Heights

[Jumper]

Question for the experienced climbers. Do you still have a fear, a mild apprehension, a healthy appreciation, or are you without a care when it comes to working at heights? Or do you gain confidence with time? I have been required to climb onto roofs, up ladders, hanging off the side of buildings etc, and recently spent some time in my own trees and can not say I am too comfortable-at times, sort of comes in waves. This really is the craziest thing as I have over 700 freefall parachute descents from two miles up, and another 105 static line jumps from 1000 feet, and also have rappelled out of choppers. Do not know if this has anything to do with my breaking my radial arm bone in two and crushing my spine two years ago jumping, but I always have detested heights close to the ground since I was a kid. I tried to fly my kite yesterday and even had trouble looking at the ???? thing once it got up there. Anyways input welcomed-keep on plugging at it and hope I get more at ease? The last thing I want to do is be unsafe.

There are old jumpers, and bold jumpers, but no old bold jumpers. Guess this could apply to climbers as well.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

During a trip I had some time in an airport and picked up a family magazine because it had an article on children's fears. In the article they said that the only two natural fears were from fire and loud noises. Must go back to self-preservation. All other fears are learned and can be unlearned. That can be a hard process though.

Another time I read that the uneasiness with heights on buildings but not in the air is because of the visual connection with our body and the ground. As long as there isn't a physical connection, our mind will generally not kick in any fear. Makes sense to me.

A few weeks ago I was up on the shore of Lake Superior at Palisade Head. the cliffs are about 200-300 feet off the water. I did get a little wave in my stomach being too close to the edge. I've climbed the rocks near there and when I'm in a rope and saddle, the height isn't an issue. Security is the issue.

One time I was at Palisade with my dog. Busca is running all over the place and trots up to the edge. He put his paws up at the edge and levered his shoulders forward and looked down. Without moving back he turned to look at me with a "Holy S**t! That's a long way down!" look. The same expression as on my climbing partners face. He levered back and slowly skirted the edge

Tom

 

[treeman82]

Heights are a funny thing. I think that fear of heights depends on what is holding you up there. I personally hate ladders, at any height, yet I am comfortable at any height on my climbing gear. One of my former customers is a painter. He would go up 60 feet on ladders without any problems. He saw me go up into his trees 60 feet though and told me he would NEVER do what I do. I have been up in aerial lifts before, they freak me out for now... I'm sure I will get used to it in time.

 

[ArborView]

Same here. I don't like being on a ladder above 25' or so. Last summer I was on a 40' extension ladder painting the peak of my house and I wasn't too thrilled. Trees don't bother me because I'm always tied in. To me, branches give a big sense of security. I'd rather be 50' up in a tree with a lot of branches than up 20' on a stick without branches.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I did some tree work using a 50' ladder a few times, what a hand full.

Tom is on to what makes sense to me, it's the security thing. Anyway, I'm not afraid of falling from heights, it's the landing that I don't like!

 

[Graeme]

Jumper

You seem to have a sound millitary background. Brief, demonstrate, practice, debrief. I don't know your introduction to tree work, or where your at now. If your underpinning knowledge or skill conformation is not in the logical form that you are used to, there may be gaps in the learning outcomes or uncertainty that what you are experiencing is normal.

Agood friend of mine does alot of video and stills for me. He has thousands of jumps and works as a cameraman for ads., films etc. Even with much wild base jumps up he openly admits that he is "s**ting himself" when I am putting him in position, and is nervous until he is looking through the lens. He says that in freefall the ground while below is not relative like when static in a tree. Remember "gravity sucks impact kills".

What you are experiencing is normal. Build up slowly with sound underpinning knowledge. Also understand that tree work may not be your "bag".

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Then there are the learning to trust your gear issues.

When I am up a tree I'm not familliar with I will be a little anxious. Especialy dead ones. I do not do a whole lot of them so my gut dose not have the past experiance to say "we're OK."

 

[Jumper]

Well I ended up in a tree sooner than I thought....my own crab must have passed muster as I ended up in a customer's 25 foot crab this afternoon-no problems as I was tied in. I also think it helps when you occupy your mind with the job at hand, which is how I deal with freefall. As for the saddle it was much like the bottom half of a military parachute harness so I felt right at home. It was a hot one today, record scorcher heat at 85F which was a bit much when you were not used to it yet or the bright sun,, afterall there was snow on the ground not two weeks ago, so I called it a day at 430 even though we had another small job to go to. Onward, upward.

"Pain is the only sure sign you are still alive"-Old Airborne saying.

 

[Greg]

I agree, security is the issue. A good branch, my climbing line and saddle and I'm feeling good no matter the height. Ladders scare me most of the time -a 40ft ext ladder is nuts in my oppinion. I also feel more confident with a knot rather than ascenders.
Face it, you are just a chicken!!!
haha!
Greg

 

[Jumper]

re chicken

No I am not a chicken, I just have a very healthy respect for heights. There is not a day go by that I do not feel a reminder of what happens when things go wrong at 50 or 60 feet up. As they say sh*t happens, and it happened to me one day in August 1999 through no real fault of my own, aside from the fact I was stupid enough to 1) jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft(debateable), and 2) was jumping with an idiot Chilean who knew nothing about shooting accuracy or right of way under canopy. Anyhow if you want to pay me a visit, lets go for a leap from 10000 feet, and if you feel like it afterwards, call me a chicken.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Dude lighten up, he was just ribbing you.

So what id you Chilean buddy do. try to walk on your canopy? When I was in the Corps there was a guy in Force who thought he was clever doing this, stole one guys air once too. Nothing critical happend 'cept fort eh minir bruises he got from unit members after the fact.

 

[Jumper]

John-Paul, I know he was kidding.........I have learned to dish it out as well!

I was the Team Captain/Manager of the Canadian Army Parachute Team we sent to the Military World Games in Zagreb, Croatia in Aug 99. As a non-competitor, I had the opportunity to jump on a wind drift indicator load early one morning, essentially a trial run to ensure the exit point is correct so the competitors can set up their accuracy approaches correctly, given the winds. I was number one, dopey was second. I exited at 3300 feet, freefalled to 2200, and opened my square (wing type canopy). Did the proper downwind, crosswind and final legs of the flight, at which point dopey was headed downwind of the target. I was in deep concentration trying to hit a electronic pad with the dead centre the size of a quarter. Dummy decided to turn 90 degrees right for a crosswind landing, not usually how one shoots accuracy, and I turned left 45 degrees at somewhat less than 100 feet to avoid him mid air. Given the canopy was flying Low and slow, like a plane with the flaps out just prior to landing, it stalled at about 50 feet, and I missed both the 3 feet of foam, and the pea gravel, and snapped my radial bone in half and compressed my back. Dopey picked up his parachute and slunk away, did not even bother to see how badly I was hurt.

Anyway, kudos to all you from the USA: the USAF medevaced me to Ramstein AB, Germany, for surgury by a US Army doc/jumper.

Any ways it was a learning experience. I do not trust anyone until I know they are not a hazard, and this lesson also applies to my time spent working with trees.

Four days later I returned to Croatia, and the head of the Chilean team gave me a ball cap, which is about as close to an apology I got.

I have a very healthy respect for heights as a result.