Spur Kickout injury

Lazarus2 · May 5, 2007

Glad to hear your test was a success Chris!

Treebing, Have you tried using a Croll for backing up as you spike up? Its self tending, and unlike other devices, there is 0 slack. This means you can take support from the rope at any moment. Frees up the ground worker too.

I don't rely on the croll alone when doing a changeover though, I still alternate with rope and flipline.

Mik_Ravn · May 5, 2007

How do you guys like climbing dead elm trees?
I've been climbing lots which were really dead, and therefore bone dry and really hard to gaff properly. Always leaves me a little anxious when cutting with the chainsaw, as this seems to be one of the worst points to have a kickout. Imagine the chain going at 75 feet per second, then having a kickout. The potential for a really bad accident is pretty evident. Guess that's why I'm always slower in a dead elm, than in other trees.

Peter McS · May 5, 2007

Being slower in dead trees is no bad thing ryan. I still do a few dead elms a month here in the north of the UK and a little care with gaff placement on them is definatley the order of the day.

treebing · May 5, 2007

can you post a picture of how you use this croll device I am not familiar with it.

chris_girard · Apr 29, 2008

Well, this old injury is coming back to haunt me. I was just talking to ALLMARK and Mark C. this past weekend down at Mayer's Arbo day party about this injury. The pins and rod are really sore.

This past week while doing a removal, by the end of the day the ligaments around the arm were really inflamed and I had to ice the p*ss out of it for two days.

I will be seeing my PCP in a few weeks and he'll probably sent my to my ortho. Hopefully, I can just get a cortizone shot and it'll be fixed, but I know better. The unfortunate thing is I'm really busy and will have to work through or around the pain.

While talking with ALLMARK, he told me about his arm injury and the Tommy John surgery to reroute the ligaments around the elbow. I know he knows how frustrating this is.

Any of you guys having similar arm problems?

southsoundtree · Apr 30, 2008

Regarding climbing dead elms,

are you using really sharp gaffs? Pretty sharp just isn't the same.

Are you using pole or tree gaffs? Is the bark thick? I've found tree gaffs much less comfortable than pole gaffs and don't really spur out much unless in really rotten wood, where the extra depth of the tree spike would likely find more wood or more solid wood, or both. Once in a while I spur out on thick Douglas-fir bark.

southsoundtree · Apr 30, 2008

[ QUOTE ]
Going back up for the first time tomorrow to remove 5 dead white pines. The arm feels ok but we'll see how it goes as I climb.

I'll have an elbow brace on the arm and plenty of Advil handy.

Chris

[/ QUOTE ]

sometimes best to take inflammatory preventing dose before hand. Maybe have an icepack on hand as well to help. I've found ice helps my inflammation a lot. You're may not be the same time of injury, but ice should help I think.

chris_girard · Apr 30, 2008

Right now I'm using Familytree's medical molitove of 2 ibuprofins and 2 tylenol before climbing. Seems to help. I'll have to try the ice thing out too. I do ice in the evenings sometimes.

The arm is fine most of the time when I'm not climbing. I have an appointment with the PCP on May 19. Will see how it goes between now and then.

Thanks

renegadetreeman · Jun 4, 2008

why not just tie in to a high crotch first and have a groundie tend your slack as you gaff up. on the way down you can choke off your climbing line with a bowline or biner and use a rescue 8 to ease the friction as you work your knot down the tree.

Colin · Jun 4, 2008

So how's it going, Cris? Is climbing any easier?

<font color="green">The TreeHouse</font>

Every click a different pic!

Tucker943 · Jun 5, 2008

Sounds painful. For what its worth I gaffed out of a telephone pole and slid straight to the bottom with my belly against it. lesson learned, just call the cable company and let them put it back up. That or use a ladder.

Jamin_Mayer · Jun 5, 2008

How do you guys sharpen your spikes? I have sharpened mine with a flat file, but I am wondering if I should use a grinder. (I am also the type who used spikes about 5% of the time for a tree removal. I only use them when necessary. I think a lot of people use them when they are not necessary.)IMO

Anyone have tips for grinding climbing spikes.

custom8726 · Jun 5, 2008

[ QUOTE ]
How do you guys sharpen your spikes? I have sharpened mine with a flat file, but I am wondering if I should use a grinder. (I am also the type who used spikes about 5% of the time for a tree removal. I only use them when necessary. I think a lot of people use them when they are not necessary.)IMO

Anyone have tips for grinding climbing spikes.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have always used a flat file also. I would think a grinder would take alot more off then nessary. If you were to try using a grinder get one of those sanding wheels instead of a grinding wheel. Back on topic, I almost never set lines for removals just spike my way up with my steel core lanyards and tie in where ever nessary. Hope you heal up soon.

Jamin_Mayer · Jun 5, 2008

That's funny how everyone is a little different with climbing styles. I set a line 100% of the time.

Kman · Jun 5, 2008

[ QUOTE ]
That's funny how everyone is a little different with climbing styles. I set a line 100% of the time.

[/ QUOTE ]
I think a lot of it is how you were trained. We were taught to spike everything and not to use a lanyard on the way up. I soon used my lanyard a soon as I left the ground and started using two lanyards so I was always secured to the tree way before it was a regulation. I do set a rope from the ground in some removals, all depends on the tree.

Kman · Jun 5, 2008

Jamin I use a flat file to sharpen my spikes also. Chris that is quite the chunk of steel in your arm!!

Jamin_Mayer · Jun 5, 2008

Alright then. I guess I was on the right track with the flat file.

custom8726 · Jun 5, 2008

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That's funny how everyone is a little different with climbing styles. I set a line 100% of the time.

[/ QUOTE ]
I think a lot of it is how you were trained. We were taught to spike everything and not to use a lanyard on the way up. I soon used my lanyard a soon as I left the ground and started using two lanyards so I was always secured to the tree way before it was a regulation. I do set a rope from the ground in some removals, all depends on the tree.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup, same here, the guys I learned from would spike every removal and usually spike the first 20' or so before even throwing there only lanyard around the tree, if they did at all. I also throw my lanyard around at the base 90% of the time and use a second lanyard to stay secured at all times.
Jamin, what is the benifit of setting a line on removals for you every time? Safety or just the way you were taught?

Jamin_Mayer · Jun 5, 2008

With decurrent trees; Efficiency.

I'll spike excurrent trees from the base up. But, I hardly get any conifer removals.

So, 90% (at least) of my removals are Siouxland Cottonwoods due to Cytospora Canker. Setting a nice 60'+ central T.I.P. is key to dismantling the tree efficiently. On the ascent I can clean out small interior stuff and I can limb walk out and create nice tip ties for utilizing the GRCS to lift some limbs out. Most of the time I can work the whole tree with one T.I.P.

I never really thought about it, but for the reasons stated above, that's why I don't spike as often.

The photo is a tree I took down yesterday. It was 43"DBH, 75' high and a span of 50'. (The tree was showing early signs of Cytospora Canker, so they wanted it down now to plant a replacement). This is a little larger than a typical removal, but the principle still applies.