Palm lesson learned.

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beastmaster

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This may be of help for some of you So. Cal. climbers. Almost had a bad accident in a palm. The job was for spikeless trim and skin. I have skinned my share of Washingtonia's. I don't know what these palm are called but their common. They self shed for the most part. There was the problom.
Spending a while trying to big shot a line up(that could be a whole nother thread)and over, went with a less then perfect shot. SRT up and removed a few dead fronds and seed pods. My rope was over 3 green fronds against the base. I decended for lunch, going back up I felt a sicking feeling as my rope was slowly(not that slowly) moving down. I luckily had a safety line around the palm and pulled it tight and dug my knees in. This avoided me from falling 40ft. (these palm were maybe 75ft)The three fronds were all hanging downward.
The problem: The single rope ascend puts twice your weight on the tie in. Also these were not washingtonia's witch are quit strong at the point of attachment where the fronds connect to the palm but this common self shedding type palm, "well sheds", and that was what it did with my attachment point.
Solution: I climbed one using a slow Japenese Technic using two ropes attached by a running bowlines, one for my foot and one attached to my saddle, works but is pretty slow. To come down I used a running bowline on my climbing line around the base of the palm, and descended with my gri gri. The Gri gri is pretty easy to work off of on a single rope(had to still skin them) I hooked my throw line, line with a carabiner to the bowline at the top of the palm(As learned from this site)before descending and easily pulled my climbing line down from the top of the palm when finished.
Lesson learned: On this type of palm I think I'll use a 32ft ladder and then spike up the back side rest the way.
Call me an idiot(been called worse) but I hope someone learns something from this post. Beastmaster
 
to spike or not to spike...
It would be interesting to know what type of palm it was. I hate washies and phoenix!

Sounds like your ascending technique is slow but safe! I gave up trying to shoot a line through the head of a palm, most I do are coconuts and they handle spike holes pretty well long term.
Coming down I choke an adjustable friction saver around the trunk and descend as normal double rope.
I try to get up in the tallest one first, then swing over to the smaller ones if they are close enough and save on the spike marks!
Aren't you glad you had your safety on!
 
Couple hundred bucks put you in a climbing deer stand. The sell the hellth out of on those palm jobs.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
 
I did a Washingtona falifia (sp?) yesterday, really three of them. On the third one, a real leaner, I shot a line up and over, made a good shot on the third or forth try, I was a little Leary, but it was dead center. They were removals, good thing too, three of the top fronds were bent pretty good, and would of had to of been remove if it had been a trim. I'm getting better with the big shot, but its not that easy hitting a tall palm head dead center. I also learned you have to really over shoot it, or the throw bag and line won't come down.
After last week I told my self I wasn't going to do any more palms, and this week I did a triple header. Beastmaster
 
I just set up for 5 quick palms for tomorrow. No big deal.

I've done thousands(give or take)Including climbing a lot of Date palms. I use to do these 80ft, 10in.(skinny) palms at a retirement home twice a year. They couldn't find anyone else who would climb them. I would go up 50ft. in the boom, then climb up rest the way. There was 10 of them.
Palms are no big deal, but I am kind of tired of messing with them. Breathing all that nasty stuff, bird nests, rat nests, getting cut up. I had rats jump on me, been attacked by hawks, and owls. We mostly have Washingtona's out here. Their just nasty. Not even to mention being suffocated if all the fronds decide to slip and fall on you while trimming the skirts.(Did I mention bugs)
If you wasn't so far a way in S.D. FTA, I would gladly give you all my palm jobs. Beastmaster
 
I've done thousands(give or take)Including climbing a lot of Date palms. I use to do these 80ft, 10in.(skinny) palms at a retirement home twice a year. They couldn't find anyone else who would climb them. I would go up 50ft. in the boom, then climb up rest the way. There was 10 of them.
Palms are no big deal, but I am kind of tired of messing with them. Breathing all that nasty stuff, bird nests, rat nests, getting cut up. I had rats jump on me, been attacked by hawks, and owls. We mostly have Washingtona's out here. Their just nasty. Not even to mention being suffocated if all the fronds decide to slip and fall on you while trimming the skirts.(Did I mention bugs)
If you wasn't so far a way in S.D. FTA, I would gladly give you all my palm jobs. Beastmaster

Hahaha, well, I would give them all to my climbers. :) The way I see it, palms are good for training climbers. I don't want to do any palms either, and as long as I'm on the exec. side of things, I have the option. They are nasty work, unless they are regularly maintained. True grit. I use a gas mask in the filthy ones these days.
 

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