Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
watch in 1080HD for full effect
kangarilla Adelaide 2015
cheers Ben.
WinterPine
- Thread starter Stihlmadd
- Start date
watch in 1080HD for full effect
kangarilla Adelaide 2015
cheers Ben.
John Uselding
Participating member
- Location
- Central Iowa
What? Now it's winter on Oz? I'm so confused. 
Ben you are positively prolific. Nice work both in the tree and on the edit. Lookin' sharp in the Pfanner duds too. Looks like abother job with no cleanup, although you did make a pretty tight pile.
Ben you are positively prolific. Nice work both in the tree and on the edit. Lookin' sharp in the Pfanner duds too. Looks like abother job with no cleanup, although you did make a pretty tight pile.
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
thankyou John, the planner duds are the best I can purchase for climbing in the rain and still coming out dry (ish) after all day in the shit.
And they keep me some what warm too. seriously though the europeans seem to understand working out in the seasons except for australian summer time heat.
I highly recommend pfanner climbing clothes not just the helmet.
I love my protos looking forward to a sena comms soon.
and yes that was a nice burn pile by the finish
John Uselding
Participating member
- Location
- Central Iowa
planner duds are the best I can purchase for climbing in the rain and still coming out dry (ish) after all day in the shit.
And they keep me some what warm too. seriously though the europeans seem to understand working out in the seasons except for australian summer time heat.
I highly recommend pfanner climbing clothes not just the helmet.
I love my protos looking forward to a sena comms soon.
Completely agree on the Pfanner products. Can't hardly put a price tag on day in day out comfort when your package is being squeezed in some Levi's. Sometimes I think about how much I've got invested in what I'm "wearing" (including gear) when I'm in the trees, but when I hit the ground at the end of the day I remember what it's really worth.
Also a big Protos pfan! The side impact came into play a week or so ago when my groundie snatched a dead top instead of letting it run a bit. A good chunk broke off and trebucheted into my head and shoulder. No harm no foul thanks to the Protos.
Your thoughtful approach to so many things never ceases to amaze me Ben. Tree work and otherwise.
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
ohh now I feel that waffling on tendency again and I still have to finish up where I left off on the last vid.
tell you what I will leave it up to you , if you are up for it later today/tonight I will get a real skin full going on and let rip like a pancake house marathon , entirely up to you John?.....
John Uselding
Participating member
- Location
- Central Iowa
Let 'er rip!
Thanks Ben! I was going through withdrawal.
How does the contracting deal work? Do they call you up and say we need a climber - do you want the job?
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
check out the the vid Xtender and have a geezer for yourself , I personally like it and have been climbing on this system for several months solid now but as always different strokes for different folks.
two - 1 is the helmet cam a contour roam plus and 2 the external is a go pro 3 black
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
you are welcome knothead.
I provide a full climbing service - usually it is just roll up and do, the standard day to day removals and prune jobs.
anything tricky or large or both the smarter operators usually at the quote stage will get you to eyeball the job first before submitting a quote to the customer- this also stray into the area of right of refusal.
any job not previously sighted and agreed upon carry the refusal clause as the contractor you have the right to turn down the job on the day if you deem it for whatever reason not climbable that day or just not climbable period.
it is on my insurance policy once I start so the onus is on me to commit to the job or not.
after that if they are willing to pay I am willing to play
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
Great vid ben
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
Bonza Cobber
Steve Connally
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Suffolk, Virginia
Translation?
Brady Chapman
Participating member
- Location
- Bethel, ME
Holy shit Ben, when do you sleep? lol, Either you got the film editing thing down to a brilliant science or you're an insomniac MFer 
Either way keep the vids coming.
Either way keep the vids coming.
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
so..... back to the waffling,
"the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal."
My father was and still is a big influence on who I am and what led me to become the person I am ,
much like most of us.
He was a miner from Yorkshire who moved to Australia to escape thatchers war on the mining unions.
he would still be considered by all standards today as a 'hard man'
Bald with two gold teeth and I mean kojak bald, we once gave him a head polishing kit for fathers day
He once told me that he was not as hard on us kids as his Da was on him,
to this day I still believe every word.
He once made myself and my brother wash outside under the cold tap in the middle of winter for a week
after warning us to stop making a mess in the bathroom, I was dunno bout 6.
it taught me to respect what was given to me and that there are consequences to my actions.
to this day I abhor cold water
so that brings me to the time dilation thingy again.
