Climbing superstitions

It's mid firewood harvest ... been 'pologizin' to trees all day.
But, it ain't only dem ones I be killin' ...
It's dem other ones ... watchin' ... creeeepy
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...
Ya know, they'll throw stuff at ya ...
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...
Ya gotta be lookin' up ...
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None, I try to stay away from rituals that can play with my head.

Habits are another thing though. I'll habitualize safety processes to help me create unconscious behaviours that'll save my butt!

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Totally agree TH. Safe and correct habits also assist us when our attitude isn't quite there, or our mind/eyes/ears maybe off on the weekend before it actually gets here.

Also helps when we do everything right and the tree has its own plans and throws something screwy at us. Had something like that with one of our crews this week. Hope to post the video this weekend. If he wasn't doing things proper he would have made the Awakenings section...
 
[ QUOTE ]
It's mid firewood harvest ... been 'pologizin' to trees all day.
But, it ain't only dem ones I be killin' ...
It's dem other ones ... watchin' ... creeeepy
eyeye.gif
...
Ya know, they'll throw stuff at ya ...
bigeyes.gif
...
Ya gotta be lookin' up ...
jpshakehead.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, never turn your back on a live tree... they're always looking for a chance for retreebution.
 
My sig is from one of the best bits of funk from the '70s. Stevie Wonder, Superstition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZFf0pm0SE

Once knew a young climber who would not sit through a safety meeting, convinced that if we talked about possible accidents he would be "jinxed", and the accident would then be destined to happen.

I have the diametrically opposed position, we can only learn if we examine the details of every accident, break it down into components, analyze what went wrong, when, where, why, then create procedures to avoid similar accidents.

A jinx is a hoax your mind has played on itself.

Northwind.
 
I remind myself of the bad things that can happen so not to mess up. Keeps me on top of the safety habits I've developed despite pressure to take shortcuts, like free climbing then throwing the lanyard on or even setting the climb line. I've watched others do that because it's faster but cringe at the risk being taken.
 
There is a difference between good practice and superstitions. Trying to verbalize the difference would take more effort than its worth right now.

This morning I did a cat rescue. Bobo made me look like the hero! As I was putting on my harness my handsaw moved. Marv's words rang in my ears from over 35 years ago, 'You always climb with a handsaw.' The saw went onto my knee. As it turns out there was one limb that needed cutting. I could have broken it off. That would have broken one of my other superstitions. 'Stubs will come back to haunt you.'

In keeping with the maritime behavior of touching some part of the ship to ward off bad luck, I touch wood, my noggin, anytime I need to duck under some spiritual protection!
 
For the big ugly removals,

I try to wear my Detriot Pistons Isiah Thomas jersey from gr.9. 1984. I come to play, hot dogin, and have some fun

I always beg for forgiveness and give the tree a good pat.

The night before, Try not to sleep to well,
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wink.gif
, nudge, nudge
The next night to.
 
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Definite rituals. One is patting myself down (not ala TSA) as if I were looking for a pack of smokes or my keys...actually I'm checking my gear to see if everything feels where it should be. It's a holdover from my firefighting days before going into the building.

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Same here. I think part of it is because I'm still new to climbing so I check, double check, then triple check.

My wife says it's just my OCD.
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One thing I will call a superstition also came from when I first joined the fire service. Being half Irish, I put a reflective clover sticker on my fire helmet.
Now my forestry, skiing, and climbing helmets all have one.


-BarnHouse
 
I'm kind of with BarnHouse on this, I think mine is more OCD than superstitions. Before a climb I HAVE to put away my own throwline & ropes and clean up anything else I took out. Calms me down before hand, especially after some frustrating throws! And I guess it keeps the job site a little clean.

I also do the pat down to make sure I've taken out my phone, keys and wallet. But again, I think thats the OCD kicking in!

-Tyler
 
I practice ritualized protocol. I do everything the same as far as putting on the harness etc. I like everything to be as it should before going up. I try to clear my mind so that I can focus SOLELY ON THE TASK AT HAND. That means no looking forward to the afternoon job or back at yesterday's nightmare scenario. I try to connect with the stillness of the moment and realize that even though there are distractions coming from everywhere (even from within me), I have the experience and equipment to safely perform the job. I too try to not mess with stinging insects and I don't do big removals when I am raging mad. I just feel too unfocused and that is a gateway to the afterlife. I am generally not raging mad, and for the record I did state that I TRY to do these things at which I am clearly not always successful.
 
Even if a groundie thinks they are being helpful by setting a climb line for me i will thank them for being pro-active then pull it out and set it myself.
Also after hitting the ground when a take down is complete i will always finish the tree to ground level.For some reason i think it is my duty to do it and also take pride in getting that last cut as close to the ground(without chain damage)as possible(might have something to do with operating a stump grinder for years).
And of course,no killing intentionally of any animal or insect that has appeared from the tree,epecially removals-we've just taken away its home so it would be areal bad day for them if they died as well.Sounds lame but makes you feel a little bit better about cutting down some of the trees we do
 
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