Unpopular opinion: climbing spikes on removals is cheating yourself out of good rope practice | Arborists - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals
Unpopular opinion: climbing spikes on removals is cheating yourself out of good rope practice
Had a removal job in Mesa on Tuesday, a dead 60 foot eucalyptus leaning over a fence, and the homeowner kept asking why I was setting lines instead of just spiking up. Took me 40 minutes to get up there and rig it out proper, and yeah my groundie gave me grief about the extra time. But when the top came off and swung exactly where I wanted it, no fence damage, no surprises, I remembered why I quit spiking everything five years ago. Anyone else deal with clients or even crew who think spurs on every takedown is the only way?
I listened to a podcast a while back with a guy who did big tree work out in the PNW and he said the same thing. He stopped spiking on takedowns years ago because his rope work got sloppy and he didn't even notice until a tricky rig almost went bad. Once he went back to setting lines on everything, his cuts got cleaner too because he was already in a better spot to move around. Forty minutes sounds like a lot but a busted fence costs way more than that in time and money.