How do you “ethically” ascend redwoods with weak anchor branches?

rico said:
That is a poster worthy photo Mark, and having Mr Beranek take the photo only adds to its awesomeness!! Very rarely is hitting height the problem in Reds and like yourself I can consistently hit marks over 200 ft with the APTA. The problem is consistently being able to get your line over a limb/limbs strong enough to support a climber, and getting your line over a limb/limbs that are not growing in a downward direction. Plus as you mentioned you need to be able to actually see that your line is in fact over something trustworthy, and see that your line is relatively tight to the trunk (binocs & wraps on the trunk are essential). I would also add that doing all this is generally more difficult on 2nd-3rd growth Reds due to their limb strength and structure, and 2nd-3rd growth are generally the type of Reds a working Redwood climber will see in his/her day to day tree life.. What your left with is a recipe for serious safety issues, or massive productivity problems if one is striving to go completely spurless as a working treeman in Redwood country......Either your going to spend the better part of your days trying to get a trustworthy tie in set, or you can "simply trust them" (been there, done that), or your can throw some spurs on and go get some work done...This is why spurs still reign supreme in the life of most working Redwood climbers....

Happy New Year to you Mark!
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That all makes perfect sense. And truth be told, one time we went into an old camp to climb one over 300' and Jerry set a line in what looked like a good spot only to simply fall out while pulling the rope in. Seems it was just lodged on bark! Even with binoculars we couldn't tell until we tested it. Like you say, all very time consuming and that pressure may make you take a bad option.

And yeah. Jerry is the best! One of the all time best tree guys I've ever met for so many reasons.
 
Thanks for the kind words folks. I do appreciate it.. My intent on this thread was to simply give the OP a practical view from someone who has spent many years working in his unique environment. From the start it was very clear to me that his goal of working Redwoods 100% spurless was unattainable and he was setting himself up for serious injury or worse. I do apologize (especially to JohnTreeXP) for being such a blunt, pragmatic asshole, but it is genuinely how I roll. In case you all haven't noticed, I'm a grumpy prick!

Happy New Year to all..
 
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Mark Chisholm said:
That all makes perfect sense. And truth be told, one time we went into an old camp to climb one over 300' and Jerry set a line in what looked like a good spot only to simply fall out while pulling the rope in. Seems it was just lodged on bark! Even with binoculars we couldn't tell until we tested it. Like you say, all very time consuming and that pressure may make you take a bad option.

And yeah. Jerry is the best! One of the all time best tree guys I've ever met for so many reasons.
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You are a lucky man to be able to spend time with Mr. Beranek. The undisputed King in my book!

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rico said:
If I am hearing you right you are operating somewheres in the Russian River area near Guerneville? I know the area well and am in the area from time to time. Next time I am headed your direction I could give you shout and we could hang out, shoots some lines, do some rope walking, and talk comes shit!
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Best possible outcome. When buzzers get together life gets better.

Even if it means raiding Rico’s Personal Area 51 to make the get together happen.
-AJ
 
Mark Chisholm said:
A lot of people don't know it, but if you look in the second pic Jerry put a spir on over a cast as he had a broken foot. Gritty.
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Yep, the cast just added to the legend..Jerry is the real deal, and like a true logger, bucker, and mean mother****cker t he laced up his boots and got some wood on the ground, injury or not....

I have had that poster hanging on the wall for decades and it still brings a smile to my face..
 
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rico said:
When I was young we were really into taking Hap Johnson "coffee break" pictures after blowin' a big top. Heres one right after taken a 90-100 ft top from around 140-145 ft. Rope? Nets? Why am I still alive?

View attachment 64410
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Bore-in on the cut? That’s how my mentor and awesome boss assures me is the only legit way to take really big tops. I love the coffee break pics lol I’ll get one eventually
 
Ptstreeguy said:
Bore-in on the cut? That’s how my mentor and awesome boss assures me is the only legit way to take really big tops. I love the coffee break pics lol I’ll get one eventually
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Nope. Just a straight conventional up cut, a few wedges, and some serious attention to detail....Not a fan of the bore cut in trees, especially when dealing with a 36"-42" bar while aloft....

I would not recommend attempting a "coffee break moment". The risks just ain't worth the rewards.
 
I had to rope down a small redwood top at about the 200' mark, over a cabin in the Guerneville area. Long time ago. It was a removal so the trunk was stripped bare, what a bean pole! Wind was being too unpredictable that day to chance letting it fly. Small compared to what you guys are talking about, but it still scared the shit out of me.
 
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Mark Chisholm said:
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Here's one I climbed a few years ago. Mind you I am no way an "experienced Redwood climber", but I have climbed a few big ones. To set a line in this tree I used a very simple method my friend Jerry Beranek taught me (who actually took this photo). Its using a bigshot and changing the weight and line. We used monofilament fishing line and a 4 oz. Surf weight. With that setup I could hit 200' each time.

I would also stress that at that height you cannot tell if the branches are going out or down, so you simply trust them. We also employed the many branch approach paired with as much of a wrap around the tree to a base anchor.

Last I would also leave the possibility of dual ascent lines, dual anchors and in opposing directions. Hope this makes sense.
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Ptstreeguy said:
way to hit the nail on the head.
I did get a lot of info , and some great ideas ,and I am pretty sure that the awnser is that Getting a fast anchor into a large 2/3rd gen is unlikely if it hasn’t been maintained. I think that I’ve come to see that “ethically “ is relevant to situations, tree species, And your own ethic stand point on whether climbing with spikes would cause risk in each individual situation. Safety takes precedence, followed by ethics and a competitive POA.
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Anyway. Yeah when a customer doesntvwant me to use spurs on their 2nd growth red wood i do my best with the throw ball to install rope AND use a safety around trunk. Slower but usually limbing anyway. Way better feeling than on downward branches or skinny branches alone.
 
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