Climbing Transmission Towers

[EGeekBMe]

Ha, Someone posted this today on FB and my stomach was queasy the entire time!! No way, no how could you get me up there.

[cinda]

Threes things kept coming to mind. What happens if they need to go to the bathroom? Wonder how much they make an hour? Wow those guys are in good shape!

Didn't Kevin do something like that when he was young!

[jimmy]

Bump

I actually used to climb cell towers during the summer, fall, winter and spring breaks after I graduated from high school. It's actually a lot of fun. As for free climbing, anybody that climbs a cell tower who isn't tied off (secured to the tower) is a f-in idiot. Why would you even do that? There is no call for it. When I was climbing cell towers, we had a couple ways we could tie off to the tower. We wore nice harnesses, like a mountain climbers with shoulder straps, a seat and tool pouches. On the back of the harness are our lanyards. These are 5ft stretch material that is made specifically for fall protection. The carabiners on these lanyards are big enough to go around a steel pipe with a 4 in diameter. One of these must be attached to the tower at all times, preferably two. For general working, hangining from booms, etc, you have your positioner which is a thick rope that is 3ft long and is attached from one hip to the other. Most of us put a carabiner on the rope so that it is easier to attach to the tower. As for climbing the tower, there are 2 options: cable cimb or double clicking. A cable climb is exactly what it sounds like, there is a 3/4in (?) steel cable running up one leg of the tower from the bottom all the way to the top. There is a device that clamps onto the cable that you then attach to the chest strap of your harness. as you climb up the pegs, it slides with you. If you happen to slip, it clamps down immediately onto the cable, only allowing you to drop about 4 inches. Double clicking, on the other hand, is done when there isn't a cable climb on the tower, most of the time this happens on guide towers. Double clicking involves both of the back lanyards that I was talking about earlier. When you start off, you click your left lanyard to a secure tie off point on the tower and climb up until the carabiner is at your knee. Then, you reach up as high as you can with your right lanyard and click into the tower. Once the right lanyard is secure, you undo the left lanyard, climb up and repeat until you reach the top of the tower.

There is never, NEVER, NEVER any reason to free climb! It is unsafe, irresponsible and if you fall, you're dead.
A couple of years ago, there was a small, mom-and-pop tower climbing company in southern Indiana. A tower climber was free climbing at a height of 300ft.

He slipped.

He fell and landed, on his feet, on the ice bridge, which is a galvanized length of steel that protects the coax cables coming out of the shelter.
He was falling so fast that when he hit the ice bridge on his feet, it pushed the femurs of both legs into his chest cavity, puncturing his lungs. After falling off of the ice bridge, another 10 feet down, he laid on the ground and bled out because the rest of his crew had no idea what to do.

Tower climbing is a dangerous business and there is no reason to shortcut it.

Sorry for the tirade, as a former tower-climber, I get really pissed off when people do stupid stuff like whats in the video.

Thanks,
Justin

[buzz]

I'll still free climb that sucker.

-Buzz

[Roham]

K7!!! Thread jack on isle 7 please!!!!

[cinda]

Bump

I actually used to climb cell towers during the summer, fall, winter and spring breaks after I graduated from high school. It's actually a lot of fun. As for free climbing, anybody that climbs a cell tower who isn't tied off (secured to the tower) is a f-in idiot. Why would you even do that? There is no call for it. When I was climbing cell towers, we had a couple ways we could tie off to the tower. We wore nice harnesses, like a mountain climbers with shoulder straps, a seat and tool pouches. On the back of the harness are our lanyards. These are 5ft stretch material that is made specifically for fall protection. The carabiners on these lanyards are big enough to go around a steel pipe with a 4 in diameter. One of these must be attached to the tower at all times, preferably two. For general working, hangining from booms, etc, you have your positioner which is a thick rope that is 3ft long and is attached from one hip to the other. Most of us put a carabiner on the rope so that it is easier to attach to the tower. As for climbing the tower, there are 2 options: cable cimb or double clicking. A cable climb is exactly what it sounds like, there is a 3/4in (?) steel cable running up one leg of the tower from the bottom all the way to the top. There is a device that clamps onto the cable that you then attach to the chest strap of your harness. as you climb up the pegs, it slides with you. If you happen to slip, it clamps down immediately onto the cable, only allowing you to drop about 4 inches. Double clicking, on the other hand, is done when there isn't a cable climb on the tower, most of the time this happens on guide towers. Double clicking involves both of the back lanyards that I was talking about earlier. When you start off, you click your left lanyard to a secure tie off point on the tower and climb up until the carabiner is at your knee. Then, you reach up as high as you can with your right lanyard and click into the tower. Once the right lanyard is secure, you undo the left lanyard, climb up and repeat until you reach the top of the tower.

There is never, NEVER, NEVER any reason to free climb! It is unsafe, irresponsible and if you fall, you're dead.
A couple of years ago, there was a small, mom-and-pop tower climbing company in southern Indiana. A tower climber was free climbing at a height of 300ft.

He slipped.

He fell and landed, on his feet, on the ice bridge, which is a galvanized length of steel that protects the coax cables coming out of the shelter.
He was falling so fast that when he hit the ice bridge on his feet, it pushed the femurs of both legs into his chest cavity, puncturing his lungs. After falling off of the ice bridge, another 10 feet down, he laid on the ground and bled out because the rest of his crew had no idea what to do.

Tower climbing is a dangerous business and there is no reason to shortcut it.

Sorry for the tirade, as a former tower-climber, I get really pissed off when people do stupid stuff like whats in the video.

Thanks,
Justin

All that and you still didn't answer the question what do you do if you had to go to the bathroom?

[mail man]

All that and you still didn't answer the question what do you do if you had to go to the bathroom?

Heck, I'd probably pee my pants at about 1000 feet, hence no need to concern myself up higher

[kevin7]

I couldn't do it prolly. 105 ft in a bucket is enough for me

[b.read]

I feel bad for the tower crews that we have to call out...they get sent all the way up and then have to sit tight up there while the clueless field ops crew is trying to figure what to do next...