Task-oriented Tree Climbing

           I’m a recovering task-oriented tree climber. For 25 years I went up into a tree and “did” something. I was a working arborist. For me tree climbing had a mission, be it cutting out a dead branch, pruning defective parts, removing hazardous trees, or the occasional cat rescue. There was a job to be done and I was there to do it.

            Some of the jobs were hair-raising. Storm-damaged trees standing by themselves were the worst. You were never sure they would remain standing when you went up into them to take them down in pieces. We weren’t using cranes in the old days like they do now. I would literally crank up the sound track of Mission Impossible as I put my gear on and made life-threatening decisions with luck as a wild card. I was younger then and the “can do” mentality actually pulled me through what is now the nation’s most dangerous profession.

 

The point is that I had something to do. There was a problem to be solved. I had a mission that needed to be completed and a team of guys that I trusted to help get me safely there.

 

Tree climbing for the sake of tree climbing is a big shift for me. I now know why it is hard for a professional tree climber to get their mind wrapped around the concept of climbing trees for the sake of climbing trees. The urge to “do something” and be productive is almost overpowering. When I started Tree Climbers International it was in conjunction with my arborist business.

 

TCI was actually funded by my arborist business, so I had a constant “fix” of doing something in the trees while I taught folks to go up and just relax. It’s really a paradox. Now I find myself mimicking my tree climbing students as they find that comfortable spot and just chill out for a few luscious moments and watch the world pass below them.

Comments

[M. D. Vaden of Oregon]

Last month, I wrote a full article page about the potential wear and tear to ancient redwoods, due to research scientists. The subject is in the forum, although the page was written a bit later.

http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_climbing.shtml

Your posting here about task oriented, can be compared to the end of my wear & tear article. At the end of the page, a suggestion is introduced about the potential to utilize the help of recreational climbers for redwood forests.

Either just more - or on a grand scale, but coordinated.

Recreational climbers may be a huge untapped resource for assistance.

[Peter Jenkins]

Mario,
Your in depth article about redwood climbers (recreational and scientific) and their impact was very informative. There is indeed a pool of tree climbers out there that might be a useful resource for the scientific community. It raises a few questions for me.

• Is there presently a specific need for tree climbers or would it need to be invented (the need)?
• How would you quantify a climber’s skill set? These big redwoods aren’t suited for beginners or even most intermediate level climbers. How would you measure the climber’s skills before giving them a GPS coordinate and marching orders?
• Would the scientific community be willing to give up their position of “I’m the only one qualified to climb these trees” mindset?

What you are describing falls along the line of a “citizen scientist” role. This has been put to good use in the birding world, most notably with the annual bird count statistics citizen scientists now use.

I do not know how it would apply to tree climbing however. Climbing trees for data collection? Surely biology students would do that. I could see where it might be useful for forestry folks, like looking for insect activity signs and/or monitoring insect traps.

I’m all for “purpose driven tree climbing.” For me it makes good for my internal soundtrack (Mission Impossible) when the climbing conditions are less than desirable. It also gives climbers something constructive to do, if they are into “task orientation” mindsets.