Five old Firs (pics + video)

Gord

Gord

Location
Gibsons BC
We took down these five old firs today, unfortunately I don't have any pics that really show the whole trees. Really cool old trees, very gnarly, lots of stuff to snag a rope or anything, funny limbs that start in front of you and turn back over your head. The three that I did were all leaning heavily, which (along with the really fissured and crumbly bark) made some of the cuts pretty awkward. Dusty too. The trees were slated for removal on recommendation of a survey done for the safety of the powerlines which were just dowhill. This was on public forestry land.

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Really cool branching.

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I swung into this one from the previous tree so I didn't have to fight my way past the

flat part of the union.

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I keep my rope in a bag for stuff like this. A heavy lean and sprawling limbs/stems mean

it's too easy for something to catch the rope on it's (long) ways down.

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Haven't seen a fungus like this one before, it appears to be pretty old. It was at a

spot of some advanced heartwood decay. Anyone know what it is?

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Another climber knocking off a log. I had a bit of a rest with a view here.

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You get a bit of an idea of the lean here. The bark was so sloughy on the first 35' or

so that I had to shave it off as I went up.

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Another climber rappeling off the spar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g08_vqBj38k
 
Cool pics Gord.

Did you apologize to the 5 old gentlemen before interrupting their day?

I find myself doing that..........alot!

Who's the music by in your video soundtrack?

jomoco
 
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shame those trees had to go. That conk looks like a Fomitopsis officinalis, Brown Trunk Rot.

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I agree jeff, I guess it's a cost of our way of life. These were located on a forest service road that just recently had a powerline ran along it to service a new cell tower. It seems that this area may not have ever been logged but was burnt around 100 years ago. So there is still these old survivors scattered here and there in the forest.

That looks to be the correct fungus, thanks for the id.
 
did you guys leave sticks below a certain size, or were they taken all the way down? The same smattering of old trees on this side of the Straight too, and those same heart rots giving me the willies! Thanks for sharing.
 
We left the spars at safe heights although the original plan was to remove them entirely (someone brainy thought they would be straight felled). So we recommended they be left as habitat snags. The song is The Black Keys - Things Aint Like They Used To Be.
 
Thanks Gord, I really like that song.

I spent about 9 months subbing for a few pro logging outfits in 07 and found they are real sticklers about the logs coming down in 33 foot lengths or 17 footers at the very least.

Was that a factor on this job for you?

jomoco
 
We didn't have to worry about logs lengths here jomoco, I don't know if the wood will be taken away or not.

I wanted to compete this year Jeff but i'm leaving on a month long trip at the end of the week so I won't be around. Is the tcc in Kelowna invite only I guess?
 
I don't know about Kelowna (there will be spots other than invites I'm sure. . ) but the BC TCC is in New West again, Sept 19th I believe and you should be there, but it sounds like you'll miss it. . . Kelowna is in October.
 
Gord, I was wondering about the stem cutting, in the video did you and the other cutters use a narrow and deep set face with no pull line? Or was a step cut used too? Is it a matter of judging the stance of the trunk and shooting it that way? The close up of the other cutter... he seemed to get his saw a little jammed, I wondered if he used a step for that piece. I have some confidence for stepping stems with more definate gravitational persuasion but you guys are awesome.
I enjoyed the pictures and video. Thanks a lot!
 
I use a cut as shown in the pic. It's a type of step cut I suppose. The log in the video where the guy gets his saw stuck, I was coaching him how to make said cut and he kind of fouled it up.
 

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Great shots Gord. Your photos look at the high end of point and shoot, like a g7 or P6000 maybe? We've got a similar project coming up in a couple of weeks up island -- big fir dismantling is awesome, but gets painful quickly.
 
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I use a cut as shown in the pic. It's a type of step cut I suppose. The log in the video where the guy gets his saw stuck, I was coaching him how to make said cut and he kind of fouled it up.

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OK, I see now. An old boy over here showed me a similar method but coming down diagonally for the release. I have found it to have a great balance of speed and ease of cutting.
 
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