Limb/branch walking advice

[Blinky]

[ QUOTE ]
[...]
Let me see if I can describe this next one. Try to place your TIP off-center of the trunk, so that your lines are (thus, you can lean out), more perpendicular to the limb. Movement is more like crab walking. Redirects work great.

In contrast, having your rope coming directly or parallel along the same line as the limb leaves you standing on top of it, flopping like a sail and no place to stably tie in.

[/ QUOTE ]

That IS a hard concept to word.

I prefer to walk out with my rope opposing my weight as I lean a bit to the opposite side of the limb rather than teetering along directly on top of it.

Pulling yourself along is more useful on vase shaped trees where the limbs have more vertical component. When I think limb walking I'm thinking limbs that are close to horizontal.

For me, the most helpful thing I've learned so far about limb walking (and climbing in general) was gripping the doubled rope to fine tune the slack/tension and direction of my rope rather than relying on my hitch.

 

[Crazy_Jimmy]

Try leaning deeply toward the limb your walking out with your lead hand low and stretched towards the limb and your other hand on your friction hitch.I challenge myself to go out all limbs and leave my silky longboy on the ground.But your boss may not go for you praticing on his clock where production is key.Eventually this will make you faster but at first its really shakey.Redirects and dual crotching help but sometimes can be a crutch from learning to limb walk-but on the other hand they might be safer.Regardless there is always a time to use all these types of climbing.

 

[guymayor]

[ QUOTE ]
Tried to do a crown reduction today. I was useless at it. I've been doing so much dismantling and hedge topping that I didn't realise this weekness until today, working for my new employers.Any tips?

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Get your new employers to get you a good polesaw and polepruner, with telescoping poles. Invaluable for tip work--clean cuts in less time with much less collateral damage. snapped on a dogleash, easy breezy

2. With 2 tips lean back, flex your knees and dance to get the feel of balanced movement, and all the possibilities of reaching for the sky, podner.

3. Keep the avatar,it shows the gleeful beast within us all.

Hey blinks, you got any pics of Bryan K limbwalking that big white oak on Wade Avenue? That tree looks so beeyooteeful now, after our excellent work!

 

[MattP]

hello, yes pulling your self along the limb/branch is a good technique, and try not to get overwhelmed with it, it allways looks like a lot of work, i start at the bottem of the crow make a hole and get the first bit reduiced right then work on each limb at a time keep asking ya ground staff if looks ok (if there good), work slow at first getting it right.

 

[rentachimp]

[ QUOTE ]

1. Get your new employers to get you a good polesaw and polepruner, with telescoping poles. Invaluable for tip work--clean cuts in less time with much less collateral damage. snapped on a dogleash, easy breezy


[/ QUOTE ]
I queried my supervisor about the lack of poles. Apparently, they're banned because people kept letting branches rip past the growth points. Horsesh*t. Poles are an abslolutely invaluable tool, it's just lazy education and ineffective reprimand that's spoiling it for everyone.

You gotta love pole loppers, hooks and silkys. They make the job a lot less hassle.

Also, when they decided to ban ladders, they put 'em all in a pille and destroyed them with the tele-handler. Madness.

 

[treebing]

I have an rough time making clean cuts with pole cutting implements. I have never seen people in production work make good cuts with them either. Ripping, tearing, diagonal sharp stubs. Maybe i should get finer teeth on my pole, its too aggressive. I feel there is a lot of collataroal damage from the pole saw itself moving it around the tree. I suppose you can get good at it though. Banning them doesnt make sense at all, sometimes you just cant get out there period.

 

[Blinky]

[ QUOTE ]


3. Keep the avatar,it shows the gleeful beast within us all.

Hey blinks, you got any pics of Bryan K limbwalking that big white oak on Wade Avenue? That tree looks so beeyooteeful now, after our excellent work!

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally forgot about those pics. Excellent idea.
OK chimpster, 9 shots, I made'em small so if you want more detail just let me know and I'll email big ones.

This is Bryan Kotwicka... and some other GUY limbwalking a white oak with a huge spread, probably 100'.

That tree is a super nice tree, I slow down every time I pass it.

 

[guymayor]

Thanks for the pics; great memories of climbing with Bryan.

Using pole tools is an art I have not mastered, but i'm working on it because I've seen them work well. I like the trick of hooking a limb with a polesaw, and pulling it close enough to make a clean handsaw cut. better positioning avoids diagonal stubs. A sharp tool can make good undercuts and so less rips.

I look at small stubs and rips as the price of making the cuts in the best place. lesser of two evils compared to taking too much off because of being unable to get your bod to the right place.

If anyone has a good brand of polesaw or polepruner they recommend please do. I'm doing a comparative study for an arborist news article next summer.

 

[Treelimbjim]

Polesaw: Silky Longboy with hook. That blade's curve and angle are just right.
Pole Pruner: Marvin PH-4R on wood.

Reference many other threads on these tools. I agree I have to compromise using these tools. Progress rather than perfection.

Blinky: Great picts-- shows that rope perpendicular to your navigating thang I tried to explain.


My next skill level above crown reduction pruning is squirrel reduction pruning. The little buggers are causing the tree to witch's broom growth response. For another thread.

