Climber hurt

[BC WetCoast]

I'm putting this here rather than Injuries as you will see in a minute.

I've heard through the grapevine, it wasn't in the papers, that a climber from the local &&&&&&&& office was seriously hurt recently. He was SRT a conifer. He had tossed his line over a branch and tied the standing end off at the base of the tree and began climbing. From what I hear, his rope was away from the tree a bit and after he was up about 30' the branch broke. He fell and has leg and back injuries. He has been in an induced coma to assist in healing. If anyone has more details, it would be appreciated.

The part of this story that applies to this forum is that Worksafe BC, and again this is from discussion from people who are in the know and not an official announcement, is considering a ban on spurless climbing in BC. Worksafe BC is the government agency that dictates safety i this province and reports directly to God himself (ie who cares abou the trees). Whether saner heads will prevail we wait and see.

 

[TrillPhil]

I don't see how spurs would have helped him...

Were he to have gone up with spurs, tied into that branch, then had it break... There is no guarantee that the equipment or tree we work on will not fail.

Although I try to place my lines in a crotch with ideally a second crotch..

 

[treeslayer]

the rope belongs in the crotch, not over the limb.

I carry binoculars in my backpack in case I need to inspect the load limb I'm gonna hang my life on.

good post, bet the little kids who post nonsense (acetreeco2002, etc....) wont recognize the value.

 

[Damon]

this should get interesting if they outlaw spurless climbing... wonder how long before the rest of the provinces would jump on the band wagon...

 

[TreeClimber57]

Spurless Climbing

Well.. if B.C. does it, suspect Ontario would not be too far behind. Rest of the provinces may be a little slower.

But.. maybe somebody should consider what happened in the accident first before they jump to conclusions. Spurless climbing can be dangerous.. if not done properly. But.. then can just about any other aspect of our business..

Just about anything that I do can cause an accident somehow.. climbing with spurs improperly, using chipper, stump grinder, Bobcat, bucket truck, even dumping mulch or wood can cause injury if you are not using common sense. Can get hurt getting out of truck.. somebody has to think about this one before they jump..

 

[lxt]

the rope belongs in the crotch, not over the limb.

I agree!!! BUT...he was in a conifer!!!! goodluck at finding a crotch, he should of made sure his life line was over a couple limbs atleast!! hopefully he will be ok.



LXT...............

 

[treeslayer]

I agree!!! BUT...he was in a conifer!!!! goodluck at finding a crotch, he should of made sure his life line was over a couple limbs atleast!! hopefully he will be ok.
LXT...............

Every branch has a crotch, where it meets the tree. AGAINST the trunk is where the rope goes.

another limb or 2 under would have been better, agreed.

 

[arborsoldier]

the rope belongs in the crotch, not over the limb.

I carry binoculars in my backpack in case I need to inspect the load limb I'm gonna hang my life on.

good post, bet the little kids who post nonsense (acetreeco2002, etc....) wont recognize the value.

Good One Treeslayer!! That was a zinger!! :agree2:

 

[NCTREE]

It's not an issue of whether spikeless climbing conifers is safe, it's an issue of carelessness and inexperience amongst the climber. Why should the trees suffer?

 

[Saw Dust Smoken]

work enviroment

Being inexperienced, carelessness, or just in a hurry can kill ya.
Some people cant be saved from there own stupidity?
If this same person drives in the ditch. Or runs telly poles over with there vehicle. Are we going to move ditches and telly poles back from the edge of roadways just to accommodate them?
Will this world ever stop bending over backwards for stupid people??

 

[TreeClimber57]

It's not an issue of whether spikeless climbing conifers is safe, it's an issue of carelessness and inexperience amongst the climber. Why should the trees suffer?

Agreed.

