Day -1: Monkey Run Rigging
Monkey Run, Ithaca, NY
The preparation for our first tree class is supposed to be the easiest of all the riggings for the whole course. Unfortunately, all did not go as planned.
Julien, Lilian, and Rob lead climbed the two trees at Monkey run, with Evelyn, Sean, and myself belaying. After Lilian placed the anchor in the tree we were working on, I decided to climb to check the anchor out, but mostly just for kicks. I started to climb, then, while making a reach with my right hand, said something like, "Oh good, and this is my bad shoulder." Cue dislocation number two.
Lilian lowered me down, and we all made our way very slowly back to the vehicles, me in a makeshift webbing sling. Then on to Cayuga Medical Center, where I got some funny looks from forgetting to take off my harness... oops. Several hours of waiting, some x-rays, and a big dose of morphine later, my arm was properly back in its socket.
Day 1: Hand over Hand
Friday, September 11th, 2009
Monkey Run, Ithaca, NY
Once again, as is the curse of day 1, we climbed in the rain. I also had the privilege of teaching with one arm, as the other was still in a sling. All in all though, it was a great day. Our students showed excellent enthusiasm, despite the weather, and a genuine interest in what we were doing. Always a good sign.
A couple of students working their way up a sycamore
Melissa and Katrina, smiling in spite of the rain
Day 2: First Ascensions
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Fischer Woods, Ithaca, NY
This is one of the busiest days of class, with a lot to learn. Once again, our students showed a lot of interest in the knots and the methods involved, and (obviously) loved playing with the big shot. We had one little freak-out moment when a VERY large branch somewhere nearby broke off with a VERY loud crack, then came crashing to the floor. Luckily, no one was near by. It made our students a little nervous, because the branch was healthy and green, so we took it as a teachable moment to talk about tree selection and safety procedures.
Day 3: Big Tree Day
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Hoffman Challenge Course, Varna, NY
We had some issues rigging for this day, but eventually we had no problem getting everyone up and hanging out in some really tall trees. Everyone except me, that is, who got to play ground crew thanks to my still not very functional shoulder. Julien, Dana, and Evelyn got to try out the new tree saddles, which they were very thankful for after a lot of time literally hanging out.
Day 4: Motion Lanyards
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Stuart Park, Ithaca, NY
This was our first time trying motion lanyarding with all the students at once. Thanks to some donations to the tree climbing program, we now have enough motion lanyards for the whole class, so we decided to give it a shot. Everyone really loved this method, since it allows for some real tree climbing instead of rope climbing. It was great (and a little nerve wracking) to see everyone getting off the ground and moving around independently. Motion lanyards are a complicated system, with a lot of knots and hitches to tend, but I think the way we ran the lesson made it a manageable and safe situation for the students.
The sycamores at Stuart park have great canopies for climbing
There were a lot of people (and ropes) hanging from the trees, which made for some interesting interaction with the normal park-goers-- one guy who saw us as he walked past is now planning to take the spring tree climbing course.
Once they got the hang of it, the students made it up quite high in the trees
Dana, instructing from the ground
Apparently there are train tracks RIGHT next to Stuart park-- when the whistle blew, it was so loud that everyone about jumped out of their skin.
Overnight-- Oh wait...
We sadly had to call off our overnight, thanks to cold, rainy weather, much to the disappointment of our students. I'm beginning to think I'm cursed as an instructor-- this is the second overnight I've had to call off.
Us Friday Tree instructors made up for our loss by pranking Saturday Tree's overnight. They had perfect, beautiful weather, so we thought they deserved a little mayhem, involving some late-night surprise guests and a bear costume.
Is that authorized by the COE??? Bears are scarey.
ReplyDeletePranks are one of Mark's favorite pastimes :) He was actually in on the joke. Plus, we did everyone in Saturday tree a favor by giving them a really exciting story to tell later.
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