Removal....Climbing Line With Spurs...?

[Night Owle]

Just Curious , Does anyone use A Climbing Line (lets say the
line is set high with a frict saver) with your climbing saddle
and Your favorite friction hitch ( I like the Martin).
And also use spurs to assist in the removal , perhaps to
provide better footing/positioning or would the Spurs
just get in the way or maybe just not necessary.
Any Thoughts.........??

Night Owle

 

[PUclimber]

Yes I do this sometimes if there is a good central lead. In a way this is safer so you can be tied in twice. If my line is already set up in the tree and i have a ground person i spur up and have them belay me as a go up the tree. This is only useful if you use a micro pulley in your system. Otherwise if my climbing line is not set i go ahead and have it set up with my friction hitch and attach it to my saddle and take it up with me. This way I can either set the line or use it as an additional safety. The adjustable friction saver set up or the new rope guide set ups are fantastic on spars and removals.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

it depends

I probably wouldn't bother with a friction saver. But a lot of times I'll brush out the tree as you describe, and then put on spikes to block out the wood. Either way you have options. One thing I would not do is remove a large spreading tree without a climbing line...............

 

[9th year rookie]

Almost always, usually first thing I set, along with a rigging line. More comfortable being suspended from above.

Q - if its a t/d, why not the spikes?
Unless its stupid bushy and you can climb the limbs like a ladder.
I was in a Hemlock 2 weeks ago thinking if I jumped, I wouldnt make it to the ground - very bushy - laterals (4-5") had grown into dominant stems (like a high-end grafting job) and made their own bracing, sort of - wished I had a camera.

 

[ATH]

ANSI Z133.1-2000 9.1.3:
"Arborists shall have available a mininum of two means of being secured while working aloft; for example, an arborist line and a work-positioning lanyard."

I'm newer at this than many of ya'll and I don't do a high percentage of removals so I am asking, not trying to "finger point"...or whatever

Are there other ways to meet this standard? I had done my first few on spikes with a lanyard. After reading that, I started roping in. Not that much extra work, but it is one more thing to be aware of not cutting

 

[Fumbler]

ANSI Z133.1-2000 9.1.3:
"Arborists shall have available a mininum of two means of being secured while working aloft; for example, an arborist line and a work-positioning lanyard."

I'm newer at this than many of ya'll and I don't do a high percentage of removals so I am asking, not trying to "finger point"...or whatever

Are there other ways to meet this standard? I had done my first few on spikes with a lanyard. After reading that, I started roping in. Not that much extra work, but it is one more thing to be aware of not cutting

You can bring a climbing rope with you as you ascend the tree. Tie it around the trunk (running bowline or carabiner) and simply advance it with your lanyard. Attach yourself to the climbing line with a friction hitch. You can keep the climbing line lower than the lanyard so it's out of your way compared to being above you in a friction saver/crotch.

 

[Davey Dog]

I do alot of removals, on tall trees with fewer lats. I will flip up with spurs so I can limb out the tree on the way up. Get myself up to where I want to top the tree, and take a wrap with my flip. I will then go below my wrap and secure my climb line using a friction saver. I like using a friction saver because it allows me to move my climb line down the trunk easily. Once I am attatched with my climb line I will take the wrap out of my flip line. With both lines and my spurs, it gives me a good stable anchor to the tree and I can do what I need to. It is much easier for me to flip up tall trees, then it is to try and rope climb them. Anything up to 100-125" DBH, I will flip.
We do alot of big redwoods here wich turn into giant spring boards once you get them limbed out... I sure wouldnt want to be dangling from one of these while cutting a big piece By big I mean 40-100" by 10-20 feet...

The first tree I removed, I made the mistake of using a Humboldt pie instead of a standard pie... with the elavated back cut, that damn tree shook like a mad bull.... Scared the hell outta me and I was sure glad that I had my hooks on.... My own opinion derived from personal experiences....

 

[treeseer]

I started climbing on elm removals and used 2 ropes early. Spikes were essential for footing.

That standard can be met with 2 lanyards--kinda scary watching someone climb that way tho--what if? Note the word "available"--you only need to be double secured when running chainsaw.

 

[Bermie]

Yup,
I did a removal like that on Monday, a pride of india - it had a nice high central leader and long spreading laterals, High tie in, removed all the laterals then blocked down the stem on spikes, wire core with climbing line below.
I have noticed on occasion when doing a large tree with lots of laterals that sometimes the spikes are a bit of a nuciance, if there are plenty of branches to use then I will leave the spikes off until I get to the blocking down stage then have them sent up.

 

[JEff B]

Spikes!

hands down (for me anyway) have the spikes on, its the fastest way up the tree to set your line, plus you can start the removal (in many cases) on the way up to set your line.
There have been very few cases where i found setting the line from the ground would be faster then spiking up there and setting it at the top. Just make sure you have two lanyards, if you climb split tail then you can use your climbing line as your second lanyard.
Setting the line from the ground may be the safest way up however production comes into play (for me anyway) and i have to find a balance between safety and productivey in this case. Spikes are the fastest way to move up the tree (for me) and with two lanyards i am always tied in, just not from above.

 

[climb it]

on multiple leader take downs its hands down the fastest way ( ascending with spikes and then setting line). On trees where pulling off wood with a bull rope works and no lowering is needed I will set my line in a leader that I want to take off last, descend and remove other wood and limbs on my way down until I get to a place where I want to cut the leader I am tied into, and then pull a bull rope through the same crotch and set it in the place my climbing line was and secure it with a running bowline, this works well when pulling wood out, but even if you are lowing out big enough peices at a time, descending on a rope rather than spikes is faster and technically safer. Being on a rope allows for much more manueverability, for me atleast. When I am lowering wood, I usually just work my way down on my spikes depending on the length I am cutting. I will also descend on a climbing line and pull a bull rope through when I am exiting the remainder of a tree (butt log) that will be pulled, as long as there is a sufficient size stub or crotch left, if not I will set a bull rope and descend using a friction saver secured with the sherril prusik set-up.

 

[Timberhauler]

I always use spikes and a tie-off for removals,but I do not use spikes on a tree unless it's coming down.I do not use spikes for pruning

 

[Highclimber OR]

Hooks are primo, mostly.

I have done a lot of big and tall removals and I have tried a variety of techniques. I find that on a removal there is nothing faster and more efficient than using your spikes. I strongly emphasize that you should always keep at least one line on you to throw or hang for whatever reason and always use a safety-second lanyard so that you can stay secured to the tree. Especially on the tall ones I find that nothing can beat the spikes as far as removals(except a bucket)for time and effectiveness in most situations. As always the best thing to do is to use your judgement and find out what works best for you and the specific situation or job