Entering The Tree

[mikepage]

In Pennsylvania, or at least with the couple of tree company's I've worked with, we mostly enter the tree using a 40 ft extention ladder.(12.19 meters, standard is retarded) Then make our way up either climbing the tree, or setting the line with a pole and climbing the rope. My buddy who is an arborist in colorado said his company doesn't even have ladders on their trucks. And at last years TCIA confrence in Conneticut, some of the guys laughed and were calling us cave men for still doing that way. But I gotta say we've done it both ways side by side, ladders and poles vs throwlines, and the ladders and poles are on average much faster. Not all the time, and some trees that I have climbed didn't even have branches for 70ft, so you pretty much have to throw a line. How do you guys enter trees ?

[silky fox]

My Favoured method on a large tree is to install my rope and cambium saver from the ground using a 12 oz bag and throwline...i,m a very good shot thankfully and always get the highest point in the tree within a few shots...then pantin up to my first work position.(Very satisfying)...on a medium tree i,m happy to ladder up to the crown break then strop to strop to the top!..But i always enjoy to climb from the ground...plenty of coils...reverse throw over the shoulder gets great height over my first branch...that,s the beauty of being a tree climber,so many ways to get up!

[Taupotreeman]

I used ladders when I first started then moved on to poles, monkeys fist etc. Now I'm learning to use a throw ball properly and although a ladder is sometimes easier, by the time you have had the hassle of getting it out, carrying it to the tree, putting it up, accessing the tree and then putting the ladder away, most of the time you can have the rope up and ready if you're half decent with the throw ball (which I'm not I might add). There's also something quite satisfying accessing a tree either on single line or double using a pantin or other ascenders. Don't know why, maybe because it's new to me but I get a bit of a kick out of it. I sometimes still use the poles to put a rope up a tree if I can't get the throw line where I want it but we don't carry ladders on our truck at the council and rarely do I carry one on my own private work truck unless it's an orchard ladder.

[Marc]

Throw line and srt everything even apple trees, well not quite. Most good throwers will easily beat using ladders into the tree with energy to spare.

[silky fox]

I Totally Agree Marc...Ladders are for Window Cleaners! It,s sad i know,but i often cycle off to a nice Big tree with open Boughs and spend a couple of hours throwing in my spare time...If you visualize the bag sailing through the "Hole" it becomes second nature after a while..."Use the Force"...

[Old Mill Tree Care]

I Totally Agree Marc...Ladders are for Window Cleaners! It,s sad i know,but i often cycle off to a nice Big tree with open Boughs and spend a couple of hours throwing in my spare time...If you visualize the bag sailing through the "Hole" it becomes second nature after a while..."Use the Force"...

 

Spare time? SPARE TIME!! I have not had spare time since 1989!

[arbogrunt]

Both!...I quite often use bigshot and throwline with a pantine for accessing big trees, but normally, its a damn sight quicker going up a ladder then climbing up to anchor using a couple of changeovers. There are times when a BIG ladder is a godsend...why waste time getting in when you can be pruning and earning your money??

[Mark Bolam]

I find more and more that people in the anti-ladder brigade tend to fall in the sub-30 category!

[Mark Bolam]

Lucky sods!

[testcricket01]

I find more and more that people in the anti-ladder brigade tend to fall in the sub-30 category!

 

ive always been a ladder man from college we even used one of them old massive wooden ladders you extend it with pulling ropes etc why pull your self up so easy walk up a ladder