tockmal

Think i'll buy the positioner with the swivel, its looks like a more refined micrograb, which is what I use now. Is it any different? The swivel is at the top- http://www.climb-art.com/positioner_parts.htm

It was just an idea, I think that younger climbers/groundies need all the encouragement they can get what with the diabolical wages they have to live on. Suppose thats another issue for another thread some other time.

That should be taken into consideration when judging the pics, a new climber/groundie will be on lower wages than a climber of 10 years or so. They should not have to go through the discomfort the rest of us had to when wearing the old style chainsaw trousers.

Grab some of these matty - they taste pretty good. Found them in tesco

Does the Positioner have a swivel? So it doesn't twist your 'O' ring when your trying to find a good work position

Have you heard of a guy called Reg Coates? he was looking for a climber in Manchester recently. Seems like a good guy.

I think someone new to climbing should win.

Tony mentioned the mycelia sheets of Armillaria being white, here is a pic - The mycelial sheeting associated with honey fungus can be seen just above my thumb. For anyone new to honey fungus, I'm holding the rhizomorphs(bootlaces).

Its just an idea, I don't have the same thing everyday. I just cut out the trash.

Its the crunch Ed, youi gotta find an alternative to these or your on a one way ticket to fatsville! We're genetically programmed to enjoy crunchy things, the crisp industry is knows this, so they make them more and more crunchy! Try cream crackers with roquefort instead or a good strong cheddar if your poor. At least its real food. Theres about 2 tablespoons of fat in a bag like this.

Matty, don't avoid them altogether if you like them, but all that stuff is highly refined and processed, makes it harder for your body to break down. Chocolate and sweets are like eating trash, your body has to work really hard to get any goodness from them. When it does its just short term bursts then back down to feelin crap. Brazil, pecan, hazel nuts , raw peanuts, walnuts, are good snacks oatcakes are good as well. Its the trash you eat and drink in between your meals that makes you feel like sh*t. Crisps are full of oil, and its clogging your arteries as we speak, they taste great but they are full of salt and fat, the salt causes your body to hold onto any water it has - causing bloatedness. Get a decent breakfast like porrage oats, if you don't like the sloppy look of porrige cook it for less time in the microwave - its still chewy and smells so damn good. The best god damn slow release energy food of all time.

Steve, my daily food intake is as follows..... Breakfast - Bowl of porrage oats with bran (Sainsburys)with semi-skimmed milk, sprinkled with half a teaspoon of organic unrefined cane sugar. Mid morning - one/two bananas, drink cranberry or pomegramite juice mixed 50/50 with sparkilng water. Lunch - (made the night before) Brown rice, cooked with Miso soup mix(any supermarket), Swiss boullion, madras, tikka and garam masala spices and a teaspoon of peanut butter. You can include sauted onions, peppers, chicken...whatever you like really. The brown rice will not bloat you like white rice or pasta, pasta is the champion bloaterfood. Alternatively - sandwich made with wholemeal/granary bread and lean meat or tuna and sweetcorn with mayonnaise. With a dash of black pepper. Dinner - chicken or fish like tuna, cod, haddock, salmon with roasted veg(parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, peppers, onions, courgettes) go easy on potatoes as they will bloat you as well. Drink glass of semi-skimmed milk or fresh orange juice with dinner. AVOID!!!! CRISPS OF ANY KIND EVEN TORTILLA CHIPS, SALTED PEANUTS, CHOCOLATE, SWEETS, PROTEIN POWDERS, VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS. FIZZY DRINKS LIKE COKE OR 7UP, LUCOZADE, POWERADE, RED BULL. Finally drink at least 1 and a half litres of water per day or more depending on thirst.

Have you heard of this site? This guy looks at treeclimbing holistically, seems to take a different approach to nutrition, body conditioning and ergonomics. He's even designed an ergonomically correct posture harness for treeclimbers. http://www.treemettlenexus.com/treemettlenexus.html

I have a lathe, so I keep some of the wood, its rare you can find spalted timber which is still intact.

Guys, I'm not gonna get into the whole debate about using a platform.

A close up of the zonelines commonly associated with Ustilina(Kretchmaria) deusta

Good points. Tony I have a question....The photo below is of the cross section of the base of the beech seen in the earlier photos. The black zonelines look like what is typical of Ustilina or Kretchsmaria deusta. There was no visible signs of Ustilina round the base of the tree, can the black zonelines appear regardless of a fruiting body on the outside of the stem? Maybe a difficult one to pin down, but worth a thought nevertheless.

I try when I get the time. Here is a shot of the rhizomorphs of the Honey fungus (Armillaria), you can see the white mycelial sheeting that is typical of Armillaria behind my hand, the bootlaces were still up there at about 30 ft on the stem. Not a great thing to see on a tree you are about to work on.

Thats exactly my point if more consultants had at least a background in climbing they would understand the safety issues concerned with working on a decaying or dangerous tree at a later stage. Many consultants just don't comprehend what it is like to work on a tree they have said is sustainable when it is in fact dangerous to work on or will be in the near future.

Very important indeed, which is why more climbers need to learn about fungi and how it affects the wood in the trees so that the person doing the consultancy can also do the practical work. Consultant surgeons in hospitals do it so why can't our industry?

Yeah the entire tree from root to shoot had toadstools. I agree with your theory, when you look at people - someone may be allergic to cat hairs and another person may be totally unaffected. Why not the same for trees? There was no leaves on the tree, but the buds were visible, leading you into a false sense of security. Normally if there is no buds and extensive dieback i become very wary and more alert to the dangers of working on the tree. I have trouble understanding what exactly is going on when I see these reaction zones, because they don't always follow Shigo's model of CODIT. Some parts of the affected area have compartmentalized while other parts have progressive decay. Very difficult to dissect and study these pieces of timber and come up with any solid theories. I guess I used an extreme example. Sometimes consultants will play down the significance of observing the less famous fungi bad guys.

Close up of underside of fruiting body of Oudemansiella mucida, notice the strange decay staining on the wood the mushroom is sitting on - seems to be across the xylem rays.

Working on this beech removal at the weekend, Honey fungus(Armillaria) had killed the tree, but Oudemansiella mucida (porcelain fungus) had got to work on the stems and branches pretty quick. The tree was the most brittle and dry feeling the climber had ever climbed, he has over 30 years climbing experience - Climbed many dead elms etc. Anyway, just to say - be very cautious when you see this fungi on the tree as it makes rigging impossible, and just goes to show how wrong consultants are when they say that saprophytic fungi are not really a big issue in arboriculture. Below - you can see the fruiting bodies on the stems. More photos to follow later.

Please tell me your joking? you LIKE the smell of leylandiis??!! Cedar - yes, Spruce - yes, pine - yes they all smell good Lawsons - no, leylandii - big no any cypress cultivar - no. I heard it from a top TCC climber, can't say who though.

Interesting, thanks. With that extra length on the Blakes tail you could have taken it over to the working end and made another blakes so you had a double blakes slack tender....all you'd need to do is pull down below your first blakes and the 2nd blakes would heve advanced the first one blah blah blah.......