Rotten silver maple leader fails while I was climbing

Shadowscape said:
That is because we get complacent. Or we have done it in the past and it worked, even though it wasn't the thing to do, and because it worked okay the last dozen times we feel we can do it again.
Rarely is an accident a true accident. It is usually something we did we shouldn't have done. I'm guilty. I'm sitting here injured and it would be nice to blame it on a freak accident. But the fact is I attempted to climb not knowing what my climb line was over in the canopy because I couldn't see it from the ground, but having bounced up and down I felt it was safe. If I saw my kid do that, I would have yelled at him. I should have yelled at myself and said, no way, not until you know what your rope is hanging on. But I didn't. Pilot Error! Climber Error! Accident? No.
Click to expand...
Well said. My first hospilization was when I was green. Climbed a leaner willow removal and it failed at about 2 feet. Luckily I wasn't tied in back in my early, free climb days with a leather buckstrap and tautline on a snap. I was able to jump free of the tree landing on soft grass next to a lake. I held my breath and caused a pneumothorax on landing.
Complacency and ignorance can both prove problematic
Thank you to you all for the well wishes
 
Shadowscape said:
That is because we get complacent. Or we have done it in the past and it worked, even though it wasn't the thing to do, and because it worked okay the last dozen times we feel we can do it again.
Rarely is an accident a true accident. It is usually something we did we shouldn't have done. I'm guilty. I'm sitting here injured and it would be nice to blame it on a freak accident. But the fact is I attempted to climb not knowing what my climb line was over in the canopy because I couldn't see it from the ground, but having bounced up and down I felt it was safe. If I saw my kid do that, I would have yelled at him. I should have yelled at myself and said, no way, not until you know what your rope is hanging on. But I didn't. Pilot Error! Climber Error! Accident? No.
Click to expand...
Honestly this perspective was a lightbulb moment for me. If it were my kid or my wife, would I send them up it? Hmmm....
 
First let me wish you a speedy and full recovery. I have been in this game for quite a while and have seen complacency and being in a hurry bite a lot of climbers in the ass over the years. I have made a real effort to not allow complacency to enter into my own climbing and have actually become more cautious and less willing to take risks as I have gotten older. We only get so many opportunities to dodge bullets in this industry, and if you keep rushing and taking chances eventually your luck is gonna run out.
 
I whole heartedly agree with @rico. Like life in general, luck plays a significant role in whether or not we survive. In my youth I took tremendous risks, on purpose! It got my blood up. After a lifetime of experiencing the consequences of doing so, I mellowed. I am no longer willing to gamble to the same extent, but the work we do will never be without risk.

Knowing so, it is not unrealistic that the longer one is exposed to variable outcomes, the more likely you will encounter a negative one. Climb thoughtfully, all the time.
 
There is absolutely an element of chance in everything that we do in tree work. Trees are unpredictable natural systems that can and do fail. We use our best judgement and trust our gut instincts, but ultimately we put our faith in God, or providence. I can take all the precautions in the world, but ultimately I must surrender to the possibilities of catastrophe if I am to go up and get tree work done.

In a society where risk tolerance has never been lower, tree work represents an opportunity for real adventure and genuine danger. I think this is why it attracts young men, eager to prove their usefulness to the tribe by engaging in real work with real consequences. There are a thousand ways to make more money doing something far less dangerous, but tree work makes us feel alive like nothing else. When we are aloft we walk the razor's edge, right on the border between chaos and order. There is nothing else like it.
 
I hear climbers say they don't want an extra piece of equipment in their climbing system, such as a swivel, even if it is rated for more than their climb line. "More things that could go wrong with my life support." And then, they will tie their climb line into a branch that from the ground have little idea what condition it is really in, and certainly would break long before a swivel would. They don't consider that branch life support, I guess.
I'm not saying you should rent a helicopter and check out your TIP. I'm just saying there is an inherent risk in what we do already, so we need to be as cautious as possible about how we go about it.
I know, I know. Those who can't do teach. Guilty, your honor.
 
So sorry to hear and wishing you a speedy recovery.

I'm sure I will say this many more times, a two person sustained load test, takes a couple of minutes, no extra equipment and I do believe would prevent the majority of these things. This is not a bounce test, it's not a two-person jerk on the rope like you see a competitions. Generally, it's a simple couple of slip knots with two people standing in a loop looking and listening for a couple of minutes. Limbs and trees are resilient to gusts and sudden loads and take time to fail. Watch it anytime you're taking out a limb and you've made your cuts and it just gradually gives way.
 
Very true. Nature is chaotic but very orderly at the same time. And so are we as people, some of us more than others.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom