I learned a lesson today.

CoreyYLTG said:
It won't be anything that nice LOL. I'm leaning towards 2005ish brush bandit 250XPs. Not the biggest chipper out there but would be perfect for what kind of work I typically do.
Click to expand...

Heh. A 250xp with any of the motor options in the higher hp range(mine had 140hp Deere) are a seriously capable machine imo. I regularly fed mine with a mini-skid/BMG grapple combo and it would devour anything that could fit in the opening.
 
They seem to be. One of the companies I sub for has one and it is very impressive for what it is, as is the dogged out beater that I rent from time to time. I just need to cut a few more trees down and I'll get one.
 
theTreeSpyder said:
I'd always want to take 1 lead man with me when climbing for someone else as a standard part of cost.
Click to expand...

100%, that way anyone in a similar situation could invest in the comms system and its a win/win outcome for everyone involved. I was going to suggest exactly that but I think Corey doesn't see himself working this way for much longer.
 
Yup, last season of this, and I mean it this time! I bought too many trucks and too much gear to back out now. Only stuff I'm lacking at this point is a chipper and mini skid loader, which will come in time for sure.
 
Chris E said:
Hey Tim,

I think that situation was my fault and that the guy was doing what I would expect him to however we did agree to shift it down a gear pace wise after that. As is often the case there was various factors combined including the jobsite. If I had a permanent crew I wouldn't hesitate to splash out on a comms system & helmets.
Click to expand...

You're a good man, Chris. All anyone can do is make note of problems and try to make changes when it seems necessary. New procedures suggest themselves at times like that. Thanks for your answer.

Tim
 
Near Miss or Non Injury Accident
I was watching the setup before a climbing competition early in the morning. A volunteer was preparing a tree and when he was ready to come down he set up a retrievable canopy anchor to descend SRT from about 60 feet. He tied a midline loop and ran the working end through the loop but when he dropped both ends down the retrieval end was way too short. He changed the location of the loop and had to pull the end up again to run it through the loop. Still 10-15 feet from the ground! A competitor was passing buy and the volunteer called down: “Will I be able to reach the retrieval end from the ground?” The competitor called back: “How long is your lanyard? Tie your lanyard to the short rope on the way down.” The climber descended and discovered that the short rope was really the working end. Dropped the last 10 feet and landed on his feet unhurt. A judge saw the sudden landing and talked to him briefly and then everyone went back to business as usual.
My big question was why I did not warn him. He descended slowly and I had plenty of time to think about it. I did not know for sure. I did have a bad feeling in my gut which I did not trust. I kept thinking as an inexperienced recreational climber I must be wrong. These guys are all experienced pros and they know what they are doing. Ultimately I did not want to piss him off or seem foolish warning him if my gut was wrong. My lesson: looking stupid is better than living with knowing someone could have been hurt because I did not say anything.
 
Experienced climber or rookie, were all humans. If someone is doing something wrong tell them to stop. If you're wrong about what it is that looked dangerous, who cares. If that guy gets annoyed at another person showing concern for him, then he's a douche and should be told to get bent. But don't let concern over your experience level ever stop you from speaking up. Our bones all break the same.
 
That's a rookie move...
1) not knitting the rope end on a questionable descent
2) not watching the rope end


I watched a climber almost fall 60' at a comp where I was the in-tree tech.

People have died at tcc's... At least one.
 
I'm not sure if I followed the situation correctly. Personal SOP is rope goes through my one hand behind and below my butt while other hand does the lowering, unless one hand is disabled. Not really practical when bombing down though.
 
If nothing else your question might slow someone down enough to really think it out...that little voice you hear is niggling at you because something didn't seem exactly right. We may not always know exactly what at the time but slower analysis might find it.

Most things that people do in a hurry do not have to be done in a hurry...it is a choice. I've gotten hurt several times not taking the time to slow down and take a different approach.
 
