Tree climbing invokes thoughts of childhood adventures for many. Throughout the ages countless life forms climb trees, reside in trees, or somehow benefit from trees. A squirrel can climb up or down a tree trunk, because their feet can pivot and rotate, whereas a cat can easily go up, but is unaccustomed to backing down or out of a tree. Many animals, including reptiles, monkeys, and birds easily move through the trees with the utmost grace, while rarely shock-loading a limb.
Fear itself can be an obstacle to overcome, plus our bodies all have certain limitations. Tree climbing causes us to make critical decisions to better ensure our safety. When climbing and not performing tree trimming or removal, the risks are significantly less. In fact, continuous advancements in industry standardized climbing equipment have made rope assisted tree climbing a relatively safe activity, with certain inherent risks. Technical tree climbing is not just for arborists and tree care professionals.
Tree climbing equipment differs from rock or wall climbing gear. The harnesses are different, ropes are static and not dynamic (as stretchy), and rope diameters are usually generally smaller for rock climbers. There are several products that made the cross-over from rock to tree climbing, beyond their intended uses perhaps, but the two climbing camps have more differences than overall similarities, because tree climbers rely more on a climbing line connected to a tree, whereas rock climbers scale mountainsides or boulders while using the rope generally as a back-up measure.
Physically being up in a tree while exercising both body and mind is immensely gratifying and rewarding. The feeling can be similar to that of a distance runner who attains a certain euphoric level of calmness while jogging. After a climb I feel a buzz that can last for days, which in part may be due to the organic essential oils being emitted from the trees themselves. Sharpening my focus, building muscle mass and enhancing awareness are all good reasons to climb trees, beyond just the simple joy of being outdoors, spending precious time in a beautiful tree.
Recreational tree climbing training opportunities are being offered throughout the world, open to practically anyone who has the desire to pursue this incredible pastime.
Tree Climbing involves two scenarios, one is climbing “wild” trees and those that are not. Wild Trees is a term made famous by Richard Preston in his book The Wild Trees. He describes the following: One is a tree that’s never been climbed by a human, or hasn’t been climbed for some time. The other kind are trees that have been more recently climbed and cleared of potential risks, thereby being less wild for that reason.
A lead climber ascending into any wild tree may need to clear potential hazards like fallen deadwood or tree-rot. Other unknown threats may include ants, bee hives, active bird nests and many other kinds of tree dwelling creatures. Certain hazards can be invisible from a ground-person’s viewpoint. For this reason, the lead climber has an added responsibility for his own safety the safety of other climbers in the group, to identify and mitigate such obstacles, generally encountered on the initial ascent into any wild tree.
Tree climbers may need to relocate, advance or better secure a tie-in-point, while hopefully leaving other canopy inhabitants undisturbed. A climber needs to understand and deal with the differences between a tree cleared by other fellow climbers, versus a wild tree with potentially unaddressed hazards.
Advances in equipment and devices like the new Rope Runner Pro have brought about huge advancements in technical tree climbing, similar to how urethane wheels transformed the sport of skate boarding. The emergence of talented individuals, many of whom are climbing arborists, have taken tree climbing to a whole new level. Whether it’s competitive speed climbing, using a hybrid rope-walking system, or bombing out of a tree, while gracefully spinning and flipping, like an acrobatic flying squirrel and landing with the precision of a Lear jet, the art and beauty of recreational tree climbing is now only starting to emerge in our collective consciousness.
Among the recreational tree climbing community are those who participate in an annual get together known as the Tree Climbing Rendezvous. Other events include tree climbing competitions and guided climbs into some of the most amazing and largest living beings on earth. Competitive Tree Climbing events are organized and sponsored by equipment dealers, various arborist organizations and individual members belonging to the (GOTC) Global Organization of Tree Climbers. These events bring together a broad assortment of tree care industry professionals, tree climbers and other like-minded enthusiasts.
Tree climbing is a great way to build physical strength, sharpen focus and connect with nature’s objective reality. Every climb has it’s own unique characteristics, based on constantly changing variables. Helping to teach others, ranging in all ages, including those with physical challenges, or even by helping orphan orangutans who’ve been displaced by palm oil production, helps us all to better connect with nature in a most intimate manner. Tree climbing involves real time problem solving skills, using sound methods and gear to provide safe and enjoyable experiences when used responsibly.
Recreational tree climbers focus on the specific challenges each tree offers. Tall trees may include a long initial descent to reach the lower branches and while climbing tools may vary among smaller and larger trees, the principals are much the same, as are the laws of physics and gravity.
Canopy research has been transformed through the art of technical tree climbing, with much thanks to Donald Perry who invented the original Zip-Line. Don is now pioneering a modern Zip line technology, enabling users to control starting, stopping and be able to rotate on a pivot to more efficiently study and observe nature from a first hand perspective.
Recreational tree climbing is certainly a constructive way to protect precious rain forests. Education and awareness raising is helping to protect and preserve trees. More aggressive methods like canopy-installed motion detecting and sound sensing devices are now able to relay real-time information to authorities concerning territories being illegally poached and deforested, thanks to recreational tree climbers.
Enough about the tree climbers and their methods, let’s consider the actual trees themselves. Trees are our planet’s carbon scrubbers, ridding the atmosphere of toxic material, in return for producing life supporting oxygen. On a daily basis, rain forests throughout the world inhale carbon and exhale oxygen. In doing so, they create their own weather systems, returning moisture into the atmosphere which is then redeposited back to earth in the form of rain. This symbiotic relationship between the planet and the rain forests is not only necessary for life’s survival on a macro level, but also all the way down to benefiting micro-ecosystems.
There are a variety of trees throughout the world’s rain forests, including Old Growth Redwood/Sequoias, Eucalyptus, Sitka Spruce, Douglas and Nobel Firs and many others, some reaching enormous heights. Trees are earth’s treasures and should be appreciated, studied and utilized from a recreational standpoint.
Some Redwood trees can live up to 3000 years, reaching heights of 300 feet or more. Redwoods are among the tallest and largest trees and meditating on this fact alone can significantly alter one’s perspective. To experience each day as a single heartbeat, over 1000’s of years, while surviving everything nature has to throw at you, including forest fire, is challenging to fathom. The fallen trees also continue to give back to the forest. A tree’s snag will decay over time and continue to nourish and support the forest and wildlife long after a tree appears to die.
Unfortunately only about 5% of the original Redwood’s forest still remains. This and other rain forests throughout the world are vital to our survival, while high levels of deforestation continues to plague our very existence. Fortunately, many countries are now taking affirmative action to protect and restore their forests, realizing how much they give to us in return for our Eco-restoration efforts.
Trees communicate and work together within the forest through an underground root network connecting to other plants, fused together with fungi. Trees are also a symbolic part of an inclusive network that encompasses all of reality. The concept of a Universal Tree of Life, literally means that we and everything in reality is connected and part of a greater whole. From a spiritual perspectives, this further implies we are all united as One.