Getting educated

[morgan79]

Hi tree climbers, I'm new to the Arborist blog, and am basically trying to find the best ways to become immersed in the recreational tree climbing world, which will hopefully eventually involve actually climbing a tree.

I'll put it out there plain and simple, I am a journalist working for High Country News, and am researching a story about the culture of RTC. I want to learn not just about the experience of climbing, but about the lives of the people who are really into this form of recreation.

Who are the different kinds of climbers out there, what got you into it, what issues do you have to deal with in order to climb?

I know from looking at some other blogs that there are concerns about the perception of ninja climbing, limits on permissions to climb in national forests and what-not. As a magazine that covers environment, natural resources, and culture in the West we no doubt want to learn more about the controversial side of climbing as well as the joyous side, but most importantly we want to get input from as many perspectives as possible.

Please feel free to check out www.hcn.org to see the types of stories we write and decide whether you'd be willing to share your knowledge. You can respond to the blog entry, or feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Thanks for your consideration!

Morgan

You can also check out my bio at www.moheimphotography.com

 

[moss]

First thing you should do is check in with Harv "Ponderosa" Teitelbaum in Colorado, he can get you into a tree:
http://www.treeclimbingcolorado.com/

Next thing is, sign up for the 07 Rendezvous in Colorado. It will be a who's who in rec climbing:
http://www.treeclimbingcolorado.com/rendezvous.html

The fear on old-growth climbing is as follows:
If hundreds of rec climbers target specific tallest trees on the planet then there is going to be a problem. No matter how soft the climbing technique is the canopy ecosystem is going to be damaged for these individual record trees.

Read 'The Wild Trees' by Richard Preston, you'll get the canopy scientist perspective, and understand why rec climbers want to go there anyway (the built in dilemna). The canopy scientist position is understood and accepted by many rec climbers and rejected by others. Designated climbing trees for old-growth are going to be the answer if the sport takes off.

Otherwise denial of access is all about liability fear and misunderstanding about rec climbing. People engage in much more dangerous activities on public lands: ATV's, snowmobiles, rock climbing. It's more dangerous to walk a rocky trail then it is to climb a tree (provided you know what you're doing tree climbing). Right now land managers are not inclined to say yes to climbing. They don't understand it and for the legal hacks in the home office it's much easier to say no. Why would they say yes?

Jody Rice in FDR State Park, Georgia is making great strides towards formalizing guidelines and building a relationship between the park and technical/rec tree climbers. He's essentially establishing the future model for public land managers in the rest of the country, whether they know it or not. You can find Jody on the TCC discussion board: http://www.treeclimbercoalition.org/.
-moss

 

[morgan79]

Many Thanks

Thanks Andrew. I've heard of "Ponderosa" Teitelbaum, and he definitely sounds like a good "go to" guy for climbing in the West.

 

[DonnyO]

Of course, you could fly out to the dirty bean, and learn from some old school climbers like moss...................

 

[flying frog]

hello to paonia

Hey Morgan,
I'm a new member here myself an a former occupant of Paonia '96-'00. I Fell in love with that place and need to get back some time to visit.

Some other outlets to rec. tree climbing is Tree Climbers International at www.treeclimbing.com. Peter Jenkins founded this association to teach rec tree climbing and standardize practices for instruction and safety in climbing. I took a Basic course last year and am taking a Facilitators course this year to eventually run Climbing programs as a business. Most of the Groves operate in Georgia and I believe the Colo. climbing is related to TCI. Good luck with your article.
Jim

 

[TreeStyle]

Hi mate,

I'm an Arborist from Brisbane in the beautiful country of Australia. I love to climb trees both when working and when playing.

i really do enjoy climbing trees along the coast (with sea breeze and water views), the downside to this is that 9 out of 10 times the tree is located in a populated area. people spot me climbing and MOST think badly of me. They tell me how much they love trees and try to make me feel like some sort of environmental vandal. They ask me "what are you doing?" i say "climbing a tree" they say "why" i say "because i want to". they seem to find it hard to understand why someone would climb a tree.

Once i was climbing a tree when the cops turned up. they told me to get down then proceeded to tell me how a local had told them that was abducting wildlife. they had to check my bags and took my name and contact numbers, no charges but it was an experience.

All that aside, there is no greater way for me to fully appreciate and understand a tree then to climb one. can be pretty amazing to be 100ft up in a huge canopy that's swaying in the wind.