Climbing News

Out of all the infuriating things that can happen throughout the day at work, the thing that really makes an impression on those cold days is the searing pain that screams from your fingertips when an unwieldy branch lets loose and gives you a good crack across your pinky finger! This is the one of the absolute 'joys' of working outside during the icy Midwest winters. But guess what? For all of you who have been through this same horror, there's an answer for the pain we've all surely endured!'

Have you ever used a chainsaw before? More than likely, yes. Unless you are just doing some very fine ornamental pruning, you have used a chainsaw in your day-to-day work routine! More than likely you use a chainsaw almost all day long for hours on end. The big question is, what type of chainsaw protection are you employing?

To keep moving forward with our month of safety articles and discounted product that we hope will help you stock up on all the safety gear you need, let's take a look at safety glasses and what makes a pair of safety glasses approved for work in the tree care industry. Just because you have a pair of glasses on doesn't mean that they are actually rated for the hazards that we are exposed to while doing tree work. Maybe you picked up a pair of cheapo glasses at the gas station in the morning or you brought in your super high dollar polarized glasses for when you are out on the boat? Are either of these any better than the other at protecting your eyes? Most probably not.

Did you know that 'struck-bys' are the number one cause of injury and death in the tree industry? That means that more and more people are killed every year by branches, logs, or trees falling on them and striking them somewhere on the body or head. That is an awful lot of injuries and deaths that could possibly be reduced or avoided altogether. So what would be the best way to reduce climbing accidents you ask? Protective climbing helmets and effective communication!

Keeping in shape isn't a very hard job for us tree climbers, considering that we are continuously climbing ropes and limbs in trees and moving logs and brush on the ground. This type of daily activity keeps a person in top physical shape, but what happens when the work slows down, like during the winter months for us Midwest climbers? Winter exercise and activity can help keep our bodies in shape while we wait for the warm weather and steady work to come back. Let's take a look at some exercises and different techniques to keep us working at 100% day in and day out!

Have you ever been out on the tips during a limb walk and found it really difficult to get back in? Maybe you were on a dreaded drooping limb walk that ended in a wobbling uncoordinated fight back to the base of the tree? Or perhaps you experienced a mega long limb walk in a 200 year old White Oak that has been reaching for the sun for the last 100 years. Regardless, we may have a technique that could make this whole process a little easier for you!

Let's take a look at one of the most basic, yet most useful tools we have on our side: your work positioning lanyard. Whether you call it a Buck Strap, a Sissy Strap, a Scare Strap, Safety Strap or Lanyard, they all do the same thing; that is keep you safe while climbing trees. Now let's go back a couple years and I'd like to share my own evolution through positioning lanyards and some climbing systems. Hopefully, this can help you choose a lanyard that works for you and how you climb!

I remember having so many questions when I first started climbing. What are all the knots I'm going to need to know? How do I get all the way up there? Will this rope work well for rigging? What's a block? What's a VT? The questions were pretty much endless! The biggest question I had though, had to do with gear. What harness is best for a beginner and what rope should I be using? So I started looking into it, and even back then the results were daunting! No worries, though, because I'm here to tell you where resources for new climbers can be found.

Now-a-days, a new climber must be completely overwhelmed by the amount of gear that is on the market. Through online dealers, as well as the plethora of Facebook and Youtube personalities pushing their favorite gear, it is all a bit much to take in for the fledgling climber that just wants to get their feet off the ground. There has to be a good place to start looking for resources for new climbers, right?

After spending three days of talking with the heads of our industry at one of the biggest tree shows of the year, it has really revived my passion for tree work! The TCIA Expo gets me pumped every year to come back to work and start putting new techniques and different procedures in place at my own company. It also helps me get a great understanding of where other company owners are at with their own companies, as well as getting to ask them questions about how to make my company better! There really is no better place to get so much information under one roof! If you missed the 2017 TCIA Expo, no worries, I've got you covered.