Space Perspective, a space-tourism company, has developed a balloon-and-capsule to take eight passengers about 20 miles in the air, at $125,000 a ride. As Jamie Goddard explains it, that’s, “right at the edge of where you would need a spacesuit.”

Jamie Goddard, shown here, says he’s been on some pretty cool climbs, like climbing a redwood tree and scaling some of the tallest trees in South Africa. All photos courtesy of Drew Bristow.

Once inflated, the balloon is roughly the size of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. It will inflate slowly from the back of a ship, and the hot-air balloon will make its way toward space with the capsule Spaceship Neptune tethered below. Billionaire Richard Branson, an investor (and founder of another space company, Virgin Universe), is scheduled to co-pilot the first mission, expected in October 2025. The seats inside are made by Mercedes Benz, and there’s a bartender on board.

At a Glance

Jamie Goddard

Name: Jamie Goddard
Job title: Rope guru
Years in the industry: 24
Company: Yale Cordage/The Rope Guru LLC
City/state: South Portland, Maine
Credentials: Product manager for Yale Cordage for 19 years. Assisted in developing the original Yale Poison Ivy, Blue Moon 11.7mm, BeeLine hitch cord and the chippable hook known as the Chook. In 2019, he opened The Rope Guru LLC, supplying spliced ropes and equipment to local arborists, utilities and the heavy marine industry.
Area(s) of impact: Rope safety, education and sales

The rigging came from Maine, courtesy of Goddard’s company, The Rope Guru.

Goddard puts this one in the top-three projects he’s worked on in his 24-year career. Non-disclosure agreements limit some of what he can talk about, but there’ve been many other cool projects and experiences, such as supplying the rope to tow submarines and other military projects. And there are many more routine calls outside of tree care, supplying rope for jobs like towing power lines or hauling moose.

“People fly into Maine with their moose permit, and they’ve got to get it (the moose) out of the woods after they kill it,” Goddard says. “They’re always calling us for 300 feet of rope. ‘What rope works best? Can I pick it up on a Sunday when I fly into the airport?’ That kind of stuff.”

He estimates he’s been to all but a handful of states and between 15 to 20 countries consulting on rope needs. Mostly, Goddard is thankful for the people he’s met on the journey.

“I worked for Yale Cordage for 20 years, and I traveled the world and sold rope and trained people on what type of ropes and what rope constructions should be used for certain applications,” says Goddard, who lives in Westbrook, Maine, near Portland. “I got tired of traveling, so I left Yale Cordage and started The Rope Guru to work locally within New England. Although I have contacts worldwide, I don’t have to travel as much. We do the same thing – people call us with rope questions and we solve their issues.”

During the interview, Goddard sounds like a man who’s been introspective about his life lately, and with good reason. He has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, also known as metastatic pancreatic cancer. “So I’ve got probably a few more months left in me. That might not be something a lot of people know.”

He says it’s fine to mention in the story. “I really do appreciate the honor (of being profiled), as well as everybody in the industry.”

Goddard and Drew Bristow on a climb.

Mentor
“Jamie’s definitely a role model for me,” says Mark Przekurat, owner, Renaissance Acres Tree Care Services, an 18-year TCIA member company based in Weare, New Hampshire, and founder and operator of Fids & Fibers, an arborist rope-splicing workshop.

“I’ve known Jamie since I first started Fibs and Fibers, which was 18 years ago. He was working at Yale, and he would invite me and my groups in to tour the Yale facility as part of the workshop. He would lead tours of the industrial floor, where all the splicing machines were, and introduce us to the splicers, and Tom Yale gave us full access to the facility to learn about the ropes.

“Jamie is a competent splicer, but what he really is is a sales guru extraordinaire. He understands what tree climbers need. One of the great things about Jamie is he would travel around and meet with climbers. So when attending TCI EXPO, he would come in a day early or stay a day late and hang out with all the best climbers in the world and ask them questions about what qualities they wanted in a rope. He’d ask what was their favorite rope and how could he design a rope that would make them really happy with it. What were they looking for?

“He’s very social, so he would just hang out and drink with the guys, be one of the dudes and learn everything he could about what they wanted. Then he would go back to Yale and start creating what he thought they had told him.”

