a big way..

 

john..

 

[Doug Tait]

23 minutes ago, john87 said:

Yes, i think branches would be a HUGE comfort!!

 

Ok, maybe not the best choice of tree for my first go!!

 

What worried me, is, if you look in the second photo, see all the dead branches stuck up there??.. How did i know that "my" branch was not just about to fall off??

 

In the third photo, yes, branches would be awful nice!!

 

In the last photo, the i tree i spiked up, how the heck are there gate hangers about 15 feet up?? I went past these just by flipping the flip line over them.. Was easy, just leant into the tree and flipped it over.. Felt so much more safe than the first tree, i was giggling like an idiot all the way up, well, about 18 feet. Went home then as the sun was terrible and i have to avoid the sun in a big way..

 

john..

 

Just use your judgement, you already know a dead branch from a live one. Does it have leaves on, any splits or damage on it, bark missing or included, fungi present. A pair of binoculars may help. As I said earlier if you load the system before climbing it'll give you confidence but be aware that even if you're anchored to a solid limb, you can dislodge dead wood from elsewhere in the canopy.

 

The gate hangers must've grown up with the tree, or there used to be a 20' high gate there! It's amazing what you find inside trees, metal, bricks, signs etc.

 

You might find a Stupsi or Pauli book by Claus Mattheck useful to enhance your knowledge of tree body language and help understand what the tree is telling you before climbing.

 

 

[john87]

42 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

Just use your judgement, you already know a dead branch from a live one. Does it have leaves on, any splits or damage on it, bark missing or included, fungi present. A pair of binoculars may help. As I said earlier if you load the system before climbing it'll give you confidence but be aware that even if you're anchored to a solid limb, you can dislodge dead wood from elsewhere in the canopy.

 

The gate hangers must've grown up with the tree, or there used to be a 20' high gate there! It's amazing what you find inside trees, metal, bricks, signs etc.

 

You might find a Stupsi or Pauli book by Claus Mattheck useful to enhance your knowledge of tree body language and help understand what the tree is telling you before climbing.

 

 

I tried my binoculars but they would not focus up close enough. I tried taking photos too, and zooming in, but i could not make out much..

 

I will get one of them books!! I am quite good at structural mechanics thanks to my years of engineering, so i decided that if the branch concerned had enough tensile and compressive strength to resist the bending moment and shear forces imposed by its own weight, then as long as i had my anchor point close to the trunk, then the additional shear force caused by me would probably be ok.

 

I was not happy though, and to be honest was daft to do it. Thinking something is ok and KNOWING it is ok are a mile apart when you are 30 feet up a tree!!

 

I was concerned about falling bits landing on me, but as there was no wind at all, and the branch i was tied to was rigid i decided it would be ok.. Again, in hindsight i would do things differently, as in wearing a helmet for a start off..

 

john..

Edited July 17, 2021 by john87
Forgot a bit!!

[john87]

On 17/07/2021 at 13:56, Doug Tait said:

Just use your judgement, you already know a dead branch from a live one. Does it have leaves on, any splits or damage on it, bark missing or included, fungi present. A pair of binoculars may help. As I said earlier if you load the system before climbing it'll give you confidence but be aware that even if you're anchored to a solid limb, you can dislodge dead wood from elsewhere in the canopy.

 

The gate hangers must've grown up with the tree, or there used to be a 20' high gate there! It's amazing what you find inside trees, metal, bricks, signs etc.

 

You might find a Stupsi or Pauli book by Claus Mattheck useful to enhance your knowledge of tree body language and help understand what the tree is telling you before climbing.

 

 

I bought the Stupsi the hedgehog book!! It is REALLY good.. I always thought of trees as, well, a tree! but no, they are VERY much a living thing, almost like they can think and stuff..

 

I certainly learnt something [lots]..

 

john..

[Doug Tait]

2 hours ago, john87 said:

I bought the Stupsi the hedgehog book!! It is REALLY good.. I always thought of trees as, well, a tree! but no, they are VERY much a living thing, almost like they can think and stuff..

 

I certainly learnt something [lots]..

 

john..

Glad you like it, when I was first given them I thought 'kids book' but I've learnt a lot from them. The more knowledge you have the safer and more enjoyable climbing will be. Hope you've got a helmet sorted out, was glad of mine twice today!

[john87]

I learnt a lot too. I have already found a VERY large branch on a scots pine that will have to come off as it has a big crack on a bend near the origin of the branch. It is one of them failures in shear along the neutral axis caused by the bending moment..

 

I would imagine these cracks form, because in a beam, a bending moment produces a longitudinal shear force that is highest at the neutral axis, and since wood splits along the grain easily, off runs the crack..

 

I will take a photo and post it..

 

Still got to sort a helmet.. I was thinking of getting one of them gopro things or similar too so one day i can look back and think "what on earth was i doing!!"

 

john..