Blinky
ArboristSite Operative
I'm with the guys that say good groundies are a lot more than just labor. They have to know and love tree work as much as climbers. They have to know what's what, how to handle ropes and how to communicate with a climber at height. The best ones I've worked with were totally into tree work, they just didn't want to climb.
Right now, when there's rigging to be done and I need a good ground guy, I use my 12 year old son who knows his way around a porta-wrap better than I do. When he's in school I hire another climber. It's worth $200 a day for the efficiency of never having to explain anything, having what I need waiting and having a skilled guy watching what I'm doing... it's a lot safer too.
Real ground guys are skilled tradesmen, not laborers.
Right now, when there's rigging to be done and I need a good ground guy, I use my 12 year old son who knows his way around a porta-wrap better than I do. When he's in school I hire another climber. It's worth $200 a day for the efficiency of never having to explain anything, having what I need waiting and having a skilled guy watching what I'm doing... it's a lot safer too.
Real ground guys are skilled tradesmen, not laborers.