Something else on a technical note regarding wind, a gust can make a tree effectively go from slight lean to heavy head leaner, which makes it prone to barberchairing.
Being tied around the spar with a DdRT, not through an adjustable friction saver, as well as a lanyard wrapped from D ring to D ring (whether 180 or 540 wrapped) can put the squeeze on the climber. So, just be aware and careful, binding the top with a piece or rope or whatnot if it could be a species prone to BCing.
Gord had a good post recently showing a bigleaf maple that spar split while he chunking it down. There was some good discussion there.
"A" for ambition, just remember that part of good, safe tree working is evaluation if the conditions warrant coming back another day, or a last minute change/ addition to the plan (such as binding the stem when dropping the top, or chunking down).
Are ash trees prone to BCind?
Why was the tree dying? EAB? I think that I read that EAB- killed trees sometimes have compromised roots. Something to consider in the pre-climb inspection.
Having the climbline in place, up high, can allow some amount of a pull/ bounce test.
Safe climbing!
