There was an
interesting article in Saturday's
Rocky about recreational tree climbing
. As a professional arborist who makes his living hanging around in trees with a chainsaw in my hand, I found it pretty interesting.
It is a good article, written by Brian Metzler. I recommend it for anyone interested.
I've been aware of the interest in climbing trees for sport for awhile now, and even considered doing some classes to teach the basic skills involved. That idea was shelved by the simple demands of keeping up with MY climbing!
I have, however, taught a number of people to climb over the years. They usually fall into two categories; the TREEhuggers and the treeHUGGERS.
The TREEhuggers love trees and absolutely love the experience. Several of them have moved on to become arborists. The treeHUGGERS, on the other hand, are terrified. You can see it in their eyes. They hug that tree like no tomorrow. They usually end up as a ground person or in a different line of work.
As Brian's article notes, looking at a tree from the top down is a whole lot different than from the ground up! It helps if you aren't afraid of heights. It also brings out the kid in all of us and provides a great workout. You can have your home trainers and rec centers, just give me a big ol' tree to climb!
It really is an indescribable experience to be up in the top of a big pine tree just a swingin', so to speak.
Early in my career I was hired to prune out the ponderosa pines on a beautiful property in Castle Pines Village. This home sits along the golf course and contains some of the largest, grandest pines around. It was one of my biggest jobs to date and took about a week to do.
On the last day, in the last tree, a winter storm blew in. There I was, 60 or so feet up in this massive pine, with the wind blowing and the snow coming down. It was awesome!
I remember to this day pausing from my work long enough to look around, feel the movement of this giant I was tied onto, and just experience the moment.
Another time I was hired to remove part of a stand of large (as in huge) aspens from a building site up near Vail. The trees were on a slope, and the only way to drop them where I needed them was to climb each tree, tie off a rope, and pull them over. This went on all day.
About sunset the wind picked up and the sun broke out from some clouds. I remember being up in one of the last trees to remove and looking about as the trees swayed all about me.
The view of the movement of all those giant aspens from treetop level as the sun shone through them was amazing. Kind of like looking into a kaleidoscope when we were kids.
Removing trees for new homes continues to be a part of my work. I have removed beautiful old pines from all over Douglas County in the name of progress. I sometimes wish the people whose needs for 10,000-sq. ft. plus of living space would take the time first to climb the trees they are having me remove.
Maybe a few of them would actually consider downsizing a little and saving a few more of the trees. You doubt it? Yeah, me too. Oh Well. Call me a TREEhugger if you want to.