sotc
Dormant hero!!
Nothing like this guy!
thattreeguy
TreeHouser
thats funny willie
B
Blinky
Guest
Well, everybody knows he's a commie anyway.
F
Frans
Guest
Totally different scenario. Its the folks who say they don't wear spikes at all that are not 'journeymen' level climbers. IMO.
SkwerI
Treehouser
"I'm not comfortable on spikes" just translates into "I'm a slo mo fo on removals, I hope you're not in a hurry."
:what:
:what:
brendonv
Tree Hugger
I think it's a newb thing. I was very uneasy on spikes at first, now my skinny ass goes up and tops out trees on 4" wood. 
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
My first day in treework, I was in a bucket. My second day, I was strapping on spurs. Withing the first week I'd stabbed myself with the suckers.
Ah, good times... good times.
Ah, good times... good times.
thattreeguy
TreeHouser
i get a lot of out of town climbers that havent ever worn spurs all day,
makes em useless to me
and not marketable as a proffesional climber, imo
makes em useless to me
and not marketable as a proffesional climber, imo
B
Blinky
Guest
How is that totally different? That's pretty much the same thing I said.
B
Bounce
Guest
:roll: Yes Frans, spiking creates wounds that really are bad for trees. This is why we call them wounds and not birthday presents.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
I've spiked up and down a chestnut next to my shop, when learning, since I figured to take out the tree anyway. Wounds now seem to be healing up without affecting the health of the tree....I surmise.
B
Blinky
Guest
The first tree I ever spiked, a large post oak, fell in a storm about 3 years later.
... It had a giant white conk on the root crown though.
... It had a giant white conk on the root crown though.
F
Frans
Guest
If a climber knows when to use them and when not to use them. Thats different then not being able to use them.
F
Frans
Guest
The party line dictates 'no spurring on pruning'. Again, the concept of 'first do no harm' I agree with and follow.
But, I have also seen trees spurred for many many years that have no decay.
So my question, has anyone ever seen a tree die directly related to spurring?
Perhaps it happens more with softwoods? Someone mentioned a willow tree. Or perhaps it is simply related to environmental conditions. A healthy tree with a good growing zone may be able to shrug off the effects more easily.
I think if spurring were so very bad that just about every tree under power wires would be dead by now.
Davy prunes with spurs. Has done so for many many years.
Why are not all those trees dead by now?
I am just asking here and trying to think objectively about this, and not simply chanting the party line about no spurring.
G
Greenhorn
Guest
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #66
Back to climbing sans spurs when thats all you have known - its basically taking your leg muscles out of the picture a bit and using your whole body to get around I figure.
His past habits made him seem a little clingy to whatever lead he was on instead of kicking off stuff and swinging around a bit to get where you are going. More creativity and strategy when you are not capable of squirrel like routes.
Putting together a cheap anchor bridge or extendable bridge for him to try for ascending to get this show on the road.
His past habits made him seem a little clingy to whatever lead he was on instead of kicking off stuff and swinging around a bit to get where you are going. More creativity and strategy when you are not capable of squirrel like routes.
Putting together a cheap anchor bridge or extendable bridge for him to try for ascending to get this show on the road.
B
Blinky
Guest
Did I say I'm not able to use spikes? WTF? I'm fine on spikes, spend hours on'em every week. Sheesh, I was just trying to show a little humility and it gets twisted all to shit.
B
Blinky
Guest
It was a willow OAK, pretty big one - 50"dbh, 90' tall+ with 60 or 70' spread; probably between 50 and 70 years old. A chainsaw killed it but it was condemned due to severe trunk decay radiating from an obvious spike scar.
I don't think spikes kill many trees, but they can, so taking that risk unnecessarily with a customer's trees is unprofessional.
F
Frans
Guest
Did I say I'm not able to use spikes? WTF? I'm fine on spikes, spend hours on'em every week. Sheesh, I was just trying to show a little humility and it gets twisted all to shit.
Try not to get too self centered.
Its not about you.I was speaking generally. Not to you specifically.
I have over the years met a few climbers who swear up and down they can do as good without spurs as climbers with them.
But... when I check them out they seem to have shiny gear and not a lot of muscle build up. That tells me alot about how their skill level- not a professional.
F
Frans
Guest
Thats exactly what i was thinking. 'First do no harm'. Seems professional to me.
But, for example, the isa touted for years to use pruning paint. So I like to think things through objectively.
B
Blinky
Guest
Try not to get too self centered.
I was speaking generally. Not to you specifically.
But that's how I am.
I'd be curious how they'd go about blocking a stem down.
F
Frans
Guest
Thats when the big talk sorta just dies out
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Why's that?
F
Frans
Guest
Bragging at a show or seminar about how good they are and then on the job it all falls apart.
Usually saying something like their saw is not working right or they feel sick that day or some other lame excuse
Usually saying something like their saw is not working right or they feel sick that day or some other lame excuse
Burnham
Woods walker
Any of the 5-needle pines (western white pine, suger pine, whitebark pine) in areas prone to blister rust will likely get fatal bole infections if gaffed. I have seen it with my own two eyes.
On the other hand, I have been instructing spur climbing for over 20 years on a batch of 100 year old Douglas firs at the Dorena site, and instructors before me had been using the same trees for nearly that long. Those trees today are healthy, grow vigorous leaders, and have full deep green crowns. These trees have been spurred more than any prune would ever get...literally thousands of climbs.
Similar threads
