Training

Tools of the Trade

“The best investment is the tools of one’s own trade.” – Ben Franklin As a production climbing arborist and trainer, I am often presented with the question of “What tools do I need to do the job?” Unfortunately, there is no easy one-size-fits-all answer. The reality is that the answer is mainly contingent upon the […]

Canopy Anchors, Part 1

This article is based on a demonstration by Craig Bachmann at the TCI Magazine Trainer’s Test Kitchen demo area during TCI EXPO ’21 in Indianapolis, Indiana, this past November. A canopy anchor is a climbing system that anchors the rope in the canopy of a tree. While a moving rope system (MRS) typically uses a […]

Women’s Climbing Event Spins Off at Davey Tree

It started with me planning a small, recreational climbing day with a few women from Davey Tree in the Twin Cities area. It ended with 40 women getting together in Chicago, empowering and supporting each other – as well as doing a bunch of climbing. My inspiration for this event was a weekend in Massachusetts […]

The Jail Brake Lowering Device

If you missed TCI EXPO this year, then you missed out on the industry debut of the Jail Brake, which may signal the next generation of lowering devices for arborists. This device brings an innovative design to basal friction for lowering. Cast from aluminum and machined to a polished finish, the Jail Brake is designed […]

Additional Rigging Systems

There are many options available to tree crews designing rigging systems. The more options there are to choose from, the lower the risk and the better the outcome will be. One of the risks in rigging operations is when using a system involving many components. If the components are not matched adequately to the system, […]

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