Sciadopitys

ha, ha, ha!!

Hi Monkeyd, all the brackets were about the same age, max of 10cm across, all white on the upper surface. The book i have is one of Claus Mattheck's. It sounds very much and looks very much like D. confragosa. What else could it be if i'm wrong? Another Daedaleopsis species???

I was called out to inspect a willow this afternoon that had split and lost a major scaffold branch. Upon arrival i saw how decayed the base of the tree was, there was lots of fungal brackets up to about 10cm across. Being a fungi novice, i got the books out and i have identified the brackets as Daedaleopsis confragosa. They have a light-coloured upper surface and maze-like pores underneath. My books says this is a white rot that badly damages stems. It also says that it is common on deadwood but less common on living wood. There were brackets on living and dead wood on this willow. The tree was in a bad way and where the branch had split away the interior of the remaining trunk was like soft moist cardboard. The tree was still a threat to the carriageway so was removed. Pics below are very poor quality as all we had with us was a dodgy old nokia phone with a very poor camera, but you'll get the idea. please let me know if the ID is correct :-) cheers

Can u expand on this for me please Peter? Also, u said "Definately try the croll with the sequioa, the croll should be as low as possible to the harness." Why is this?? As for rescue on SRT - i was meaning setting the SRT line up in such a way that a groundsman can lower the victim to the ground whilst still attached to the SRT line by maybe a Petzl ID or some other devise or knot at the base of the tree to save any highly technical aerial rescue! Is there no way of making a hybrid between the 2 Seqouia so tht i can have the benefits of the SRT with quick release buckle, or is this delibratley left out for some reason?? Must be a reason i just don't know it! was looking at the tree frog system in the Sherrilltree catalogue, looks rather simple, croll on harness, pantin on right foot, then hand ascender with footloop attached to your main attachment point on the harness! I would like to try this out first before committing to purchasing all of the gear!

So, where is article 2 of the speedlining folks? I want to save it and print it - it was definately on one of these threads but i am struggling to find it now! Was it Rupe who posted em? Where is that thread???????

So anyone care to discuss SRT????? I was thinking of writing a thread on it this morning as i drove to a job, then logged on tonight and found this old one i put on a while back, but no real response to the origional question! I am very interested in SRT set-ups! I have never used a chest ascender, can anyone give opinions about these as i have just got a Petzl Sequoia SRT by mistake instead of the normal one and i am thinking of keeping it and trying some SRT set-ups involving the Petzl croll. Opinions please! Also, can anyone show pics of or describe some set-ups for rescue from ground on an SRT line! Seen this loads of times but can never rememember any of it! Feel free to get as technical as u like - SRT interests me a lot! Just wish i knew more! Thanks Folks!

Why did the 2nd climber not leave the tree before the top was cut? Like someone else said, wasn't his part by this point completed anyway. IMO, there would be no real problem having a climber attaching slings at one side of the tree whilst the other climber was cutting on the oppersite side of the tree! I can see how this may speed the job up, but i would definately want the second climber on the ground before knocking the top out! And if the speedline was tensioned in the video, then i see no advantage of this - much safer to slacken it off and re-tension it once the top and been arrested and attached! But, whatever the rules say here in the UK, personally i would have no problems riding the speedline on the way down, i just wouldn't want the lowering line attached to slow me down! I really enjoyed reading all the comments on this thread - very interesting how professionals opinions can vary so much!

zing-it

What the hell is that mate? (I am sure i am not the only person wondering!!! )

I am using a Butterfly II Harness (but just bought a Petzl Sequoia), 37m Yale Blaze rope, 8mm Beeline friction cord for VT with hitchclimber (and i also got some of FRANK's red and black stuff, lol) couple of ISC karabiners (but gonna get the Petzl OK's) lanyard made from Yale XTC rope with rope snap and distel with micro-pulley. My VT is tied slightly different to FRANK's, i have another braid in there (4 wraps, 3 braids - i think!!) But been having a bit of trouble getting the 8mm beeline to bite sometimes on the blaze, maybe just cos its new! Seems to work fine on 13mm rope, maybe the problem is just cos blaze is 11mm!

Cheers SWB, I'll try this out later today! :-)

I love to climb, but like using MEWPs too. I think they definately have their place in our industry. Its nice to have the option of a MEWP when a tree's structural integrity is questionable! But i agree with Skyhuck to a certain extent. i am working with climbers who turn up at a job and if its even a slightly challenging climb, they ring the boss and tell him the tree "NEEDS" a MEWP. Its actually quite rediculous! I agree 100% that challenging climbs build confidence and skill levels. But i also think there is a cut-off point and some trees should not be climbed at all. As i said they have their place, but the young lads growing up in our company who rely on them because my boss owns a few truck-mounted ones will never out climb me in any tree, because they rely on MEWP's too much and they are lacking the confidence and skills to tackle big and challenging stuff. And the profit thing like Sky huck said, why eat into your profit if u are a skillful climber and are capable of doing a job from a rope and harness, then more profit is good. If there is a row of 20 trees, then MEWP all the way for me!

Nice tree and a nice MEWP! Yeah, sure does save a lot of climbing, they can be awkward to climb at the best of times with the weeping habit of their branches.

What he said!

Geese? Eh?

Ha, ha, ha!! :-)

Have you got your NPTC certificate of competence for dealing with windblown stems on a building roof Bob??

I disagree - i think they are a great advertisement for your company. A company round here, not tree related but drain unblockers (or whatever the technical term for those guys is!) and their company name is 1-2-clear, every vehicle they own has the same plate with the first letter changed. ?12 CLR What a great way to get people talking and think of you when their drains get blocked - i believe it works!

We should be able to do what Americans do if someone breaks into their property; shoot the bastards! If the theives knew everyone had a gun on their property the crime rate would not be anywhere near it is now!

Are splices done by ourselves sufficient to pass LOLER, or do they have to be done by certified people?

I'm definately up for some beer, bbq and camping! :-)

well i'm 5' 8'', so it'll probably be more like 12 or 13 for me then! :-(

How many locks are we talking to get to 50 feet? 10 or 11 ish?

Crazy, crazy Americans!! :-) Gotta love em!