Is this dead tree removal plan workable?

It's down!!

I got permission from the neighbor to drop the tree on his property clear of his house. I was pretty sure the tree would break up on the way down, but I wanted to get his OK.

I spotted a stub on the dead tree about forty feet up, and managed to get a throw line over it. Then I pulled two light ropes over the stub. I put a thimble on the end of each rope and ran my big pulling rope through the thimbles and around the tree in a choker arrangement. I positioned the thimbles on opposite sides of the tree, and pulled the choker up close to the stub. Getting the pulling rope in a good position was easier than I thought it would be.
1666718431984.png

I ran the pulling rope to my truck in the neighbor's back yard.
1666718581015.png

I cut the notch, backed the truck to add tension, made the back cut, and backed the truck some more. The top of the tree fell off as the tree started to fall, and the tree broke just below the pulling rope on the way down. As the upper part fell, it broke a branch of the nearby oak.
1666718991665.png

Considering the poor condition of the tree, I don't feel too bad about that little bit of collateral damage. I cleaned up the debris in the neighbor's yard before I left. I'll get the rest this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
 
Winchman said:
It's down!!

I got permission from the neighbor to drop the tree on his property clear of his house. I was pretty sure the tree would break up on the way down, but I wanted to get his OK.

I spotted a stub on the dead tree about forty feet up, and managed to get a throw line over it. Then I pulled two light ropes over the stub. I put a thimble on the end of each rope and ran my big pulling rope through the thimbles and around the tree in a choker arrangement. I positioned the thimbles on opposite sides of the tree, and pulled the choker up close to the stub. Getting the pulling rope in a good position was easier than I thought it would be.
View attachment 84263

I ran the pulling rope to my truck in the neighbor's back yard.
View attachment 84264

I cut the notch, backed the truck to add tension, made the back cut, and backed the truck some more. The top of the tree fell off as the tree started to fall, and the tree broke just below the pulling rope on the way down. As the upper part fell, it broke a branch of the nearby oak.
View attachment 84265

Considering the poor condition of the tree, I don't feel too bad about that little bit of collateral damage. I cleaned up the debris in the neighbor's yard before I left. I'll get the rest this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
Click to expand...
I'm - as per usual - having trouble visualizing the choking configuration. Why could you not use the stub to run your pulling line up and around, add a running bowline, and choke the stem that way?
 
I just looked at a picture of a running bowline. That's what I used. Thanks.

I was surprised how easy it was to get it to slide up the lower part of the tree that was covered with bark. A little jostling of the ropes was all it took.

I talked to the homeowner this afternoon. She was really happy to see the tree on the ground, and she wasn't upset at all about the broken limb.
 
Winchman said:
I just looked at a picture of a running bowline. That's what I used. Thanks.

I was surprised how easy it was to get it to slide up the lower part of the tree that was covered with bark. A little jostling of the ropes was all it took.

I talked to the homeowner this afternoon. She was really happy to see the tree on the ground, and she wasn't upset at all about the broken limb.
Click to expand...
So you formed the choking loop (running bowline) around the stem at ground level, then hoisted it up to near the stub using the thimbles *prior* to tightening it around the stem? I think I get it, possibly.
 
A doubled-through the RB throwline will allow you hold-back tension, then be slipped out of the RB when the RB is seated. Also, if things snag up prematurely, or the stub breaks, etc, you can retrieve and reset.

A second rope will work, too.

a running bowline with a bight will allow this to be done with one long rope, also.
 
Good to hear these ideas. I looked at a dead Birch that is leaning right over a house, only about 15 feet from the gutter, way over the roof. ~45' tall, 15" dbh. Mushrooms fruiting out the side of it, no drop zone anywhere, adjacent tree limbs abound...

I thought of similar ideas to what is described here. (Supporting it back to other trees and gently lowering it. Then I would have needed to pull it sideways over the house, below an interfering neighbor branch but above the roof... it was an insane plan, that may work..) I backed off because I didn't feel good trusting the tree not to snap in half based on the mushrooms growing right at the point I imagine the forces would be the highest.
Now of course I keep thinking: It could have worked!! I shoulda gone for it!
Just one of those times that the margin was way too thin. Hopefully someone with a lift can get to it. It's a shame when the tree conditions get so far gone.
 
A few words about safety. I was wearing my helmet while I was getting the running bowline up the tree and cutting on the tree. I also had a friend standing by at a safe distance during the felling in case something went badly wrong. I'm pretty comfortable working alone, but I knew this was a lot riskier than what I'm usually doing.

And a few words about risk. At my age I have a one-in-7500 chance of dying tomorrow from natural causes. Even the most dangerous activities like skydiving, rock climbing, bungee jumping, or scuba diving have a one-in-hundreds of thousands chance of being fatal. It seems the riskiest thing I can do tomorrow is wake up. Going out to climb hardly moves the risk needle. Heck, given the known benefits of exercise and having fun, it probably moves the needle down a bit.
 
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