Tree-climbers reach lofty goal
Jennifer Smith
10/3/11
Yes. A tree-climbing championship. How cool is that?
“That’s why we all do this job, because you get to climb trees,” said Dustin Geesaman of Berkelhammer Tree Experts in Boulder. “It’s kind of like being a kid, but you get to climb bigger trees.”
Nearly 50 professional arborists competed in five morning events, demonstrating skills like aerial rescue and speed climbing. The top three went on to the afternoon’s Master Challenge, an exciting exhibition of all the skills combined. Starting from the ground, each climber had 30 minutes to reach four stations placed far apart in the obstacle course of the large elm on top of the hill.
“It’s a grand old elm,” declared Charley Wagner of Cutting Edge Tree Care in Lafayette as he was perched in one of its highest branches, tethered in by a complex web of ropes and pulleys.Later, as he waited for the judges to announce the winner, he explained his love for his vocation.
“I never thought that it would amount to anything,” he said. “But I had a passion for this, and it’s offered me a wonderful life. … Trees are living, breathing entities. They flex and move, and you can kind of interact with them.”
Wagner was ultimately bested by his good friend Luke Glines, 43, of Tree Experts in Greeley.
“I like the challenge of competing with the younger guys and the challenge of keeping my body healthy,” said Glines. He’ll go on to the world championship next August in Portland, Ore.
Wagner has won the regional competition six times, and Glines has now won five. “We’re good friends, but we’re competitive, too,” said Glines, a former pastor who actually performed the wedding ceremony when Wagner married his wife, Kit.
Organizers say that’s exactly the spirit the event is designed to encourage – camaraderie and shared expertise in the industry.
“We’re a very tight brotherhood,” said Chad Delzell of Mountain High Tree, Lawn and Landscaping and the vice president of the chapter. “We like to have the guys get together and realize we all share the same struggles.”
It’s also an opportunity to promote safety in a very dangerous business.
“We’re not just a bunch of yahoos in pickup trucks with chainsaws,” said Jeff “Reno” Yrineo.
