SomethingWitty
Arkansawyer
- Location
- LR
I'll try to be mindful. It is not something I have been treating as seriously as I should.
climb scared
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Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
I certainly wouldn't use the word scared. If i'm scared my intelligent head is trying to tell my achieve the goal head to rethink what i'm doing. Being scare will limit judgement and create a tunnel vision IMHO. I'm not scared climbing. I love it and I am comfortable on rope. I approach it with listening to my inner voice. I feel confident but as someone else said very respectful. I am respectful of my abilities, the risks, the hazards and what can go wrong if my mental protocol isn't followed. I also listen to the little voice in my head and the feeling in my gut. If something isn't rite I stop and evaluate the entire situation, plan, risks vs rewards. Personally I think if you are climbing and doing production work scared, you are more apt to get hurt, miss a detail, loose sight of ALL of the factors you should be aware of. You have to be globally aware of everything. Being scared will limit your ability to focus on anything other than what is triggering your fear. Complacencies are just as dangerous. The key is to recognize when it's setting in. I battle it just like everyone else who has worked the trees for a while. I combat it by an intense OCD approach to things. A logarithm of my climbing, set up, and work. I can just feel it when things are off. The biner for my flipline gate out. Hand saw position, the jingle of my gear. The way my biner connects my runner to the bridge. The slick pins on the runner top faces left and bottom quickie tending pin faces right. When they aren't rite I feel it in my hand and it instantly upsets my routine. Throws me off enough to change them and not ignore them. It's just my routine, like never leaving gear scattered around a job site. If it's not being used it goes back in the bag. I recently changed my saddle and am going through quite an adjustment period. Everything feels wrong and i'm working through it. It's actually pretty tough. I'd avoid doing something if I was scared doing it.
TimBr
Official Well Known Greeter
- Location
- Northern Virginia
Steve, apologies for this minor derail. You are saying that you've replaced one of the lower SLIC pins with one of Kevin's Singing Tree Quickies, correct? Maybe I've asked this before, elsewhere. If so, apologies again. Are you using the cheaper cast Quickie or the more expensive milled Quickie? A photo of your setup would be a real treat to see. Thanks in advance for your help.
Also, what brand and model is your new harness? Thanks.
Tim
What he said!
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
Climbing on a TM. Yes the bottom slick's pin has a milled quickie on it for tending. I have a few but no cast. I quit buying from TS before they started selling the crappy quickie.
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
Just to be specific what I mean. I was contracting for a company on the 2nd. It was the last climbing day I had because I got the crane back. Had seen pictures and the tree didn't look bad at all. Half day at best. Of course we all know about pictures. Amazing I still get fooled by that after all these years. Anyway tree was taller and wider than I had thought. 28" DBH codom maple over a fence and a house. The main lead was nice and straight and tall. The subordinate lead had grown way out from the other and was over a house, bushes, fence and stamped concrete. I decided to not set a line and just spike up. Easy climb. When I got about 20' below the crotch I wanted (I woulda hit that with a throw bag to set my tip) I found an old tear out on the top side(tension side) of a slight lean. Rotten cavity, woodpecker holes, and a depth of almost 2/3 of the diameter of the lead. I set up a tip and rigging point below it. Worked everything up to the tip and then swung over to the sub lead. Climbed up to where I needed to work. Horizontal rope angle(coulda done a redirect) and flat rigging angles because I was trying to swing everything into the customers yard. Not enough room because the swing would have induced a huge drop and probably smacked the fence and house. Looked at span rigging and the equipment wasn't on site, plus it would have come down in the bushes and been a pain. The crew wasn't set up for it or I wasn't sure about doing it. I went back to the tip and really looked at it. I couldn't convince myself there was any good reason to rig above the rot or climb above it. I'm sure a ton of guys would have but I have my own threshold. I just didn't feel like the risk was worth it. I walked away from the climb and went and got the crane and blew it out. It actually worked out better because we craned logs and they didn't have to drag brush and haul logs from the back yard. Initially I felt defeated. I felt like I failed as a climber. I felt like I chickened out. I kept asking myself if I didn't own the crane what would I have done? I woulda made it work and it would have been a royal pain for the people on the ground. I wouldn't have climbed above it and I would have kept my fingers crossed dropping a big top or had rigged some of it small and used a pole saw. Regardless I couldn't make myself do it. It still makes me feel bad but i'm alive, nothing is broken and the job is done. What would I have done? I don't know. I didn't have to. Just went and got the truck and got it done in half the time. Point being, I wasn't scared because I listened. Had I climbed above the rot I would have been scared. I woulda cut corners and hurried just to get down below the rot. Lots of awful stuff coulda happened. I took control of that and made sure it didn't. The little voice in my head wouldn't let me push past my threshold. Its kept me outa a lot of bad situations in my years. Just for the record, i'm not a ballsy climber like many. I've never been pushed into sketchy situations. Maybe if I had a mentor who was a hazard tree killer I would be more comfortable in those situations but I didn't so I go by my gut. I see guys climb stuff just fine i'd never climb. In my mind that's great for them but it only takes that one tree. Again it's not scared, its respect and risk vs reward.
