Tree felling vids

Aw, come on!

No, I'm not signing up for Facebook.

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:( hate to say it, I think that was another example of knowing just enough to get yourself killed
 
I remember reading and watching the DVD of the art and science of practical rigging. At the end of one of them it had a dedication to the author who had died in a similar accident when a lump hit a hollowed out stem and it crumpled like a kinked pipe.

Terrible way to go.
 
Sounds like it was lightning in a conifer. Little Googling.

Big picture, compromised tree, poor work plan/ communication including inexperienced groundie/ foreman (as best I can tell)...a set of circumstances/ choices that cost him his life, sadly.






I self-lower as much as possible. Simplier and faster as well as safer IMO for me. Big wood, can't do it the same.

I never let anyone on the ground steer the wheel when I'm behind the driver's seat, as much as people will try.
 
There is a bit more detail to this story. (Not the video,the lightning struck tree Rich is talking about)

This was not an inexperienced climber,definitely a series of poor choices that led up to this devastating catastrophe...
 
Surely lots more.

Having a good roper is gold.

Being able to free the groundies up has its perks.

Catching limbs and wood could be a high point of the day for a groundie, and it could be nerve wracking and dangerous, all depending.

I'm happy for the Rig-n-Wrench, but need some 'beta' on a good rope to use. 1/2" stable braid was too resistant. A tag line for the groundie can help land stuff, and be needed if the piece is too light to pull itself through the RnW.
 
Rumor on the buzz is this fellow lived. Pete did not. Both show what can happen. One reason I have no problem ripping in to a ropeman when he doesn't let it run. Spar failure is one of my top fears. Causes me to climb higher, rig smaller, and look for other options. I don't like seeing these posts but they need to be read.
 
Rich: Yeah... If I lived where you lived... God knows I'd have to do a LOT more riggin, and I HATE riggin. Sketchy, stupid, inexact pseudo-science which I detest. Being that we have to do it from time to time (well... you guys gotta do it every other day.)... rig small er not at all.

Sean: Good comments.
 
Sounds like it was lightning in a conifer. Little Googling.

Big picture, compromised tree, poor work plan/ communication including inexperienced groundie/ foreman (as best I can tell)...a set of circumstances/ choices that cost him his life, sadly.






I self-lower as much as possible. Simplier and faster as well as safer IMO for me. Big wood, can't do it the same.

I never let anyone on the ground steer the wheel when I'm behind the driver's seat, as much as people will try.

This was one of the biggest factors in me getting my first bucket truck with a material handler. The absolute worst part of my job as a climber was having to depend on some half wit on the ground to safely rig down a tree, all while he tried to kill me in new and imaginative ways on a daily basis. I've had my lifeline pitched into the chipper, I've had a chipper backed up under me while in a tree and throttled up full blast with the exhaust blowing in my face and having to hold my rope. I've had rigged limbs locked off and swung back into me when there was 40-50 feet of open space between me and the ground. I've been shaken off my gaffs and paddle balled against the trunk. Never again!

My rule for any rope man is that the climber's life comes first, property comes second and laying the piece down to make the ground crew's job easier is third. That is your order of priorities.
 
I did forward that to most of the guys I work with. Even though it's the weekend, most have responded with "holy shit! Now we know why you yell about that kinda stuff"
And that's the way my crew see's it. Climber #1,property #2, and ease on ground crew#3. I make their job easy when I can and they take the abuse when I need them to.
 
This was one of the biggest factors in me getting my first bucket truck with a material handler. The absolute worst part of my job as a climber was having to depend on some half wit on the ground to safely rig down a tree, all while he tried to kill me in new and imaginative ways on a daily basis. I've had my lifeline pitched into the chipper, I've had a chipper backed up under me while in a tree and throttled up full blast with the exhaust blowing in my face and having to hold my rope. I've had rigged limbs locked off and swung back into me when there was 40-50 feet of open space between me and the ground. I've been shaken off my gaffs and paddle balled against the trunk. Never again!

My rule for any rope man is that the climber's life comes first, property comes second and laying the piece down to make the ground crew's job easier is third. That is your order of priorities.

Can't help but smile at those descriptions... we've all been there .... Bucket is a game changer (maybe the reason I can smile now is because I use the bucket), and so are the radios... It s amazing what you can talk a new man on the ropes through, on his first day, with the radios!
 
Since we are in the "shit hits the fan", there's an other scary one. It has a better ending hopefully.
For those who don't understand german, like me, action begins at 1'35.
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