learning to climb on gaffs

[Ryan Willock]

i have a few questions for the pro's. i am learning to climb (i know gaffing anything but removals isn't cool) i have no problems climbing but i get to about 20-25 feet up on them and get afraid to go higher. did any of you have this problem learning to climb? if so how did you deal with it i have floating double D saddle and buckingham gaffs, steel core flip line with micrograb, climbing boots and climbing line. any help or suggestions would be helpful
thanx

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Learning to use the equipment properly and staying tied in, breeds trust in it and it's mechanics. Learning to use all that to work for you, and power you around strategically (rather than tripping over something you have to do) and confidentally takes time and feel

"Knowledge, Replaces Fear!"

Person-ally i too am afraid of heights, don't even like being this tall!!!

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Originally posted by Ryan Willock
i have no problems climbing but i get to about 20-25 feet up on them and get afraid to go higher.

I've been where your at. I sometimes still get nervous, especially when doing trees with extremely hard wood or dealing with a leaner. Keep your gaffs sharp and dig in hard with them. Learning to use your weight against your flipline is also helpful. Time in trees is the best teacher. Rich.

 

[Ryan Willock]

i try to climb every day. i have used saws for ten years and am very familar w/them. i climb a live pine out back ( i plan on cutting it down anyway) and figured out early on that my weight on the line made a big differance. i trust my gear but still have a problem w/ the hight. i have worked for a tree company in my area (chapel hill) but he was a drunk so i quite within the week. one question that i have been thinking about is when you drop the top the tree is going to shake, will that toss you out i usually climb w/ a double wrap (12' flipline) so i think that will hold. any advice would be great. i really want to learn to be an arborist, i have the compainion and the climber's guide but they don't have much on gaffs. if there is anyone in my area that would be willing to help me that would be great.
thanx

 

[coydog]

I would worry more about the top going the wrong way and getting caught in your lanyard, on you or your legs etc. make sure you understand the dynamics of hingeing and falling before you take a top out. One of the cardinal rules of felling is to have a safe escape route planned, If your topping something big enough to cause the tree to shake, then your essentially felling a tree but your tied to the trunk, no escape route, so you better know where its going. Depending on the way you notch it, you can eliminate some of the kickback, but that requires some experience.

 

[FSburt]

Hey Ryan I hav'nt been climbing on gaffs very long but I know the fear you have when you get up kinda high. For me I try not the look down very much if I can help it and give my self enough slack in the flip rope to move easily and not choke me up too close to the tree. I usually get jittery when I"m at the top when the diameter starts to get small and the top starts to move around. When I get up that high I usually double wrap my flip rope around the stem to give a better bite in case I do kick out. One thing I did early on to help me trust the equipment was to go up 5 to 10 ft and intentionally kickout to prove to myself that the fliprope will hold me in case I did kickout accidentally and I didnot have too much slack in my line. I think when you are at the top and the diameter is small I feel your flip will not hold you unless it is wrapped twice around the stem. Correct this amatuer if I am wrong. One thing I am going to try when I get me a cambium saver is the method shown in the Sherrill catalog it I think is a cool way to keep you better secured to the tree and rappell down off a spar and still get your equipement down. Hey fellas how do you set a cambium saver with your throw line.

Well Good luck and if you have access to a tree that you can practice on it helps alot to get comfortable moving all around the tree sideways as well as up and down. I practiced on telephone poles behind my house or I went into the woods and found a real crappy tree that was almost dead or just freshly died and practiced on that. Just remember Don't go alone and have someone there that can get you down if you freeze up. I've always thought of an idea of block set up about 40 ft and run your climb line through to set up and safety line with your partner belaying for you as you practice. Just a thought. Take care.

 

[Ryan Willock]

i know about hing wood and the dynamics envoled with felling on the ground but in the tree things aren't very forgiving. any input on technique would be great. i am comfortable moving sideways on the tree and that trick with a friction save is neat how high do you need to go to "safely" cut the top out??? have seen diagrams showing climber behind the back cut and on the side, which one is safe???

 

[Nickrosis]

Ryan, it's really awesome that you've come here prepared! I've gotten so tired of people asking the same questions..."how do I start climbing trees?" etc.

The scariest moment for me in a tree was climbing a marginally hazardous tree to get a doggy toy out at a party. Good thing I had my equipment in my Jeep. I was with a bunch of other climbers who belayed me while I climbed (read: pulled on my line with about 400lbs. and shot this whippersnapper to the top in no time).