 

[Blinky]

Working and climbing with Guy and Kotwicka that week was the most exhausted I've felt in years... that's also when I learned to swing and control my position by gripping the doubled rope. Oh yeah, it was Bryan who turned me on to footlocking... expected me go 60' on my very first try... took him about 30 seconds and me about 5 minutes. God that hurt when I finally got to my TIP.

Nobody hates carrying pole tools in a tree more than me, but in the same breath I have to say, I keep my Longboy (w/hook) close at all times when pruning... maybe not always in the tree but somewhere I can get it when I need it, just like my 200T.

It's hard to do an decent undercut with a fully extended sawpole but if you go for position and setup your lanyard in opposition with you lifeline... or better, have two TIPs, it can definitely be done.
Sawpole ergonomics are worth developing and so is sawpole technology. I'm thinking carbon fiber shafts, adjustable blade angles, offsets in the handle (similar to downhill ski poles), stuff like that.

A few sawpole ergonomics shots... Some GUY working in the tips of a big old pecan...

Oh yeah, my vote is to keep the avatar too. I think he was just funnin' anyway.

 

[Blinky]

[ QUOTE ]
Back out, walk in. Work on the limbs nearby rather than the one you're standing in.

[...]

[/ QUOTE ]

Just occurred to me... that goes double for polesaw pruning.

 

[guymayor]

The first pic in the pecan series up there may look familiar to Arborist News readers. That tree was the Ill Illinoinensis. The last pic shows using the pole's flexibility for extra pressure on the top cut. Getting an undercut at horizontal is a real strain but it can be done.

in retrospect I maybe oughta scheduled that pruning for July when the leaves would be formed and the bark would not slip so easy. But that limb was showing signs of failure so...

For squirrel tip pruning I like the small size florian ratchet pruner. Very light, and when the ratchet head locks on, the cutting angle is set; an advantage over the hook type imo.

 

[jerseygirl]

Hi all - bring this back for a but. I hope to learn more about redirecting for rec climbing. Am i right in thinking that it could be a little different as I might/will retrace my steps and pickup my gear.

I see in the photos lots of rope and double crotching. I find that very hard to handle both ropes. I have done that on decents when i knew i was going to do a switch. IF I am out on a limb (joke) and want to be more stable and have a far away neutral point (trunk slammer), could I use a web sling or rope sling and girth hitch it to a branch and direct my rope with a locking biner.

Artwork included thanks

dotted green is new line once re-directed.

tell me i am crazy or stamp my climbers pass.

 

[PUClimber]

Yes this can be done. It is used by many even some of the top climbers to avoid the pendulum swing or trunk slammer like you put it. I enjoy the stick figure art.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

If the angle of the legs of line going to the redirect krab-sling set closes past 120 degrees; there is more loading on the redirect; than the TIP.

Also, must not pull redirect support branch down into self; nor shake any dead loose.

Sometimes just 1 leg of line through redirect is enough; especially if wandering out 90 degrees from TIP to redirect. this would load redirect point less/if free leg of line carries any force/load. Stability when working/investigating is crucial. If you don't lose balance; you won't test your lifeline and supports etc. Another trick with adjustable lanyard if needing to stand and on a shaky angle/ redirect is to throw lanyard under limb you are on; snap to side D. Bend knees and tighten lanyard up; now tighten legs/ straighten knees hard against the lanyard.

Another trick is to take a leg of line from between TIP and redirect and let it run freely thru krab on belt. Lots more stability; but have to pay out more line to move about. Krab should be removed before redirect; lest the krab on belt become a tender on top of your hitch!! So best if only grabbing 1 leg that it be the more static leg and not friction hitch leg to bring back to belt to run freely thru krab.

If you have weight on line(s); that makes lines stiffer/ to resist bending; then reach up between TIP and redirect and snatch down gives impact force at a high leveraged position to kinda sweat/swig/leverage line. This, if you can do it/reach line etc; can give quiet a pull force to steer you around, help bring you up 'over the lip' with less force/energy; from under to over a branch etc. i think the energy required to make it up and over something is some of the most extreme. i think guys have an advantage here; with upper arm strength; and the higher CG; whereby when they pivot/throw 1 or both shoulders over the top/lip they can make it over easier. A Lady in the same position; still has her CG farther away; and thereby more work to do to get up/over.

 

[lync]

Don't have puppys but I use the pole saw to pull myself latteraly on limbs, tie in with the lanyard and get some work done.
Corey

 

[Blinky]

Redirect with a sling/biner is a good technique but like Spyder says, don't go back to the trunk on it or the angle closes up too much and the redirect takes most of the potential load. You can do it through a strong natural crotch too.

Double crotching is worth the extra work because it gives you so much mobility in a big, spreading crown. It really helps to have a floating bridge tie-in on your harness to keep things from getting fouled.
It depends on your friction knot setup... I use a Split-tail/Blakes for my primary TIP; for a secondary TIP I use the end of my rope tied with a Blakes on a bridge (no split-tail, no slack tending pulley). I usually tie it slightly longer than my split-tail which is tied short.
That makes 3 biners on my harness tie-in when I'm double crotching, 2 for my split-tail and one for the bridge.
What I'm trying to get at is that it's not as much rope and crap in your lap to deal with when you use a simple bridge for the second crotch.
When I'm tied in to 2 crotches and my harness tie-in is all twisted or fouled I know I need to change position by turning around or maybe it's time to drop one of the crotches.

 

[richhoffman]

Long limb walks are always fun..............that is me on the left...........look hard!!!