Not a good idea!
Getting into climbing
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Capitalist
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That video I posted was ori
Purplewave here I come!
Capitalist
Addicted to ArboristSite
I think tbe biljax I use from time to time are about 40k new.
I think with proper training, careful gear maintenance and slow and steady climbing with zero rushing to the next job, climbing with a rope is as safe as aerial tree work can get. No fancy anodised crap that can go very wrong very quickly; a couple of simple prusik loops, a good long flip line and the other end of your rope and you’re good for most jobs. Make a habit of having at least two and if possible three anchor points and you’ll learn how to be safe up trees very quickly. It will be slow but from what it sounds like you will be doing speed is not that important?
ALWAYS have someone keeping an eye on you from the ground with good phone signal and if possible aerial rescue ability; last year I was called by a competitor who was stuck up a tree with a swollen hand from 10+ wasp stings and his groundie couldn’t climb. Yes the tree wasn’t that big but it’s the little things that most often catch you out.
If u are on something that makes you feel uncomfortable do something else and come back to it, or leave it for a pro that does it every day. I’ve been cutting trees since 1998 and I still occasionally (like once in the last 4 years)get a wobble with a tree; I always listen to my gut and either get someone else on the crew to do it or leave it a few weeks and come back to it.
On the negative side occasional tree climbing is not ideal; when you do it 2 - 4 days a week every week your body gets used to it, your climbing strength and tolerances increase and the chance of error from fatigue or lack of practice goes down. Even a two week holiday is enough to make me feel like a fat hippo climbing in a sumo suit, often with the associated consequences.
Add a chainsaw into the picture and it gets even more dynamic, but not undoable if you are careful and think about it each time you plan to start and use the saw. Maybe even only get the saw from your groundie when you are in position to use it; use it then lower it back down. Again very slow but if there’s no rush...
Finally, beware of silky saws. Beautiful bits of kit that save a huge amount of weight, noise and pollution but wow it’s so easy to cut yourself deep and often with them.
And get a tree motion harness, comfy as
ALWAYS have someone keeping an eye on you from the ground with good phone signal and if possible aerial rescue ability; last year I was called by a competitor who was stuck up a tree with a swollen hand from 10+ wasp stings and his groundie couldn’t climb. Yes the tree wasn’t that big but it’s the little things that most often catch you out.
If u are on something that makes you feel uncomfortable do something else and come back to it, or leave it for a pro that does it every day. I’ve been cutting trees since 1998 and I still occasionally (like once in the last 4 years)get a wobble with a tree; I always listen to my gut and either get someone else on the crew to do it or leave it a few weeks and come back to it.
On the negative side occasional tree climbing is not ideal; when you do it 2 - 4 days a week every week your body gets used to it, your climbing strength and tolerances increase and the chance of error from fatigue or lack of practice goes down. Even a two week holiday is enough to make me feel like a fat hippo climbing in a sumo suit, often with the associated consequences.
Add a chainsaw into the picture and it gets even more dynamic, but not undoable if you are careful and think about it each time you plan to start and use the saw. Maybe even only get the saw from your groundie when you are in position to use it; use it then lower it back down. Again very slow but if there’s no rush...
Finally, beware of silky saws. Beautiful bits of kit that save a huge amount of weight, noise and pollution but wow it’s so easy to cut yourself deep and often with them.
And get a tree motion harness, comfy as
Sorry, 50 years of climbing and I would much rather be tied into a branch than ride a bucket, just me.
OP, your first statement is very misleading, you say you want to get into climbing, topping and tree work in general. In New York I'm quite certain you have to be licensed and insured to be in the tree business. Your talking several hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment to get started. Then you said you just want to maintain a couple acres of wooded property. You can't slap on a pair of spikes and walk up a tree. The gaffs are used to do removals. not pruning. A licensed tree pro would loose his license if caught hooking a live tree for pruning. As mentioned, this is very dangerous work. Hooking a live tree opens it up for all sorts of pathogens. Do you know how to use a Prussic Loop, a Taughtline hitch, a Running Bowline? Do you have an experienced ground man to run your ropes? If your ground man holds a rope when he should let it run, you may be dead. If he lets it run when he should hold it, you may have a big hole in something that should not have a hole in it. As for courses and classes that's all well and good. In MD just to take the Tree Expert Exam you need to have a 4 year degree in a related field, or 8 years in the industry. That might give you an idea of how long the State thinks it takes for you to learn enough to do the work proficiently. As far as costs, I'm retired, but our top climbers make about $35 an hour with fairly good benefits. Since I'm no longer affiliated with the company, if i get one of our climbers to help me on a side job I give them at least $500 a day, pending on what I have on the job, maybe as much as $750 a day. Sounds like you need to get an estimate from a certified company to do the work. If you already got an estimate, and think you can save some money by doing it yourself, I think that's a very bad idea.
