I trust my gear, it’s the wood I worry about....

Merle Nelson said:
I would say don't second guess yourself. Don't trust the wood....until your experience tells you you can.

And then, always back yourself up in case you didn't notice something, or God forbid, are ever wrong in life.

So, I used to be very nervous near the thin top of conifer trees doing a take down. Thinking it through I noticed that I often wanted to climb up on the wood at about the same thickness as a 4x4 post or a bit less. On the ground I climbed a 4x4 fence post with climbers and noticed that I felt fine three feet off the ground. That's the same strength of wood as I want to go up on I reasoned, just at the top of a 100 foot pole.

And, I started setting my climb line tie in point at a lower beefier point in case I ever did break a top out.

Similarly set up big branches or pieces of brush against a fence or etc. and climb on it till you do get failure. How tenacious are the fibers and structure of various types of wood you do climb?

Conversely don't let others tell you what you should trust. A friend of mine who was a poor and halting climber once asked me to teach him how to climb as fast as I did. I was coaching him along telling him to stop worrying and that it was a waste of time to throw up a second line to suspend himself from. To my surprise he broke a 4 or 5 inch oak limb and went down a foot or few into his ropes. I could climb out on that same limb to 1.5 inch wood or so. What I didn't realize/notice in my arrogance was that I put over 90% of my weight on my rope and overhead tie in point while he was putting 90% of his weight on the branch and just using his rope for cursory balance.

Trust your body/gut today. Prove out that there is good reason to believe you're capable of more and your body/gut/mind will follow.
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It’s so funny when you put it into context that we are familiar with - a 4x4 post - it seems like a no-brainer. Of course I would trust hanging from a sound 4x4, but for whatever reason when you wrap it in bark it becomes totally different and unrecognizable haha.

I like the suggestions of putting branches against a fence or something and trying to walk/break those. Obviously I know I wont be able to break anything over 2”, but I bet that the act of doing that test will tell my dumb brain something.

I do perform a pre-climb inspection. I follow the process laid out in “The Tree Climber’s Companion”.


• Aim High, Climb Trees •
 
Jonny said:
This is another huge reason why it’s important to get hired on with a reputable company and have an experienced climber take you on as a trainee. My trainer would give me a little shit if I was really unsure about something and wanted to chicken out (there’s probably a better, less shameful term but you know what I mean) but ultimately he’d let me bow out and he’d prove that he’d never send me up something that he wouldn’t do himself.

I know people often just buy some gear and teach themselves via videos and internet discussion but I am eternally grateful I had Jim, Don, and Paul to teach me. I miss working with those guys.
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If I had that option I would. Ive worked for 4 different companies in my area before starting to teach myself to climb. Not one of them was anything close to a safe operation. I did not have the luxury of being able to travel away from home, nor wait for the perfect apprenticeship to come along. Believe me, I searched.

I did attend a tree climbing course at Tree Climbers International and worked with a solid/safe climber for a couple of months before he left to go work line clearance.


• Aim High, Climb Trees •
 
And believe me, I totally realize that I am talking to strangers on the internet. So, although everything will be taken with a grain of salt, I do know that this particular forum is held to a higher standard and packed full of solid, reliable info from solid, reliable arborists.

I’m not asking this question in any of them facebook groups lol


• Aim High, Climb Trees •
 
laddo said:
If I had that option I would. Ive worked for 4 different companies in my area before starting to teach myself to climb. Not one of them was anything close to a safe operation. I did not have the luxury of being able to travel away from home, nor wait for the perfect apprenticeship to come along. Believe me, I searched.

I did attend a tree climbing course at Tree Climbers International and worked with a solid/safe climber for a couple of months before he left to go work line clearance.


• Aim High, Climb Trees •
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If you are willing to relocate I have solid leads with some very pro outfits.
 
Like others have said experience is key and the only way.

I just took out a cherry tree with a huge crack in the codom the owner had someone ratchet strap it together for about 8 years. Still smaller diameter and spread open. I climbed the most vertical part staying to the inside of the crack. I was aware but not overly concerned. The thoughts in my head were. It’s dormant = no leaf weight
Stay on the inside of the crack = decreases loading in the direction it wants to fail.
Cut a whole bunch of shit off quickly = cut my body weight/loading out
Work as smoothly as possible = no jerky movements
Take extra precautions against shock loads, rigging or falls/slips

Client made a comment about how quickly the tree was put on the ground, I just simply replied, I was looking down at the cracked wood the whole time.
 
Good luck with two little ones. I have two young boys myself. A good resource I found while I was first being trained as a climber was educatedclimber.com which was created by a climber training his apprentice and has tons of videos covering techniques, tips and raw footage of jobs. On the website he has free access to Ed Gilman tree health videos that I feel may be a good help to letting you learn about tree decay and may help you trust what you are looking at better. My trainer was only able to help me get so far before he left the trade for something easier on his body (older man with lots of hours on spurs) so after being taught some of the basics he encouraged me to keep learning so I found his site very useful. Stay safe.
 
