Another Death

Mark Chisholm

Mark Chisholm

Administrator
Administrator
Location
Home of the New Jersey Devils
I just got word that another climber was killed in NJ this past week. It seems that there were many ingredients to lead to the death (I'm told that all were poor workmanship). I have yet to see all of the details, but what I was told is that a climber had positioned a rigging line in a crotch that was above and behind him. The log that he had cut was in front of him. He was directly in the path.

When the log was cut, it moved straight towards the climber and pinned him against the trunk like a battering ram. It crushed the climbers organs in his chest. Why?

This makes 11 in 18 months just in NJ alone!
 
It seems that all the attention on rigging is done with a calculator . Trunk wood , slide lines etc . , Somewhere along the way common sense rigging is lost and not discussed , almost like everyone knows. I'm sure this accident was avoidable , but how many close calls did this guy have before he bought it ?
 
I'm a freelance climber and I take news about things like this to heart.
I think the thing that bothers me the most is when I'm rigging with only 'brush draggers' on the ground and no real qualified groundman. This is more common than not, so I tend to minimize rigging in these situations. I've always gone by the old expression about how 'two is one and one is none'. I like having a qualified groundman to double-check my rigging. I am not invincible and I am capable of making a mistake in a tree. If there is no one on the ground qualified to double-check my rigging, I might as well be free climbing with no lifeline.

In this case, a qualified groundman would have stopped the climber before he made the cut. Too bad he didn't have a qualified groundman.
 
well put Brian, that extra set of eyes on the ground is absolutley invaluable. Often a climber doesn't see or can't see certain problems due to their perspective, or just plain human error. having qualified, mindful individuals on the ground can mean the difference between life and death.
 
Iknow what you mean, Brian. For those of us too small (our companies, that is) to have a full-time groundie, it is challenging to rig safely. When I have a laborer instead of a ground man, I will self--lower and let the help untie the knots.

Of course, this is not an ideal solution. As you say, the biggest benefit of qualified support is that they can double-check for safe procedures. Also, doing it all alone slows things down and often creates more steps to the operation(= more chances to make a mistake, IMO). I know some who would rather risk twenty small mistakes than one big one, but I prefer to get more done with fewer steps. Still, I'd rather trust my own knots, my own lowering speeds, and my own judgment on simple rigging than to try and teach day laborers how to do it from 40 feet in the air. When it comes to rigging I can't handle myself, I wait for qualified help--there's no other way.

keith
 
Too true, Brian. Even qualified groundies can be dangerous if they don't posess that little bit of common sense. I've been in situations where branches I've rigged may swing back at me, and have given instructions to let them run. The groundie I've often worked with will normally hold everything tight until the branch has swung back at me, then he'll let it go. Every time! I can't work out how to explain what I want him to do, so I have to plan for him acting like an idiot, by making sure I'm out of the way, or protected somehow. But he's not unusual, has all the qualifications and has many years experience. It's so hard to get people who are on the same wavelength.
 
My first instruction when training new ropemen (preferably with a qualified ropeman present) is this:
"Your FIRST responsibility is to protect the climber. Your SECOND responsibility is to protect property. Your THIRD responsibility is to set the limb down with the butt pointing to the chipper."
I usually have to re-emphasize responsibility #1 several times.
 
Mark,
It is hard to make assumptions as to what really happend, but by what I read of your post I feel three things happend and some of wich were probably already mentiond. #1 Putting the bull line directly in your line of path is not always a big deal if the proper precaution are taken. Using a tag line, putting in the proper face cut to cant the limb away from you or using a redirect on the same limb.These three things alone might have saved his life, but maybe unknown to him he didnt no about these techniques.
#2 the ground man as these other fellas mentioned.The climber is only as good as the groundman or only as bad. HAving a qualified person probaly would have saved his life also.Seeing the cituation, maybe if the log was let to run, it would have cleared him. I never work with out a qualified person on the ground even when duing pvt work. Its not worth the risk.
#3 I feel that this person might have just been in over his head. theres nothing wrong with admitting you cant do the job and it is be yound your capability. Better to admit it than to be admitted.Unfortunate for him he will never have the ability to learn by his mistakes. I often wounder, when I hear of these tragedies, what does the groundman say. " I could have prevented it if only" Not that its his fault, because the training comes from, who ?

We have all had to rope out chunks or limbs at one time being directly inline with the bulline. Sometimes it is just un avaoidable. However, most of us know the techniques to keep ourselfs from getting battle ramed into the tree, wich allows us to still be here and posting on this site.

But like I say , it's all hearsay untill the facts come out , if they ever do .

Greg
 
i agree with the importance of a knowledgeable ground man being able to visualize what is going to happen and help prevent accidents. i am fortunate enough to work on a crew with myself and two other climbers. since we all climb we rotate our climbing over the week. having the exiperinced eyes on the ground is more than helpful and safe.
i also agree with a previous post that this climber may have been in over their head. there is certainly no shame in admitting a tree may be more advanced than your skill level.
regardless of who or what was to blame in this accident, it is a sad day when a fellow climber dies. sadly, we can look at their accidents as a reminder of the risks involved with our profession and that safety must come before all else. there is no tree climb worth the loss of a climber's life.
 
It is a valid piont to have a good groundsman. But it still comes down to you as a climber and the choices that you make in the tree. Think about them, double check, and have a planned exit in your mind.
Just don't depend on some one on the gound to catch your errors in the tree.
Stay safe aloft.
 
Wow...It's funny how the common thread of this thread is the "groundies". Not qualified, if they were watching, etc. However, what is seemingly being overlooked is that:

a.) the climber rigged it himself
and
b.) most climbers consider most ground people unqualified to do much more than drag the brush much less offer any kind of advice as to how to rig something.

I started out working as a groundie and still do a fair share of it. When I started my "experienced climber/owner" couldn't even tie a bowline much less set up a speedline or z-rig. I, however did know how to do these things, but would my boss take advice, nope. Why, because I was a new ground guy.

It's up to everyone to teach and to learn. Just because you may have 10 years in the trees doesn't mean you know everything. Look at all the guys out there using new hitches. These seem to be being learned kind of from the younger guys and passed up the chain.

Accidents like this are probably avoidable, but everyone involved needs to be open to advice/suggestion. Clear communication between coworkers is critical to safety.

Just my two cents.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom