Climbing accident, Northwich, Cheshire

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, Mark J said:

On my phone it looks like the other tree was an ash with a sparse crown (ADB?). That might have been a factor in the sequence of events. 

How?

[Mark J]

17 minutes ago, AHPP said:

How?

Perceived strength in anchor point. He may have had a 'breakaway' that was stronger than his tie in. I didn't look in detail as I don't like turbo-grim videos. 

Edited Friday at 23:19 by Mark J

[AHPP]

Ah. I thought you meant the crown the fallen tree was hung up in. Didn’t rewatch for similar reason to yours. 
 

Can see your thought process but it’s a bit optimistic. Anyone who’s consciously assessing his anchor point strength compared to his breakaway system strength and building in factors to allow for underestimating etc isn’t doing the job like that anyway. 

[Mark Bolam]

His anchor could have been bomber Mark.

Then he would have been torn in half.

 

As Hairy said earlier, even if he hadn’t been stropped in and everything went to plan that head could have wiped him out.

 

I feel sorry for the lad, but he f’d up.

So did his ground crew.

[manco]

taking out all silly ideas of cranes and winches out of the equation, and regardless of where anyone was anchored, am i alone in thinking the way to go about it was to work from the branch tips backwards rather than taking a slice in the middle of the trunk?

because im seeing that as the glaringly obvious point, why was he cutting it in the middle at all?

[Mark Bolam]

Why is a winch a silly idea?

 

Yes, nibbling the tips would have been better, but he’s still going down with the tree if he’s tied to it when it eventually triggers.

[peds]

15 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Why is a winch a silly idea?

 

Yes, nibbling the tips would have been better, but he’s still going down with the tree if he’s tied to it when it eventually triggers.

 

No no, high anchor in an adjacent tree, but crown-side... not butt-side.

 

If I was doing a smaller tree, on my own, with no chance or budget or availability for crane or winch or helicopter or tannerite... and a neighbouring tree allowed such an anchor... I'd be nibbling the hung-up crown from the edges, carefully, without stropping on to the casualty. 

[tree-fancier123]

this isn't an idea written from experience of big hung up roadside trees, more plenty of small ones, I did one the other day, and used the blocking method to get the butt off the ground and then a rope with me and the owner pulling with the hung up tree in mid air, it worked. I do have a T35 winch, but this was an add on job I'd not planned for.

Now with a big tree like that I imagine blocking from the base out across the road cutting to head height from the side and then a pull rope (if gravity didn't shift it). Maybe they didn't even have a pull rope with them.

A decent rigging line and perhaps a pulley for redirect and the tractor, plus the blocking method would have been my first thoughts - although I know when the crown in wedged in the severed butt of the hung up tree will not fall or be pulled down. At that point with the hung up tree suspended in mid air they could have said right f*ck it - pull in direction of severed stump of hung up tree and just fell the other one across the road too. They fell one too many trees, but make it back home

[manco]

2 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

Why is a winch a silly idea?

 

Yes, nibbling the tips would have been better, but he’s still going down with the tree if he’s tied to it when it eventually triggers.

winching etc complicating the issue.

lets winch this off a strap over there and then cut here and here, and pull this way and then do that bit, etc. cranes, mewps etc all similarly complicating.

 

simple chopping to get it on the floor then chip and log, id be climbing Tree B (which its hung up in) and stripping the branch ends of Tree A (the fallen one) back to contact points, then reducing that number of contact points to one supporting point, then chop that and watch it drop past me.

not strapped into Tree A at any point, always working from a top line into Tree B.

 

i cant see any logical reasoning for cutting it in the middle where he did.

 

[MattyF]

1 minute ago, manco said:

winching etc complicating the issue.

lets winch this off a strap over there and then cut here and here, and pull this way and then do that bit, etc. cranes, mewps etc all similarly complicating.

 

simple chopping to get it on the floor then chip and log, id be climbing Tree B (which its hung up in) and stripping the branch ends of Tree A (the fallen one) back to contact points, then reducing that number of contact points to one supporting point, then chop that and watch it drop past me.

not strapped into Tree A at any point, always working from a top line into Tree B.

 

i cant see any logical reasoning for cutting it in the middle where

 

 

 

 

 An 8t forestry winch would stand that whole tree up and over back in to the wood on to the other side in around 15 seconds , even if you don’t have the confidence in the winch or room to do that and you cut it off the butt first and winched it in it would save keeping the road shut for longer  with the clear up… far from complicating , it’s the easiest safest route in my view.