Climbing News

Another year, another Tree Jam Camp!! As someone who has attended it from its inception it's been awesome to watch the transition from a one day competition in a small Port Huron Park to a three day event at a beautiful beachside camp. What started as a fun and low key competition has gradually morphed over the years into a low key tree family reunion. Yes, it's still a competition of sorts, but that's not the main purpose. The main purpose of Tree Jam Camp always has been and always will be camaraderie.

If you've ever watched an established tree company work, you might assume it started out exactly the same way you are seeing it today: established. That probably couldn't be further from the truth. The amount of times I've heard an owner of a tree service say he or she started with nothing more than a pick-up truck and a saw has happened more times than I can remember.

For those of you that have been using a Tree Motion harness since it was originally released, you know exactly how awesome this harness is! The Tree Motion (TM) was designed with the movement of the climber in mind and combines things like a wide back pad for comfort and a longer rope bridge that is attached between the legs and hips, creating an amazing amount of movement, all in a neat package!

As you probably already know, being in the Tree Industry is high risk, but high reward. It's actually rated the #1 most dangerous job in the USA. It can also be costly to start up and maintain, but again, the rewards are also high.

If you're looking for a vacation that also serves as a tree lover destination you can pull into this park and be in instant and unmatched awe! Sequoia National Park is full of simply breathtaking, unbelievable trees that reach to the sky at heights most of us have never seen before!

Have you ever thought about all the gear that you use on a daily basis? Have you thought about the harness that you put on everyday or the biners that get beat up at the bottom of your gear bag? How about some of the stuff that is your 'go to' gear that is surely getting used and, more than likely, slightly abused day-after-day? We want to give a huge shout out to all that under-appreciated gear that keeps holding tons of weight or makes your day easier without you ever giving it a second thought. Here's to you, lowly, under-appreciated gear!

If you read our other blog post about some of the most under-appreciated gear that we use daily, then you know how much boots take a beating without a second thought. Our boots help keep our feet warm in the winter and keep our feet dry through the wet spring, and all we do is keep walking them through mud and whatever else nasty we come across daily! On top of that we wedge them into crotches that pull and prod at their soles, trying to tear them from the very foot bed that makes them comfortable! We figured if we were going to beat on the boots all day long, then we should write a blog post on caring for your boots as well!

We continue our interview series with a discussion with Sara, who provides a woman's perspective on the tree climbing industry.

Bartlett:
So tell us who you are and how long you have been in the tree climbing industry:

Sara:

My name is Sara and I've been a tree trimmer officially since March of 2017. I started on the (IBEW Local 17) property in Nov, 2016.

Bartlett:
What do you like most about being in the tree industry?

Sara:'

I love being outside. I like the freedom and that everything is a challenge. It's something you can't study for. You have to go out and do it. It's always working your brain; it's not just manual labor or brute force.

I like that trees are all over the world and the service we provide is something that's always going to be needed.

How many times have you wanted to start a job, but the day before it rains? Or what about those times when the frost just started leaving the ground and every single yard you try to work in is a sinkhole? Or lastly, the dread of working in the yard with the perfect landscaping that you don't dare make one divot in the lawn? These are all situations that we, as tree company owners and employees, find ourselves in day in and day out! One of the best investments you can make when it comes to these problems is a bunch of Alturna Mats!