climbing live trees with spikes

Webster

Webster

New member
Location
Alabama
Every tree company in huntsville al seems to be more about productivity than tree health and are spiking live trees at a lower cost than one would spikeless climb. I am coming across more and more trees and unaware customers everyday. Is this going on everywhere. Original Webster & sons tree co
 
Not really any spiking here in Wyoming, but then, nobody really climbed till I moved back 3 1/2 years ago. It's amazing that I'm starting to see everybody else climb now that I've done the legwork to show clients it can be done. Course most of them are still very, very basic. I see a lot more balls than skills. Saw a guy lanyard climbing a huge cottonwood the other day. Scary.
 
Seems to be the song of the south Webster. I am over on the GA/AL line and it is the same thing there too. Been fighting it for 10 years, trying to get guys to at least look at training their crews to climb without spiking when pruning. They always say it is quicker to spike, and I would have to agree somewhat if the comparison is to body thrusting. But to someone who is trained and skilled at foot locking, it is just as fast, and for a SRT climber with the tools available, a skilled SRT climber is faster. The only glitch may come in with the rope set and even that is minimal. I am in a major metro area with a number of tree services in the phone book and not one CA in private work. Closest ones are 30 miles away. Even educating the consuming public is difficult since they have never been exposed to anything better.
 
It was the norm in the industry and has slowly been pushed out. There are some here that still do but they are becoming the minority. It's something that needs to be explained in terms that show the benefit to the client and should not cost much more. Tough to be an early adopter of any new concepts in a given market. Just keep working it!
 
We're in the deep south and it's not common here. I think it's locale centric. Most of the companies here preach it to all their clients and spike-prunes are pretty much obsolete now. Tell your customers, and they'll repeat what they hear. Eventually they'll ask a company whether they wear spikes for pruning or not, before the job commences.
 
You are lucky TL and you need to find out who got the ball rolling the right direction there and thank them. I have been through a lot of the south, TN, AR AL GA and have seen the spiking continue to be prevalent in most areas. I have written work specs for numerous jobs only to have the owner(who paid me good $$ to write the spec) tell the contractor to do it cheap. Makes no sense to me at all. If they went to their Dr. and he said "you need a heart transplant or you will die in a year, I'm sure they would get on the transplant list and have their bags packed for the call.
 
I think I've only seen two trees in my area that had spike scars.

I take every opportunity to not wear spikes. After long periods of standing on them, your knees and arches beg you to find alternative means.
 
my father didnt allow me to wear spikes when i started out climbing. i got my first saddle when i was eleven got my first set of spikes when i was 18. i bought a bigshot and arm chaps put a micro under my hitch and find a ground man to pull my hitch up as i go.
 
i once filled out an application for " tree surgeon" showed up the first day. Noticed other climber was climbing with spikes on a beautiful beech tree. I asked the boss if he was aware of it he exclaimed that was how they do things. I lost sleep after a day of molesting healthy trees. Quit the next day.
 
I was really hungry in my first year of climbing and worked for a guy that made me top a perfectly good water oak. I felt like I raped the earth. I quit the next day and got a less paying job with a much better company, that owner is still one of my mentors today.
 
Topping. Sounds like an avoided subject for most. I seen a white oak that had been topped but recovered at a new customers home. That thing is about 75 ft tall now and part way over the house. Mercy that thing is gonna make a mess someday. I gave her a pamphlet on topping. Food for her thought.
 
Jeff_Cochran said:
I was really hungry in my first year of climbing and worked for a guy that made me top a perfectly good water oak. I felt like I raped the earth. I quit the next day and got a less paying job with a much better company, that owner is still one of my mentors today.
Click to expand...
Must be talking about Wes. Tell him hi.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom