We only get killed untill we learn to do it the right way.
After that, we are ok.
You need someone to teach you the ropes, obviously.
This , unlike normal everyday logging, isn't a field where you can just blunder around and find things out at your own.
My personal teaching tool, when dealing with this kind of stuff is a long thin stick.
That lets me stand out of harms way, mostly, and the beforehand agreement is, when I whack them, it means STOP.
I haven't lost one apprentice yet.
2 years ago we agreed to free cut some 1200 kubic meters of large timber so the harvester could deal with it.
Didn't have the time, but it was an unique opportunity to teach our new guy to deal with free cutting. ( That would be the Danish term :"friskæring", what is it called in US english when "All" you do is cut the fallen trees off from the rootwads.
So nice to see the difference in how he went at it at first and after 2 weeks.
If you are a trained logger and have the right guidance, you can learn to read bind, how extreme it is, and what side is where the danger lies fairly fast.
Yet there is no other part of logging, where I have had as many near misses.
Even for a person with a lot of experience, vigilance is important.
When dealing with the aftermath of the 81 storm, I didn't get into it till late 82 because I was living in California.
By then, all the trees that had no root contact to the ground, were dead/dying and stiff.
If they were in an extreme bend, they just stayed that way when you cut them free. No movement.
Then, in the middle of a bunch of deadish ones, you'd hit one with part of the roots still working...........Bam!
My closest call that year was one of those that came straight up at me. I managed to turn my head, but it tore my helmet off and sent it flying.
Had to sit down for a cup of tea, before I was able to go on.