Toughest trees to climb

[Raymond]

Over here maybe Palms, Hackberry and Pecan trees, all tough climbs for removals or trims.

You have them dog pecker gnats that like them Hackberry's in Georgia, in the heat of summer?
Man them things suck. Get'em up your nose, in your eyes, mouth. It's bad here in the summertime.

 

[outofmytree]

I cant believe you ladies are afraid of a lil ol gum tree. oke:

Now Phoenix canariensis is the reason God made groundies. Every time I have a discipline issue with my guys I tell em they are pruning that next Date palm. I get an immediate improvement.

 

[ozzy42]

Every time I have a discipline issue with my guys I tell em they are pruning that next Date palm. I get an immediate improvement.

. That's what I'm talkin about,,REAL LEADERSHIP

Gonna rep you when I can.

 

[Mapleman]

Okay, I give up on beefing about gums. Thankfully, they don't grow here in Vermont, and neither do date/Phoenix palms. When I worked in Hawaii, I hated doing coconut palms, especially the 70 footers that grew at severe angles over manicured landscaping. Couldn't get a bucket in there, and when you were hanging from a chain wrapped around the trunk on the down side of the tree, hacking away with a machete over your head, with roaches, ants, and other vermin falling inside your shirt...that's when I wished I was a piano player in a whore house.

The best climber I ever worked with was a Samoan named Soapa. We did this Ficus tree in Oahu using a 2100 with a six foot bar forty feet up. Man, he was goooood!

 

[tree md]

Some of my hardest climbs were,

#1: an ancient Pine in Atlanta that was prolly 48" DBH with an ancient TV antenna installed near the top and covered in huge vines of Poison Ivy and over two houses. I spent the first half day dismantling the rusty TV antenna. I had to use a hacksaw to cut it in pieces and lower it with my rope. Pain in the arse. Then the second day I roped all of the limbs from over the neighbors house and most of the limbs from over the clients house. I was leaving my climbing line in the tree so I could belay back up without having to use my flipline in the Ivy when I returned. 3rd day I took out the rest of the large limbs from over the clients house and worked the spar down to where I thought I could drop it in the back yard. When I got down and looked it over I decided I wanted to take what was left of the spar in two pieces to be on the safe side. After climbing for the better part of three days in the Ivy covered tree, the 20' ladder the customer had laying in the back yard looked very inviting. I decided to use the 20' ladder to drop half the spar with my 044 and paid for it with a fractured heel. First and last time I ever used or will use a ladder for anything other than entering a tree.

#2 was a large Cottonwood. It was prolly close to 48 DBH as well. The stump measured 68 inches. Sprawled over two houses. Another 2 days of rigging wood from over two houses. Had to lower the large laterals over the houses, take my time and make sure everything went perfect. Had to rig limbs as big as trees and block huge chunks. Ended up taking out a section of privacy fence when my green rope man didn't let my rope run when I asked him to and a large chunk swung back into me and I had to throw my hands up to try and deflect it. I had the chainsaw in my hand and it cut the rope. Fixed the fence myself in less then an hour but it was still embarrassing.

Any tree can be a biatch given the wrong circumstances but some of my least favorite are dead pecker pole pines, any really dead tree, live pines with razorblade bark that gives you several little paper cuts (especially under your finger nail. Hickorys of any species that are hard to gaff, give little penetration and have all the small brush growing up through the tree making it hard when you are trying to ascend, Large Cottonwood that sprawl over houses and are hard to gaff and climb. Most large trees that encounter I will set a line, have someone belay for me and gaff up the tree without using a flipline. On large prunes I will set a line and self belay.

 

[sawinredneck]

The Hackberry I spicked to set a pll line in Saturday is my least favorite tree right now! I gaffed out and while sliding down got bark shoved up my armpit:hmm3grin2orange:
That sucker is dead now:chainsawguy::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Bermie]

. That's what I'm talkin about,,REAL LEADERSHIP

Gonna rep you when I can.

I got him for you!!! Love it:hmm3grin2orange:

The pic is two Phoenix thorns that I saved after they were extracted at the hospital...one went 90* into my elbow joint and disappeared from sight, not fun. The other one was full length, lengthwise under the skin of my forearm.

HATE THOSE PALMS!

 

[tree md]

I got him for you!!! Love it:hmm3grin2orange:

The pic is two Phoenix thorns that I saved after they were extracted at the hospital...one went 90* into my elbow joint and disappeared from sight, not fun. The other one was full length, lengthwise under the skin of my forearm.

HATE THOSE PALMS!

Ouch!

 

[oldirty]

Ouch!

indeed.

 

[tree MDS]

indeed.

Dude! empty your messages!

I just typed you this long a$$ e-mail for nothing!

I guess it was my turn, lol.

 

[treebilly]

My least favorite for trimming wold have to be big old silver maples that have been hacked up over the last 50 years. Nothing but candlesticks to use for a TIP and always full of rotten "nuckles" from the 15 times someone did a "crown reduction" on them. As for removals I would have to say any tree that has been dead about two years longer than it should've been allowed to stand. A guy up the road from me has 2 red pine that have not had needles since I moved in back in 98. What's sad is he's a park ranger and doesn't see a problem with them.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

pines- live ones for trimming or removal, because I hate it when my big, wide, hairy forearms get plastered with sap and I spend days removing it with saw gas and lava soap, and dead ones because I am by no means petite, and I dont trust their structural integrity. They are everywhere in my neck of the woods. As for difficulty, they are a 1 out of 10, but I personally hate them. I won't even eat anything seasoned with rosemary because the taste reminds me of arms covered with sap. Yes, I am weird.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Honeylocust that are not the thornless variety.

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/g/gletri/gletri1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Honey_locust_thorns.jpg

 

[ozzy42]

Honeylocust that are not the thornless variety.

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/g/gletri/gletri1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Honey_locust_thorns.jpg

Now that is a tree that does not want to be messed with.

 

[treevet]

Now that is a tree that does not want to be messed with.

They can be a pain in the a$$ (laugh quietly haha)

Usually you can scrape the stem off with a polesaw and they don't get in the canopy too bad.

 

[Bermie]

Oh man that's a NIGHTMARE!

 

[Bur Oak]

Airborne Projectiles

They can be a pain in the a$$ (laugh quietly haha)

Usually you can scrape the stem off with a polesaw and they don't get in the canopy too bad.

Buzzing them with a chainsaw is a nightmare, because they are then airborne projectiles. I read somewhere that pioneers used the thorns as nails!

 

[oldirty]

Dude! empty your messages!

I just typed you this long a$$ e-mail for nothing!

I guess it was my turn, lol.

send it.

 

[treevet]

Buzzing them with a chainsaw is a nightmare, because they are then airborne projectiles. I read somewhere that pioneers used the thorns as nails!

I bet that is true. They get real hard when seasoned and lose flexibility.

Tough on groundies too grabbing and walking in them. Will go thru a boot or tire.

 

[Raymond]

They can be a pain in the a$$ (laugh quietly haha)

Usually you can scrape the stem off with a polesaw and they don't get in the canopy too bad.

That's what I'm sayin'
Just take a few minutes to clean the trunk and slowly to the top.
Once you get in the canopy it ain't bad. Hell I do them in shorts in the
summer, just gotta take a few extra minutes and figure it into the bid.