Climbing Rope Selection – It’s Your Life on the Line
Criteria for selecting climbing rope is similar to that of rigging rope (“Ins & Outs, Ups & Downs of Rigging Rope,” TCI Magazine, July 2020) in that it all boils down to application and use. “When I started climbing, rope selection was easy. There was one choice; it was a multi-plait rope that was one […]
What Is in Your First-Aid Kit?
We are not talking about the first-aid kit you carry in your truck to the job site. We are talking about the first-aid kit you carry aloft. Some safety standards in other countries recommend that climbers carry a first-aid kit with them. The Z133 Safety Requirements for Arboricultural Operations (2017) does not address this, but […]
Climbing Gear: A Growing Risk to Tree Companies
Tree-climbing gear used to be so simple – a leather-and-webbing harness with buckles and heavy steel D-rings, a wire-core flip line and spikes. Maybe even a climbing rope. The good old days, indeed. Today, it seems like a new climbing contraption shows up each week. Everything feels expensive. We have specialty tools that range from […]
Biomechanics for Tree Climbers
This story starts as many stories do, with a life-changing incident. But it is really about body mechanics. In 2007, I (Phil Kelley) had a lead fail under me while doing a large crane removal. I was at the end of the lowest limb of a 66-inch DBH (diameter-at-breast-height) water oak, so when the lead […]
Arborist Skills: How to Apply an SRS Redirect without Unloading Your Primary Suspension Point
Aaron Feather, CTSP demonstrates how to Apply an SRS Redirect without Unloading Your Primary Suspension Point. The beauty of climbing using a stationary-rope system, or SRS, is being able to redirect onto limbs that can position you directly over your work. Limbs that would never absorb the dynamic strain of a moving or dynamic redirect, […]