TIP Failure results in broken pelvis and broken L5

Kabir424

TreeHouser
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
168
Location
Alabama
This is not me. I certainly wish this guy a speedy recovery. I am glad to hear that his doctors and confident he will recover fully. Stay safe out there folks. It's worth a trip to the top to inspect your tie in point. It sounds like this guy didn't do that and payed for it.



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Its frigged up. Its a good reminder. I made myself watch the medical procedure. Do not want!


I watched some of his videos. Dangerous! He got swatted by a huge spinning log that could have crushed him like a fly, instead only hit him, including in the helmet ('side job', probably exhausted after a work week, dehydrated, full sun and heat), trying to save black walnut logs.

Looks like he's in, too fast, too deep, with a shitty boss willing to expose his crew to bad/ terrible conditions. He bailed out on a rotten, rotten tree that the other climber had fallen out of. He got a line set and was spiking up the first couple feet of the rotten base before bailing out (SMART), but set out to do it initially.

Many video near misses, and cursing then things did what was looked like they would do. Dropped a lead into an adjacent tree, but the rope didn't somehow make it go into the open drop-zone.

Uses some weird rigging knot that looks like several round turns, then clove hitch the working end back to the line to terminate, and another that looks like a slip-knot. No thank you.


Wishing him a speedy recovery.



Tree work videos look like James Bond action and all, but never show what all the mental considerations really are. More likely they're choreographed well to music. Gives a false sense of 'things will be alright'.

Gear and internet doesn't produce good judgment, like those teenagers dying in the Sierras, put up to A-game material with rookie experience.

Good experience comes from good judgment. Good judgment comes from bad experiences. Hopefully a bunch of small bad experiences.



As Reg put it so succinctly--- no frig-it cuts.
 
It got better from there.

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I've done the same thing. I wouldn't even have attempted that one...
 
Same here, gnarly, skipped to the end though. Very humble of him to make the vid in my opinion, seems like a good dude who got super lucky.
 
He was posting on here for a very brief time if I'm remembering correctly. Rlfauler or something like that

Had to shut it off. Bad juju to watch something like that right before I gear up
 
Not something I'd watch while gearing up.

It makes you think.


As said, humble to post video. Seems like he's trying to do things right. Hope his story saves some people. The video really sends it home.
 
Not one drop of blood and no slicing or stitching.

Not so hard to watch...

I could empathize when he moaned a couple times.
 
... no watch , no need to for me. Went through a period on Treebuzz when I always checked out the latest grizzly accidents before work. Guess it made me think , feel I've outgrown it. Still quite aware of all the dangers and Ski Patrol gave me plenty Trauma experience. Safe , nice safe Treework is what I like.
 
Hope he gets well soon. I saw a few of his vids recently I've always been more concerned with equipment failure that tie in failure . I tend to trust the tree more. More than once I have been in a top and looked at that little man made aluminum ring that weighs just ounces and just stared at it for a second. I don't use questionable tie ins. If it's sketchy I'll use a top tie instead of base tie. I'm known for walking to the truck to get the binoculars. Seems like a waste of time sometimes. There's been several times I have caught the rope over a small stub just a few feet above my intended anchor. No disaster but can save a small drop. How many times have we reached out tie in and wouldn't have climbed it if we could have inspected it better. I still feel safer in a tree than on the roads trying to get to the job.
 
I agree, good of him to post. Hope he pulls through ok.

I watched his vid "first major frig up", he seems to have very little idea about tree work. For example no undercuts on limb removal causing major issues, and using a pulley backwards: tying it off around the sheave and running the bull rope around the tie off pin. You can't make this stuff up.

My point is only that accidents are more likely when people are untrained/inadequately experienced.
 
He has come a long way in a short time. Superstition while gearing up at lunch. Just like talking about a fall or cutting yourself with a saw. All no no's at work.
 
I saw that backward block. Only once. Don't know if it was set that way purposely.

A lot of light duty slings and biners being overloaded.
 
since Ive started nursing school Ive seen two busted up tree guys.......I anticipate many more. Be safe out there.........at least you can smile if you look up from the table in the ER and see me.......a former tree brother
 
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