Steep Work Site

[Dan Cobb]

Did another removal for a good friend today. It was on the hillside that's his backyard. Once you go around to get above the 8 ft retaining wall bordering the patio, you're on a slightly sloped strip (running parallel to the wall) about 5 ft wide. Then it's a 55 degree incline going up 4 stories. From there, it goes up about another 40-50 ft vertically at a more manageable 25-40 deg slope. And of course, the footing is terrible. First time I claw my way up the steep part, I rig a rope so I can use a handled ascender going up and rappel down. All the issues related to the steepness make the work run in slow motion.

Anybody else have work sites like this?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

On one hill job I wished that I had my ice axes fitted with some wide picks

 

[27RMT0N]

All the time where I live/work, in fact, my house is on the edge of a 40' cliff..... I've had to rappel down cliffs to trees before climbing them, today I was scrambling up and down a 70* slope, free-climbing uprooted trees at crazy angles, just to do a bid and am often climbing or felling trees on slopes like this:

You are right, it certainly adds a whole new element to the work, and everything takes WAY longer to do. Just getting to the trees is hard. Felling 100-120' trees on this kind of slope can be pretty interesting. Learn to side-hill and hang things up on other solid trees. Know what is beneath you, because avalanches of loose rock can be very problematic.

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Oh boy. Yes, definitely experience this in the mountains. At least once a week I’ll be working in slopes I would consider severe. Just bucking firewood becomes nearly impossible. And the calories required feels like double.

I recently did a 36” red oak sitting on a steep bank just above a new home, square in the middle. Brush control zipped to a side area of woods that was less steep and away from the house. Stemwood caught hard and floated with a tag and a tractor to same area. Had to keep pieces around 6 feet long. The fell was 8’ tall and that was too much for our rig. We let it slowly careen down the embankment on the rig line and had a time of it with the tag and redirects getting it away from the back porch.

Would have taken a quarter of the time if not for the slope!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

All the time where I live/work

I didn't see the saw there on the trunk until my second viewing. That puts things in scale!

 

[27RMT0N]

Yep, that's my 046 with a 28".

 

[27RMT0N]

Here is one from today. Not only do I wind up cutting on steep slopes, I also have to drive on them. Most are gravel driveways, which is why 4x4-Low is critical for me, especially if I've got a chipper on. This one was straight-up cut through bedrock, with maybe 20" to spare on each side. I did drive down this (photos don't do it justice AT ALL) to the end and then have to reverse all the way up again, but luckily without the chipper.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

@27RMT0N


Do you have a front receiver so you can put the chipper there and push it in? I was soooo surprised when I learned how well that works!

 

[27RMT0N]

@27RMT0N


Do you have a front receiver so you can put the chipper there and push it in? I was soooo surprised when I learned how well that works!

Glad to hear how useful it is! That is on my 'to-do' list. I want to do a front-sustention level, custom Buckstop bumper with hitch receiver and winch mount, Warn 16.5Ti Winch, light bar, etc on the truck. That said, its like a $9,000 project plus a week without my truck while it's in the shop on the mainland. And half a day or more travel in each direction from my island, assuming I can find a friend/family to give me a ride...

 

[Dan Cobb]

(photos don't do it justice AT ALL)

They never do. I'm not exactly sure why, but I've never been able to take a picture of a steep slope that really communicates the steepness. Maybe it's because there's no danger of falling when looking at a picture!