Thesnarlingbadger

I don’t generally stretch before climbing but have done it in the past on some bigger trees that I knew I would be up for a while. Personally I have never found any benefit to this and if I’m going to cramp up I’m going to cramp up. I get it in my hamstrings, hands, fore arms and feet regularly but generally this happens after a days work when I sit down. Stretching has had no real difference but coconut water helps. If it’s a hot day I will drink a bottom of it plus about 5 or so litres of water. And if it a really hot day maybe twice this and that seems to do the job.

Ropes will still get cut, branches will snap, people will be doing things for the 'Gram and the TikTok... For the gram? TikTok? Am I missing something here?

Ooo sorry I haven’t checked in for a while. Looks like a lit a fire and just walked away. Sorry Paul I thought you might get roped in to this one at some point. My argument is that I have been climbing around 14 years and never had a climbing accident, touch wood. The people who have had climbing accidents that I know of have always done it because they were either complacent or cutting with a saw a few inches from their arm. I have seen and herd of more accidents in the top of a conifer hedge where people are topping and making quick cuts and let’s face it what the hell are 2 lines in that situation ever going to change other than make the whole job more stressful (most people working in that situation are doing it with a strop and nothing else). The two rope thing came about because there were more accidents but did HSE look into what accidents happened or was it just a case of “oh crap this industry has countless accidents let’s make it more of a nightmare to even work”? I completely get what you are saying that in the future more people will be climbing on two ropes but that is not safer at all and what we will see is more stupid accidents because climbers are getting tangled in 2 ropes or they will cut one of their anchors out of a tree because they are not thinking straight. More ropes more complications as fair as I can see. I’m not having a go and I started this thread because I genuinely can’t see a be if it to this situation and most climbers I come across feel the same why.

Been dead quite for us the last few weeks. I’ve had work booked in and it’s starting to run quite. Just done 2 days actual work this week and spending the rest of the time sorting out paper work and getting on top of some welding and other bits I needed to do around the yard. I’m not to bothered because we always go a little bit quite once nesting season comes in and the phone has stated to ring a bit more this week. I have work booked in for next week and the following week now but I feel more comfortable when we have 6 weeks booked up which is fairly standard for us the rest of the year. Plus we have a couple of tenders in at the moment and a couple of site clearance jobs booked in for July. So things always turn around. I actually enjoy it when it goes a little bit quite means I can get down the pub on a weed day when it’s not packed (every cloud). Just try and enjoy the quite time and sprang the time sorting stuff you can’t usually get on with because before you know it you’ll be back to 7 day weeks and pulling your hair out because there’s not enough hours in the day.

I always put in the RA that two lines would make the job more awkward and there for dangerous. But on some of the sites we work I will use two lines to make sure we are sticking to the book. Generally though nobody has a clue and HSE might turn up and see we aren’t swinging chainsaws around and trashing things and be happy.

Yeah sorry I understand the AA didn’t come up with this whole thing but I’m aware they will be the ones watching this thread and not HSE. I do think it’s a shame that more coins t be done when this all kicked off by them as I have spoken to instructors who also think the whole thing is a joke and others within the authority side of the industry who feel the same way. If you want to make it safe better training is key. IMO

That’s also a good point if I was subbing and the boss asked me to use two lines I wouldn’t grumble because it’s their ship at the end of the day. Im just saying I’ve had maybe 10 or so different climbers come in and do some work for me since the start of these new regs and most of them are still working for me and out of them only one was using double ropes so I was just wanting to see if it was different in other parts of the country.

Thanks for the input on this. I think the way I see this is if 95% of people aren’t bothering with this then why the hell aren’t the AA reviewing this again and saying actually no one is going to be using 2 ropes unless it makes there lives easier on the job so let’s review the situation again and come up with a better way of doing this. Mick I know exactly what your saying but I just think that it’s so over kill on most trees that common sense tells you how ridiculous it is. I would say I’m more carful I. A tree now than I was before and that’s because I don’t want to have an accident and the AA turn round and say look if you had to ropes in this wouldn’t have happened.

Good to know guys. I think from what I have heard most of the country are sticking to the old rules.

The only time I want to see that many ropes is when the misses is getting kinky

Thanks Steve that’s good to know. I thought maybe the rest of the country were sticking to the rules and it was just the south west that stuck there middle finger up to it all.

So it’s been on my mind for a while now but I just wanted to see how many people are actually climbing on 2 ropes? I’m going to get a load of crap from the AA for this I’m sure but I’ve been climbing for 15 years or so now. Learnt on 1 rope and have tried 2 ropes but other than the odd occasion can not seem to get my head around it. I have tun my own business for the past 6 years and have Subbies working for me. Every climber that comes through climbs on a one rope system bar one chap who came to do a few days with us. He was a nice guy and a fairly decent climber but he spent so long organising his kit that a half day job ended up taking a whole day and we had to go back to sort the stem the next day. Not having a go at him and if that’s the way he wants to do things that’s fine but I would have had the tree down in half the time and been out of there by 2. What I want to find out is how many of you are climbing on two ropes now and is anyone finding a quicker way to do things on this set up? I stick to every other health and safety aspect of the industry but I’m finding I’m to long in the tooth for this one. I’d like to hear form some of the older crew on this one as I find it hard to believe there are many 50 year old climbers out there throwing two ropes up the tree. Obviously this is a bit of a awkward subject given the fact that H&S is involved and if you would rather send a message to my inbox I understand. It’s been driving me mad the fact that every single person I know (bar one) agrees with me that the 2 rope system is ridiculous 2 years on. Let me know your thoughts and que the abuse I’m going to get from this. Thanks

Just heard this off a mate but it’s probably old hat as I’m not so up on current jokes unfortunately…… Micky and Minnie Mouse are in the divorce court and Minnie’s lawyer says to Micky “so you say you want to divorce Minnie because she is a bit silly, I don’t really see how that is grounds for divorce”. Micky at the stand Micky says “no I said she was F*****g Goofy”.