He taught me how to swim.
the mining company had built a olympic swimming pool in town why I don't know the odds of Kalgoolie ever holding a swimming carnival were pretty remote but still there it was a full depth olympic sized swimming pool.
so I was 5 or 6 and he took me down to the pool without my brother which was unusual and when we got to the edge of the deep end he kicked me in.
now it is a long way down to the tiled bottom of the pool and as I sunk in this blue towards the bottom sum ways down there I felt separated from time for the first time. it seemed as that moment went on forever.
and then as it got darker something kicked in and I doggy paddled to the surface then over to the tiled edge of the pool climbed into the overflow gutter and I still remember the tiles clear as a bell and he overshadowed me blocking the sun with a wry smile one gold tooth showing like a pirate.
Now I should point out the time thingy and the peter pan thingy are def interrelated which in why it will take a wee bit to separate out the two subjects
that endless moment either changed me or hooked me still not 100% on where that one falls
what I am unsure about is the time thingy in relation to the average joe
the dyslexia is more than being unable to read and write though that is just outward symptoms, think more like autism it is a whole brain kinda deal
as far as I can tell by relating with others and co-relating back with my own recollections of same events I perceive or relate to time in a fun old way
my parents endless exasperation at my total inability to keep any kind of time and to keep any of the umpteen different watches they bought me in a effort to get me to operate on a schedule I just kept loosing them don't know how they would just disappear and I would spend the next couple of nights standing up for dinner or not getting any dinner depending on what time I had rolled back in home and if there was still a watch attached to my wrist or not.
I couldn't tell you what day of the week it was what month of the year it just didn't touch base I was off in never never land and no telling when I would return.
then I started school
it is no fun being the only kid in class who can't work out how to read and write
they start you out on these wooden boards and plasticine to teach you the shape of letters by getting you to make them
I hate the smell of plasticine to this very day the thought makes me sick
so that didn't get off to a good start and I found myself on the stool at the front of the class you know the one? in the corner with a paper cap that says dunce on it..
year one and I did homework every day while my friends went and played
but the shame created a burning desire to tame what ever it was in my head that did not wish to cooperate and I caught up in time to not be left behind that year wouldn't be the last time I wore the dunces cap but thats enough of that
so I came to realise that I was different , saw things and heard things back to front left was right etc
it has never left me that feeling of being slightly outside the time stream so when I climb I go into what I call now time
it grounds me brings me back into sync with the world galvanising my train of thought allowing fluid concentration, I think in part thats why the frustration when I don't climb for some days need to keep the system wound up like a clock spring
the brain is a funny old thing , we are all different yet the same yet individual on different levels
if you are clumsy, always late and can never remember peoples names it leaves a mark
I have found various ways over the years to overcome about all the side effects of being dyslexic but occasionally I get caught out and forget the day week etc it makes it hard to plan ahead when you are always just now never soon
so the years have swept away like 1979 was just yesterday or last week still hard to grasp just how it happened.
so John that is in some measure why the thoughtfulness, having been thought less so many times beyond count
I have had little choice but to think about every bloody thing to try and piece together what is going on around me
and make it sink in ( no pun intended)
if you repeat a persons name often enough you will remember it but after introducing your self to the same person for the 5th or 6th time you look and feel like a dunce.
it is very embarrassing
shame is a great educator
it is quite by irony sink or swim out there for me
so over the years it make one very methodical and routine orientated to stay to track which helps a lot in my case
and the spin off is the positives
being a effective ambidextrous is very handy when climbing so is having a keen 3d spacial awareness and a intuitive understanding of dimensions is also very useful.
not saying I am perfect or a mutated super hero just different in certain areas been sent to special testing facilities
for gifted children things like that.
things that come in handy when climbing thats for sure.
but getting back on topic so is resourcefulness - common sense you can't really teach it and you can't buy it
My dad would teach us how to make shangi's and peg guns give us a hammer some boards and nails if we wanted to build a cubby house not build it for us but encourage us to think for our selves
we thought nothing of taking a water bottle a sandwich and a dolphin torch with us on our bmx bikes and going to the disused mine shafts on the other side of the highway to do some exploring
not a shred of cotton wool to be seen on our persons.
sure we would build bombs burn down things all kind of adventures and silly pranks took our fair share of knocks
but learnt from a very early age to fend for our selves
thats a valuable lesson
so the old scouting motto of always be prepared sounds very contrite but has a certain relevance to tree work
that and being able to improvise, great skill in tree work is the ability to improvise on the fly
I approached just about everything in the same way, jump in and swim or sink,
over the years that had to change I cost myself time and money over and over again by hanging by the seat of my pants not planning or taking the time to remember what I needed to do.
not good attributes in a climber.
