One that slipped through the crack

[SkwerI]

Great job, Gary. Looks like it was challenging yet fun at the same time.

One thing I might have added to the drop cut would have been a snipe angled toward the right a bit. This would come into play after the hinge did its job and the tree was already committed to the lay. The butt of the log coming off the stump would slide off the snipe and kick right, away from the stairs. It might have been enough to save the stairs, maybe not. But it doesn't look like a bad idea to rebuild exterior wooden stairs once every 10-20 years anyway.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Gary, why did you cut the face from on top of the stairs, rather near the butt of the tree?

 

[gf beranek]

You handled that very well, Gary. Con-grats. Jobs for friends are often free. I hope he comp you for some of it.

 

[cory]

Heckuva job, Gary!

 

[Burnham]

Great job, Gary. Looks like it was challenging yet fun at the same time.

One thing I might have added to the drop cut would have been a snipe angled toward the right a bit. This would come into play after the hinge did its job and the tree was already committed to the lay. The butt of the log coming off the stump would slide off the snipe and kick right, away from the stairs. It might have been enough to save the stairs, maybe not. But it doesn't look like a bad idea to rebuild exterior wooden stairs once every 10-20 years anyway.

That's a good suggestion, Brian. Might've even worked--halfway decent chance of it.

 

[PCTREE]

looking good Gary, you made it look easy even with a rookie groundy ,man I hate working with rookies, so much to go wrong........

 

[pantheraba]

Gary, why did you cut the face from on top of the stairs, rather near the butt of the tree?

Sean, there was not much room at the base of the spar...it was tight enough that I felt I might be trapped if something was going wrong.

Paul, yep, he did a fine job with the ropes...even sent up some quick releases when sending gear up..and was able to clove hitch water bottles so none fell..that impressed me plenty.

Brian, thanks for the idea, I'll experiment with that sometime when it is not critical that it work. We had decided that something was going to get broken. There was a very large rock (big as 2 V8 engines between the stairs and corner deck support post. He put a lot of small logs on the rock to keep the spar from bouncing too badly..you can see a board he put as a buffer vertically on a smallish oak that we thought might get bonked, too. The luxury of smashing the stairs was nice.

Jerry, he did comp me some...he insisted on it. It helped cover gas, time, etc. Mainly it was a good time to get to work with Derry and his wife...they are both fine folks that I only usually see once a year.

Burnham...thanks for the input. I was aware of wanting to "saw some lean" into it and let that thought help determine my facecut size. Good idea on boring the hinge...I thought of that too late. I can see where it might have been a good idea.

 

[Ryan]

Your age, level of fitness and ability to work a tree are all very inspiring Gary. Someone who didn't better would have no trouble believing you were in your 30's.

 

[pantheraba]

Thanks, Ryan. As long as I can keep up with the grandkids I'm doing OK.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, some day's the treeslaying might seem easier than keeping kids entertained. They're both just as fun though.

 

[murphy4trees]

That's pretty impressive climbing .. you must stay in good shape.. It wold have been fun to try to jump the railing.. make the cut from about 12-15' up.. you'd need some serious pulling power to get the top moving fast enough to make it work, which would also allow for a much stronger hinge.. minimum would be a pick up truck, hopefully 4x4 going downhill.. adjust the angle of pull to compensate for side lean. And of course the most important consideration....... have your cousin check with his insurance company to make sure he was well covered... LOL...

 

[pantheraba]

Hahahaha..."check with the insurance company" first!!!

Great imagery there on jumping that spar. I would love to see that video but would not want to be any part of it!!!

 

[rbtree]

Superb job, Gary! Congrats to you and the crew for a job well thought out and executed. That side hill surely made the ground helpers' job challenging.

No jump cuts 12' above the deck for me either! LOl.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Superb job, Gary! Congrats to you and the crew for a job well thought out and executed. That side hill surely made the ground helpers' job challenging.

No jump cuts 12' above the deck for me either! LOl.

My thoughts as well. A lot of tops to mess with on a slope like that... Kudos to your temp groundie!

 

[murphy4trees]

Hahahaha..."check with the insurance company" first!!!

Great imagery there on jumping that spar. I would love to see that video but would not want to be any part of it!!!

I wold want no part of climbing that monster.. it surely would've kicked my arse.... BUT pulling off that jump cut would keep me high for a week..

Of course its risk vs. reward.. If the cuz has good insurance and the deck is getting rebuilt anyway, there is very little risk... (might have even worked out cheaper if the deck got clobbered).. As long as there was enough rope and block to get the pull line out to the driveway, it would have been fun! Might have even been able to clear the steps too with a rolling snipe as per brian's post.. Once you understand the fundamentals of throwing a top, its not that big a deal.. Trial and error experimentation in non critical situations to learn the limits, just like any other advanced technique..

 

[ClimbingFool]

Most excellent job ! Gary....

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Maybe a good What's Your Favorite Picture of You Climbing picture. An impressive show, especially with a rookie roper.

 

[Bermy]

Nice one Gary!
Nice to know I've coined a phrase...'creep climbing'...!
I also could sympathize on your mind tricks when first tied in to what may have been a suspect TIP...then once you get a few rigs off them the concern does diminish...diminish, not disappear.

I like how when we get to do a tricky job, the conversations and threads from here come back in your head, and often leads to trying something that we never would have known to do from our current level of experience of training.

 

[SkwerI]

Nice one Gary!
Nice to know I've coined a phrase...'creep climbing'...!

We always referred to that as 'shiny heiny'.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

 

[woodworkingboy]

Wasn't he a bald German guy?

 

[pantheraba]

I like how when we get to do a tricky job, the conversations and threads from here come back in your head, and often leads to trying something that we never would have known to do from our current level of experience of training.

I agree; there have been quite a few things that I tried because I got exposed to it here...or had been aware it could be done but because I saw folks here pull it off it gave me the confidence to try it (spear cutting limbs is a good example).

The other part of "conversations and threads from here" that "come back in your head" is how they have made me a safer climber..more than once when I was tempted to not take the time to set up the second tie-in when making a cut, or considering a shortcut that could be risky...I remember the folks here and how I'd hate to have to admit I took a shortcut that didn't work. The peer group here is a mighty conscience/presence at times.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I wholeheartedly concur!

 

[SoonerFan]

I remember the folks here and how I'd hate to have to admit I took a shortcut that didn't work. The peer group here is a mighty conscience/presence at times.

So true. Almost like someone is looking over your shoulder. It's a two way street though, I'm sure at times you felt them supporting you and encouraging you!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

So true. Almost like someone is looking over your shoulder. It's a two way street though, I'm sure at times you felt them supporting you and encouraging you!

I totally have felt that up in a tree. How would so and so do this or that... I literally forgot to put my helmet back on after lunch this week on a prune job. It was embarrassing. If there had been a video, I would have posted it just to be put in my place.