Raj said:
I'm not sure if I followed the situation correctly. Personal SOP is rope goes through my one hand behind and below my butt while other hand does the lowering, unless one hand is disabled. Not really practical when bombing down though.
Click to expand...





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Peter,
That sounds like a good practice. I don't always bring my brake hand all the way behind me but always do have a brake hand while the other one releases the hitch. Honestly I was not paying attention if this climber had a hand on rope below his device or not. (Or even what device. He had his back to me blocking my view. I think it was a wrench and he was working the wrench with one hand and the hitch with the other) He was definitely not bombing or that surprise at the end would have been much harder.


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Tucker943 said:
Experienced climber or rookie, were all humans. If someone is doing something wrong tell them to stop. If you're wrong about what it is that looked dangerous, who cares. If that guy gets annoyed at another person showing concern for him, then he's a douche and should be told to get bent. But don't let concern over your experience level ever stop you from speaking up. Our bones all break the same.
Click to expand...

Tucker 943,
I agree completely. I wish I had known that then.
Eric


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SeanKroll said:
That's a rookie move...
1) not knitting the rope end on a questionable descent
2) not watching the rope end


I watched a climber almost fall 60' at a comp where I was the in-tree tech.

People have died at tcc's... At least one.
Click to expand...

SeanKroll,
Honestly, I still don't put a stopper knot on my rope very often, but this accident is the perfect reason to do it religiously. Actually with this retrievable canopy hitch both ends need knots in case of confusion. And yes climber never looked at the rope behind him as he approached the end.
I suppose sometimes the rope is too short for both ends to reach the ground but in this case there was plenty of rope on real retrieval end. He just could not get his midline loop in the right place after two tries and did not want to pull the end up again.

How did the climber you were watching almost fall 60 feet? I am very curious and I am sure I could learn from that situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
pantheraba said:
If nothing else your question might slow someone down enough to really think it out...that little voice you hear is niggling at you because something didn't seem exactly right. We may not always know exactly what at the time but slower analysis might find it.

Most things that people do in a hurry do not have to be done in a hurry...it is a choice. I've gotten hurt several times not taking the time to slow down and take a different approach.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with all of this. I still don't know why I had that little voice telling me something was wrong but it was there. As to feeling rushed: I can imagine the TCC volunteer was frustrated that he could not get his TIP situated so both ends reached the ground after two attempts. I had been thinking that if he had a biner or Quickie or maillon rapide he would not have needed to pull up the end each time. It just occurred to me that if he had an alpine butterfly (even with no metal connector) he could have undressed it to be loose and then moved it along the rope without pulling the end back through. (Might need to do something to support the weight of the two ends hanging down to make that happen) (I am wearing out my parentheses but moving the AB along the length of the rope is something I saw on a industrial rope access video for a rope to rope transfer. They need to have two simultaneous back up devices so they loosen and scoot the AB knot along as the second backup device. )
Also have been thinking of ways to check which end is short from the top. Pull the rope and look down to see which is moving?


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Eric H-L said:
SeanKroll,
Honestly, I still don't put a stopper knot on my rope very often, but this accident is the perfect reason to do it religiously. Actually with this retrievable canopy hitch both ends need knots in case of confusion. And yes climber never looked at the rope behind him as he approached the end.
I suppose sometimes the rope is too short for both ends to reach the ground but in this case there was plenty of rope on real retrieval end. He just could not get his midline loop in the right place after two tries and did not want to pull the end up again.

How did the climber you were watching almost fall 60 feet? I am very curious and I am sure I could learn from that situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

He was changing climbing systems. He didn't test and confirm his new system would hold him before disconnecting from his proven system. He thought he had a knot as bight... He had a slip knot.
 
Personal SOP is rope goes through my one hand behind and below my butt while other hand does the lowering,
Click to expand...
Partly under my left thigh, for me, rubbing against the leg strap of my saddle (that's to avoid wearing out my chainsaw pants). This allows more friction than the glove alone to slow the moving rope. And it lessens the heat in my hand too.
 
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