the job changed me
at first all caught up in what was going on I scarcely paid attention to the bigger picture
after some time to grant perspective I began to grasp what I thought at the time was the done thing
luckily for me I had landed with a company that was not complete troglodytes and the boss was a ex contract climber back in the day
there was a portawrap and a bigshot and a whoopee sling to use unlike most of the cowboys unwilling and uncaring of advances being made in their industry
sure the harness was way to big for me and I had a old sash belt for a flip line but it was a good starting place.
but I got itchy feet the guys there weren't willing to consider new methods and there wasnt climbing every day so I moved on
I already had become attracted to the rigging side , the art and craft involved in successful applications the problem solving and working on the fly with available materials brought me back to a simple love of working with my hands out in the fresh air away from the BS of the company cubicle and my love of the printing trade had died with the rapid pace of computer technology combined with automatic processing. no skills needed anymore just push a button, no need to think it through and find elegant solutions to resolve the current crisis just push a button.
so when the opportunity came to leave I took it
it is amazing what we can achieve with some rope a pulley and understanding forces
I like to joke when I get the balance of a pick bang on "it's a kinda magic"
and it is
a real beautiful gravity defying graceful magic that belies the massive weights , the incredible forces at play
instinctively we "feel' the energy involved, you can hear me exclaiming out loud as those forces express themselves,
as I delight in being the magician and wooing the crowds with the awe inspiring feats.
part of me needs to get things just right so I can tap into the "good' or positive energy surrounding an action that is right.
it leaves a wake or positive akin to a tune being all "good" notes, you can hear a bad note straight away when it is played, just fundamentally wrong it strikes or rings false with us.
the music I am playing needs to flow to run true no false steps or painted corners if you remove that bit now but need it later it is too bad buddy that ship has sailed.
I relate to concepts like chi and similar, the energy vibrations and projections of force,
an animal knows you are hunting it when you project your will at it, the design to kill transmits in close range and the animal tenses even if it consciously does not know why.
but I will come back to that
"Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"
application of forces we do it every day
and what is our guiding constant ? - guesstimate...
theres the magic element
if it is possible then its also possible it can work
so we explore the potential of the possible
those are the best jobs sometimes when all the shit has hit the fan and you have to come up with a plan with solutions to the dilemma at hand and adhoc as the job unfolds,
I really love those days all flow total now time nothing else but moving and doing, keep rolling the dice.... all in.
if you don't try it how will you know?
I' ve tried some really dumb things...
thankfully I am still here and able to look back with the perspective of hindsight and see why that was not going to work as I thought and why it went tits up when it did.
As to how I have come through a few of those times relatively unscathed is entirely on our Fathers shoulders at this point as I have not done myself many favours over the years when experimenting has gone awry
"There are old climbers and bold climbers but fools rush in where angels fear to tread"
its a mongreled phrase I put together to describe what I have seen and done over the years
ever seen the face of your work mates when they are convinced you have just been flattened like a bug?
I have
watched as three groundsman climb out from under a mass of limbs cause you just sheared the entire top off and the rigging in one fell swoop
I have
I rapidly started to question the wisdom of these so called professionals who would encourage me to go bigger and bigger until it all fundamently went FUBAR
so I left there before some one died
and landed on my feet at a real pro who was switched on and savy
the first tree the trial tree I would rip asunder these days, I look back and shudder a wee bit at that two days
but he saw my potential and gave me the opportunity to study , that gave me more people to learn from and I knew then that there was some much more to learn
this was before I knew about youtube
if you can find the right balance point you can turn an entire limb
its a kinda magic
bigger is better in the right situations especially when you have enough space to hang it
that moment when you realise that you don't have to leave the top till last if you don't have to
or that you can roll off lower limbs before you clear them
and tearing wow what you can do with some good tearing bark and the right kind of responsive timber
The Craft
We combine many different skill sets as a climber and need to master them all
part of the attraction the love for me is the mastery of craft
another is you are pitting yourself against underpinning forces like gravity and a unknown element
a organic structure The Tree
to master your enemy you must think like your enemy or to beat the gopher you must think like the gopher
you get the idea
why it acts and reacts, why it will do that and what will happen next?
sounds pretty straight forward but if you are in a tight spot with no where to go and it can only go right or you are going to be wearing something then you need to learn about the craft
I once left a stub in front of my forehead before taking the top out - never made that mistake again
"a trap for young players" also from the same man who taught me "it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
it is not just about the iron and swinging a sharp saw though the sharp saw is def a must have
you need to understand the timber intimately on a tree by tree basis
what your gear will and will not allow you to do and why not
the limits of what your body is willing to endure and still function
it all goes to the craft
I remember one bloke had a climber and he was considered only good for takedowns couldn't prune for shit
but he was a animal up there with the spikes on
horses for courses not everybody is an all rounder some of us are better suited in different areas
the craft can compensate in some degrees a skilful climber can use strategy and craft to overcome physical strength
brains over brawn - if a pulley and a rope will make my life easier then by all means lets do that.
