Leafy Enlightenment

Revisited a decent Chestnut Oak today. Ninety footer that I had climbed twice this past winter. Learned something interresting. Turns out that the branch that I had used for my 1st set back then is dead. I could'nt tell at the time 'cause all the leaves were off and the bark was still firmly attached. My anchor point test raised no concerns at the time. It was about 5" where it attached to the trunk, and thankfully I was tied in at the crotch.
So...if any of you out there have any trees that you come across this fall or winter that you're unfamiliar with that seem to be worthy of the effort, be ye warned.

Thanks for making this very important point: trees are living things and therefore constantly in a state of change. There are beech trees I've climbed since the 1990's where I've had to change my route slightly several times due to branches dying away as the tree naturally matures.

Also, I've seen branches that look like good anchor points from the ground but have decay on the top face of the branch which was only visible when I climbed past them. Binoculars are a good idea, as is looking at the branch from different angles if possible.

Michael

In the winter look for twig complexity or lack of it to help determine if a limb is dead or alive. With binoculars you can even tell a very recently dead limb from live limbs, the buds on the dead branches/twigs will be smaller or missing compared to the live branches with buds on the tree.

Even if there are live buds on a branch a lack of twig complexity compared to the rest of the tree tells you that something is wrong with the limb.

As it turns out it's easier to assess a tree in the winter, with leaves off you can see signs of structural defects in limbs that are hidden by leaves. Leaves conceal many problems. a seriously flawed limb can still have plenty of foliage growth.

Note that epicormic "bunches" on a limb are not healthy twig complexity, they also indicate health and potential structural problems.
-moss

You two bring up a couple of good points. One being the use of binoculars as part of your pre-climb inspection. I have a pair that I keep in my Jeep and always go with me on any climb. But some things you just can't see. Like the decay on the top face of a limb. I recently did a black locust removal that looked fairly good from the ground. But once up in the tree every branch had top rot.
The other thing is one that, to be honest with you, never occurred to me. And that is the size differential, or lack thereof, of the buds on the live and dead branches. Thanks moss for the tip. No pun intended.
As far as twig complexity goes, this praticular limb looked just like every other good limb. But that too is another good clue to look for. Now I have a good excuse to go back and climb it again in the interrest of "research".
Thanks guys.

Ron.

Nice points.

I've been climbing a sliver Maple that has some branches with unseen top rot or decay, none of which could be spotted from the ground.

Never fun when you get to your tie in point only to find it's not as secure as you thought. That will make you a little nervous when your 75' up.