Spiking....

[MasterBlaster]

I would have needle sharp gaffs.

 

[rumination]

The swiss tree climbers are what I used on the royal palms. They work fine but are really a pain to use. We had a grove of royals at the Arboretum that was close to 100' tall. Every time I walked through there I thought about going up one of the tallest ones, but never got past the thought of using the swiss tree climbers.

 

[MasterBlaster]

If I was gonna be that freaked out by it, then I would simply take a double wrap with my lanyard and slowly blunder my way to the top.

FTR, I've never done that yet.

 

[Wagnaw]

Would it help to have your climbing line with a running bowline with your lanyard? Or would a running bowline just slide down too?

 

[MasterBlaster]

It would work, but it would be even slower.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Would strap type flip line for pole work possibly work better for palms ? Smooth surface?

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

no they seem to make you slide faster

 

[MasterBlaster]

I say no.

 

[SkwerI]

Yup, let's take the yanqui's advice on climbing palm trees.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm with Butch on taking a wrap with the flipline.

But I would never do that otherwise.

Yup, let's take the yanqui's advice on climbing palm trees.

Hey, I'm no x spert on palms.

Whut's a yanqui?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

It was just a thought that popped into my head.. Flip line twice round is very secure.

 

[MasterBlaster]

But slow and stoopid.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

And never gonna happen in my immediate future as I don't, or at least, have not done palms.....

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

If you're ever asked, decline and walk... NO! Run away!!!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

This I do understand. And since I doubt they would even grow up here... Palm trimming, should hopefully, never be proposed.... I probably would refer it out

 

[Koa Man]

Every place has some kind of tree that is a pain to climb. I for one would not climb those big redwoods. It is not the height that would bother me, its working my way up a fat trunk trying to flip my line up. I would like to be taken above the tree in a helicopter, rappel down into the top, enjoy the view and then come down.

I don't like working big trees. Too much rope to pull and I hate using big rear handle saws in a tree. I like trees that my MS200T with a 16" bar can handle.

 

[thattreeguy]

palms are a wicked creature,
i love them, but they can be scary
they wiggle, they jiggle, and lean all over the place,
i never wory about a jiggly palm, its the one thats rigid that always concerns me
ive doubled my lanyard around some of them so it bites down on itself if you were to de gaff, but its slow i only do this on bad leaners
i like to run to the top as fast as i can, i use my wire core lanyard or my big 3 strand for climbing them, i can move over the old husks faster than with a pole strap,
i do carry a false crotch and have my split tail tied b 4 i go up a big mexican fan palm with full skirt,
that way when i get to the degrading areas that are ready to fall, i can set a bailout point and work without worry.
My friend Santos died a few years back in a palm, sad and unnecessary, no other climbers on site, the guy was only 20 to 30 ft from the ground, and about 18 ft of fronds slid down on him, folded him over and suffocated him, the sad thing is no one had the balls to climb up the husks and cut him free, and that he lacked in that the co. owner did not strive to teach the latest info
even worse, it was a removal that could have been dropped, if they knew how to use wedges,
hindsite doesnt bring him back though
i used to do palms with him when i was a kid, paid by the tree, palms in groups paid $6.ea and singles paid $8. ea
dry rotted, or kinked got $10 bonus per tree, used to do those till i broke one in corona del mar, landed in the sherman library and gardens roof,
ended a summer for me,
a guy died in henderson nevada last week in a palm
stay safe

 

[Tucker943]

Palms sound like MoFo's!

 

[thattreeguy]

yeah
but they sure are fun to swing around in, get to the top and start to lean right then left, the tree will follow, do it aggresively and you sway 4 to 6 ft either direction.....my buddy used to love that, drove the boss nuts

 

[Burnham]

Another good exercise is to climb gaffs only (no lanyard) with a lifeline for safety. I start every tree that way and go until I'm either skeered or tired, then I lanyard in. It helps you learn to get around big boles and stuff where a lanyard is awkward, It also tunes you into subtle changes in lean... just keep your slack tended.