Impact
Przekurat says Goddard has contributed more to the ropes industry than almost anyone he can think of.

“The Yale 11.7 mm ropes that we all know and love, that are incredibly popular and basically changed tree climbing, are really kind of Jamie’s brainchild. When Kevin Bingham created the Rope Wrench, which started SRT
(single-rope-technique climbing) – the biggest innovation in rope climbing – Jamie was right on the forefront of that by building a rope that worked really well with the Rope Wrench.

“Personally, he encouraged me to do Fids & Fibers, and one of the ways he supported us is that he made sure Yale donated lots of rope for our workshops, because I give away almost a mile of rope for every workshop. He gave me tons of Yale cordage to teach people about the rope and how to take it apart and put it back together, because he understood that if you teach somebody how to work on that company’s rope, you’re going to have an affinity for that rope.

“He had so much knowledge he would share with me when I brought classes to him. He made me a much (better-
informed) person, so I could feel comfortable teaching these classes. He shared very technical and esoteric information about rope – how rope is engineered, how it works, how it wears, what fibers do what, how it’s tested – that I would make part of my Fids & Fibers curriculum. And I could do so with confidence, because I had learned it from him. He didn’t gatekeep that information, he was willing to share it with me, then it went out into the world and it helped the whole group and the entire tree-climbing industry.”

Goddard says he thanks Chad Brey for “teaching me to slow down and enjoy nature.”

Catching a career
A former lobsterman and commercial fisherman, Goddard became a traveler, with friends and acquaintances around the world. He stamped his passport for business trips and climbing expeditions, traveling to Singapore, Africa and Italy, among many other destinations.

“I’ve known Jamie for approximately 16 years, though I honestly cannot remember our first interaction,” says Drew Bristow, who leads expeditions to far-flung places on earth as well as being the manager of Tree Solutions Fiji, a South Pacific company offering tree care and rope-based training. “I believe it was after a volcano expedition, when I emailed him for advice on ropes that would be suitable for an upcoming expedition. He replied and became my go-to source of rope information.

“Once, I cheekily asked Jamie if Yale would like to support some expeditions measuring trees in South Africa,” recalls Bristow. “I got a reply saying he thought it would be cool if we had custom-colored rope, and even sent some braid samples of the rope with the colors of the South Africa flag. I was blown away! This kind of sums up the kind of person Jamie is: never happy with the normal and mediocre, always striving to be ahead of the rest and do things differently.”

Goddard joined Bristow on a climbing trip to South Africa, a salesman happy to join others climbing big native trees. He’s climbed redwoods in California and gone on other climbs in exotic locations.

Climbing a tree in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

A nice guy, to boot
“If you have not met Jamie Goddard, he is one of the most lovely people,” says Bear LeVangie, Vermont-based arborist and co-founder of the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop (WTCW). “Jamie helped me understand his deep love of rope, rope construction and rope manufacturing. Not only is his love of rope infectious, it started my own love affair with fiber. Jamie’s kind and gracious spirit, his love of family, his love of Maine and his dedication to teaching others distinguishes him from many others who design, create and splice rope.”

“Jamie is a passionate person who loves the tree industry and his family,” says Melissa LeVangie-Ingersol, Bear’s western-Massachusetts-based sister and WTCW partner. “His knowledge of cordage and his willingness to share with the arborist community have made him an invaluable resource for so many. From helping people learn the ropes, literally, to volunteering on boards and at tree-climbing championships (TCCs), Jamie is generous with his time and skill.”

Q&A: In his own words
How do you see the role or roles you play and/or have played in the tree care industry?
“While at Yale Cordage, I felt like I was the go-between for the climbers to the rope factory. Whether it was attending a Z133 meeting, a climbing competition or a TCIA conference, listening to the climbers about their wants and needs, relaying that information back to the manufacturer and getting a result felt like progress was being made within the tree care industry as well as the rope industry. (We were) making advancements such as new braiding techniques and utilizing new fibers while making ropes safer, lighter and more functional for the compatible hardware coming to the market.”

Did you have an “Aha!” moment when you said, “This is what I am going to do!”?
“When I first started volunteering at the climbing competitions and learning about the lifelong friendships that would be made and knowledge that would be shared, it was quite simple and almost inevitable that this was it for me.”