I just reread your second statement and see you are trying to help the family. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. I have an Uncle that had a limb knock him off a ladder and broke his back. He was messed up for several years. All because he didn't want to bother my Dad. Family helps family, that's the definition of family. Dad would have helped him. Family does not get hurt or killed trying to do something they are not trained to do.
I just reread your second statement and see you are trying to help the family. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. I have an Uncle that had a limb knock him off a ladder and broke his back. He was messed up for several years. All because he didn't want to bother my Dad. Family helps family, that's the definition of family. Dad would have helped him. Family does not get hurt or killed trying to do something they are not trained to do.
If you are paying just a climber 750.00 a day he is ripping you off!
Capitalist
Addicted to ArboristSite
Have to agree.
And several hundred thousand dollars worth of equip to start?
Stump grinder 5k
Saws 3k
Climbing equip 5k
Tree spade 20k
Chipper and truck or a grapple truck 20-30 k
Insurance to start for a year maybe 5 k
Sprays and such bought as needed.
Hell... The list above puts most in the top 1% of tree companies as far as range of service goes and anyone who tests a rivers depth by diving in is doomed.
I started with a pole saw and a flatbed and a 395xp.
Capitalist
Addicted to ArboristSite
The OP's question was not misleading.
He did not ask how do I dive into being a full scale top charging, highest recommended, most overhead, tree company.
He asked how does he learn to start climbing to take care of trees in his familys yard.
Your post is extremely misleading.
He can do it if he has the balls, patiemce, and determination. "Getting into," something is a far cry from selling your soul to a bank.
I think you are another arborist I could win bids over 99% of the time because you are trying to make it sound like you are Dr. Quinn medicine tree.
Or maybe I just live in a poor ass area where people would rather have a tree cut down than spend 5 k jerking it off....
Either way I and my customers are 100% satisfied. Its a tree, not a child with autism. I appreciate people who take their job seriously but I think you must live on a different planet where businesses start out the size of Wal-Mart.
I taught myself. Youtube, books, specifically The Fundamentals of General Tree Work. and watching guys work when I could. I studied about 2 years before I even put saw, rope, or boot to tree. I DO NOT recommend doing it that way. That type of learning suits me and I'm adept at learning by watching.
People who say tree work is more dangerous than being a police are incorrect but right at the same time. It's a different kind of danger. Each one has calculated risks. Deaths per worker is higher among tree work sure, but trees don't assault, aggrevate assault, feloniously assault, or menace etc. tree workers. Those statistics don't get counted in "Most Dangerous Job" calculations. I wrote a paper on it in college, my dad is a retired cop.
Stolen from the FBI Uniformed Crime Reporting
"The FBI reported that 57,180 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults in 2016... Of the 57,180 officers who were victims of assault, 28.9 percent (or 16,535 officers) sustained injuries."
People who say tree work is more dangerous than being a police are incorrect but right at the same time. It's a different kind of danger. Each one has calculated risks. Deaths per worker is higher among tree work sure, but trees don't assault, aggrevate assault, feloniously assault, or menace etc. tree workers. Those statistics don't get counted in "Most Dangerous Job" calculations. I wrote a paper on it in college, my dad is a retired cop.
Stolen from the FBI Uniformed Crime Reporting
"The FBI reported that 57,180 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults in 2016... Of the 57,180 officers who were victims of assault, 28.9 percent (or 16,535 officers) sustained injuries."
Power lines , chain saws , struck by's and falls certainly are very dangerous! Ill put a power line up against any perp!
Capitalist
Addicted to ArboristSite
I was feloniously and agressively attacked by bees and a memosa tree. I wasn't even douling tree work at the time.
Statistically it is the dealiest occupation. Regardless of pro or amateur status.
Per 100, 000 the most die.
Less police officers would die if they followed backup protocols too but regardless we are part of the same statistics. KILLED IN THE LINE OF DOOOOODY!
My uncle had a cow fall off an unrailed walkway and land on him in a sh*t pit.
He literally almost drowned in a pool of doody.
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