NWA Cottenwood Takedown

Evan Sussman

TreeHouser
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Messages
287
Location
Stanwood, Washington
I just got a go pro, so I'm pretty excited. It'll take a few tries to get used to, but I'm stoked.

This tree was huge. like 140'+ and 5' DBH + one of the ground crews estimates.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qVPdSPGHnvI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
big tree , nice work evan.
it makes things much faster when your man on the ropes knows what he's doing :thumbup:
 
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  • #4
big tree , nice work evan.
it makes things much faster when your man on the ropes knows what he's doing :thumbup:

So much so, believe it or not, he's even got room to improve, but on anything critical where I was concerned it went beautifully. He was having trouble gauging wraps on the GRCS, and I have little experience gauging from the climbers perspective, so a few times we had too much, but it was on the smaller stuff.
 
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"Tagline", managing the pieces once the tips touched down. We were having trouble having them layout in the right direction.
 
So much so, believe it or not, he's even got room to improve, but on anything critical where I was concerned it went beautifully. He was having trouble gauging wraps on the GRCS, and I have little experience gauging from the climbers perspective, so a few times we had too much, but it was on the smaller stuff.

yeah it varies a lot from tree to tree , i find that its very rare to have over two wraps unless its some serious snatching going on.
did you use the bollard or the winch ?
 
Wow! great video Evan. Those were big limbs. Everything looked really smooth.

What is everyones take on using a steel biner in place of a running bowline? I've seen this in many videos, and done it several times myself, but I always feel like I'm cheating the rules a little. . . Clearly Evans video demonstrates that there is adequate strength, I'm just wondering how everyone feels about this as best practice. Not knocking it at all! just curious.

Love that song man 8)
 
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yeah it varies a lot from tree to tree , i find that its very rare to have over two wraps unless its some serious snatching going on.
did you use the bollard or the winch ?

We were using the winch because it's all I've ever used, and it's what I learned on. In retrospect we should've used the bollard. We ended up glazing the rope a little towards the end. and when they took the winch off 5+mins after use it was still quite hot they said.
 
Wow! great video Evan. Those were big limbs. Everything looked really smooth.

What is everyones take on using a steel biner in place of a running bowline? I've seen this in many videos, and done it several times myself, but I always feel like I'm cheating the rules a little. . . Clearly Evans video demonstrates that there is adequate strength, I'm just wondering how everyone feels about this as best practice. Not knocking it at all! just curious.

Love that song man 8)
I suppose it's the first half hitch that's taking the lions share of the weight.
I did a poplar similar to this a while back, not as big mind you, and on bigger sections I did two half hitches then the 'biner as a kind of belt'n'braces thing.
 
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Wow! great video Evan. Those were big limbs. Everything looked really smooth.

What is everyones take on using a steel biner in place of a running bowline? I've seen this in many videos, and done it several times myself, but I always feel like I'm cheating the rules a little. . . Clearly Evans video demonstrates that there is adequate strength, I'm just wondering how everyone feels about this as best practice. Not knocking it at all! just curious.

Love that song man 8)


Thanks, me too. It rocked my world when I finally heard the lyrics.

I kept wondering about it too, but you know the half hitch takes the significant load. I never used carabiners in that application before coming up here, and that was the biggest stuff I've used them for. I think if you were to max something out, it would still be the half hitch that breaks first.

I would like to hear what everyone thinks too...
 
Sweet work, Evan! Were you subbing for Trent? or the other way around? Lacking that sweet knuckleboom, I might have speed lined those limbs.... while still using a lowering line, of course..

Do you know if they sold the logs to Fritch? or some other place paying 200 or more mbf?
 
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Sweet work, Evan! Were you subbing for Trent? or the other way around? Lacking that sweet knuckleboom, I might have speed lined those limbs.... while still using a lowering line, of course..

Do you know if they sold the logs to Fritch? or some other place paying 200 or more mbf?

I'm on his books part-time. Speed line was the plan before we showed up that morning, his plan. We all decided it would be quicker to do it like this. even with out the crane they still had a good angle with the chippers winch, and two redirects to get some up angle..

Logs haven't been hauled. we still left a good 60' stick as I was beat and chunking down 9' pieces with the 66 was more then I wanted to end the day with. I'm not sure where he was gonna sell them though.
 
I would like to hear what everyone thinks too...

I've done it for years. Rarely for butt hitching wood, unless the loads are under 200-300 lb. To reduce sideloading on the biner, I go one step further and clip it around the standing part and back to itself, which also will further lessen the forces the biner is subjeted to. A good way to test this is, before loosening the knots, to test the pressure on the biner. I doubt it rarely feels over 200 lb, even if the shock load were 5000. And, when clipped as I suggest, there's no sideloading (or very little)

Purists and those who are trainers may protest. IMO, in vain.....
 
Was the job up your way? I don't work up past Marysville, but have never heard of anyplace paying as well as Fritch. I'm sure Trent's aware of that, as he lives so close.....

By the way, would you ask everyone there and anyone else you know if they've ever heard of a short little fella named Eric F. He stole a bunch of saws 2 years ago, and is one of two suspects behind a more recent and far worse theft. 10K worth.....Wraptor, 3 Dolmars, ropes, rigging gear, big Redmax blower, 3-4 climb saws, older 346XP Ergovation saddle.....No one I know has been able to find out what he's doing, if he's working for someone...etc. If I could find out where he lives, I could arrange a sting, assuming he has any of the gear. He can't sell to pawn shops as he's blacklisted...and nothing's been on craiglist..... he'd have to sell the stuff in someone else's name.....
 
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Was the job up your way? I don't work up past Marysville, but have never heard of anyplace paying as well as Fritch. I'm sure Trent's aware of that, as he lives so close.....

By the way, would you ask everyone there and anyone else you know if they've ever heard of a short little fella named Eric F. He stole a bunch of saws 2 years ago, and is one of two suspects behind a more recent and far worse theft. 10K worth.....Wraptor, 3 Dolmars, ropes, rigging gear, big Redmax blower, 3-4 climb saws, older 346XP Ergovation saddle.....No one I know has been able to find out what he's doing, if he's working for someone...etc. If I could find out where he lives, I could arrange a sting, assuming he has any of the gear. He can't sell to pawn shops as he's blacklisted...and nothing's been on craiglist..... he'd have to sell the stuff in someone else's name.....

It was out Monroe area.

I don't know the name, but I'll be aware of it. Was that from you? That's a big deal.
 
there is danger in side loading but as its been said numerous times that the half hitch takes a lot of the force, i feel the danger is when you start negative rigging with a carabiner then not only do you have to watch the side loading but you have to be careful about the orientation of the crab also because if it gets caught in-between the block of wood and the stem and its facing spine up then depending on weight and forces , it will pop.
 
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there is danger in side loading but as its been said numerous times that the half hitch takes a lot of the force, i feel the danger is when you start negative rigging with a carabiner then not only do you have to watch the side loading but you have to be careful about the orientation of the crab also because if it gets caught in-between the block of wood and the stem and its facing spine up then depending on weight and forces , it will pop.

That's a good point. I wouldn't want to have it smacking the trunk.
 
nz guy, I don't think I'd like that for anything heavy, as dyneema has a low melt point, and there can be quite the force applied at the choke point....

AS I said above, I don't butt hitch med or heavy loads with a biner. Anything else,especially the way I terminate, there is no problem.
 
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