Why do you share your skills/knowledge with others? What is your motivation?
“Rope safety. When ropes are being used correctly, no one should get hurt. I’ve been around long enough to see people get hurt, and some have died. If I say something that could potentially save someone’s life, then I’ve done my job.”

Did the skills and knowledge you share come from schooling, training, on-the-job experience or maybe all of the above?
“Everything I learned about rope was from February 2000 and on. That’s when I started at Yale Cordage. Even though I grew up lobstering and worked with rope a lot, it was totally different. I thank everyone at tree-climbing competitions, conventions and folks within the Z133 safety standard (committee).”

When you started, was there anyone in the business you learned from?
“When I first started at Yale Cordage, I learned from a gentleman by the name of Dick Hildebrand (president of sales) and (engineer and company owner) Tom Yale. It’s a high-tech rope company, so I learned a lot about high-tech fibers, flame resistance, burn resistance, heat resistance, super-strong space-age kind of stuff. And I learned a little bit about business, a little about rope and a little about life-work balance, and I managed to do quite well there for quite a while.

“But I want to thank many people who helped me in my career, and I feel it’s important they get recognized for their work personally and professionally. Nick Araya for knowing so much about ropes, splicing and trees. Chad Brey for teaching me to slow down and enjoy nature, and for taking me to climb the redwoods. Tim Walsh for being serious about safety. Scott Prophet for sharing his knowledge and ideas. Tobe Sherrill for believing in me. Don Blair for his love of rope and its history. Dr. Dennis Ryan for keeping it real. And, of course, Dick Hildebrand for being patient and for trusting the vision, and Joe Crowley for splicing all the stuff I sold over the last 25 years. You folks are the true legends. I’ve learned something from you all, and from some, a whole lot more. Thank you!”

A lot has changed in the rope industry. What do you think your favorite or most innovative industry advancement has been since you started?
“Regarding rope, the introduction of a new rope construction and diameter – the original Poison Ivy 11.7 mm rope was Yale’s first real stab at getting a new product introduced into the tree care market – a true double-braid rope that would work well with the new hardware being introduced, such as the Rope Wrench.

“The introduction of Yale BeeLine – reversing the theory of the current product on the market at the time, where the fiber of the core was heat resistant but the cover fiber would still burn and glaze. We took the heat-sync fibers to the outside, creating BeeLine, a friction hitch cord that would last longer than a week. BeeLine was soon to be copied by almost every rope manufacturer, and is still to this day the one to beat.

“And the Chook chippable winchline hook for the chipper.”

Taking a time out.

Other than rope?
“The two different climbing techniques. The way they access the tree on the rope. So the mechanical devices and whatnot, those have come a long way in the last 10 to 15 years. And then I’m just going to make a total shift – I think cranes have come a long way. I don’t think it’s as much an innovation as there are just more people getting into tree work, and maybe they consider cranes safer or more efficient than sending a climber up. I always thought that climbing was so cool and it showed your range as a professional arborist. Nothing against cranes, but I think you get to know the tree a little bit better if you’re climbing it than you would if you crane it.”

Have you climbed with anybody who’s a champion climber?
“Yes – Chad Brey, Jacob Claassen and Gerald Beranek. Mostly I was dealing with professionals when I was traveling. When I was with those people, their afternoon fun was, ‘Let’s go climb a tree.’ I’ve also been invited on some pretty cool climbs, like climbing a redwood tree, going to South Africa to climb some of the tallest trees in South Africa. I’ve been blessed that way.”

What’s your most memorable climb?
“My redwood climb was the most memorable.”

What’s your favorite thing about the industry?
“The people within it.”

Conclusion
Finally, there’s this, which came not from a question, but from a conversation about Goddard’s thoughts on his very unique life in the tree care industry.
“I wouldn’t change a thing.”

David Rattigan is a former correspondent for The Boston Globe and People magazine who has written for the Tree Care Industry Association for 19 years. He’s received 15 awards for journalism and is currently an adjunct communications professor in Massachusetts. His work has appeared in seven national magazines including Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, The Robb Report, The Christian Science Monitor and Lawyers’ Weekly USA.