Sunday go to meet'n

My best groundworker to-date knows very little about aerial tree work. His regular gig is a west coast hotshot during the ever expanding fire season. He’s out there now. His stories of things like felling large burning trees in the dark are epic, told with humility. When he’s working with me he’s on point to the max. He always fells the big spars, no pull/guide lines used, he’ll put it where it needs to go. Last time he worked he apologized for clipping a single tiny branch on a high-bush blueberry with a 70’ white pine spar, “No worries!”. The homeowner was slack-jawed at the drop not to mention the impact rumble.
-AJ
 
rico said:
Yea many folks haven't experienced the movement you get on a 150 foot spar. You are basically standing on a big old rubber band, so blowin' tops and negative rigging can certainly give you a ride.
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My issue when running ropes is avoiding glazing. It’s much easier to run a 20’ log from 130’ than it is to run a 10’ from 50’
 
rico said:
I am doing my best to work with the available local talent, but when I see a lack of effort, a groundie who doesn't seem to have his head in the game, and/or folks not following directions I apparently can become a world class asshole.. Thats what they tell me anyhow?
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I haven't achieved world-class level at anything, so there's an accomplishment. haha.

So you probably don't want to have to tell them how to do Their job in the first place, so you probably don't want to have to say things again and again and again, while doing all the most technical, dangerous, and difficult work, and orchestrate all the logistics of that particular job, and keeping your and them from killing them, and orchestrate the overall biz.

Weird.
 
Very nice film!
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Been slammed around a few times by groundies adding more wraps than told, 1x the rope broke while working on a toppin as load while i was flailing around with bell rung slamming into spar after knocked me off spikes. That one almost got the house. Not been one to bruise easily, i was black and blue after that ride. Taken a few here and there for various reasons, didn't want to take that ride again tho!
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When in doubt, preferred 3-4 half circles on Porty and not quite a quarter wrap on small/medium tree away from and after Porty. Groundie far enough from that trunk to walk more or less turn on or off after Porty turn against tree as 2nd friction device adjusted in real time. in 1 step sideways to suit.
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Tall spindlys that needed control, preferred control from other system, like hitting other tree if safe, maybe even already topped other tree but left spar so takes force from present tree as opposed to rope taking that portion of hit. Roping high from neighbor on tall spindly too much side force on both trees, and recoil relief, found out the hard way; figured would pass along ..
 
*useless info* said:
Very nice film!
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Been slammed around a few times by groundies adding more wraps than told, 1x the rope broke while working on a toppin as load while i was flailing around with bell rung slamming into spar after knocked me off spikes. That one almost got the house. Not been one to bruise easily, i was black and blue after that ride. Taken a few here and there for various reasons, didn't want to take that ride again tho!
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When in doubt, preferred 3-4 half circles on Porty and not quite a quarter wrap on small/medium tree away from and after Porty. Groundie far enough from that trunk to walk more or less turn on or off after Porty turn against tree as 2nd friction device adjusted in real time. in 1 step sideways to suit.
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Tall spindlys that needed control, preferred control from other system, like hitting other tree if safe, maybe even already topped other tree but left spar so takes force from present tree as opposed to rope taking that portion of hit. Roping high from neighbor on tall spindly too much side force on both trees, and recoil relief, found out the hard way; figured would pass along ..
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Negative rigging is generally a last option for me and I am always looking for trees to swing logs to. Even if an appropriate tree is a long distance away forcing me to employ some hold back rigging, I will choose to go that route before negative rigging. Unfortunately there were no nearby trees with the needed height to make swinging logs to them a possibility. The back lean, the height of this spar, and the very steep ground below the tree all made getting a proper working rope angle on a tagline a no-go, so blocking the first 2 logs was our best option. Could Brian have done a better job in the first log? Absolutely! Was the ride he gave scary or dangerous? Absolutely Not! Knowing the Brian was not "there yet' when it comes to negative rigging I opted to throw him some relatively small logs. If I had more confidence in him I would have thrown him a couple 20-25 footers and been out of the tree 10-15 minutes earlier. In the end he put his toes a little deeper in the waters so the next time he is called upon to let her run he will be better equipped to do just that.
 
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So what's the accepted term for what I call walking brush and logs out of tight quarters with multiple lowering points?

No swing's allowed, each piece suspended between two lowering points, and then walked out by loosening one line and tightening another.

image.webp
Jemco
 
I think that's called "monkey fuck rigging"... but I doubt if that's the proper, technical moniker for it.
The cut piece moves along similar to how a gibbon moves through the trees.
 
I
Jemco said:
So what's the accepted term for what I call walking brush and logs out of tight quarters with multiple lowering points?

No swing's allowed, each piece suspended between two lowering points, and then walked out by loosening one line and tightening another.

View attachment 63583
Jemco
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I frequently do something similar when we are swinging logs to another tree, but the tree is too far away to just let it fly. I will employ a hold back to the tree we are working down so we have 2 rigging point. With the log suspended between these 2 points the groundies can, depending on who's lowering, who's holding tight, or who is taking up tension, put the wood where they want with very little effort. What to call it? Who knows?
 
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