Tom Dunlap said:
Split firewood
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Ron Zillmer and I were just discussing splitting firewood as a means of tree dissection last night. I split cords of wood per year at my suburban home to give away for this reason.

As many others have said, thinking in terms of structural members is helpful. In ring-porous hardwoods, I am more than comfortable tying into the mass of a 2x4. If I am ever worried about the strength of a tip, I will use a midline cinch at that tip, leaving a long tail, and then use the tail to reinforce to another nearby tip, or half-hitch down to a stronger union, and cow-hitch underneath. You could also experiment with tip strength using the Bingham method of a backup system until you have a comfortable working knowledge.

In the vein of what Evo was saying, the tree itself can pose many variables that affect tip selection. Becoming a woodworker has taught me that trees that have grown slowly relative to their species are weaker because of their ring density. Also something to consider.

 
Video is by Peter Follansbee.
Peter is a great author, teacher, and craftsman in the green woodworking heritage. I have been lucky enough to take a carving course with him. Just wanted to give credit, sorry for any derail of post.
 
Tree species and conditions determine climbability. For example I usually do not have a problem climbing a dead Red Elm, but a dead winged Elm is a different story.

Developing tree legs (similar to sea legs) takes time and experience. I remember the first Sweetgum tree I topped gave me the feeling that I was going to fall with it. 14 years later and I know what sound wood in a tree feels like as it sways. I made some very foolish climbs early on in my career that could have cost me my life. Confidence is a good thing, only if it's based on knowledge and experience.
 
Treezybreez said:
Tree species and conditions determine climbability. For example I usually do not have a problem climbing a dead Red Elm, but a dead winged Elm is a different story.

Developing tree legs (similar to sea legs) takes time and experience. I remember the first Sweetgum tree I topped gave me the feeling that I was going to fall with it. 14 years later and I know what sound wood in a tree feels like as it sways. I made some very foolish climbs early on in my career that could have cost me my life. Confidence is a good thing, only if it's based on knowledge and experience.
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Following up on this and many other responses:
Are there any trees/wood that are more susceptible to weakness? Or ones to pay extra attention to? I live in south louisiana and know for example that bradford pears (Pyrus calleryana) are notoriously brittle.....any others?
Conversely, what are some species that you have the utmost confidence in?

I know that there are many variables that we are neglecting here that need to be taken into account on a case by case basis.....for the sake of argument, let’s assume we are talking about sound wood with no signs of decay/disease or otherwise compromised.


• Aim High, Climb Trees •
 
Here's a few off the top of my head. There are still more variables of characteristics in these small lists then I care to explain. For example Birch wood has excellent strength to weight ratio, but the smaller branches snap easily. You can pretty much dance a jig on a Live Oak twig. I still consider them both strong trees.

Some weak trees: Tree of Heaven, Weeping Willow, Tulip Poplar, Cotton wood...

Some stronger trees: Live Oak, Hickory, Birch, Mulberry, Red Elm...
 
Treezybreez said:
Some weak trees: Tree of Heaven, Weeping Willow, Tulip Poplar, Cotton wood...

Some stronger trees: Live Oak, Hickory, Birch, Mulberry, Red Elm...
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Up here, Willows and Cottonwoods require careful redirects, multiple tie-ins, and thoughtful rigging when out in the sapwood. Willows tend to have terrible in-grown structure and hollows. Cottonwood weight can vary considerably all based on the amount of water the tree has access to. Water-gorged Cottonwood isn't necessarily any stronger, and tends to split out faster during cuts on lateral structure because of the weight. Half-hitches to stabilize knots and connectors are necessary when rigging big cuts; they like to tear and slide out on a split.

To help you start mentally categorizing, Live-Oak, Hickory, Mulberry, and Red Elm are all ring-porous hardwoods... Also x2 on the Birch, although tops can deteriorate quickly while still retaining green canopy. It's an especially good idea to set a lower tie-in and then advance your TIP.
 
Treezybreez said:
Here's a few off the top of my head. There are still more variables of characteristics in these small lists then I care to explain. For example Birch wood has excellent strength to weight ratio, but the smaller branches snap easily. You can pretty much dance a jig on a Live Oak twig. I still consider them both strong trees.

Some weak trees: Tree of Heaven, Weeping Willow, Tulip Poplar, Cotton wood...

Some stronger trees: Live Oak, Hickory, Birch, Mulberry, Red Elm...
Click to expand...
Around here it’s also seasonal. There are times when you can basically bend a Douglas fir like a fishing pole to the ground (mostly the young ones) as the heart wood can be a little more brittle.

Red alder also comes to mind as well. Somes times you can swing a leaner right into your lay, other times of year if you try it will blow up in your face.
 
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