ol timer climbers show them pics

Thanks for squaring up that pic ..much better ..As far as the history goes I do love that stuff . With all the b.s. that swirls around these days ..not even tree related b.s. so much as just all the other shit that we as people have deal with ts good to look back and see where we came from ! Mostly hard work and true grit back in the days before slack tending systems and mini skids . I feel like up n comers in the biz these days should have to take a tree history class for credits too ..sometimes hard to know where your going if you don't know where you came from .. I like analogies they speak to me and I know I've said it before but I'll say it again ..A Tree does not forget its roots!
 
Here is shot of my pop setting up to remove this pitch pine .he's seventy years old in the pictures
 

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Not bad for an ol timer! When you know exactly what to do up there it doesn't matter how old you are ..even if your not 100% you learn to adapt to your bodies age restrictions I'll call it
 
That stump grinder was on cables and pulleys ..they got it to grind big street trees in between curb and sidewalk ..he told me he had to take down an elm that died ( I'm sure most can guess why) and the between the stump and root flare it measured 17 feet long !
 
Tom Dunlap said:
I climbed on three strand manila or hemp rope until about '78.

After thinking about the title to this thread I realized that I've seen a lot of 'old time' climbers who are more than half my age. They're using antiquated equipment and techniques. This sort of thinking has always puzzled me. I'll bet dollars to donuts that most of these climbers are carrying a smart phone. What an inconsistency!

This is what my first mobile phone looked like:

http://www.vintagemobilephones.com/MyImages/Toy Phone - Cell (1).JPG

Pretty svelte, huh?! There isn't a lot about the 'old days' that I want to bring along.
Click to expand...

Holy cow Tom! We were using Goldline Rope back in 1970. At least we had advanced to nylon! I would have been pretty nervous on hemp!
 
Great thread, love hearing the stories of hard working men.

A client of mine worked as a climber back in the day. he told me all kinds of stories about how they would climb on hemp rope and scare people passing by. They would quickly descend while screaming until they were only a few feet from the ground. I think he mentioned that after they purchased a new hemp rope, they would drag it down a gravel road to make it more supple. He also said that they would start a climbing line out as a rigging line to help break it in.

Another guy who got me interested in climbing, would spike up a tree with out a flip line, natural crotch and then work the tree. He did it that way for 30 years.
 
Treezy,

That sounds like my early days.

There wasn't much contact between tree companies then. No trade groups in Minneapolis. What I learned was passed down from Marv. I had to look around and go to trade shows to start to learn.

Now...instant learning...if a person wants to learn that is. There are some climbers who haven't changed the skills from the ol days
 
Treezybreez said:
Another guy who got me interested in climbing, would spike up a tree with out a flip line, natural crotch and then work the tree. He did it that way for 30 years.
Click to expand...

Most did. You were a sissy if you tied in going up if spiking. I don't even remember anyone even having a lanyard way back and sometimes used the tail of their rope for one or doubled their line under the hitch for one. My early saddles only had one set of D's often. If I had a large spread tree to work I often took a second short cl line up and still do. That redirect srt stuff where you have to go back and get the biner and/or you lose the advantage of the high central tie in by a redirect ...is for the birds imo. But if you think all the new fangled stuff just by owning it or knowing it makes you all a better climber than past generations, a big lmao on that.
 
treevet said:
Most did. You were a sissy if you tied in going up if spiking. I don't even remember anyone even having a lanyard way back and sometimes used the tail of their rope for one or doubled their line under the hitch for one. My early saddles only had one set of D's often. If I had a large spread tree to work I often took a second short cl line up and still do. That redirect srt stuff where you have to go back and get the biner and/or you lose the advantage of the high central tie in by a redirect ...is for the birds imo. But if you think all the new fangled stuff just by owning it or knowing it makes you all a better climber than past generations, a big lmao on that.
Click to expand...
That's funny. I remember my father telling me how he was tired of being thrashed by his boss when he was hanging on the crane while they lowered tops, so he made a small sling with snaps that he would use to secure to the trunk and unclip his line and then they would lower the top while he waited. His crew members called it his "sissy sling".
 
treevet said:
...is for the birds imo. But if you think all the new fangled stuff just by owning it or knowing it makes you all a better climber than past generations, a big lmao on that.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm one of those birds :cool:

I know that if a climber starting in the profession today climbs using traditional tools and techniques they're going to be just as worn out as the ol' time climbers. On the other hand, if they start out using current best practices, especially SRT, they're going to be healthy and fit for decades longer than previous generations of climbers.
 
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