Best Rookie Mistakes

opposablethumb

opposablethumb

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For all of our education and entertainment, what stories have you got?

Could be about you or somebody else. I'm a rookie, so I'm hoping to learn something here.

Only one I've got was one I heard - on the first day, guy straps on the spikes on the wrong feet (gaffs pointed out) and steps up to the tree.

hmm...how to get these stuck in the bark?
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I started out with a company and had no experience except from the first year climbing/tree ID/ Sceince etc rom school and haulin' serious brush. Can't explain all the rigging infractions I committed, and lucky I didn't hurt myself. I didn't have an experienced person to show me the ropes at first, all trial and error. The only thing I had going for me when I started was I was a mechanic at a Sthil dealership/ small engine shop for 3 years prior. At least my saws and honda spayer engines were all top notch.
 
kind of caught my attention with this post . Not sure how " best" and " mistake" can go together . Personally can't remember my " worst rookie mistake " cause I had so many of them , lucky , funny , stupid , never best . I have my 21 year old son working for me , my late Dad's revenge. I would say the best mistake is one you learn from , todays youth has me worried , the "I know , I know , I effing know generation." Than I say " if you know (knew) , you wouldn't have effing did it " . In tree work I'm not sure if we really want history to repeat itself .
 
chipping other things than brush,, i chipped some pylwood years back, ya that got stuck in the shoot,, chipped a rubbermaid trashbarrel ya that got stuck too, ,, funny thing is shovel and rakes go right through,, i still have the scrapes of a shovel my boss made me climb in the back of the chip truck and collect,, that was over 12 years ago,, i feel like i know what clogs a chipper now..
 
I'd have to say one of my best rookie mistakes was when I destroyed a fence, sort of...

I was climbing (by myself) a hybrid Cottonwood (go figure). It had a lower leader that needed to come off. The collar was about 15' off the ground, with a tip length of about 25'. I chose to put a notch on the underside of the branch. (I shoud have made a snap cut, better yet a "boxed" snap cut). Well, it hinged over, the tip hit the ground first, then re-coiled back at the fence (I thought I was avoiding). The butt of the limb hit on top of the fence (right between the 8' section like a perfect fieldgoal). The 8' section of old fence was tacked together with just nails. So, it literally exploded on impact. The pickets went everywhere.

It was both funny and I got mad at myself. In all, 2 pickets and one 2x4 needed to be replaced. All other pickets just needed to be tacked back in. So, getting the wood at Home Depot and tapping everything back together was the real loss.
 
Second day of work I was new to the chipper and pushed some rakings into the chipper with the rake and it took the rake with it, the boss saw me do it and wasnt too happy, I was struggling to not cry in laughter, never knew the power of the chipper, that was the only thing I chipped on accident, there have been many other items other than brush that i ahve chipped since, purely for crew moral of course
 
Flight training...it's usual for newbies to get sent for 'sky hooks' and 'prop wash' (prop wash is actually the term for the turbulent air behind the propellor).

But to get back onto the track I would say....rookie mistake for me.... letting the chipper give me a proper whipping. Many many bruises first week..until field smarts kick in full time.
Always some bruises and scrapes from climbing/chipping etc but way less than the early days.
 
This goes back to the days when the Urban Arboriculture program at Humber College was still a fresh idea...

The class had all demonstrated basic knots in the lab and had learned how to put our Buckingham butt-strap saddles on right-side-out, so it was off to the woodlot for some tree time.

Second day of climbing, the instructor set up a test tree, you had to body thrust up to the first branch at about 25' to get a passing grade, or you could go right up to the TIP at about 50' for extra marks.

So, of course I shoot for the TIP. Super clumsy, lot of wasted effort, but I make it, exhausted. Time to rappell.

I really can't put my finger on what happened next. We had all been observed going up and down on rope 10' - 20' the day before, shouldn't have been a problem. But as soon as I grabbed that taut-line-hitch and started started down, something primeval took over my brain and said: "You are falling, hang on to something, NOW!"

So I grabbed that taut-line-hitch something fierce. Now I'm plummeting like a stone. I'd like to think that my conscious mind reasoned the problem out, that there was a victory of thought over instinct, and that is how I told the story later to the instructor.

But what really saved me, finally jerked me to a halt about 10' off the ground with such force that my heels smacked the back of my skull was another primeval reaction.

Damned hitch was too hot to hold on to.

Northwind
 
That was a good one haha. I sacked myself something fierce 60ft up on belay in one our walnut challenge trees at flemming. "JUST LET ME DOWN!" -me "WHAT?!" -buddy

The odd time I run a big as$ daisy chain in the new guys climbing rope, or hitch him to something. or a quick slip knot so it hits him mid line and stops him dead
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