recognising where to put the pulley and the rope aye thats the rub thats why I am on the hollywood dollars the big bucks.
we like to joke at work its okay to be sneaky from time to time as we do something not exactly kosher
what we really mean is that it is ok to be crafty from time to time , use our skill sets to achieve more productivity at the agreed price of greater risks offsetting that risk factor in our minds by leaning on the craft side to come up with the goods
the english language is a sneaky and devious thing I really struggled with coming to grips with the crafty nature of how it can be applied
but the craft can make bank and since time is money in the tree game a time saving is a money earner
I am no expert when it comes to felling that is a craft in its self and not one I have praticised often enough IMO
but I still wonder and delight in what can be done using the craft to manipulate the tree into doing what you would like instead of what it wants to do.
Gravity is a harsh mistress
it sounds so simple until you are at the receiving end
A overloaded whoopee sling makes a crack like a rifle shot when it goes ping
a rope will ping at the bend radius of the pulley or block just after the tie off point (seems to be the max force load area)
you can melt a rope on to a portawrap
all experiences that fine tune the craft , the whys and whats can it be done differently and how will that pan out?
applied knowledge like any trade comes with time and opportunity to observe new information
unfortunately we are in a trade that has a very poor opinion of failure and a rather high cost for it as well
out of the 20 people who started in my year at trade school only about 6 are still in the industry and 4 are still climbing
one lost his leg in a stump grinding incident another his right eye.
the craft can save your ass
ever been felling and suddenly you hit a soft spot in the centre of the hinge, you feel it through the saw as the resistance changes you smell the rot coming up out of the cut and see the dust change colour?
then its too late and gravity takes over
the craft has you backing out as soon as the info hits your senses there is nothing more to be done here but bug out and be grateful that you were using the craft to keep infront of the reaction so you can get on out
if you don't watch and smell touch and taste listen and look as you climb and cut you miss those vital little clues
much like tracking game all the minute details add up
The Art
a polished climber is much like a performer practicing a art say a ballet
reason I use ballet is because of the gracefulness and seeming effortless in the movements of the dancers and the timing they display
it is also like a ballet dancer in so far as the efforts of reward are in practice and more bloody practice
back to the horses and courses for a sec, some people have a inherent sense of balance or timing say
good luck to them I don't. but through practice I can perform to the outside eye like a dancer
I like to tell them it is an art not a science and it is ten years of hard graft to make it look easy
but I am serious
you don't get anywhere with your thumb up your arse in the contracting world it is all about results
now I am not suggesting frocking up in a tutu on the work site but when you do those jobs and no one says a word , it all falls into place every one knows what has to be done when and why down to the last sweep of the broom those are good days indeed, I love working on crews when that happens, it is like a ballet in motion
there really is a grace to be found in tree work amongst all the dust and noise, choreography - jazz hands folks
the way different types of pieces will swing in different patterns like dancers pirouetting on tippy toes at the end of the rope, the spray of sawdust into the sunlight and the fall of the drift gently coating the objects below.
especially if you are inclined to tilt it that way
all seems like a stage show if you cancelled out the noise from the chipper roaring away
a good rope runner will play that section like a master angler or a concert violinist
they are invaluable to a climber like me I can concentrate on the art and the craft with confidence in the rope runner
if we are all in tune then it just happens , the more it flows the less stress on site the more things seem to go your way
there is another whole rant? waffle on headspace and headology but another time
finally the peter pan thingy
I often giggle when I climb
and sing little songs to myself , talk to the tree and make bad puns make wisecracks to the crew just can't take it serious some days not every climb there is certainly still those that make me sit up and pay attention
I am having so much fun taking in the sights , marvelling at the rigging swaying away , warning the geckos not to crawl into that cut theres a 460 racing away in there buddy but I swear the beggars are suicidal
the dust swirls around the bar nut on a horizontal cut and you can set fire to the tree with a hot exhaust if it is a paper bark or a messmate stringy bark.
