If they weren't so full of loose, broken and hanging limbs and deadwood I would've done the work without spurs. It was just a little too dangerous of work to do without them.
The consideration wasn't the tie in point. It was the suspended hazards in between the TIP and me. For the shear amount of gross defects in the trees a pock mark from a spur point would be analogues to a mosquito bite.
In those trees it was "Safety First"
I understand your point and thank you for bringing it up.