The Official Random Video Thread!

[Mick!]

It’s interesting, I’m sure that techniques used migrate over to the real working environment.
I am sure those guys make a decent buck doing it as well.
I watched a climbing comp once, really skillful guys getting around a tree really quickly, lightfooting it to the end of branches to ring a bell.
Its not real work, but it’s thereabouts.

 

[Burnham]

The gaff rigs that spur climbing competitors use are nothing like what a working climber has. Very specialized, and worthless to work from. Pivoting spurs mounted nearer to the toes, usually.

 

[Kaveman]

Most spur comps require you to get up as fast as you can. On the way down, both gaffs must "spike" (read:contact) the spar in each designated section, which is why most of the poles have a stripe or two on them.

The nature of the poles being climbed also raises a point: its closer to lineman work than arborculture/logging. The poles are barkless, hard, and dry, nothing like the living equivalent.

 

[Knotorious]

Tree climbing competitions, for me, are much more fun to watch than timber sports. At least tree climbing competitions take actual tasks that actual arborists and tree climbers perform on the job and merely transform those tasks into relatable sports.

As @Mick! said, while tree competitions aren't synonymous with actual tree work, the skills required to compete successfully in a tree climbing competition are almost always acquired originally on the job and then further honed for competition. Is it really necessary to climb at the high precision, high speed, high octane level seen in tree climbing comps? Absolutely not. But it looks like a TON of fun and it impresses me.

Timber sports, on the other hand, don't excite me as much because they aren't competing in actual trees nor using as many arborist style climbing techniques. I've seen timber sports steaming live recently and got bored after 5 minutes of watching guys balance on logs in pools of water or compete by cutting logs into thin discs with highly modified chainsaws that sounded like they had jet engines. That, to me, is pure silliness and a bit of a snooze-fest. *yawn*

 

[Nutball]

 

[Knotorious]

This is one of the best, most entertaining and rewarding pieces of content that I've watched in a very long time. It's fast paced, fascinating, hilarious, and listening to this scammer's reaction when he sees his bank account drained, while expecting to be receiving a transfer from the guy, is unbelievably satisfying.

 

[Treeaddict]

More crazy risk taking from these base jumpers...

I love how he has no stopper knot. *sarcasm* I guess if you're wearing a parachute it's optional. Pretty sure box cutters and parachutes don't mix.

And this is why I am not concerned about my 24 strand lanyard that has a few compromised exterior strands.

 

[Knotorious]

And this is why I am not concerned about my 24 strand lanyard that has a few compromised exterior strands.

As long as the sheath isn't damaged to where the core of the rope is visible, the rope will typically still maintain most or all of its structural integrity and strength. If you, for example, have some strands on your sheath that are abraded, but not fully severed/cut, then that usually isn't a big deal. Even if you have some sections where maybe one or two sheath strands are fully cut, it would be something you would want to monitor during your inspections, and the rope would still be climb-safe. However, this would only apply to ropes with 24-48 strand sheaths, or covers (whatever you want to call them).

In other words, if you are climbing on a 12-strand rope and you have two completely cut strands...well, then you would probably want to retire that rope or cut away that section or isolate the damaged area by tying an Alpine Butterfly, with the damaged region in the center of the resulting loop of the knot. This is a popular method for isolating "core shots" in ropes among rock climbers and alpinists, and it allows a climber to continue using the full length of the rope safely. A climber would simply have to pass that knot during an ascent/descent, which is bit of an inconvenience, but it's better than cutting your rope and perhaps finding out that you now don't have enough length to make it up or down a vertical section.