I find it fascinating the way things fall and how chaos can take over once the piece leaves you tumbling away
the roar of the fluff screaming down to fan the fellas who crouch as the wind sweeps over them.
there is so much to keep you busy smells vibrations of saws or pounding a major lateral root and feeling the reverberation up the trunk, the visceral thud of rigged out sections like riding a giant japanese drum
and I hum the Indiana Jones theme while zooming to the earth glazing another prussic out just cause I can
this job really seems to suit me in many ways like a tailored suit and without it I feel naked, exposed.
there is so much satisfaction to be had being an Arborist, genuine positive glowing pride "being right chuffed with ones self" not in a egotistical Biggest balls swagger but a hard earned well done rolled up my sleeves and hands are dirty
achievement every day you go to work. much more a lifestyle choice than a 9 to 5 drudge
and it can be so much fun , really captivates the peter in me , ticks all the boxes quite nicely.
anyhoo shits and giggles aside I would like to finish up with a little saying from my dear scottish Aunt Betty
" if you haven't got a sense of humour then you might as well order your pine box now"
Ben.
"the whole peter pan thing and the time dilation are def part of the backbone of the whole deal."
My father was and still is a big influence on who I am and what led me to become the person I am ,
much like most of us.
He was a miner from Yorkshire who moved to Australia to escape thatchers war on the mining unions.
he would still be considered by all standards today as a 'hard man'
Bald with two gold teeth and I mean kojak bald, we once gave him a head polishing kit for fathers day
He once told me that he was not as hard on us kids as his Da was on him,
to this day I still believe every word.
He once made myself and my brother wash outside under the cold tap in the middle of winter for a week
after warning us to stop making a mess in the bathroom, I was dunno bout 6.
it taught me to respect what was given to me and that there are consequences to my actions.
to this day I abhor cold water
so that brings me to the time dilation thingy again.
He taught me how to swim.
the mining company had built a olympic swimming pool in town why I don't know the odds of Kalgoolie ever holding a swimming carnival were pretty remote but still there it was a full depth olympic sized swimming pool.
so I was 5 or 6 and he took me down to the pool without my brother which was unusual and when we got to the edge of the deep end he kicked me in.
now it is a long way down to the tiled bottom of the pool and as I sunk in this blue towards the bottom sum ways down there I felt separated from time for the first time. it seemed as that moment went on forever.
and then as it got darker something kicked in and I doggy paddled to the surface then over to the tiled edge of the pool climbed into the overflow gutter and I still remember the tiles clear as a bell and he overshadowed me blocking the sun with a wry smile one gold tooth showing like a pirate.
Now I should point out the time thingy and the peter pan thingy are def interrelated which in why it will take a wee bit to separate out the two subjects
that endless moment either changed me or hooked me still not 100% on where that one falls
what I am unsure about is the time thingy in relation to the average joe
the dyslexia is more than being unable to read and write though that is just outward symptoms, think more like autism it is a whole brain kinda deal
as far as I can tell by relating with others and co-relating back with my own recollections of same events I perceive or relate to time in a fun old way
my parents endless exasperation at my total inability to keep any kind of time and to keep any of the umpteen different watches they bought me in a effort to get me to operate on a schedule I just kept loosing them don't know how they would just disappear and I would spend the next couple of nights standing up for dinner or not getting any dinner depending on what time I had rolled back in home and if there was still a watch attached to my wrist or not.
I couldn't tell you what day of the week it was what month of the year it just didn't touch base I was off in never never land and no telling when I would return.
then I started school
it is no fun being the only kid in class who can't work out how to read and write
they start you out on these wooden boards and plasticine to teach you the shape of letters by getting you to make them
I hate the smell of plasticine to this very day the thought makes me sick
so that didn't get off to a good start and I found myself on the stool at the front of the class you know the one? in the corner with a paper cap that says dunce on it..
year one and I did homework every day while my friends went and played
but the shame created a burning desire to tame what ever it was in my head that did not wish to cooperate and I caught up in time to not be left behind that year wouldn't be the last time I wore the dunces cap but thats enough of that
so I came to realise that I was different , saw things and heard things back to front left was right etc
it has never left me that feeling of being slightly outside the time stream so when I climb I go into what I call now time
it grounds me brings me back into sync with the world galvanising my train of thought allowing fluid concentration, I think in part thats why the frustration when I don't climb for some days need to keep the system wound up like a clock spring
the brain is a funny old thing , we are all different yet the same yet individual on different levels
if you are clumsy, always late and can never remember peoples names it leaves a mark
I have found various ways over the years to overcome about all the side effects of being dyslexic but occasionally I get caught out and forget the day week etc it makes it hard to plan ahead when you are always just now never soon
so the years have swept away like 1979 was just yesterday or last week still hard to grasp just how it happened.
so John that is in some measure why the thoughtfulness, having been thought less so many times beyond count
I have had little choice but to think about every bloody thing to try and piece together what is going on around me
and make it sink in ( no pun intended)
if you repeat a persons name often enough you will remember it but after introducing your self to the same person for the 5th or 6th time you look and feel like a dunce.
