G
Gord
Guest
We've been getting a few of these windfirming contracts lately, and as it's not a common thing outside the PNW I thought I post about it. The job is to go along the edge of a logging cutblock and within a strip of specified width (usually 10-15m) thinning or topping each overstorey tree to reduce the likelihood of windthrow. It's also commonly done with a saw on a helicopter longline, depending on the trees and location, the cost of climbers vs helicopters varies. Climbers can do a much more thorough job of a strip compared to a helicopter. In most places it's possible to pendulum from tree to tree with a grappling hook (aka claw), reducing the amount of vertical climbing. It's common to do 7 or 8 hundred vertical (up) feet a day. All climbing is done with spurs.
Some photos:
The middle ten or so trees have been 'firmed', some thinned some topped. The thinning is drastic and concentrated on the upper canopy. It's not for aesthetics! I measured the tree right of center 191'.
Excellent practice for new climbers...start them small. It is actually great experience for newer climbers, many locations have plenty of smaller trees.
Using a claw to transfer.
The grappling hook I use.
At this point the full weight of the climber is on the claw line and if your 'set' fails it's a very nasty swing back to the starting tree. It's often tempting to use a less than ideal set (or one you can't really see) but gravity's a poor sparring partner.
Some of the locations are worth a photo.
A video:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="853" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5EU5a99uhP8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Some photos:

The middle ten or so trees have been 'firmed', some thinned some topped. The thinning is drastic and concentrated on the upper canopy. It's not for aesthetics! I measured the tree right of center 191'.

Excellent practice for new climbers...start them small. It is actually great experience for newer climbers, many locations have plenty of smaller trees.

Using a claw to transfer.


The grappling hook I use.

At this point the full weight of the climber is on the claw line and if your 'set' fails it's a very nasty swing back to the starting tree. It's often tempting to use a less than ideal set (or one you can't really see) but gravity's a poor sparring partner.

Some of the locations are worth a photo.
A video:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="853" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5EU5a99uhP8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>