Had a climber tell me rope access was cheating last weekend

Met this older guy at a job site in Portland who said using a rope and saddle setup takes the real skill out of tree work. He climbs spurs on everything, even removals near houses. I asked him what happens when the bark is thin or the tree is a heritage specimen. He just shrugged. Made me realize some folks treat tradition like it's the only way forward instead of picking the right tool for the job. Anyone else run into old school climbers who refuse to adapt?

2 comments

2 Comments

garcia.charles11d agoMost Upvoted

Hold on there. That older climber might have a point even if he came across as stubborn. Spurs done right with sharpened points and proper technique leave surprisingly minimal damage, and in some situations like a tall skinny removal with a tight drop zone, being tied in with a rope can actually slow you down and increase risk. Rope access takes serious skill, no doubt, but it also depends on having the right anchor points and can leave a guy hanging in the wind when a tree is really rotten or has dead limbs everywhere. Plenty of heritage trees get saved fine with spurs when the climber is careful and doesn't just gouge the bark all the way down. Sometimes what looks like tradition is just hard earned experience knowing what works in the real world.

campbell.nora11d ago

Funny how some guys act like climbing gear is a crutch instead of just another tool. Did that same guy think chainsaws were cheating when they first came out compared to hand saws? I've seen old school climbers wreck trees with spurs just because they didn't want to learn a rope system. There's nothing traditional about causing permanent damage to a tree when you could have used a harness and saved the bark. The real skill is knowing which method fits the situation, not proving how tough you are by sticking to one way. Tradition is fine until it turns into stubbornness that costs the tree or the client.