Hassled while climbing in public the other day

B Diggedy

It is what it is..
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
Messages
40
Location
Valley Of the Sun, AZ
What's up guys, thought i'd share a story about my last climb.

Backstory:

To begin, I have a little over 10+ climbs under my belt at the moment. I'm self taught(Tree Climbers Companion), running a Cougar saddle and a basic/minimalist srt and ddrt system. Usually I go to a park up the hill from my house that has a bunch of Oak trees. The trees aren't very tall(low and slow), but appear healthy and structurally sound(from my internet education experience). At this spot I've had no problems with anyone bothering me while climbing aside from a couple old ladies coming up and passively interrogating me while wearing a fake smile. This has happened here and at another (more public) spot by a lady on a segway. Both of which I wrote off as a typical case of "I find this unusual therefore you must be up to no good..". In these instances I took the professional route and explained what i way doing while being friendly, and they went about their biz.
Being bored with the same tree(s), i decided to venture out and find something a bit taller and more spread out so i can work on limb walking and get more comfortable with heights. As it turns out, all the best trees are in the more visible areas in town. So i'm riding around and i find this Cypress tree at another park near an intersection in a busy area of town. There was no reason for foot traffic under this tree unless the person wanted to talk to me, so it was safe in that regard. Though it was very visible from a busy intersection. Ive already researched the laws for my area and the only laws that seems to exist concerning trees is that a permit is required to remove one, so "technically" im legit. Good enough for me.
I throw my throwline, setup my srt and get to ascending. This climb i was using a different prusik cord than usual which kept jamming up on me, making my climb take longer. I should have came down and switched it out but i was already half way up. Upon reaching the lowest branch about 15' up and clipping in my lanyard, i hear an "Excuse me, sir!" from the ground. A city workers walking up, i respond "How's it going?" (must not have heard me) "What's up?". The guy says "I'm gonna need you to come down and remove all your rigging sir.". I then inquire(playing dumb) "Why?". He responds "The only people we have work in trees are the companies contracted with the city", I say "I'm just climbing the tree, i'm not here to work and don't have a saw with me". At this point the dude jumps to "Sir you need to come down or i'm going to call the police". For a split second i consider taking him up on the offer(leaving the tree and asking him to tell them i wish to speak to them), but in the interest of conducting myself as an eventual professional i don't(wise). I then respond "Very well sir, it's going to take a few minutes tho", "Yea, man. I checked the laws and the only thing i could find about trees it that a permit is needed to remove. Is there a law against just climbing?". The guy couldn't answer and went on a spiel about insurance and city liability etc yadayada. I was polite this whole time and asked if he knew where i could find more information on the laws. He didnt really know anything aside from that "i couldn't climb", he gave me a card when i finally came down and he left when i started to pack up. Overall a positive ending. I figured this could happen but decided to deal with it when it happened, and it did. What sux though is i was just getting settled into my adrenaline and couldnt wait to see the view from the top. Ill post a pic of the spot later tonight so yall can be like "What! you went to climb there!?". it was pretty obvious :lol:
 
Been there a few times. Actually more than a few. Don't fret it. For the most part it just amounts to a slap on the wrist.

In these matters, from my experience, it is better to ask for forgiveness that for permission. Because in the latter case it is generally never granted. There are exceptions and I have been granted access to climb trees on private property. Usually a waiver of liability is required to be signed by both parties and everybody is happy after that.

Have fun and be careful!!
 
Good thread!

Yea, nobody's gonna give you permission to put yourself in a potentially liable situation. Next time just tell him you're on a cat rescue mission or even let him call the cops. I highly doubt they will cart you off to jail.
 
A judge one time told a park ranger, "Tree Climbing!!! I have more important things on my dockets to hear than stuff like this! Don't you ever bring a case into my court again unless you can prove damages and wrong doing. Case dismissed. Not guilty!!" Oh, that ranger was pissed. He failed to present evidence of damage to the trees. Like he cited us for. So, no evidence no case. A great victory for us tree climbers!!
 
The flip side of the coin is: what happens if you / Joe Somebody is rec climbing a tree on municipal property, and for whatever happenstance, you fall and are severely injured / killed.
You / your relatives sue said municipality. (of course, this would never happen, right?!!!)
I was staggered to hear how much $$$ of tax coffers for our Town (20,000 pop.) goes to pay for the insurance premiums. Can't remember how much, but it was literally in the millions.
Used to know a fellow who dived off of a dock at a public park and ended up a paraplegic. Sandbar got him.
I think it was a costly settlement...
 
It's a strong argument. I'll agree with that. Times are much different today in such matters. Rock climbing, base jumping and such extreme sports were illegal in many parks years ago. Today they are allowed in most. Sign a waiver and bet your life.
 
B Diggety: That sucks man, sorry to hear about that. By the way man, you're going to do really well as a working arborist--if that's even your goal. Man, at the company that I work for, we'd kill to get our hands on any new-guy who hat that kind of incentive.
 
B Diggety: That sucks man, sorry to hear about that. By the way man, you're going to do really well as a working arborist--if that's even your goal. Man, at the company that I work for, we'd kill to get our hands on any new-guy who hat that kind of incentive.

:thumbup:
 
....my standard answer to questions from strangers on the ground is "Go frig yourself" ...has brought varied answers / results....maybe it's Snowmaker training affecting the rest of my life but when climbing I just don't want to hear static
 
I always kept a cool head when confronted by people who seen our activities as wrong. Even 40 years ago. Those nay-sayers were always the exception. By far, more people were curious and interested in what we were doing.
 
Be polite, be professional. Ive found that 90 percent of the time just looking like you know what you are doing keeps most problems at bay. Im in santa cruz, hit me up if you want to climb! And the company i work for is hiring:/:.
 
...I love the scene you have on video where you are questioned by the chap who was an author / expert on Redwoods. He asked you about written permission ...you guys wound up chatting about the Tree itself , direct measurement ect....very COOl....
 
....my standard answer to questions from strangers on the ground is "Go frig yourself" ...has brought varied answers / results....maybe it's Snowmaker training affecting the rest of my life but when climbing I just don't want to hear static

Ha hahah. I know the attitude and a quick response is Key. "What did you just say?", I said," Are you by yourself?"
I've used it plenty and it really changes the line of questioning.
 
Dave has a point. B Diggedly, you handled yourself well. Though that official may have not known the laws, and perhaps not the best communicator, in a decent enough manner he also may have been doing what he considered his job. It's the ones that really seem to want to throw their weight around that can get your hackles up. Learning how to deal with the former can also help teach how to deal with the latter. I had a strong tendency to get upset at people that strongly complain at road closures, but after observing how some longer experience mates handle it, I keep the heat down and try to be professional, not cause a scene. I find it easier on my own brain with that approach as well, and still get to think what I like in private. That isn't to say that being stern might not be required as well, like with the doctor that didn't like the closure, with his car intentionally ran into the small table where I was eating my lunch. WTF in spades...
 
I try and stick with private property myself unless I feel I can Ninja climb it.
But then I have a huge assortment of clients and trees to choose from. ;)
 
Start offering to deadwood there trees and you will have plenty of places to climb.
 
Human nature is drama. People suck (No one here) :D. Next time bring poo up there and throw it at him like a monkey on a zoo. Then tell him I pay taxes, I own a piece of this tree so piss off or eat doodoo. Just saying.
 
Back
Top