it is very embarrassing
shame is a great educator
it is quite by irony sink or swim out there for me
so over the years it make one very methodical and routine orientated to stay to track which helps a lot in my case
and the spin off is the positives
being a effective ambidextrous is very handy when climbing so is having a keen 3d spacial awareness and a intuitive understanding of dimensions is also very useful.
not saying I am perfect or a mutated super hero just different in certain areas been sent to special testing facilities
for gifted children things like that.
things that come in handy when climbing thats for sure.
but getting back on topic so is resourcefulness - common sense you can't really teach it and you can't buy it
My dad would teach us how to make shangi's and peg guns give us a hammer some boards and nails if we wanted to build a cubby house not build it for us but encourage us to think for our selves
we thought nothing of taking a water bottle a sandwich and a dolphin torch with us on our bmx bikes and going to the disused mine shafts on the other side of the highway to do some exploring
not a shred of cotton wool to be seen on our persons.
sure we would build bombs burn down things all kind of adventures and silly pranks took our fair share of knocks
but learnt from a very early age to fend for our selves
thats a valuable lesson
so the old scouting motto of always be prepared sounds very contrite but has a certain relevance to tree work
that and being able to improvise, great skill in tree work is the ability to improvise on the fly
I approached just about everything in the same way, jump in and swim or sink,
over the years that had to change I cost myself time and money over and over again by hanging by the seat of my pants not planning or taking the time to remember what I needed to do.
not good attributes in a climber.
the job changed me
at first all caught up in what was going on I scarcely paid attention to the bigger picture
after some time to grant perspective I began to grasp what I thought at the time was the done thing
luckily for me I had landed with a company that was not complete troglodytes and the boss was a ex contract climber back in the day
there was a portawrap and a bigshot and a whoopee sling to use unlike most of the cowboys unwilling and uncaring of advances being made in their industry
sure the harness was way to big for me and I had a old sash belt for a flip line but it was a good starting place.
but I got itchy feet the guys there weren't willing to consider new methods and there wasnt climbing every day so I moved on
I already had become attracted to the rigging side , the art and craft involved in successful applications the problem solving and working on the fly with available materials brought me back to a simple love of working with my hands out in the fresh air away from the BS of the company cubicle and my love of the printing trade had died with the rapid pace of computer technology combined with automatic processing. no skills needed anymore just push a button, no need to think it through and find elegant solutions to resolve the current crisis just push a button.
so when the opportunity came to leave I took it
it is amazing what we can achieve with some rope a pulley and understanding forces
I like to joke when I get the balance of a pick bang on "it's a kinda magic"
and it is
a real beautiful gravity defying graceful magic that belies the massive weights , the incredible forces at play
instinctively we "feel' the energy involved, you can hear me exclaiming out loud as those forces express themselves,
as I delight in being the magician and wooing the crowds with the awe inspiring feats.
part of me needs to get things just right so I can tap into the "good' or positive energy surrounding an action that is right.
it leaves a wake or positive akin to a tune being all "good" notes, you can hear a bad note straight away when it is played, just fundamentally wrong it strikes or rings false with us.
the music I am playing needs to flow to run true no false steps or painted corners if you remove that bit now but need it later it is too bad buddy that ship has sailed.
I relate to concepts like chi and similar, the energy vibrations and projections of force,
an animal knows you are hunting it when you project your will at it, the design to kill transmits in close range and the animal tenses even if it consciously does not know why.
but I will come back to that
"Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth"
application of forces we do it every day
and what is our guiding constant ? - guesstimate...
theres the magic element
if it is possible then its also possible it can work
so we explore the potential of the possible
those are the best jobs sometimes when all the shit has hit the fan and you have to come up with a plan with solutions to the dilemma at hand and adhoc as the job unfolds,
I really love those days all flow total now time nothing else but moving and doing, keep rolling the dice.... all in.
if you don't try it how will you know?
I' ve tried some really dumb things...
thankfully I am still here and able to look back with the perspective of hindsight and see why that was not going to work as I thought and why it went tits up when it did.
As to how I have come through a few of those times relatively unscathed is entirely on our Fathers shoulders at this point as I have not done myself many favours over the years when experimenting has gone awry
"There are old climbers and bold climbers but fools rush in where angels fear to tread"
its a mongreled phrase I put together to describe what I have seen and done over the years
ever seen the face of your work mates when they are convinced you have just been flattened like a bug?