Once I was up there, a nicely drunken fellow (won best college tree feller in the nation last year) ran up to the base of the tree with his Husky and proceeded to act as if he would cut down the tree. I was scared at this time. I was in the process of changing over so I could descend on a Fig. 8 - tied in with my lanyard only. Fortunately, other people pulled him away, and I buzzed down fast on that Fig. 8.

"Hey fellas how do you set a cambium saver with your throw line. "
Hit up your Tree Climber's Companion for that one. Illustrations and all. I'm not nearly a "pro" anyways

Nickrosis

 

[Nickrosis]

Especially as a beginner, you want to start out small. My first top, I went as high as I could in this spruce until I wasn't worried if the top were to have hit my leg on the way down. I always weigh slightly more than air...

I cut it from the side because it was a very small diameter at that point - 5-6" or so. The top just picks up momentum as it swings and carries itself away from the tree, at that size. When you're blocking down big chunks, other dynamics occur, but I'm not qualified for that.

Nickrosis

 

[Ryan Willock]

i've been reading this site for awhile just reading any and every thing that i could get my hands on. bought the climbing tapes from arbormaster, didn't touch on gaffs at all. i can footlock but not very well. i know better than to gaff trees that i am not going to remove, i have nothing but pines out back so i have to go to a friends house to footlock. i would like to really pick ya'lls brains and learn as much as possible. would be great if there is some one in my area or within driving distance that could show me some time and make sure that i am doing everything right

 

[Nickrosis]

Does your school have an arborist program?

 

[Ryan Willock]

nope

 

[Ryan Willock]

nearest one that i found is 3 hours away

 

[treeman82]

What kind of pads are you using on your gaffs Ryan? When I first got my gaffs, they came with the stock pads. Those made me really uncomfortable. Within a year of that time I purchased a pair of velcro pads with the steel insert. If you decide to go the velcro path, get the steel inserts. I have talked with other people who have the non-steel inserts who have used mine, and they by far prefer mine. As far as height goes, just take it easy. If you are ok to 25 feet now... go up 30 feet next time. Get comfortable at 30 and then go up more. Get comfortable going over branches. What size trees are you going up for the most part DBH wise? I find that trees in the 18 - 26 inch diameter range are much better to learn on.

 

[Ryan Willock]

tripple thick T pads, learned the basics on my buddies baslins w/wrap pads didn't like em. mostly 18"

 

[Ryan Willock]

ordered my gaffs and pads from baily's since i could order the gaff without pads and pic out the one's i wanted

 

[treeclimber165]

Welcome, Ryan.
I had a groundman I was training to climb when I worked at Davey. He took a long time before he trusted his equipment. He would climb up hugging the tree so close he couldn't get a bite with his gaffs. (We called him 'koala bear' ) When gaffing up a removal, I will keep my lanyard adjusted so I can lean back ever so slightly. And keep your knees out! If your knees are hugging the tree, you WILL kick out.
Gaffing up a pole (pine) is like walking up a very steep flight of stairs. I grab my lanyard with both hands, and flip it up after every 2 steps. It keeps my hands off the trunk so I don't get as sticky, too.
Anyway, glad to have you here. You have the benefit of hundreds of years of experience to draw upon here, and most of us are usually glad to help. :angel:

 

[Ryan Willock]

i learned the basicx from friend of mine who used to work for the power company climbing poles but he move out of state either way he didn't have any experance using a saw in a tree

 

[Ryan Willock]

brian, do you climb w/ a double wrap? from the way your talking about the flip line it doesn't sound like it. i have tried it both ways
and w/double wrap have gone up 5-20 ft and intensionally kicked out to test to see if it would. (i first tested it at ground level)

 

[Reed]

Fear is a learned response, usually by experience. We know what happens if we fall, so nurturing an element of fear is a good thing but don't let it overpower you. Trust in yourself.

Knowledge is the first componant to overide fear. I would seek out someone who can either willingly show you some moves or sit back and observe them. Since we all like convenience the notion of travelling a distance and investing some time doesn't cross our plans, but there's a good 'ol dude who thinks his years are over named "Cutmeup" on this site who appears to have made a good crew work well. Won't hurt to ask him, since you might be embarking on a life-long career there's nothing wrong with attaching yourself to someone who can pass-on an honorable and rewarding profession. Keep trying here and again, trust in yourself.