Top n' Flop: Removing a tall, skinny, dead Ash

I like that line-up, Buddy...all standing at attention and squared away!

Good point about helmets being designed for certain activities. Sometimes you have to improvise, though. I use a Stihl logging helmet for my public safety diving helmet...have had trouble finding anything else that works with a full face mask:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1703a.jpg
    IMG_1703a.jpg
    98 KB · Views: 48
  • Dive Team tx 11-22-14 A.jpg
    Dive Team tx 11-22-14 A.jpg
    172 KB · Views: 50
Why wouldn't a person want a chin strap? If stuff is falling out of the tree onto my head on the ground, I don't want it to knock my helmet off?
The helmet coming off your head is part of the energy dissipation, hence my chinstrap is always undone whilst on the ground
 
I remember reading about a climber that survived a 30' fall onto a steep slope...all good. Except he then rolled down the slope and he did not have his chinstrap fastened. His helmet came off and he fractured his skull on a rock in the tumble down the hill. Don't remember if he died or not...fractured skull is very bad juju. Fasten those straps folks.
 
Different situations & different approach. In the tree where impacts can come from collisions as well as from above then always use a chinstrap. Different on the ground dealing with falling items. I can't find the info at the moment (will hunt later)but it also comes down to the design & purpose of the helmet i.e. A climbing helmet has some kind of foam shock absorber as it is firmly attached, however a ground based one will have a gap between the shell & harness which allows the helmet to move and deform more so on impact.
 
A hard hat will work just fine without a chin harness as long as it used on the ground with overhead objects being the only concern. This covers most all other industrial jobs but not ours. Even a ground worker in our trade could be exposed to a side hill tumble. However, it is the climbing arborist that really needs not only a chin harness, but a hard hat that is designed with the understanding a tumble down through a tree with lots of limbs is a possibility. A climber using a hard hat with a wide 360 degree protruding brim, even if it had a chin strap, is a very poor choice compared to what we now have available.
 
Here is the before mentioned video. I didn't realize at the time that it broke my helmet when it happened. I didn't realize how hard the Crane operator was pulling until it ripped off before I was even done with the cut. You can hear somebody ask if I was ok and me saying yeah.

https://youtu.be/2Yr3VIC6uPI

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Yr3VIC6uPI?ecver=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Could have been awful...a lot of force was applied there to rupture that helmet...saved you a fractured skull.

Thanks for the share.
 
they should consider themselves lucky that I didn't film how I descended from that tree - a munter hitch on that tag-line that I was using to pull over the spar - it being my old climb line that I use only for light-duty rigging purposes. As I was told in a seminar years ago - climbing lines and rigging lines are like wives and girlfriends - may they never meet. Keep in mind that [/QUOTE]


ive always wondered why i would trust a rope to pull over a backleaner but not trust it with my 175 lbs self. But, Im sure there is a reason for the practice. i do my best to stick to the book. but sometimes, im like now why cant i climb on this 15,000 lbs rated rigging line? wha?...
 
I never understood that either, and if you are rapping on an 8 or munter, gear replacement is super cheap wayyyyy down the road. If the ropes are shot, they need to be used for garage and boat use, not rigging. I also always wondered what if the wife and gf met?... lol
 
I don't see any issue with coming down on a rig line. I track wear and cycles to failure on the rig lines the exact same way I do on climb lines, I use them for what they are made for, and replace them when I need to with the money I save by not having my overpaid ground guys stand around and watch me try and spur down over a bunch of goofy dog legs and what not.
 
Back
Top