New to tree climbing

I’m 21 years old, 2018 was my first year owning my tree business.
Ive been in the logging industry for 5 years, and tree industry for 2 years. I’ve cut thousands of trees, from tiny saplings to giants. Tree work can be very rewarding and can be a wonderful job. It comes with a great view, and there are not a lot of people that are cut out for it.
But make no mistake, it will kill you in a second. You are dealing with extreme heights, sharp objects, powerful machines, deadly forces, electric lines, and more on a daily basis. I know a woman who fell from 14 feet and is paralyzed from the waist down.
Get some knowledge, the internet is great for ideas once you have safety and general concepts down, but the basics need to come hands on. Find a small local tree service that is working weekends and go be a groundie when you can part time.
Have excellent sawmanship, know basic knots and their uses, bowline, running bowline, half hitch, timber hitch,slipknot, Blake’s, VT, alpine butterfly, etc. DRT or SRT? Mechanicals, or hitch cord? These are just basics that you need to know, before your boots ever leave the ground. climbingarborist.com is great for knots and some basics. Climbers companion is a good book as well for more knowledge.
If you still believe you want to pursue a career in treework, get a good climber to teach you the ropes, climb with them, then rec climb alone, without spurs. Learn tree biology, a 3” oak limb is much stronger than a 3” ash or maple limb. Know what is a solid tie in point for your rope, what is an unsafe tie in point? All these things matter because your life is 100% dependent on these things. Once you have a good knowledge of these things, you can climb very well without a saw, and your sawsmanship on the ground is very good, try some minor trimming in tree. Then, quit your job and go to work for someone else full time. Learn on their dime and get good at what you do. You can then buy your own gear, climbing gear, ropes, saws, rigging hardware, bull ropes, etc. begin contract climbing as a sub, and build your own company from there.
I’m not trying to be an ass, but a lot of the questions you asked are extremely basic and show youre 100% green. We all start somewhere, I’m not putting you down. I had cut tens of thousands of board foot in timber, before I ever climbed into a tree. But I learned how to be 100% safe before I ever went up in one.
PS, Self rigging a 30’ limb over a house is preposterous and I self rig a lot.
Get hands on experience, YouTube makes it look easy. August Hunicke, educated climber, stihlborn, joe bisping, Pfannerman and some others are good ones to watch who use good practices. But YouTube is for ENTERTAINMENT. Do not use it for training, learn hands on where someone who is trained can correct a potential mistake before you are dealing with the consequences of it.
PPS, this is all my opinion, but I feel it is sound. There are a lot of excellent tree men, much better than me, on this site that are lending you their knowledge and that’s a great start. Good luck on the path, it’s a pretty cool gig but it deserves a lot of respect
 
Derpec said:
I believe you're misunderstanding me and thinking I'm going to be climbing a 110 ft tree whenever I receive my gear. The answer is no I am not I said I was going to start off small 10-15 ft and learn how to ascend, and setup my gear to my liking and be comfortable with it for a while.
Click to expand...

When asked by non-climbers about how to climb their tree that's "not that big" to do their own work, I simply respond with "Well if you're going up 20ft you might as well go up 200ft because it's all the same when you fall." People die, can become paralyzed, or get brain damage falling off 16ft ladders, trees are no different. Asking to, for lack of better words, dumb down how to climb is extremely scary to me.

Sure, watch videos, try to understand basic points, but there is so many other variables so you dont end up dead. Knowing what type of wood you're in for strength, how it will cut and how it will react.. Understanding high points and tie ins. Being able to do proper inspections AND knowing what to look for before entering the tree and while in the tree. Understanding and seeing basic rigging in use. Understanding cutting, how the wood can react and proper body positioning. The list goes on, things that you have to go through every single climb, or complacency can kill you.

Remembering that small pieces means small problems when cutting, in regards to personal safety and damage of the surrounding. Please dont die.
 
Tree Work isn't something you can gain the necessary experience, skill and knowledge by way of a side gig.
If you're going to do this, I recommend you dip your toes in with a local crew and see how you like it.
If it seems good for you, then jump aboard full time and learn the ropes from the ground and then move into climbing.
For if you're going to run a business one day, you'll require a thorough knowledge of everything happening on the ground and in the tree.

Good luck and hope you get into it.
 
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