There was a tree, a huge and handsome, old maple tree. It was at least 100 feet tall, and likely closer to 120 feet tall. It was in a large, open, green space in between eight or ten homes where I live. The home I own is in a “community”. This particular tree was on community owned land. And this tree was not well. So we asked to have the tree assessed. Three separate professionals each/all said the tree had rot inside the limbs and the trunk, due to root rot … a fungus in the ground that can damage trees. And they said “the tree needs to come down before it falls over and destroys homes and kills people.”
That made me sad. But it also made me feel good that none of us who live around that tree would have to die, or have our homes destroyed during a strong winter wind. But, it made me sad.
So the homeowners’ association requested bids. A decision was made. And the tree was taken down. Lots of us got firewood from that tree (me too). And the wood chips from the smaller limbs were piled in an area where gardeners in our community could avail themselves of that resource. And some neighbors took some of the “rounds” of wood for patio seating, or to make a table by adding legs. And some of the big chunks of branches and trunk were sold to wood carvers who valued the color/design of the interior rot (photos coming). So the tree would continue to “live” in other forms. That felt good.
I could see this 120-foot tall tree from my back patio. It was only about 30 feet from my back patio. So I had a great view of the huge tree while it was still here, and I had a great view of the work done on the day that tree was taken down. Neighbors said “oh it will take a week or more to take this tree down.” Other neighbors said, “nope, it will be down in one day.”
One man got the bid to take down the tree. One guy! He did have three men helping on the ground to hold the ropes attached to the limbs as that one fellow cut the limbs and trunks, to carry off the limbs and trunks after they fell, stuff like that. So he wasn’t alone doing the work, but he was alone as he climbed that 120-foot tall tree and carefully cut it down. He was the only person up in that tree. And he took that tree down in one day.
This guy (his name is Will) is about 6 feet tall. Keep that in mind when estimating the height of the tree in these photos.
Safety is a huge issue for “tree climbers”. That’s what they call themselves … “tree climbers”.
And then it was time to start climbing … and thinking about the best way to proceed.
And then more climbing …
And more climbing …
He got most of the way up before he started cutting branches. Later, Will told me that he studies how the branches grow to determine which direction each branch “pulls” (they don’t always pull away from the main trunk, sometimes the grain pulls them towards the trunk). He also determines early on which trunk or main branch will be the last one to take down, that will be the strongest one in his mind and so can support him after all the others are down. You’ll see in a bit that the one trunk he left was off to one side of the tree … it wasn’t the main trunk. He told me that’s often the case with these types of trees. He knows. His life depends on it.
The video below shows how a rope was tied off to the branch being cut so the branch didn’t just drop with full force into the ground. The men on the ground were pulling on the rope to slow the descent of the branch.
Eventually, Will gets most of the upper branches/trunks cut off.
And then there’s just that one really tall trunk/branch left. You can see in the photo below that it certainly isn’t the center one! The RED ARROW points to the top of all the other trunks in this tree; they’ve all been cut back to that level or lower. The other trunks/branches you see in the background belong to a tree close behind this one.
I thought he would climb higher and cut this one last trunk in sections. Nope. He tied off the control rope right where he was in the photo above … and he then climbed down LOWER to cut that trunk.
He climbed quite a ways further down from that point before he started cutting. Yikes, he’s going to cut off an entire 60+ foot trunk in one piece. Each home here is 40-feet long, that trunk is WAY longer than one home. What if it lands on a home?! [Note: click on the small square in the lower right corner of the video below in order to enlarge it … or click on “YouTube” to play it there, and then click on the small square in the lower right corner.]
He paused, determined the angle that he wanted it to fall, then he tied it off, then he directed the people on the ground to pull in a certain direction, and then he just stood up there and thought about it a bit longer, and then he revved up the chainsaw and he cut the trunk.
How amazing was that! He chose it, tied it, had the men on the ground pull in a certain direction, and then he cut the trunk at such an angle that, when it eventually fell, it landed in open space, parallel to the ground, not diving straight into the ground or into anyone’s home.
And then he rested a bit. 🙂 And climbed further down to cut more.
And he kept on cutting.
And then, in the photo below, I was surprised that he started cutting the very bottom of the trunk while leaving so much wood up above.
In the video below, notice the large, long piece of trunk on the ground in the foreground. It’s there for a reason!
Finally the tree is down. The “tree climber” (Will) told me it was easier to cut those remaining trunks into smaller pieces with that whole big section on the ground, rather than doing that while up in the tree.
And now the pieces needed to be cleared away.
This maple wood was dense, heavy wood. The piece that the fellow in the photo below was carrying didn’t look all that big, so I decided to pick up another that was similar in size … ooof!! I did pick it up, but I put it back down! I’m in excellent physical health, although I’m not as strong as I used be. I used to lift 120-pound Ford C6 transmissions from the shop floor up onto the work bench. But that was quite a few years ago. Today I decided to leave the lifting and carrying to these younger folks.
The tree climber then chainsawed off more of the base trunk so it was one flat surface.
The root rot in the tree was obvious, and well-developed, and parts of the trunk were starting to split along the lines of the rot. But the coloring was interesting too.
Every trunk and every branch had rot in it.
Since the entire job took most of the day, and since my patio had a front row seat to the action, LOTS of neighbors stopped by to watch. I put out extra chairs and welcomed everyone to sit as long as they liked.
I chatted with the tree climber, too, but only when he wanted to talk, which he did. He was a really nice guy who liked to share and teach. One thing Will shared with us was that the large base trunk, where it was huge in diameter, was not very tall (see very first photo above). To him, that meant the root rot had started early on in this tree’s life such that the trunk stopped growing and, instead, split into many upright branches. He also talked about this particular type of hardwood maple being especially susceptible to root rot here in the Pacific Northwest and that this tree never should have been planted here. He reminded all of the neighbors listening that only native trees should be planted unless you have a professional arborist to take care of non-native trees.
That evening, I posted all of my photos and videos from the day onto a website. Then I sent a link to those photos/videos to Will so he could download/copy any of them he wanted. He thanked me profusely. Need tree care? Willard’s Tree Care, Olympia, WA.
I learned a lot today. I had a great time with my neighbors, with Will the “tree climber”, and with the other fellows working on the ground with him. Another fun day in the neighborhood. 🙂