Photos Courtesty of Baileys Facebook Page....

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Adirondackstihl

Flyz, Fuel & Fotos
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Messages
5,946
Reaction score
8,388
Location
North Country NY
483226_391923994197792_2073578692_n.jpg

Jerry Beranek and Keith Ankler (in the green shirt), his partner, standing in the staging. Jerry’s knocking out the undercut out with a steel bar. To avoid jacking the tree, Jerry climbed almost to the top and removed the big branches on the downhill side of the tree. Note the numerous ropes needed to hoist the equipment to the staging. The chains and binders above and below the cut are used to help avoid splitting, and a possible barberchair.

529501_391924004197791_789374278_n.jpg

It’s rodeo time! If the butt hit the end of the staging and catapulted Jerry, would he ever land? Keith’s safe, and if a problem arises, he’s ready to pick up the tree he’s in and knock the problem out of the way. And how did Charly Pottroff in the tree nearby hold the camera so steady?

558322_391924024197789_1931311199_n.jpg

The drama’s increasing now. Just the popping, tearing and breaking noises would scare most to death. Now — the staging (floor) is built on two springboards that are stuck into notches made in the tree. See the springboards? Check the position of the left springboard in each photo. When a tree falls, it puts tremendous pressure on the butt and (in this instance) has literally pushed the stub back a few feet. When the top left the 150 ft. stump, that stump performed a football touchdown “wiggle.” Wow.

314783_391924037531121_1994721036_n.jpg

The conquerors. Up there, 150 ft. in the air must have been a combination of looking into the Grand Canyon from the hill in Iwo Jima. Who in this world loves their profession like a logger? Note that Jerry Beranek had a broken right foot when he topped this tree — most people couldn’t have performed this job with three healthy feet

599416_391924047531120_1505784332_n.jpg

Falling the 150 ft. stump (stub) was quite a chore, too. The strip this tree was on belonged to John Strauss (standing nearest to the ground). He is a long time old growth redwood timber faller from Fort Bragg, CA. John let Jerry fall the stub since he fell the top part and drooled every time he looked at the remaining stub. They had to pull the stub up the hill with a yarder to save the ...wood and keep it out of the watershed. In this picture, the undercut was just finished and they moved the springboards and staging to the back of the tree to make the last cut. That means cutting, signaling (to the yarder several hundred feet away to take up on the line), cutting, signaling, then holding on one more time.
P.S. The stub (Photo E) was felled a few months after the tree was topped and Jerry Beranek’s (in blue shirt) right foot healed — and his cast had been removed. Without a cast, timberfalling’s a snap.
-Bill Bailey
 
Last edited:
Great pictures! That reminded me of a Stihl poster I have from the 70's, titled "Stihl's The One." It has 5 men in a giant redwood and that guy Jerry Beranek looks like one of the five.
 
I'm a complete noob so I'm hoping somebody can tell me why they cut the top off first instead of falling the entire tree and stayed closer to the ground. Great pics!
 
Amazing!
Would it be incorrect in any way to ask what that one "stub" would bring as timber value?

Howdy,
The price per board foot varies depending on how its graded. If my estimate is right, that 150' chunk is sneaking up on 100,000 board feet.
Regards
Gregg
 
That story is in his book. I'll look in a few minutes and see if it told what the log was worth.
 
There's a few more pictures of that tree right there in the book. The stub ended up broke when it landed. :cry:
 
Back
Top