THE TREE HOUSE

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

Okay, that last one was a guy named James Piercy. He was climbing in Adidas shoes!!! James, I hope you got some work boots since then!

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

Here is a disrespectful treeclimber 200 feet in the air PISSING ON A VERY FAMOUS TREE!

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

Here's Dan, taking a rest while his partner, James, works the tip of a branch.

ps- in Marks defense, he was not actually pissing in the tree. He was adjusting his friction hitch.

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

from here you can see all the dead in the top of the tree that we weren't able to get. the rain delayed that, but if i understand correctly, Jerry and a crew went back last weekend and finished the tree up. how'd it go, guys?

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

This is Jerry, fliming every bit of the action!

It seemed like every time I tried to get a picture of him, there was a branch in front of his face!

NickfromWI · Jun 5, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

This is one of my favorite pictures. I call it..."The Tofu Cowboy." Look at the action on that rope!

klimbinfool · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

Nick,

The Tree House went well. It took us all day Sat. to finish up the top end of the tree. We set up a diffrent type of speed line then before . One that would allow us to move the limb just outside the canopy and then let it down to the ground . All controlled by us in the tree.

Glad you didn't get me peeing in the tree. At least that guy used a bottle.I had to find a secluded spot ...lol..

I'll let someone else elaborate on the day if they want to .

Greg .

Mark Chisholm · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Nick\'s Pictures....

Nick,

Thanks so much for sharing those shots. Not sure which was better though- the pics or the commentary? Funny stuff..tofu cowboy- HA!. You are too much. Oh, for the rest of the crowd out there, I've just received a package from Nick containing a bunch of pics and a box of tofu. The tofu was well earned by my day after day of riding Nick for his vegetarian ways. Great time doing that! He is a fun guy to hang with.

Oh yeah, that shot of me and the smaller than real life cartoon drawing- not funny! I held out for day one. It was day two where the cold rain forced me to relieve myself in the treetop. And I did use a bottle! Just ask the guys who almost had a sip of my very special lime gatorade. ;0) Well come on, we went up into the tree at 9:00 AM or so and didn't touch the ground until 4:00 PM. That's a long time to fight it off!

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Ox\'s pics

Here's some stuff from the second session, last Saturday. A lot of folks have asked what the top looked like. It's rather flat, like a whorl without a main stem above. Many limbs grow from a single point out and upward at a slight angle. This pic shows 2 tie-ins for a couple of climbers. My Fly is on the right, running thru a 2 ring friction saver. Eric's line is on the left, thru a P50 rescue pulley on a double wrapped 1" tubular webbing sling.

It's real important not to damage the upper part of these big limbs--they can give way if the thin tensionwood layer is compromised. It may not happen now, but eventually small wounds become major problems. A set of rings is really the way to go. For those folks not yet using cambium savers, it's just a matter of time before you see the light. There's just no way to express how nice and uniform a set amount of rope drag really is.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

This is Jesse's tie-in. Its a 16 strand arborist rope he has spliced into an eye 'n eye sling. An aluminum ring is captured in one end, with a webbing tube abrasion guard in the other end, where the biner is. Very neat & tidy.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

This is the view looking down at 100 feet. Notice the diameter of the trunk compared with the size of the white mini-truck on the left.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Jerry wearing the helmet cam. Jesse's hardhad says Treepreacher 51.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Jesse going out on a limb. The river is forgotton far, far below. So far, in fact, that we completely forgot about it for long stretches of time.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Some of the complex rigging. The travelling carriage block allowed us to move the suspension point that the branches were hanging from. When the cut is made, the lowering line is as directly overhead as possible, depending on which limb was involved. After the cut, the block was hauled out along the zipline away from the trunk, carrying the work to a point halfway between us and the neighboring tree. By the way, this neighboring tree was about 200 feet away.

The fiddle block being held by the Gibbs ascender (& side-loaded biner) stretches the zipline tight when we're ready to cut. With all the extra eyes hanging around, when glitches (like side-loading) are easily sorted out before the action commences.

Notice the texture of the wood on the limb being cut. It has been dead for decades, but ther is very little rot.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

I'm in the top of the tree, taking Eric's pic as he arrives to join us. The trunk diameter 50' or so down from the top is about 4-5'.

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

A cavity about a hundred feet above the ground. This limb had been pruned about a month earlier. It was nice to see the work that had been done, since I spent the second day of pruning doing groundwork. Everybody chips in where they are needed. Lots of folks wanted to climb, and they did. Who are we to stand in the way of progress?

Oxman · Jun 6, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Jesse going up.

Oxman · Jun 7, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

This pic shows the lower anchor for the fiddle block. This 4 pulley block & tackle uses the 4 parallel strands of red line to tension the zipline.

Eric is doing his yo-yo impression, heading down to release a hung up limb we are trying to lower. His blue streak is temporarily straddling a few stray limbs.

In the lower right hand corner of this pic is a logo of a famous clothing manufacturer. How'd that get in the picture?

The rope bag in the upper right corner of the pic was later used to carry cut stubs down to the ground. We put about 3 stubs in each bag. Nothing could be dropped out of this tree. One bounce, and wood could go flying in a hundred different directions.

Oxman · Jun 7, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Here's climber Eric donating his time to preserve this beautiful tree. He's all spiffed out in a new New Tribe saddle (with large dees!), and a super positive-action mechanical friction hitch. Actually, the microjuster is acting as a safety right now.

The green barrel biners are those cool Climb High double autolockers with the pull-down, twist release.

Oxman · Jun 7, 2003

Re: Ox\'s pics

Are you people gettin tired of these pics yet?

Here's Eric hitting the ground. When you are standing at the base of the tree watching several climbers go up & down this behemoth, it almost seems ordinary. But looking at the pics later, it seems Absolutely Mahvelous, dahlink! We all did have an absolute blast.