Had to choose between a bucket truck and a climbing setup for this big oak job

Last month I got a call about a 60 foot oak in someone's backyard in Portland. No way to get a bucket truck back there, so I had to either rent a mini lift or just climb it the old fashioned way. I went with climbing since the tree was pretty sound and I've got my spikes and ropes dialed in. Took me about 4 hours to prune and remove a few dead limbs, but my shoulders were feeling it the next day. Any of you guys ever pick climbing over a lift and regret it halfway through?

2 comments

2 Comments

evangarcia17d ago

60 foot oak in Portland sounds about right (not enough room to swing a cat back there). I gotta ask though, are you sure climbing was the only option? I've squeezed a 30 foot lift through a 4 foot gate before, just had to take the bucket off and carry it through piece by piece. Big difference between "can't get a truck back there" and "can't get a mini lift back there.

betty_park6217d ago

...and honestly, my buddy swears by a mini lift he calls "The Weasel" because he's gotten a 50 footer through a standard gate before. He said it took him and his brother three hours of disassembly but they saved a full day of climbing. Still, I feel like a 60 foot oak in a tight Portland backyard is a whole different beast, especially if the ground is all wet and sloped.