Longest Fall or Swing

How 'bout a 'fall' from the ground up? Do they count? I got thrown into the air by a cow about ten years ago when I would pour feed into a trough by bucket (I use a auger-feeder on a truck now.) I was pouring the grain, the cows pushing in, and then hearing a far off sounding scream. Guess it was mine and I ended up about 15 feet past where I'd started, luckily on my feet but a bit shook. I'm thinking it was soon after that I started carrying a cell phone when I was out alone.

I was reminded of that when I saw this video just now.
 
I have seen video of rodeo guys thrown like a rag doll. Never happened to me when we had cows, fortunately. I did have some nasty run-ins with mother with a newborn. They can be dangerous, fatal even. I learned to be very cautious till I saw what kind of attitude Mom had.
 
Cool thread.

Slipped off a limb and swung pretty far in a black birch and slammed into the front door of the house. That hurt.

Free climbing up a hickory, a limb I thought was alive broke and I went straight backwards at 25' There were limbs between my ribs and arms and I thought I'll just squeeze my arms in tight to stop falling.Then I hit the ground feet first, squeezing had gotten me vertical from horizontal. The custy saw it and went inside and took some valium. Glad I never free climb anymore.

2 months ago, a small stub (index-finger size) on a red maple spar TD broke and I fell about 8' till climb line got hung on next lower stub. That surprised me.
 
It wasn't a great fall but it was painfull .Cut out on a 45 foot black jack pole .I got a hook back in in probabley 15 -20 foot and when it found purchase it stretched my right leg clear up to my chin ,belt clear up around my under arms .I remember dropping like a rock with the one hook throwing a big long splinter and thinking if it every sticks me in will go right through me .Thank heavens that never happened .Two arms burned up from creosote was about it .

There I was one hook in, bent like a pretzle with the other leg flailing air trying to find the pole looking like an idiot I supoose .I limped around for a couple weeks over that one .

At any rate that episode caused the boss to go to Massilon Ohio and buy a bucket truck before he crippled all his journeymen .
 
gf beranek said:
Cows are so easy going for the most part that you never think much about them attacking you.
Click to expand...

She wasn't 'attacking'....just moving me out of the way so she could get to the food. I've seen them try to move calves that way...just kinda flip them out if they're not theirs or are 'in the way'. When you think that a good sized newborn calf can be 100 pounds, a normal sized human really isn't much to them.

New moms? That's different, nothing to take lightly... :\:
 
I'm like Peter: Just the "odd swing" here and there. I'm always scared though. I just started tying a security knot like Willie and Irish Joe cause I've had too many close ones, and Jerry's story, that I just now read, is giving me the resolve to do it all the time. It's just so easy to space out.
 
had to spike up a 16" blue gum, 30' to the first limbs. just as i reached those limbs i gaffed out. i instinctively bear hugged the tree and slid about 20 feet before i had the presence of mind to stick my gaffs in. luckily euc bark is smooth, but i pulled something in both arms squeezing so hard. another time, i was about twenty feet up in a live oak and had just re-set my tie-in. i didnt dress my knot well (on my clip), and when i leaned back into my rope it came loose. i saw the end of the rope flying past and on reflex alone reached out and grabbed it with less than two inches below my hand. lucky. i now dress all my knots very well. jaime
 
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Porkbrick said:
i didnt dress my knot well (on my clip), and when i leaned back into my rope it came loose. i saw the end of the rope flying past and on reflex alone reached out and grabbed it with less than two inches below my hand. lucky. i now dress all my knots very well. jaime
Click to expand...


WOW!!! Lucky lesson learned! And, as scary as that was, I'll still have to say that you learned it the easy way! Nice going on catching that tail!!!
 
The first time I tried hooks was on an old cracked up cedar utility pole. Went up slow the first time getting the hang of it. I tried doing it speedy the second time. I was jamming them in hard, but hit a big crack. Bear hugging an old splintery pole while sliding down taught me a valuable lesson.
 
gf beranek said:
Cows are so easy going for the most part that you never think much about them attacking you.
Click to expand...

Ever worked with Pigs? I used to as a young man, you would notice them just before feeding time muttering amongst themselves planning something, then you would open the gate and they would rush you, knocking you over spilling the food and stomping all over you, I swear they were laughing.
 
the longest i ever fell was about 2 stories out of a tree when i was about 14 or 15. the tree i was up in was dead in the middle of the tree and didn't know it untill it broke and i hit the ground and broke my right arm and put a 2 inch cut in my right kindey.but now i'm doing good and i watch ever thing i do and plus watch the tree really good now.
 
Several 2" heart attacks from spurring out. Spurred out of a dead elm, fell maybe 8 feet before my lanyard caught me. Several swing backs. Most surprising was in a beech tree. Going from limb to limb trimming line clearance. Grabbed a limb to pull myself onto it and it broke. Felt like a mile was probably 15 feet going crashing back into the base of the tree. I was upside down and cussing!! :D

Most memorable, line clearance again. Big wad of pine removals. They were planted in rows next to the wire. First 2 rows came out. Climb the tree in the back and work the smaller ones closer to the line down. There was 3 of us, 2 in the trees one on the ground. It was slow going with the front trees. Tons of overhang on the front trees. Down to a few left. I think I have a bright idea, Ill climb up into the top of one, 20 feet from my tie in, Crank my climbing line tight and have the other guy cut the top out down below the wires. It worked and was actually a pretty fun swing! Smart no, worked yes.
 
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