I had one for a week and it bent slightly meaning I couldn’t put all the extensions back together. They seem solid but the ally they are made from is weak and i have only ever use Jameson’s since, which are fine but do end up taking a beating and over time you will need to replace poles. I probably buy 4 or 5 poles a year but it’s the guys using them more than me and you expect to have some collateral running a business. But a replacement pole costs £50-80 where as a whole silky set costs a fortune.

It’s the same as keys that fit any lock type things, unless your a locksmith the only reason you are buying them is to do someone else over. Drives me nuts.

That’s fair enough and yes your right if someone did pinch a truck they might not even think to look for a tracker. As you say can’t do any harm having them in.

I think the light fingered follows have things that find trackers. A chap who has a scrap yard down from me had all his skip lorry’s fitted with trackers and well hidden and about 2 years or so back had all the lorry’s nicked and all the trackers we left in a pile in the yard smashed up. He got them all back a week later because the dippy idiots didn’t change one of the rear licence plates and got palled by coopers in the midlands somewhere. But he seemed to think they had some sort of scanner because they were hidden at the back of the engine and they were only about the size of a large match box.

Don’t think there have been any significant branches removed from the tree in the past but I could be wrong. The branches around this level are all basically epicormic not hiked than 3” diameter but there may have been a larger branch removed 50 odd years ago when the trees were a little smaller. The Tree officers in the area are aware of this and are going to decide what would be the best course of action to take. Removing the tree would be a real shame as it makes up a row of 10 with a matching set of 10 the other side of the lane but that being said it is a high risk area of the tree did come down in winds.

That’s my concern, that it could be anything and not knowing really means removal to keep things safe. There’s no songs of the tree compartmentalising around the scaring and I would say that the rot is spreading but I don’t have a previous point in time to compare to. It might have to be remove and replant but if it is fungal then I’m concerned a newly planted Lime will not take in the same spot.

Maybe. Still not 100% do you know what time of year the fruiting posies would show with this? If it is Kretzschmaria I would say it’s fairly advanced stages. Thank you

We reduced an avenue of lime trees last week and when we came to the last one and started reducing it we noticed it felt a little more ridged than the other 9 in the row and realised it had a huge patch of rot on the back of the tree. The trees are all TPO’d and I have spoken to the tree officer and sent over photos and she is as miffed as I am. We are trying to work out what is causing the issue and I don’t want to remove the tree if not completely necessary but the area has high foot fall and traffic and is right next to a garage and within falling distance of the house so I’m fairly concerned. It almost looks like phytophthora but not got the bleeding stains that you usually get with this. I have tapped the base with a mallet and all sounds solid enough but the rot starts about 4m up and is about 1.5m in height and 0.5m across and the rotting wood is like polystyrene and the tree sound hollow all the way around this part of the trunk. The tree is the second one in the row of 10 trees and is sheltered and probably why it has not come down in the winds a ninth or so back but is not as tall as the others. The new growth looks healthy but I know limes can be bloody rotten and still look in good shape. I’ve attached a couple of photos. Let me know if anyone has got any idea. Thanks for your help as always. Cheers

I know tell me about it. Some people look at life in a different way to everyone else I guess. Still I was stacked with work around the time and a couple of phone calls sorted work for the day.

Had someone ask me to trim and reduce a conifer hedge a few years back. About half a days work for 2 of us and I quoted £270 or something. She said that was fine, so booked in the work and sent the quote through. Turned up to do the work a few weeks later and the hedge had been done by some travelling friends who she said charged £1000 but said they could do it then and there so she decided to have it done as the weather was nice. She then said that they through everything into the neighbours garden and could I clear it away. Yes no problem but it will cost you £600 as the neighbour have no access to the back garden and it is all in a stream about 20ft down from your garden. She told me that I was a rip off and that I should be ashamed of myself after she had been done over by travellers, I should be doing it for free. I apologised and explained why it was going to cost what it was. She then went down her road and told every neighbour what had happened and that I was a robbing bastard. I then got 3 called from her neighbours about work who all explained to me that she was a nightmare and she had actually done the job herself with her husband. Her neighbour with the conifer leftovers in his garden explained that he asked them not to drop the branches in his garden to which she told him that she had someone coming round to clear it up in a couple of weeks. Beggars belief.

This is true, but we do have a lot of other work as well as ash dieback and to be honest if the trees are too knackered I’m pricing for a MEWP and or a crane. I’m aware it’s not going to be around for long and if I can use it as a way increase profits and buy larger kit that that’s something (similar to what a lot of older firms did with Dutch Elm. Not that I’m happy about taking ash out as it’s an awful situation but I guess issuing it to an advantage is the best we can do.

I would say anything can come under this legislation if it’s causing a light issue to a neighbour.