4 ms·

I was expecting a rock climber, not trees :D That's a nice surprise. There's a lot of really cool equipment for climbing, not just carabiners but various sorts

I was expecting a rock climber, not trees :D That's a nice surprise. There's a lot of really cool equipment for climbing, not just carabiners but various sorts of brakes, rappelling, anchoring, ascending, descending, traversing, etc. – most of which I don't understand. I feel like I'm gawking at Batman in awe anytime I'm near one of those folks. It'd be a fun modern-day competition to try to get people to scale a castle wall and break into the keep using this gear...

MisterTea 2y ago
Years back I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens with a date and stumbled upon an Arborist competition happening. I knew of the word Arborist but was ignorant of what that entailed and wound up learning a lot. The competition had an Arborist get their climbing line strung up and anchored, climb the tree to touch 5 flags dispersed around the tree within a set time limit. The flagged branches had bells tied to them so they had to be nimble as well as fast. Touching a flag earned them points and ringing a bell cost them points. Of course one flag was located far out on a thin branch making it very difficult to reach without ringing the bell. They also had to do no damage to the tree in the process. It was very interesting and I was talking to one of the competitors who explained their profession and how they travel around climbing trees for a variety of reasons from forestry and conservation to basic tree pruning. They are also required to be certified and that is handeled by the International Society of Arboriculture (I.S.A.) He also mentioned "target pruning" which is a term I was unaware of so I learned something. It certainly seems like an interesting and fun profession. I need to hire one to check out my big oak that is in need of a trim.
lukan 2y ago
He seems to be doing both, but with a focus in trees lately. <'94: lots of off-rope rock and tree climbing 1994: participated in my first ropes course event 1996: learned to belay 2001: tied my first prusik and first self-belayed climb 2006: first trad lead and bought my first full trad rack 2007: climbed my first redwood while roped in and ran my first ropes course event '07>: been professionally training and leading tree climbing and ropes work ever since. " Both is fun. Also freestyle combinations, there might be a tree close to a rock and then one can just use both.
oasisbob 2y ago
Tree climbing is incredible fun. The devices used are agile, and in North America at least, climbing techniques are expressive and personalized to the point of still being the wild west. The ISA/TCIA host yearly regional climbing competitions. They're going on now. For anyone who hasn't seen what it's like for a skilled climber to rip around in a tree, they're open to the public, and I can't recommend them enough: https://www.itcc-isa.com/events/calendar https://www.itcc-isa.com/events/calendar
- solardev 2y ago
  Neat! Looks like there's one coming up in Seattle. Might have to drive up for that. Can public audience members just show up out of the blue (wander out of the woods?) or do we have to sign up or buy a ticket ahead of time? Not going to climb, just watch and clap giddily.
  - oasisbob 2y ago
    They're typically hosted in public parks, no tickets required. It's always fun to see the reaction of people who stumble onto them. The masters climbs at the end of the event are the most exciting.

MisterTea 2y ago

Years back I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens with a date and stumbled upon an Arborist competition happening. I knew of the word Arborist but was ignorant of what that entailed and wound up learning a lot. The competition had an Arborist get their climbing line strung up and anchored, climb the tree to touch 5 flags dispersed around the tree within a set time limit. The flagged branches had bells tied to them so they had to be nimble as well as fast. Touching a flag earned them points and ringing a bell cost them points. Of course one flag was located far out on a thin branch making it very difficult to reach without ringing the bell. They also had to do no damage to the tree in the process. It was very interesting and I was talking to one of the competitors who explained their profession and how they travel around climbing trees for a variety of reasons from forestry and conservation to basic tree pruning. They are also required to be certified and that is handeled by the International Society of Arboriculture (I.S.A.) He also mentioned "target pruning" which is a term I was unaware of so I learned something. It certainly seems like an interesting and fun profession. I need to hire one to check out my big oak that is in need of a trim.

lukan 2y ago

He seems to be doing both, but with a focus in trees lately. <'94: lots of off-rope rock and tree climbing 1994: participated in my first ropes course event 1996: learned to belay 2001: tied my first prusik and first self-belayed climb 2006: first trad lead and bought my first full trad rack 2007: climbed my first redwood while roped in and ran my first ropes course event '07>: been professionally training and leading tree climbing and ropes work ever since. " Both is fun. Also freestyle combinations, there might be a tree close to a rock and then one can just use both.

oasisbob 2y ago

Tree climbing is incredible fun. The devices used are agile, and in North America at least, climbing techniques are expressive and personalized to the point of still being the wild west. The ISA/TCIA host yearly regional climbing competitions. They're going on now. For anyone who hasn't seen what it's like for a skilled climber to rip around in a tree, they're open to the public, and I can't recommend them enough: https://www.itcc-isa.com/events/calendar https://www.itcc-isa.com/events/calendar

solardev 2y ago
Neat! Looks like there's one coming up in Seattle. Might have to drive up for that. Can public audience members just show up out of the blue (wander out of the woods?) or do we have to sign up or buy a ticket ahead of time? Not going to climb, just watch and clap giddily.
- oasisbob 2y ago
  They're typically hosted in public parks, no tickets required. It's always fun to see the reaction of people who stumble onto them. The masters climbs at the end of the event are the most exciting.