ladder safety........

[budroe69moni]

i've got a 28' fiberglass extension that i use to get up to some palms that my power prunner won't reach (20' plus). i had my ladder to the max today to reach a dying limb (about 14" diameter) in a 75' plus live oak. was a little shakey on the way up to tie the ladder into the tree. any tips on how to secure the ladder before i make that climb again.
thanks,
budroe

 

[Kevin]

I use a 28ft. featherlite fiberglass ladder at work.
It has a brace with feet that secure the two rails to each other at the bottom and it has a pole strap that rests on the tree or pole.
The brace flips up and the ladder can be used with the spurs on the bottom of the rails.
When I`m working off the top of it I use a winch strap around the ladder and pole/tree then strap myself to the pole or tree.
It`s rock solid but you need the rails supported at the bottom which takes the play out of the hand rails when climbing and the winch strap pulls the pole strap tight to the tree.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Ladders scare me

I will foot lock unless it is a very short pitch.

 

[Treeman14]

I always have a groundman steady the ladder for me.

That way, if I do fall, there's something under me to cushion the landing.:angel:

 

[Treephotographa]

Ladders are dangerous but for there are some trees that would be probably safer to use a ladder to get into.
A few of these bigger trees I have used my 40ft ladder to get a head start on my climb.

TP

 

[rbtree]

Now hiring:

Female groundsperson, ladder steadier, falling climber catcher, blonde only.....

..and later, a cushion for t........uhoh

 

[geofore]

ladder

Throw a line over the higest crotch you feel comfortable with, pull up a rope and tie the rope to the top of the ladder and pull the ladder up and tie off rope to bottom of tree. The ladder can't fall down because it is tied up. If it is a two piece ladder with out locking mech. tie the pieces together before you pull it up. The ladder can go side to side but can't come down. If you don't want side to side motion tie the bottom of the ladder to the tree but this makes it a bit tougher to climb. They do make special ladders that are stackable for climbing trees, you stack the ten foot sections one on top of the other till you reach the hieght you want. They are like the old style apple pickers ladders.
Take the ladder away before you start cutting, in other words tie yourself in to the tree.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Might as well footlock after all that rope tieing

I hate getting ladders off of trucks, yo always have to put them back on

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Perhaps the northern palms are easier to footlock!

It seems to me, even if ya get a line in the head that is strong, and doesn't cut into the head, the line can only hang against the tree, which might make ffotlocking a real pain i think........

Try using the line that extends the ladder, or tie one on the top rung, to wrap snuggly 2x around palm and have person steadying ladder hold it. The steeper the slant of ladder, the less weight on palm and flex in ladder. also the sooner you can get lanyard around. i like a round turn for anchoring to deadman lanyard.

Humble beginnings: The ol'__________ ,________ guy that i first did tree werk with stopped by the other day.

i said "Chris, Dean doesn't beleive that you are stupid enough to tie 2 extension ladders together (end to end now) and climb up on them"

He said "Hell i done it with 3 when i need the money!"
No lifeline, belt, chain brakes, eye protection etc. of course.....

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Do a lot of plams have crotches you can flip a rope into?

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

yeah buddy, very far from the trunk too!

 

[geofore]

ladder poll

Live oak was the last tree with the ladder or did I miss something here? Palms up north wear gloves, oh, the trees are short and decorate hotel lobbies up here. I hear the weather is a bit warmmer in the south and you have white sand beaches too. The rope wouldn't find a crotch in a palm to work with so you'd need the pole attachment for the ladder there.