I have
watched as three groundsman climb out from under a mass of limbs cause you just sheared the entire top off and the rigging in one fell swoop
I have
I rapidly started to question the wisdom of these so called professionals who would encourage me to go bigger and bigger until it all fundamently went FUBAR
so I left there before some one died
and landed on my feet at a real pro who was switched on and savy
the first tree the trial tree I would rip asunder these days, I look back and shudder a wee bit at that two days
but he saw my potential and gave me the opportunity to study , that gave me more people to learn from and I knew then that there was some much more to learn
this was before I knew about youtube
if you can find the right balance point you can turn an entire limb
its a kinda magic
bigger is better in the right situations especially when you have enough space to hang it
that moment when you realise that you don't have to leave the top till last if you don't have to
or that you can roll off lower limbs before you clear them
and tearing wow what you can do with some good tearing bark and the right kind of responsive timber
The Craft
We combine many different skill sets as a climber and need to master them all
part of the attraction the love for me is the mastery of craft
another is you are pitting yourself against underpinning forces like gravity and a unknown element
a organic structure The Tree
to master your enemy you must think like your enemy or to beat the gopher you must think like the gopher
you get the idea
why it acts and reacts, why it will do that and what will happen next?
sounds pretty straight forward but if you are in a tight spot with no where to go and it can only go right or you are going to be wearing something then you need to learn about the craft
I once left a stub in front of my forehead before taking the top out - never made that mistake again
"a trap for young players" also from the same man who taught me "it doesn't have to be a big tree to be tricky"
it is not just about the iron and swinging a sharp saw though the sharp saw is def a must have
you need to understand the timber intimately on a tree by tree basis
what your gear will and will not allow you to do and why not
the limits of what your body is willing to endure and still function
it all goes to the craft
I remember one bloke had a climber and he was considered only good for takedowns couldn't prune for shit
but he was a animal up there with the spikes on
horses for courses not everybody is an all rounder some of us are better suited in different areas
the craft can compensate in some degrees a skilful climber can use strategy and craft to overcome physical strength
brains over brawn - if a pulley and a rope will make my life easier then by all means lets do that.
recognising where to put the pulley and the rope aye thats the rub thats why I am on the hollywood dollars the big bucks.
we like to joke at work its okay to be sneaky from time to time as we do something not exactly kosher
what we really mean is that it is ok to be crafty from time to time , use our skill sets to achieve more productivity at the agreed price of greater risks offsetting that risk factor in our minds by leaning on the craft side to come up with the goods
the english language is a sneaky and devious thing I really struggled with coming to grips with the crafty nature of how it can be applied
but the craft can make bank and since time is money in the tree game a time saving is a money earner
I am no expert when it comes to felling that is a craft in its self and not one I have praticised often enough IMO
but I still wonder and delight in what can be done using the craft to manipulate the tree into doing what you would like instead of what it wants to do.
Gravity is a harsh mistress
it sounds so simple until you are at the receiving end
A overloaded whoopee sling makes a crack like a rifle shot when it goes ping
a rope will ping at the bend radius of the pulley or block just after the tie off point (seems to be the max force load area)
you can melt a rope on to a portawrap
all experiences that fine tune the craft , the whys and whats can it be done differently and how will that pan out?
applied knowledge like any trade comes with time and opportunity to observe new information
unfortunately we are in a trade that has a very poor opinion of failure and a rather high cost for it as well
out of the 20 people who started in my year at trade school only about 6 are still in the industry and 4 are still climbing
one lost his leg in a stump grinding incident another his right eye.
the craft can save your ass
ever been felling and suddenly you hit a soft spot in the centre of the hinge, you feel it through the saw as the resistance changes you smell the rot coming up out of the cut and see the dust change colour?
then its too late and gravity takes over
the craft has you backing out as soon as the info hits your senses there is nothing more to be done here but bug out and be grateful that you were using the craft to keep infront of the reaction so you can get on out
if you don't watch and smell touch and taste listen and look as you climb and cut you miss those vital little clues
much like tracking game all the minute details add up
The Art
a polished climber is much like a performer practicing a art say a ballet
reason I use ballet is because of the gracefulness and seeming effortless in the movements of the dancers and the timing they display
it is also like a ballet dancer in so far as the efforts of reward are in practice and more bloody practice
back to the horses and courses for a sec, some people have a inherent sense of balance or timing say
good luck to them I don't. but through practice I can perform to the outside eye like a dancer
I like to tell them it is an art not a science and it is ten years of hard graft to make it look easy
but I am serious
you don't get anywhere with your thumb up your arse in the contracting world it is all about results
now I am not suggesting frocking up in a tutu on the work site but when you do those jobs and no one says a word , it all falls into place every one knows what has to be done when and why down to the last sweep of the broom those are good days indeed, I love working on crews when that happens, it is like a ballet in motion
there really is a grace to be found in tree work amongst all the dust and noise, choreography - jazz hands folks
the way different types of pieces will swing in different patterns like dancers pirouetting on tippy toes at the end of the rope, the spray of sawdust into the sunlight and the fall of the drift gently coating the objects below.
