Climbing trees in the rain: Dangerous, or just unpleasant?

[Hodge]

I forgot to mention that as I'm based in the Lake District we get a shed load of rain, if we called off jobs due to rain we would have no money😂 also the climbers I use are good lads and want to get the job done. We have had to stop once due to severe wind and that's it. Last winter we had a large Beech to dismantle, it was appalling weather but we got the job done. I had in my mind allowed 5 days on the job and we did it in 3.5, we all put a good shift in regardless of the rain. 

[maybelateron]

16 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Eucalyptus in the rain, without spikes.

It’s a no from me.

Agree entirely. Different if you have already started a dismantle, wearing spikes, and just want to get it finished. NoNo for me pruning smooth barked trees in the wet. 

[Con]

19 hours ago, Dee MacThomas said:

Is that the case with all trees, regardless of the thickness of their bark? I wonder if there could be a big Douglas Fir tree or a Chestnut that you could safely dig spikes into.

 

EIther way, I take your point.

Different lengths of gaffs 

[skyhuck]

I've climbed in horrendous weather, and reduced huge conifer hedges, loading onto a trailer, no chipper, rain running down the back of my neck, no part of me not wet and cold. It's doable, but pretty unpleasant.

 

But I've been trading for coming on 30 years and these days if it's wet, I'ed sooner split logs, look at work/do invoices, paper work or take the Mrs out for breakfast and then the cinema.

[Mesterh]

13 hours ago, MattyF said:

I'll only call off jobs if it's gonna damage lawns or if the vehicles are going to sink in Feild's... I quite enjoy climbing in the rain.... probably for the same demented sadomasochistic reasons I still enjoy this job though.

A long time ago i worked with a bloke who loved working in the rain, sleet or snow. He really, really hated working in the heat though. 

[Will C]

Uke in the wet is like trying to climb a sheet of glass covered in snot! There’s not many I won’t go at in any weather but uke is just crap.
However the longer in the tooth I get the less I like working in the rain, especially if it’s coming sideways 

[Mesterh]

London plane is a good laugh in the wet. At least you don't end up coughing up a lung. 

[Stephen Blair]

Working 1 rainy day here or there or even a passing shower isn’t much of a drama.  Day in, day out, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade you earn the right to say, stuff that!  Steamed up work trucks, wet gear needing cleaned every night after being sat with a wet arse for an hour on the way home or stuck in traffic for a couple more.  Unloading your kit into a dark container or poorly lit shed on a farm after being stuck on a chip pile or forgetting the tools in the back when you tipped.  It’s all just grim, non glamorous, hard graft!

  Then there’s the trying to dry the kit out for the next day that seems pointless, sliding you arms in what you thought was a dry waterproof jacket first thing in the morning, the sludge that runs down your arm from a friction hitch with the stench of ear muff sweat and dampness like vinegar from your climbing lid as your shoving your head through a conny hedge.  Not exactly like the catalogue pics I dreamt it would be!😒😂

  

[Retired Climber]

21 hours ago, Mesterh said:

A long time ago i worked with a bloke who loved working in the rain, sleet or snow. He really, really hated working in the heat though. 

I hate it being too hot. I work best after a hard frost, or with a light dusting of snow on the ground (as long as it's not warm enough to get slushy). 

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, Stephen Blair said:

Working 1 rainy day here or there or even a passing shower isn’t much of a drama.  Day in, day out, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade you earn the right to say, stuff that!  Steamed up work trucks, wet gear needing cleaned every night after being sat with a wet arse for an hour on the way home or stuck in traffic for a couple more.  Unloading your kit into a dark container or poorly lit shed on a farm after being stuck on a chip pile or forgetting the tools in the back when you tipped.  It’s all just grim, non glamorous, hard graft!

  Then there’s the trying to dry the kit out for the next day that seems pointless, sliding you arms in what you thought was a dry waterproof jacket first thing in the morning, the sludge that runs down your arm from a friction hitch with the stench of ear muff sweat and dampness like vinegar from your climbing lid as your shoving your head through a conny hedge.  Not exactly like the catalogue pics I dreamt it would be!😒😂

  

But , apart from that ....😁