 

[Damon]

as an arborist I don't think the tree should suffer, I'm just curious as to whether or not it will come to pass, I hope California jumps on the band wagon and outlaws spikeless climbing, i bet the granolas would have a field day. Up here we climb mostly hardwoods, and if they got spiked regularly they would be in pretty rough shape

 

[treemandan]

The poor guy, it seems, did not heed the " know or don't go" rule or something. It can be trying to catch a crotch in conifers and its been vague for me at times but I sure follow that rule.
Don't want to hear to much about this kind of accident, its bad for srt publicity but really the cause is climber error... pretty stupid error too.
Hey, I don't mean to be saying the guy is stupid, just the error and I know stupid errors cause major #### but what would make a man get on a branch like that?

 

[treeslayer]

Being inexperienced, carelessness, or just in a hurry can kill ya.
Some people cant be saved from there own stupidity?
If this same person drives in the ditch. Or runs telly poles over with there vehicle. Are we going to move ditches and telly poles back from the edge of roadways just to accommodate them?
Will this world ever stop bending over backwards for stupid people??

:agree2:

Darwin rules......there will always be idiots getting hurt. Carelessness, on the other hand is avoidable. I don't know this guy, and don't intend to insult him, but he f-ed up. my prayers to him and his family though.

 

[tomtrees58]

we can all say its not the way to climb a tree but the bottom line the guy is hurt sad

 

[TreeClimber57]

we can all say its not the way to climb a tree but the bottom line the guy is hurt sad

So true.. easy to be critical. On other hand there are proper ways to do the job... then again.. I bet a lot on here have cut corners, either when they were younger.. or because they were in a hurry.. whatever. Most times when guys do things it works out ok.

The unfortunate ones are caught - either because what they were doing was outright stupid.. or they were unlucky when they cut corners.

Same as guys who don't have insurance.. and there are a lot around here. Most of them get away with it most of the time..

 

[mr. holden wood]

:agree2:

Darwin rules......there will always be idiots getting hurt. Carelessness, on the other hand is avoidable. I don't know this guy, and don't intend to insult him, but he f-ed up. my prayers to him and his family though.

Srt accent into conifers is one of the most dangerous things we do out here in my opinion. It's interesting that all you guys sight inexperience and poor judgment as the culprit. The one thing in common is you all come from areas east of the Mississippi.
Often times with Douglas firs and western red cedars they are so dense you really don't know exactly what your tip is like. Binoculars are of little help with trees this dense. Even if your rope is over several branches once you break the t.i.p the inertia will break the remaing branches below. With trees like Western red cedars, every branch grows strait towards the ground,its very easy for your rope to creep out on the ascent.
You can take precautions like using a flipline on the ascent and spending more time getting a stout tip but most of us are pressured by our employers to just "get up that tree"
With alot of climbers unaware that srt doubles the load on the t.i.p, company's pushing production and zero tolerance of spiking accidents like these will become more prevalent. Criticizing the climber is not going to save any lives.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

Norway Spruce can be very difficult to set a line in too because all of the limbs arch down. Many conifers can be very difficult. Ive even climbed on marginal tips with my lanyard around the tree so I wouldn't take a bad fall if my tip failed. Then I reinstalled when I got up higher.

Mike

 

[BC WetCoast]

I've picked up a few more details on this accident. Again these are all 3rd hand. The climber was one of the senior people in that operation.

He bigshot his line into the tree and did a pull test and was confident in his tip.

When he got to about 40' the tip failed and started breaking branches on the way down. He stopped about 4' above the ground. As he stopped, he went backwards in his saddle, turning upside down. He was wearing a Vertex helmet, but had the chinstrap very loose, and as he turned the helmet slid forward toward his nose, exposing the back of his head. He hit the back of his head on the ground. I'm not sure of the surface, but it wasn't light and fluffy.

The debate is a good one. The safe practices of our industry is a reason why we should be involved in industry trade organizations, be it ISA or others. We need a collective voice to stand up to government 'safety' agencies who don't know the business. Without someone telling them what rules are practical and what are pure nonsense, they will create rules that only make sense to them.

 

[treeslayer]

Criticizing the climber is not going to save any lives.

Sure it will.
Anyone reading it might take heed to our advice and criticism.
As I said, I bear him no ill will, he suffered an accident due to his choice and action. everyone has the potential to do so.

How high up was the TIP?