Tom Dunlap

Ohhh...don't worry There isn't a requirement to do a safety assessment like you have in the UK so that means anything goes.

I don't disagree one bit. The company and the climber made lots of mistakes and got real lucky. The newspaper must have pulled the picture from their website today. A week ago I got the same picture from a friend without the name or location of the homeowner. Check out the picture...

I just got off the phone with the company owner. The climber had just returned from work after being laid up from an injury. The day was hot and humid which leads to fuzzy thinking. A by-pass cut would have reduced/eliminated the barberchair and jump when the log was picked by the crane.

Until four years ago I lived in Minnesota. That makes this a bit of a hometown issue for me. A week ago I got the picture in an email blast from a buddy in the SW US. Then, today it came as a link from the past president of the Minnesota ISA chapter. thats the link that I posted. I just got off a twenty minute phone call with the husband of the woman who took the picture. Rest assured..the pic is real and not edited/photoshopped. Later today I'm going to call and talk with Maureen about the picture. Take a close look for the bits of sawdust/chips around the cut. There is much more to the story...but be assured...the flash happened just the way it's shown.

Flaking reduces, almost eliminates hockles and snags.

He used up nine lifetimes of cat lives here: http://tinyurl.com/5drr7v

When I need a container for long ropes I keep my eye peeled for heavy duty hardshell suitcases that are being throw away. Free is a great price! Flaking ropes into the suitcase is super easy. the suitcase can be tossed around be gorillas and survive. Otherwise it would have been broken when I picked it up. When they do get trashed I start over. A blotch of spray paint color coded to the rope color makes them easy to tell apart.

If they are getting the trees pollarded/topped/crown reduced how is there an assurance that they will continue with the required care that they are initiating? These practices aren't a once-and-done operation.

For the sake of the rest of the world I hope that she isn't exported.

Take a look at how my brother and I have our lanyards setup. http://tinyurl.com/5jhtam The ISC captured eye swivel is such a nice configuration. The small cord is New England Tech Cord and the black lanyard is New England KMIII.

The aluminum used for carabiners is maleable and will bend like a coat hanger. Too often, people think that the metal is brittle and might break like an icicle. Read more about this: http://tinyurl.com/6f2rlv Retire or climb??? Can you live with the consequences of your decision?

No videos... I'm using the newest version of the Unicender with a tether that Rich Hattier and I have worked out. For ascent, Uni, left adjustable foot strap, chest ascender and Pantin for right foot. TreeFrog is the best! There are pics at TreeBuzz in a couple of Unicender threads.

Dave, Boise is one of the rare cities that actually has a city ordinance banning tree climbing unless the climber is rescuing a Frisbee, kite, model airplane or cat. This is soooo funny since Boise=tree hahahaha. I have pics of me climbing trees in Julia Davis park with the ordinance sign in the picture. The devil in me...hehehe! I sure hope to see you in Boise!

THE ISC bollard, FOS, Friction On Site. There's another name for it but it escapes me right now. It was invented by Dave Spencer/Lauren Eide from Toronto years ago.

Dave, Are you going to attend the PNW ISA conference in Boise at the end of September? I'm doing an SRT workshop and a talk on Arborist's Ethics. I'd really like to meet you there!

Using any sort of redirect that doesn't have bomb proof strength is going to lead to failure at some time. The M redi shouldn't ever be singled out as bad if it's built correctly. Many times I see climbers use redis or lanyard positions that would NEVER be strong enough as primary TIPs. In a lot of these choices the climber is putting themselves at risk because they overload the redi. If they ever had to rely on the redi/lanyard position it would be likely to fail. Like many other considerations climbers must look and find the weakest link in the system. It should NEVER be the first link!

The FOS has been around for at least five years.

Three years ago I was in the market for a laptop. Since my brother had been after me for years to go Mac I listened to him. After all, for years he listened to his big brother a lot It took me a little while to understand Mac lingo. The change wasn't as easy as changing between Husky and Stihl. More like going from a Blake's to a distal. they work the same but have some details that need to be learned...then appreciated. I have no clue what goes on behind my keyboard on either system. As far as I'm concerned pixies and gremlins run either system. On my Mac laptop the pixies are ALWAYS in control and they make my life easy. When I'm forced to use my PC desktop the gremlins get control in many ways and my life is hell on earth until I can convince the pixies to fight off the gremlins. there are few compatibility issues. I'll tolerate those tiny tradeoffs for a reliable experience any day!

Having three in the Masters makes for a more balanced event. I sure hope that the rule is changed for the ITCC.

Saving seconds here and there does pay off in the long run...otherwise we'd be back to using crosscut saws and not using Silky handsaws. Time isn't the only savings. Years down the road when wear and tear from body abuse catches up climbers may look back and wish that they had taken better care of their one and only body. If any climber doesn't think this is true, ask me. In my mid-30s I spent a summer at the chiropractor getting my back squared away. At the same time I started on the path to taking better care of my body. Now, at 54 I don't regret spending any of the money or time learning more efficient systems. The resistance to SRT increases as the climber gets older. Climbers under 30 are excited, interested and most often incorporate SRT as SOP in tree access. Some go the whole package and figure out how to work a tree using RADS or the Unicender. By 40 there is more skepticism. By 50 there is little interest and SRT is met with some pretty heavy dismissal.

Drella, What's that like? Do you have pictures?

I started climbing on three strand manila with a non-locking steel rope snap and a tautline. You can bet that I won't go back there! How many started climbing without a manufactured harness? After all, a three loop bowline is the basis for all of our harnesses anyway. there's no need for anything but a rope to climb a tree. When Jason Blake injected the Blake's hitch it took about three days of climbing to make the move...never looked back. The resistance to change in some aspects of tree climbing but not others is a real interesting phenomena to me. There certainly is a risk of having complex systems fail because of having so many parts. But...we all drive vehicles that are complex...does anyone routinely check the torque on the wheel nuts? How often are fluids checked? More just rhetorical questions... At the end of the day...does all of the complex gear that we have make our lives better? To some degree it must or arbos would go back to using three strand and no harnesses.

The Lineboss and Lockjack only work on doubled ropes. the Unicender works on single ropes and goes up and down without a changeover. http://thompsontreetools.com/ Anything that could cause a mechanical device to fail could cause a hitch to fail. Dismissing something because it's complex isn't realistic. Would anyone give up their mobile and go back to rotary dial phones? Fuel injection for carbs?

Whenever there is a discussion about hydration 'salt' is always mentioned. Be sure to do more reading on the topic of electrolyte balance from credible sources. Adding table salt, sodium chloride, to your intake is not necessarily the best thing to do. Eating more fresh fruits and veggies will keep your electrolytes pretty darn close to normal. This is a very complex topic and deserves more research.

the blower could be used to cool the climber too. Usual cautions...keep some distance...eye and ear protection...etc. When I was a safety supervisor on a tree project in New Orleans, LA the climbers were required to go into the tree with full Camelbacks. They were monitored to make sure that they were drinking while they climbed too. When I'm working in hot conditions I'll start the day with two full Camelback containers. they're stuffed with ice cubes and refridgerated water at home. the extra goes in my lunch pail. For on ground drinking I'll mix ice tea at about half strength and freeze three liter bottles half full. In the morning they get topped off with the rest of the ice tea that's been in the fridge. It's rare that I don't have cool liquids to drink for the whole day. My lunch pail/cooler is big though