A job I'm glad I don't have...

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
Tree climber/cutter.

My neighbors are taking down part of a big-ass elm in their front yard as it's starting to dangerously encroach on their house. I was out for about an hour watching the guy in the tree work and the guy must have nerves of steel or at least limbs of steel. It's about freezing, a little breezy, he's 30 feet up suspended by a rope and he's wielding a chainsaw with one hand. Constantly spinning around, moving from branch to branch with barely a pause, cutting behind his back, over his shoulder, between his legs and every cut seems like it misses some part of his body by less than an inch. I've used a chain saw and it's the one tool I own that I am genuinely afraid of. I use it VERY carefully with 100% concentration for what can happen if it's not treated with respect. I can't believe how quickly he was working and with such seemingly little care for his own safety. A sane person wouldn't use a chainsaw that way with both hands on it and two feet firmly on the ground.
 

GobBluth

Senior member
Sep 18, 2012
703
45
91
Right up there with the guys who change light bulbs on radio towers. Escorted a guy to do that job once. All kinds of nope.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,014
13,959
126
www.anyf.ca
Right up there with the guys who change light bulbs on radio towers. Escorted a guy to do that job once. All kinds of nope.

I'd love to try that one day. When I get a tower light alarm at work I always jokingly offer to go change it. "Where do we keep the lightbulbs, I'll go!"

Idealy on a warmish day and not when it's -40. Or +30.

I almost wonder how easy or hard it is to get in that line of work, when we need riggers to go up a tower it takes months. Seems it would be easy to get work if you started a company. The red tape and crap involved in that line of work must be insane though, probably need all sorts of licenses and legal stuff etc. The red tape involved is probably more scary than the tower itself.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,998
126
I almost wonder how easy or hard it is to get in that line of work, when we need riggers to go up a tower it takes months. Seems it would be easy to get work if you started a company. The red tape and crap involved in that line of work must be insane though, probably need all sorts of licenses and legal stuff etc. The red tape involved is probably more scary than the tower itself.


Probably takes all that time to brainwash the fear out of sane people.