Close Call: Rigging Point Failure

TreeMuggs

Treehouser
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Southwestern Ontario, Canada
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For context, read the full article here: https://www.educatedclimber.com/close-call-rigging-point-failure/


So, I wanted to hear from other professionals. What would you have done differently, or is it simply a case of "right to refuse"? Bottom line, I shouldn't have taken that top where I did. I knew it was too big right from the get-go, when I went up initially to set my blocks. I ignored my gut and made a huge mistake. But thankfully, nobody got hurt and I came away with a greater awareness of my own complacency as well as an excellent teaching video. So, any thoughts?
 
Pole chainsaw, peeling onto rigging instead of face-cut/ back-cut or snap-cuts.


I've used a Ht101 (whatever the heavy Stihl is called) at Max extension a Lot from a 60' bucket.


Respect for the honesty.


Good to see rope man was out of the drop zone. Did that distance cause too much load on the brake / standing side of the POW?

Sounds crazy, but holding the rope up off the ground from a long distance amounts to extra braking at the POW, whereas resting it on the grass and running it would maybe be smoother.

What pulley and type of anchor strap?
 
Definitely could have rigged that differently,even just without trying to spread the load between the forks,that and a good ropeman. I think it would have held,I don't like putting weight on a fork that pulls them together myself,that exposes the weak spot in the union/crotch. You said it yourself,utilize the compression.
 
I see its a pinto rig, now.



I'd also have rigged and pulled out the hanger, lightening the crown, making sure the hanger would not hit a grave stone, fwiw. Otherwise its a crap shoot with the hanger.
 
We almost lost a whole spar last week. The tree was highly suspect to begin with it had good lean towards the open but still to long to flop towards the fairway. So we took a chunk and I watched and heard the root plate crack. We were all at safe distances away but still spooky.
Thanks for posting Muggs!
 
Sean's right about the hanger, that would've probably been first priority, but hey, we're looking at it after the fact. I like what you said about physics not being personal, it's just business. Was there any damage to the headstones? Thanks for sharing the vid and for being real.
 
Nice video Muggs! I have several observations, most of them positive. (1) You were cool as a cucumber the whole time. If it weren't for the (very minor) profanity, I might not have known you were shaken up at all. Good reflexes staying calm. It's hard to train that kind of thing, but if you aren't able to stay calm in that kind of situation, then get a new job. (2) That the tree broke apart like that proves you had the right instincts to use a lift instead of climbing it. (3) Distributing the load between 2 rigging points was a good idea, even if it didn't quite work out.

I would have only done 1 or 2 things differently (knowing what I know now, which you didn't know then): (1) gotten a taller lift, and/or (2) used a screamer to dampen the shock loading.
 
Love the input on something like this...always find points to consider that I had not thought of.

Good comments, Sean. Agree on the "staying cool"...Muggs did a good job there.
 
First thing I thought of was before the video. You set up a lift in a grave section?! That's a big no no to me, outriggers on Graves (not solid ground) gives me the.... Willie's.
Like others mentioned, get the hanger out. If it wasn't secured, why bother rigging the top? Why did you lose the other good leader and rig off the bad one? Another thing I try to do is fall out to one side to not add load to the rigging unnecessarily. All that said, that spar came out early, must've been very compromised. But, I think everyone that had run a lift, has gone to big at one time or other. Thanks for putting it out there
 
Seems like the spar that broke, the rigging point was lower than where you were cutting. If it had been higher, less force. But that piece that broke probably weak anyway. Better rope running might have helped. Add it all up in physics, force won.
Kudos on everyone living another day.
 
You' re right Willie. Been there done that with lifts. Being just short of what you feel is right and despite the fact you decide to go for the Hail Mary Cut. It's a perplexing problem with lifts, and the feeling you get in that situation you'll never forget. Oh, Baby!
 
Definitely could have rigged that differently,even just without trying to spread the load between the forks,that and a good ropeman. I think it would have held,I don't like putting weight on a fork that pulls them together myself,that exposes the weak spot in the union/crotch. You said it yourself,utilize the compression.

Yup. :thumbup:




Good video to put up and share though. Right when you first panned up on that top, I got the same chill you probably initially felt. 'Woh, this is a big top to catch'.
 
Been there done that with lifts. Being just short of what you feel is right and despite the fact you decide to go for the Hail Mary Cut. !

Oh Lawdy, the Hail Mary Cut!! Well said Gerr!!! :lol:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18
Jerry, there was a squirrel's nest right where it broke, with 3 little gaffers all curled up. I should have inspected that stem much better than I did, but it was supporting a live top so I just assumed it was good enough.

As far as the hanger is concerned, that really was my main worry in the moment, that's why I mentioned it before I made the cut. It's hard to tell in the video, but the butt end of that hanger was at least 15 feet above me. Very difficult to do anything about it.

So much of it comes down to 'Normalcy Bias': “Normalcy bias causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster and its possible effects, because it causes people to have a bias to believe that things will always function the way things normally function. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately prepare.” That pretty much sums it up. I knew the top was bigger than what I would normally take, but that’s all I could reach with the lift.

Do you know how many times I have done something similar when I'm in a lift? I end up cutting something bigger than what I am totally comfortable with, and, at least up until this incident, it has always worked out fine. It makes me question my own judgement in a way, like, if I was uncomfortable with it but it turned out fine, is it just that I have drawn the line in my head between what's safe and unsafe, in the wrong spot? You know, like can I actually take stuff far larger than what I first thought? I mean, you start thinking about tensile strength with the gear we use. When I was in school, we always talked about designing rigging systems with the rope as the weakest link. But I think, in reality, we have designed our gear to make the tree as the weakest link, in the majority of cases.

For anyone wanting more detail, I have a more in-depth article about this incident, available at:

https://www.educatedclimber.com/close-call-rigging-point-failure/


Thank you so much for opinions and analysis everyone. I am embarrassed to admit that, right when this happened, I was thinking, shit, I don't want to share this with anyone. This makes me look like an idiot. But later that night, I had made a 180, and I thought, first, much of the time, I am an idiot, and second, this is exactly what I need to share with the world. This is the kind of stuff that can help someone. So, like I said in the video, I'm actually glad that it happened. It was a real eye-opener. If this helps someone, sometime, to second guess a decision, or think critically about a setup, then I am so glad that this happened. Go small AND Go home.
 
Outfuggingstanding!

I am an idiot, and second, this is exactly what I need to share with the world. This is the kind of stuff that can help someone.

Holy hell yea. Lean from your mistakes, then share your experiences with your peers.

Learning from your mistakes is how people become "Experts."
 
Muggs, you are one heck of a guy. The temptation to deny our mistakes in front of others is a strong one. Well done.
 
Muggs, you are one heck of a guy. The temptation to deny our mistakes in front of others is a strong one. Well done.

I concur.



Muggs, you said the hanger was out of reach.

I would have used throwline to set a rope in the hanger., A pull line and a rigging line, natural crotched,, back the lift away, and have the ground pull/ catch.

I've had to do this. Its feasible.
 
Ok, got round to watching it, thanks for posting, I have nothing to add to what others have said about alternative methods.

Shows how when stuff goes bad, it goes bad quickly.

As you say, ironic how the lift was brought in for safety reasons.
 
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