The tree from back on the street. Part circled was not the highest climbed, however.
Date: 08/25/2012 and 08/31/2012
Location: McMinnville, OR on the Cook School Property (I'll add coordinates later)
Tree Type: Ponderosa Pine
Tree Name: Mac
Weather: Cool, sunny, perfect.
Placement: 10 gm bag thrown by Big Shot to a branch about 50 feet up.
Rope: Snakebite
Anchor Type: SRT. Screw link cinched up over limb
Ascent: Yo-yo with Petzl Rig
Pitches: Multiple to get to top of tree.
Movement in the tree: I did some lateral movement at about 45 feet to place the tree boat, otherwise, it was up and down the tree only.
Decent: Petzl Pirana with a prusik back-up
Problems:
None major. Branch placement required circling around the trunk some as I ascended. There was no clear shot to the ground at highest point, so rather than dropping highest tie-in-point straight down I just descended down the same track I ascended.
Things that went well:
1) Getting permission from the school superintendent to climb the tree
2) Pretty clean tree for a "wild" (all but lower 30 feet) tree. One rather large deadwood branch was mostly out of the way
3) Gorgeous views. Interesting to climb such a big tree in a very urban setting. This was a real first.
4) A "plaque" was left at the top with name, date climbed, and a dedication to the students, teachers, administrators and staff of McMinnville School District.
Things that didn't go well:
Without dropping a new line straight down from the highest tie-in-point, the friction on the rope over branches and around trunk all but negates the use of a descending device. To affix the plaque at the top I did have to put in a small screw bolt into the tree itself, but it should not hurt the tree any.
View from the top looking West
View looking towards downtown McMinnville
A picture of the "plaque" placed on the top
I had strung a tree boat about 40 feet up. I didn't get any pictures but my wife snapped this of me taking it down. The yellow lines show the approximate placement.
Here's a link to a newspaper article on the tree climb:
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