Learning to trust your spikes will speed you up without adding any extra risk.

Now this makes no sense to me at all...not to be an azz about it, sorry .

Climbing well on spurs is all about lanyard technique; avoiding learning how to use them is counter-productive, in my view.

Might be because I never spur climb with a lifeline...always alternate lanyard technique. Why climb with spurs at all if you have to take the time to place and isolate a climb line too?

Old school coming out here .

 

[stehansen]

If I'm going to climb the Washingtonia with a large skirt, the tree has to be where I think I can get a rope over the top.

 

[rumination]

My friend Santos died a few years back in a palm, sad and unnecessary, no other climbers on site, the guy was only 20 to 30 ft from the ground, and about 18 ft of fronds slid down on him, folded him over and suffocated him, the sad thing is no one had the balls to climb up the husks and cut him free, and that he lacked in that the co. owner did not strive to teach the latest info
even worse, it was a removal that could have been dropped, if they knew how to use wedges,
hindsite doesnt bring him back though
i used to do palms with him when i was a kid, paid by the tree, palms in groups paid $6.ea and singles paid $8. ea
dry rotted, or kinked got $10 bonus per tree, used to do those till i broke one in corona del mar, landed in the sherman library and gardens roof,
ended a summer for me,
a guy died in henderson nevada last week in a palm
stay safe

Washingtonia palms seem to take a serious death toll every year. It's really sad and unnecessary. Sounds like you had a pretty hairraising experience yourself, through a roof!

Probably about 80% of the climbing accidents I heard about in Hawaii involved coconut palms. Usually the top breaking out with the climber in it. Or maybe those were just the most dramatic stories...

 

[MasterBlaster]

Climbing well on spurs is all about lanyard technique; avoiding learning how to use them is counter-productive, in my view.

 

[Blinky]

Now this makes no sense to me at all...not to be an azz about it, sorry .

Climbing well on spurs is all about lanyard technique; avoiding learning how to use them is counter-productive, in my view.

Might be because I never spur climb with a lifeline...always alternate lanyard technique. Why climb with spurs at all if you have to take the time to place and isolate a climb line too?

Old school coming out here .

First, nothing I do should be expected to make sense, that's my privilege and I'm gonna stick with it.

But I wouldn't feel right if I didn't give you my best answer so, two things...

One, I learned to climb on rock. Hands and feet only, rope for a hold is off limits. I adapted to tree climbing from that. I naturally use my hands and feet a lot to climb.

Two, I climb mostly residential hardwoods, big spreading oaks, tulips and sweetgums with the occasional batch of pines (tiny by your standards). I spend a LOT more time going laterally than vertically.

I learned to spike alt lanyard style without a lifeline on pines. But in wide canopies with off center tie-ins, it can be awkward or even impossible for me to go out a limb with a lanyard. But a lot of the time I can use my hands instead and it's easier... like staying on top of a lean or pulling my way out to tips.

I didn't start setting lifelines for spiking until I read about it on here. I thought everybody just flipped up until they reached a TIP. After I started setting lifelines I realized it was quicker if I just spiked up, sliding my ascenders as I went. I didn't avoid using a lanyard but the less I used it on the initial ascent, the faster i went... and I'm really slow so that was a good thing.

Just to drag this out further, lately I've taken to footlocking into the tree when the TIP allows and putting on the spikes after I'm up. Today, I did two... OK, one and a half takedowns without spikes at all. The first one, I wish I'd used spikes, it was all vertical... made me tired. The second one though, was a 45"+ red oak with two thirds of the canopy over targets. I had to walk every long horizontal lead on that tree, it would have sucked with spikes on... plus, I got to wear shorts.

To me, climbing without a lanyard is another tool in the box, plus it's got the rock climbing feel that I like.

Yet again it's a case of... you're right, I'm just weird.
Like I said, abnormality is a privilege of my advanced age.

 

[Stumper]

Chip, No. Abnormality is a reflection of your advanced eccentricity.