chris_girard
Branched out member
- Location
- Gilmanton, N.H.
The HSE Rigging Report is loaded with so much valuable information that I want to share my experiences with it as I read through it and find information that I’ve encountered.
When I started climbing trees, I was taught that the proper position for topping and blocking down wood was to stand directly behind the stem in order not to get hit by the top, or by the rigging and to better handle the swaying of the stem. This I believe was a carryover from the old days of the logging high climber and his methods.
This never felt right to me as I felt like the reaction forces after topping (or blocking wood) wanted to shake me loose and no I wasn’t always taking a heavy top.
I started to experiment with standing 45 degrees from the back side and placing one knee higher than the other and pushing it up tight against the spar to act as a fourth (or fifth) contact point. This has worked out awesome. My hands are usually held lightly to the side of the stem.
Well, in reading the HSE Rigging Report, on pages 246-247, they talk about work positioning and implications for the climber’s safety. They mention that positioning the climber directly behind the log seemed to induce more severe shaking in the climber than positioning at an angle to one side in the tests that they performed. Pressing the climber’s hands against the stem, in anticipation of sway, seemed to transfer more of the vibration to the climber’s body, especially if they were directly behind the stem. This, I also found to be true in my case.
When I started climbing trees, I was taught that the proper position for topping and blocking down wood was to stand directly behind the stem in order not to get hit by the top, or by the rigging and to better handle the swaying of the stem. This I believe was a carryover from the old days of the logging high climber and his methods.
This never felt right to me as I felt like the reaction forces after topping (or blocking wood) wanted to shake me loose and no I wasn’t always taking a heavy top.
I started to experiment with standing 45 degrees from the back side and placing one knee higher than the other and pushing it up tight against the spar to act as a fourth (or fifth) contact point. This has worked out awesome. My hands are usually held lightly to the side of the stem.
Well, in reading the HSE Rigging Report, on pages 246-247, they talk about work positioning and implications for the climber’s safety. They mention that positioning the climber directly behind the log seemed to induce more severe shaking in the climber than positioning at an angle to one side in the tests that they performed. Pressing the climber’s hands against the stem, in anticipation of sway, seemed to transfer more of the vibration to the climber’s body, especially if they were directly behind the stem. This, I also found to be true in my case.
