will.morris

You could be the safest arborist in the world though and still have a nasty, somethings are just not ours to control e.g when massive healthy limbs randomly snap out that you wouldn't have thought twice about anchoring into something a 5th of the size. There are elements of our job that work on chance/luck. RIP to the poor dude and thoughts for his friends, family and of course colleagues.

Sorry to hear that dude Hope you like the 201, good saw

I can't begin to tell you how much fun I've been having at work over this :lol:

Cheers dude ...was good to have a moan yesterday lol after a member of the public pee'd me off claiming that the totally butchered 10ft stem of a 'tree' shouldn't be removed as it was healthy... Some people forget who the arborists are which I find insulting :001_rolleyes: ((Quite satisfying going ahead with the removal and not being able to hear her over the saw/chipper ))

Blatantly done by the kind of _____ that would have just keyed it if it was on the street. The sort of person to do this sort of thing IMO should be used as a body for medical research. I hate the mentality some people have that it is somehow funny to witness something awful happen to someone just because they can afford it, its right up there with the idea that the rich should be taxed to the moon . I mean that as a general statement, it's not aimed at anyone on here There is a big difference between a thug of a footballer on grotesque money and someone that has come from nothing and made something of themselves, this could be his pride and joy earnt from years of reward-less stressful business ventures finally paying off and who knows what crap may have gone on in his/her life.

Read a sign in McDonalds today that said " YES! We will be open xmas day!" ... I just found that really sad/greedy and thought to myself what has the world become.

Thanks guys Yeh the scenery out here is stunning! It was nice to get out of Auckland and drive through some of the proper picturesque areas of the country. Pictures really don't give justice for how amazing the water looked. I think my favourite photo from the climbing is on the first set of pics where my mate with yellow helmet/bag is srt'ing up through the middle of the 2 stems, really shows off the size of them

"How do you get your rope up there?!" Had a good one on Friday... Tree owner: "I'd like you to remove that 'massive' gum out the front please" Me: "You mean that 45ft poplar?..." Quite often when we get call outs its because a 'huge' branch has fallen across the road. I've now learnt that a 'huge' branch can be anything from 5ft long upwards lol. Had to drive from Auckland to Hunua a few weeks back at 4.10am for a single branch about 20ft long, maybe 8" wide at the base ... winch on, straight through chipper, job done. Min pay for a call out is 2hrs on double pay so I'm not complaining!

Awesome news buddy Haha I'm 23 lol not that young! Would never turn down a pint so there is no issues there ...Mines a dark one . Look forward to seeing you! Love the awesome attitudes that this thread has brought out

Put a punchbag up in the garage, its amazing how knackering a bag workout is!

Took a few pics of the are we were climbing in as well, some breathtaking scenery, the water was totally clear! Last 2 pics are from the massive gum stand that we want to do soon. I stood underneath in the orange jacket to show a bit of perspective

More pics. Shot of rum at the top was compulsory apparently

Had an awesome day with 5 other Asplundh lads in Rotorua, NZ today. We made the 2.5/3hr drive south from Auckland last night and booked into a holiday park for the night before an early rise this morning to head to the reds. The first tree we got up after eventually managing a decent shot with the bigshot measured 150.9ft from the very tips. It was a great feeling because for me it was my first time up a redwood and also the first time I'd broken the 150ft marker (just!). 2 ascending at a time on the srt access lines before making change overs to the top we had all 6 of us chilling together about 15ft from the top, taking it in turn to climb to the very tips and poke our heads above the canopy to see the dwarfed surroundings - awsome feeling . The second redwood of the day we measured at just under 165ft. Stopped off in Hamilton on the way home to scope out our next big rec climb, a huge gum.

Awesome bro!! As you've said just keep pushing yourself. One thing about our job is that you'll always be pushed past your comfort zone at times, its how you push through it that will make you a good climber . Wet/windy weather can suddenly turn easy climbs into comfort pushing climbs, but you'll learn to love the challenge

Fair play

Win some, lose some Wish I'd been there to watch the mx5 try to get through it There's a place called Mersey Island near Colchester and to get to it you have to pass across a long road that is only passable at low tide. It's amazing how many people try to get through at other times and how fast people try to drive through water.

How come you guys used the 13mm clutch on smaller rope then? Did you not have the smaller clutch or just found it to work nicer?

Hope it wouldn't upset you if I told you that I brought mine over from the UK with me lol They are a good buy mate I would recommend them

Could do with a long rope so may long into something smaller in diameter The spider jack is the same in that it uses a clutch, but you grip the device and push your fingers down on a button to release, whilst using your thumb to control the speed by pushing a wooden brake into the rope.

Mechanical friction device yep Rope runs through the body of it, red hole clips onto your bridge and your splice into the silver hole. Locks off automatically with your weight and to release you gently pull on the toggle/ball. Check it out: ART Lockjack Sport With Swivel | climbing | art-advanced-ropeclimbing-technology | Gustharts

Any idea why Asplundh won't let us use the RW? Has there been an accident with one or are they just against the principal? We use SRT access lines all the time and they are totally fine with that. I'm not sure how I'd feel work climbing on srt knowing that ground staff are swinging saws around on the deck, close to the critical base anchor. 1 nip of that rope and your history.

I don't have enough experience using a SJ to respond to that but I'm currently on a truck with 2 SJ users doing the big stuff on the contract out here and they are both awesome on them. Personal preferance is the only thing that stops me from wanting to use the SJ, from the times I have used one I'd say its not for me, but if people ask I'd say its an awesome bit of kit

I had my VT set up running pretty sweet, managed to get it to grip reliably but also loose enough to self tend when there was enough rope underneath. I tried tonnes of different factors, length, wraps, crosses, prussik cord but it was never quite 100% like something mechanical. Very close though it was extremely rare for it not to bite at all, at most it required a tiny push into the rope. I might get some more of my gear sent over from the UK soon, including my short rope, so I'll keep the VT on that line for the smaller stuff rather than having to change the lj over each time. I'm sure you'll agree that longer ropes are a real pita for street trees.

How old was it mate?

Nice to hear from some of the SJ cousins lol I run it on yale 13mm rope with a standard double ring cabium saver. Tried it with the smaller clutch on my mates smaller rope (11.5mm I think) with a fancy art cambium saver with a pulley (rope guide?) and that was very lively. With my set up its by no means slow but finding that release point is just a bit more user friendly. I never liked how a VT has to be set after a straight ascent, I've asked loads of different people over time about what would happen if you fell at that point and it seems a pretty grey area as to whether or not it would bite. Had to deadwood a big open gum at work a few weeks back and that was playing on my mind a lot. Yes Dan I saw it when I climbed at your house that time, you were showing me what happens when you grab the ball Thanks for the tip about pulling above it though will have to try that. The RW is actually banned at Asplundh though so I wouldn't be able to use it SRT even if I wanted to at work.