I have a few black locust next to my drive reaching end of life. Some are getting mushrooms, and the largest is ~32"DBH. I don't want to take them down cause I really like them there, but I think I'll have to so they come down on my terms, and not destroy anything coming down when /they/ want to. Been debating removal, and figured I'd start with the one closest to the house. It's the smallest of the group, but the one that has the most potential for causing damage as it has a moderate lean towards the house. As a bonus, the squirrels planted a nice white oak below it, so I have a replacement already started. Figured I'd work on it next fall. That'll give me one last chance to see it bloom, and smell the flowers.
My question relates to how much to trust climbing it. My biggest fear is having a section split away in the middle of my lanyard. Aside from the mushrooms, the tree appears as sound as an old locust could be. I've only started to rough in my plan, but I was figuring on setting a line in one of the adjacent trees. I'll need to rig down most of it do to the house lean, with the lowest branch at least needing two lines to swing it away from the house, and ease it down. My concerns are raised as I get higher in the tree. I can minimize the size of the pieces to reduce shock, but that requires getting higher up. My line to the adjacent tree should give an adequate safety, but is it prudent to use a breakaway link on my flipline?
On another forum I was reading debates back and forth on the merits of a breakaway flipline. Both sides made good arguments imo. The against side said it's stupid to have breakaway climbing gear. If you can't trust your gear to do the job, you shouldn't be using it. The for side says it provides a safety factor if things go pear shaped. I'm leaning towards the for side do to the separate line in a different tree. Anyone here have experience with black locust, and any precautions/tips?
My question relates to how much to trust climbing it. My biggest fear is having a section split away in the middle of my lanyard. Aside from the mushrooms, the tree appears as sound as an old locust could be. I've only started to rough in my plan, but I was figuring on setting a line in one of the adjacent trees. I'll need to rig down most of it do to the house lean, with the lowest branch at least needing two lines to swing it away from the house, and ease it down. My concerns are raised as I get higher in the tree. I can minimize the size of the pieces to reduce shock, but that requires getting higher up. My line to the adjacent tree should give an adequate safety, but is it prudent to use a breakaway link on my flipline?
On another forum I was reading debates back and forth on the merits of a breakaway flipline. Both sides made good arguments imo. The against side said it's stupid to have breakaway climbing gear. If you can't trust your gear to do the job, you shouldn't be using it. The for side says it provides a safety factor if things go pear shaped. I'm leaning towards the for side do to the separate line in a different tree. Anyone here have experience with black locust, and any precautions/tips?