[TowerTalk] Climbing
Mike via TowerTalk
towertalk at contesting.com
Tue Sep 30 17:58:25 EDT 2014
Phew!...I just free climbed my tower,,,
I took a ladder to the roof of my house and grabbed the ladder to my Sky
Needle ,,,free climbed 10 feet to the crows nest and installed a new flag on
the mast/flag raising setup I have on it between my Pro-67 and 6m
beam...flag looks cool up at 85 feet with a solar flag light shining on it at night
on my small city lot...but,,I flip a switch and up the tower goes..
But...that 10 foot fall could kill me just as quick as a 100 foot fall if I
hit right or bounced...off the roof to the ground...or if I was already
dead on the way down...
That being said...I have never climbed a 100 foot tower to do work and do
not plan to..(I have to 40' W/out harness)...but I do know when the powers
that be decided where I work that you need harnessed and tied off at
anything over 6 feet.. ladders ..machinery ..bridge cranes etc. that being tied
off became more dangerous then not,,,but you can't tell the clowns in the
safety dept. that because they read somewhere that it was safe...and they are
the ones that have never been a heels height AGL...tripping over
lanyards...re hooking to places you can't reach and even climbing up to hook the main
hook while fumbling with the second...the head safety dolt even bought us
those fall breaking lanyards for when we work on an arc furnace...that when
they were full out if falling were longer than the distance to the
floor...definitely a safety engineer that's totally educated beyond his
intelligence!..
I know Iron workers,,construction workers,,,roofers etc,,,that all curse
the new safety laws in NY when it comes to being tied off.....I believe it
comes down to personal preference ..and in tower climbing when not employed
by a company that forces you to be harnessed..and ins. premiums are paid
up...do what you feel safest doing...not what others tell you to do...I ride
Harleys...and in NY I wear a helmet because the laws say I have to (they
know whats best for me)..but when I hit the PA line...off it comes....I have
known of MC deaths here that were caused by the use of a helmet...you never
hear of those!...
I guess what I am saying...you can all argue here about what is the best
thing to do...but I am gonna do whats best for me..what ever it is...(if
possible)...as "they" say...s**t happens...when its your time to check
out...its time to go...
On a different note...might anyone be interested in my spare Telrex
rotator?...I bought it as a spare a few years ago for the Sky Needle..I rebuilt
mine with all new bearings..seals etc. and it should last me till I fall off
my tower...and bounce...so I no longer need the spare...I would rather have
the $$ to put into some upgrades to the shack...pics and price avail. upon
request.
73,
Mike W2GR
------------------
In a message dated 9/30/2014 9:51:34 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
towertalk at contesting.com writes:
I used to climb when I was younger. I have decided after reading all
this,that if I ever decided to go full tower and could afford it, it
will be a tiltover :) Cheers.
Scotty W7PSK
On Monday, September 29, 2014 11:48 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT
<K8RI-on-TowerTalk at tm.net> wrote:
On 9/29/2014 11:10 PM, Jim Thomson wrote:
Jim makes some excellence points:
The point to remember is that at best, "Climbing is dangerous". That
many, or most of us have climbed for years without injury does not make
it safe.
Safety gear can not protect a climber from injury from every possible
mistake. The primary goal of fall arrest gear is to save your life
and/or minimize injury, not to completely eliminate injury!
If a climber falls, even wearing the best of available equipment, they
are likely to get injured. "Fall arrest still brings you to an abrupt
stop that is going to hurt even if you don't hit the tower with body
parts., or take a bite out of a cross brace removing a few teeth in the
process. Unlike many with the views of fall arrest, the fall to the end
usually still offers very little time to react. It does slow the fall,
but by how much varies and there may be very little time to react.
Falling backwards can cause serious injury. Depending on the anchor
point and muscle development it might break a climber's back, although
I'd personally think a broken neck would be more likely.
Never, ever think all that gear is going to keep you from getting hurt.
It may, but if it does, that's pure luck. Plan for the worst and hope
for the best.
New climbers! NEVER FORGET "Tower climbing is one of the most dangerous
jobs around. Before you start, you need to be in good physical shape.
Like illness, a body in good physical shape and good health, resists
injury better than an out of shape, unhealthy body and recovers much
faster. Weight training, even toning is a good idea. Moreso for the week
end climber than the guy who spends hours a day "up there". I was riding
bike @ 20 MPH for 10 miles when over 60 and 2 years AFTER having a heart
attack.. Over weight means you should reconsider climbing or at least
use caution.
