yesterday i was removing a group of dead thuja occidentalis on an old cemetery above old and brittle gravestones.
there was an oak tree very close that would have been perfect for a rigging point and tie in. i decided that it wasnt necessary.
i spiked up the straightest and most sound looking thuja and on the way up i noticed the branches were quite snappy and thought „its more dead than i thought“ but i didnt change my plan accordingly. i roped down a couple of tops myself (while rigging the tops i tied in to different thujas) and installed a block (i used a block because the pieces were rather light and a ring wouldve been too much friction with the portawrap) in the straightest and my tip above it.
now that the tops were gone i felt more secure with my spar.
than i started roping down some stem wood (25cm 2,5 m long/1 1/2 wraps on the portawrap), the groundie let it run almost to the ground and just before it hit a gravestone he stoped it a little bit abrupt. but not terrible.
i than disconnected my lanyard and swung over to my spar to spike up and rig another piece but noticed the area that cracked. i disconnected from my climb line, informed the ground crew and slowly spiked down. the spar above the crack was wobbling in a very sketchy fashion.
after a discussion/safety meeting with all coworkers, i installed the rigging system and tip in the oak and we were able to finish the job safely.
i see a lot of red flags and things that i could‘ve done in a different way to change the outcome. it is still very fresh and i am very grateful that i am alive and well and able to learn from this.
friedrich
there was an oak tree very close that would have been perfect for a rigging point and tie in. i decided that it wasnt necessary.
i spiked up the straightest and most sound looking thuja and on the way up i noticed the branches were quite snappy and thought „its more dead than i thought“ but i didnt change my plan accordingly. i roped down a couple of tops myself (while rigging the tops i tied in to different thujas) and installed a block (i used a block because the pieces were rather light and a ring wouldve been too much friction with the portawrap) in the straightest and my tip above it.
now that the tops were gone i felt more secure with my spar.
than i started roping down some stem wood (25cm 2,5 m long/1 1/2 wraps on the portawrap), the groundie let it run almost to the ground and just before it hit a gravestone he stoped it a little bit abrupt. but not terrible.
i than disconnected my lanyard and swung over to my spar to spike up and rig another piece but noticed the area that cracked. i disconnected from my climb line, informed the ground crew and slowly spiked down. the spar above the crack was wobbling in a very sketchy fashion.
after a discussion/safety meeting with all coworkers, i installed the rigging system and tip in the oak and we were able to finish the job safely.
i see a lot of red flags and things that i could‘ve done in a different way to change the outcome. it is still very fresh and i am very grateful that i am alive and well and able to learn from this.
friedrich
