Mellow
BCMA
I'm feeling so inadequate. The biggest tree I've ever climbed and topped was a 120' tulip poplar in New Jersey, and that was way back in 1983. Trees here in Florida rarely reach 100'.
Its been wet, windy and intense. Scaling and topping old growth fir in the wet is no joke.
The provincial park wanted it left at 5metersAmazing Reg. Stupid question, why didn't he cut it at the base? Compromised wood?
I was worrying too about the road. The butt took a five meters fall just on the road's edge. Less chock than a straight fall butt first, but that's still a massive hit.how did the street make out? They can often take a big hit and have little or no damage, but that seems like a huge force, guessing it must have put a 6"-1' dent in the blacktop.
The placement of the two padding logs across the street looked perfect, a little forward roll spread the force out.
No damage, Dan. Would've been a big fine had the road got damaged, so it was a very calculated risk. But otherwise it would have been an aweful lot of hours tied up for me to climb that tree and section it down in the rain....especially bringing the big logs down in shorter sections. And then there the hassle and time involved with the traffic stop/starting in short intervals (this a major highway with no detour). Much easier, quicker and profitable to prep the landing and plan for just one road block of 20 mins....but where only a relatively short section of the tree is actually in the road and needs to be moved. The stack of logs on the left of the road were actually more substantial and carefully placed than what it appears on camera. And consider too that the stem didn't actually fall frome a great height. We did have the tree rigged, although not very high, with a jack underneath the backcut, and lots if wedges at hand. So Falling it the right direction was never in doubt.how did the street make out? They can often take a big hit and have little or no damage, but that seems like a huge force, guessing it must have put a 6"-1' dent in the blacktop.
The placement of the two padding logs across the street looked perfect, a little forward roll spread the force out.
I think the tight grain of these old growth is more favorable than second growth. But its the sheer weigh of the heavy leaners, and the chances of pre existing internal cracks caused by the wind. Theres obviously ways around it like boring or wing cuts, but the key is being able to read the body language in the first place. Martin was expecting to bore out the middle of his undercut, but having got the look and feel of what was inside + the only slightest of lean, he dicided it wasnt necessary. I probably would have bored it anyway, for the couple extra minutes it would take. But his judgment was correct, regardless.That was an awesome response, very much appreciated.
Speaking of the threat of barber chair, how much does doug fir tend to b c? We have a few here but maybe 24"x 70' is typical, as in, small. The thought of B C certainly was in my mind as I watched Martin's monster start to move.