Never climb alone. Always have a "Go-Fer" on the ground. Preferably one
who can climb. It's tempting to make a short climb, but many unexpected
things can happen. Strokes and heart attacks do not always give
warnings. I've had both and I exercised regularly and tried to watch
what I eat. Turns out I have A-Fib caused by a "slightly" enlarged
Atrial chamber So slight it was not recognized for several years. Two
strokes and a heart attack with no warning symptoms.
After the first stroke my arteries were clean. 3 or 4 years later the
main artery that feeds the heart muscle was over 98% blocked. (They call
that the widow maker) Why the rapid change? Who knows? It turns out I'm
allergic to Statins (anti cholesterol drugs) A reaction to them is
painful and that's putting it mildly.
The point is, no matter how good you feel and how good a shape you are
in, you never know what will happen from moment to moment.
For those getting ready to climb while still young and immortal, resist
the urge and seek instruction.
Like flying, climbing is very unforgiving of mistakes.
73
Roger (K8RI)
> Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 10:45:55 -0400
> From: "Wilson" <infomet at embarqmail.com>
> To: "towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Climbing
>
> Isn?t this topic about done?
>
> But a new question: I?ve never climbed much and never used a harness at
all, but I have one now and will use it.
> But isn?t the dorsal attachment of the fall arrest lanyard asking for
trouble?
> It seems to me that the usual lanyards are too long and that with the
dorsal attachment they are very likely to snap tight and slam one?s face into
the tower when the big stop occurs at the end of the fall?
> It looks like a ventral attachment would be much less likely to produce
secondary pain/injury, especially if one wore a helmet?
>
> Really, our towers and high work are pretty benign, as far as stress and
danger go. The Russian kid did fine, but they weren?t even under sail!
> For perspective, ask how many of us could survive this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUhKBZb7A7c\
> And for some instructive detail and depth, this is worth some time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Q_SfMvSMw
> OSHA would have put the sailing ships out of business, if their
economics had not!
>
> If I ever have a tall tower, it will have the safety cable system, which
I think is far superior to all that hooking and unhooking!
> But I?m likely too old and lazy...
>
> 73,
> Wilson
> W4BOH
>
> ## yes, you will get your face and body slammed into the tower. What
freaks me out are those corner climbing steel pegs you see on bigger
towers.
> You fall..and you get slammed into the tower....and a steel peg could
easily end up in your face or eye..or both.
>
> ## No excuse for not installing the ..375 inch 7 strand ehs galvanized
steel cable from top to bottom of any tower. Piece of cake to install.
> Just like a guy wire hanging down the side of a tower. Use several
cable clamps or 2-3 nicropress crimps or a pre-form dead end to terminate
> the .275 inch cable. usual deal is to use the usual huge shackle or 1
inch bolt at the top.... or 2 for redundancy. I have yet to see any of
those safety cable assy’s
> made from SS. Then a simple turnbuckle and spring at the base to keep
a bit of tension on the .375 inch cable.
>
> ## That simple safety cable system can easily be installed on any
tower, guyed or freestanding.... and even a rotating tower. The problem is
when
> tic rings are used. Even then the safety cable can be installed
between tic rings....starting and stopping at each ring. 2 lanyards used to
get over the ring,
> then use the safety device to lock back into the next .375 inch safety
cable.
>
> ## Our local pro installer has used both the safety cable system and
also the Trylon safety rail system on various commercial towers. He tells me
he like
> the tylon rail system better. The rail system is also used on stuff
like concrete water towers etc, etc.
>
> ## The cost of a simple safety cable system is peanuts. You wont
shear a 1 inch bolt any time soon, nor a .375 inch cable. 1 inch bolts are
rated at
> 20 k pounds...and ,375 inch cable is rated at 15,400 lbs.
>
> ## You don’t want to be on top of a trylon tower or any other tower
that uses angle steel for diagonal bracing..... in the rain. They are like
greased lightning,
> and extremely dangerous.
>
> ## You don’t want to be up a tower when u get stung in the face or
hands.... or cut urself, or get ur fingers pinched, smacked by a piece of
steel, or boom, etc.
> Ever install a 120 lb tic ring..in pieces... no fun.
>
> ## Commercial towers around here all use safety cables.... so should
you. WCB makes em install em.... no free climbing allowed. Huge fines,
folks terminated,
> etc. Now if hams want to cheap out..go for it. One piece of .375
inch ehs cable running up the side of a tower cost dick. The device used
to slide up and down the
> cable is a few bucks..who cares.
>
> ## The easiest way to get hams to install the safety cable is simple.
I wont climb up a fellow hams tower without one. Get the safety cable
installed..or get somebody else to
> climb the tower.
>
> end of story............... Jim VE7RF
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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--
73
Roger (K8RI)
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