especially if you are inclined to tilt it that way
all seems like a stage show if you cancelled out the noise from the chipper roaring away
a good rope runner will play that section like a master angler or a concert violinist
they are invaluable to a climber like me I can concentrate on the art and the craft with confidence in the rope runner
if we are all in tune then it just happens , the more it flows the less stress on site the more things seem to go your way
there is another whole rant? waffle on headspace and headology but another time
finally the peter pan thingy
I often giggle when I climb
and sing little songs to myself , talk to the tree and make bad puns make wisecracks to the crew just can't take it serious some days not every climb there is certainly still those that make me sit up and pay attention
I am having so much fun taking in the sights , marvelling at the rigging swaying away , warning the geckos not to crawl into that cut theres a 460 racing away in there buddy but I swear the beggars are suicidal
the dust swirls around the bar nut on a horizontal cut and you can set fire to the tree with a hot exhaust if it is a paper bark or a messmate stringy bark.
I find it fascinating the way things fall and how chaos can take over once the piece leaves you tumbling away
the roar of the fluff screaming down to fan the fellas who crouch as the wind sweeps over them.
there is so much to keep you busy smells vibrations of saws or pounding a major lateral root and feeling the reverberation up the trunk, the visceral thud of rigged out sections like riding a giant japanese drum
and I hum the Indiana Jones theme while zooming to the earth glazing another prussic out just cause I can
this job really seems to suit me in many ways like a tailored suit and without it I feel naked, exposed.
there is so much satisfaction to be had being an Arborist, genuine positive glowing pride "being right chuffed with ones self" not in a egotistical Biggest balls swagger but a hard earned well done rolled up my sleeves and hands are dirty
achievement every day you go to work. much more a lifestyle choice than a 9 to 5 drudge
and it can be so much fun , really captivates the peter in me , ticks all the boxes quite nicely.
anyhoo shits and giggles aside I would like to finish up with a little saying from my dear scottish Aunt Betty
" if you haven't got a sense of humour then you might as well order your pine box now"
Ben.
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Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
Stihlmadd
Been here a while
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
thank you very much BradyHoly shit Ben, when do you sleep? lol, Either you got the film editing thing down to a brilliant science or you're an insomniac MFer
a bit of column A a bit of column B and yes I will keep em rolling.
cheers Ben
John Uselding
Participating member
- Location
- Central Iowa
Ben... WOW! A fucking biography. So eloquent.... you'll have to forgive if I wonder about the dyslexia. Your words and thoughts flow just like your madd rigging... powerful and elegant.
I took me an entire day to read your post due to the constant stream if interuptions from things like family and work, and I wanted to give it full attention. Still processing. It is interesting to think how wholly different paths have brought us to the same point. My upbringing was unlike yours in so many ways, yet the connection to the work/job/tree/whatever is undeniably synergistic. I have only personally met and worked with a small handful of other persons on the planet with idea feel that type of connection... though there may be others that I just don't know we'll enough. The opportunity to glimpse the mind behind the videos in which your craft and art and experience are there for the taking... well, it's fucking priceless. Thank you! You should write a book... the companion to your videos... not a how-to.
But I'm starting to gush... one of my many unfortunate character traits.
Your descriptions of the being in the now, the magic, the guesstimation, improvisation, choreography, skill, craft, art... your choice words and use of language.... poetry.
I connect! Thank you sir!
I took me an entire day to read your post due to the constant stream if interuptions from things like family and work, and I wanted to give it full attention. Still processing. It is interesting to think how wholly different paths have brought us to the same point. My upbringing was unlike yours in so many ways, yet the connection to the work/job/tree/whatever is undeniably synergistic. I have only personally met and worked with a small handful of other persons on the planet with idea feel that type of connection... though there may be others that I just don't know we'll enough. The opportunity to glimpse the mind behind the videos in which your craft and art and experience are there for the taking... well, it's fucking priceless. Thank you! You should write a book... the companion to your videos... not a how-to.
But I'm starting to gush... one of my many unfortunate character traits.
Your descriptions of the being in the now, the magic, the guesstimation, improvisation, choreography, skill, craft, art... your choice words and use of language.... poetry.
I connect! Thank you sir!
- Location
- Springpatch, IL
Excellent read, Ben!
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tool/chainsaw lanyard attachment options while in a bucket truck?- Started by Phil
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