CRL
New member
Perhaps another way to say this is "Climb aware!"
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
Steve, in regard to "failing as a climber", you're not a climber. You're a person.
You have enough skills and risk-reward awareness as a person. It's not war. It's not like you're a Special Forces commando, known as ..."The Climber", in life or death situations.
Or perhaps someone who runs into burning buildings, sketchy vehicle wrecks, and deals with life and death regularly...oh yeah, you do that!
These are just demo jobs on plants in non-emergency situations. Nobody is pinned in their house on fire by a tree. Never heard the climber call for the Jaws of Life. Climbers are almost NEVER rescuing people.
You know who fails as a climber...the guy who gets critically hurt, or dead, or nearly hurt, or kills a groundie, or, at the minimum takes unnecessary risks causing unnecessary labor.
If some climber wants to claim to clang while walking, I'd like to see them with Tete, getting some honey, vine flipline, stone ax for chopping footholds, then unsecured in the crown, getting stung by bees.
You have enough skills and risk-reward awareness as a person. It's not war. It's not like you're a Special Forces commando, known as ..."The Climber", in life or death situations.
Or perhaps someone who runs into burning buildings, sketchy vehicle wrecks, and deals with life and death regularly...oh yeah, you do that!
These are just demo jobs on plants in non-emergency situations. Nobody is pinned in their house on fire by a tree. Never heard the climber call for the Jaws of Life. Climbers are almost NEVER rescuing people.
You know who fails as a climber...the guy who gets critically hurt, or dead, or nearly hurt, or kills a groundie, or, at the minimum takes unnecessary risks causing unnecessary labor.
If some climber wants to claim to clang while walking, I'd like to see them with Tete, getting some honey, vine flipline, stone ax for chopping footholds, then unsecured in the crown, getting stung by bees.
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
Thats a great look at things. I totally agree with you but you and I both know that inner feeling when you can't or won't. Leads to self doubt even for a few minutes. Gladly the little voice wins over the ego voice. Appreciate your point of view
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
I'm a first-world climber...everything but the tree is rated and tested. Call me "soft".
The climbing failure doesn't show up to the dinner table with family night after night, predictably, without relying on hope and prayers (or meth).
The climbing failure doesn't show up to the dinner table with family night after night, predictably, without relying on hope and prayers (or meth).
TimBr
Official Well Known Greeter
- Location
- Northern Virginia
It is called "The Gift of Fear". It is the thing that has evolved in men through the ages that has allowed us to survive to this point in time. I may have already mentioned the book of the same title in this thread already. A really good read.
Tim
TimBr
Official Well Known Greeter
- Location
- Northern Virginia
Steve, thanks a lot for going to the trouble to post this photo for me. It is a big help.
Do you use the SLIC pin that came with the Rope Runner with the main body of the milled Quickie, or did you just pull out the original SLIC pin from the Rope Runner and replace it entirely with the new milled Quickie and its accompanying SLIC pin?
I like the idea of having such a strong attachment point right there so that you can hopefully lean back into a strong over the shoulder tending strap once in awhile, just to take a break when needed. I think you just sold me on a new piece of gear, as much as you hate to see me spend my money at that place. Thanks for your time, and for the answers to my questions.
Tim
Richard Mumford-yoyoman
Been here a while
- Location
- Atlanta GA
I don't have a fear of heights, I have a fear of falling and so I'm always double checking things. I don't have a fear of crossing the street but I do have a fear of getting hit by a car so I look both ways, twice. It's the fear that creates the awareness that makes me more careful. I'm not climbing afraid, I'm climbing aware.
CanadianStan
Branched out member
- Location
- Western Australia
I tried this yesterday; my quickie slic pin would not fit in the Roperunner body. I would have to widen the Roperunner holes a smidge and I'm not sure I'm comfortable doing that.
What Slic pin are people using to combine their Quickies and Roperunners?
Bucknut
Carpal tunnel level member
Amen and Hallelujah!
“I’m not scared of heights, I’m scared of trees that won’t keep me there”.
I’m over 40 now. Been climbing a while. I’ve never set any speed records, but I’m safe and reasonably efficient and that’s the key. Always trying to hit that sweet spot where fast, safe and easy intersect.
And yes, rational fear is a great way to combat complacency. Happened naturally in the beginning, takes a little more effort now.
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
The original slick's pins worked. I use the pin from the quickie not the runner. I need both keepers out. I's been a while but I think the history is-----------Treestuff and Kevin did the first batch. Everything was perfect. Then they recalled the pins. I got about 5 of them but also kept the old. The recall replacements were also a good fit. Then I believe, so don't quote me Treecrap and Sherrillstuff decided like everything to ship it off to china and have 10 year old kids make is for $.50c and sell it to us for $30. More profit for the profit hounds. In true keeping tree stuff screwed up a good thing as they always do so if you don't have an go quickie, your out of luck.
The cast versions are made in china? I think I'm gona write sherrill bc I never would have bought anything from china
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