Birthday night solo climb

Sorry to carpet bomb the message board, I'm behind on posting

I turned 50 on 12/8 so I thought I'd make a night climb after work to celebrate! The tree is in a friend's backyard, a gorgeous beech with plenty of height. Air temp was 27f with no wind.
Birthday climb photos

After 2.5 hours in the tree I knocked on my friend Bob's door and he and his wife poured some red wine and fed me fine cheeses to celebrate.
-moss

Moss,

Happy Birthday! Your posting, your age and your photos are a testimony to the expansive spirit found in RTC.

There's no logic that builds the causation to climb 60' in a tree at night in the winter. It's a spirit of safe adventure that speaks. The inner self is expressed and a connection to nature is established. I really believe that people are becoming lost in mass trends - like eating pizza and watching TV. There's no reason to go climb a tree under the circumstances as you described. Once you do it, then it makes sense.

I suppose that I'm philosophical about these things. I climbed in the snow today for the second time. I was overwhelmed with a spectacular three dimensional view of snow flakes landing on limbs and floating through the air. I missed the Steelers-Bears game, but I know the score. I missed drinking a few beers and eating cheesed coated nachos. Instead I dwelled in nature and burned a few calories.

Last Saturday I was doing some clearing of some large dead branches on a tree next to my house. An old gentleman came over so see me working on the tree. I came down and introduced myself and he told me that he has been learning RTC for a couple of months. In the conversation he mentioned that he lives near by and that he was 84 years old and was recovering from some respiratory problem. I told him that I would like to drop by his house and maybe climb his trees. After he left I was wondering if that was a good idea.

What will happen if I am climbing w/ this person and he gets hurt or even worse dies! Did I encourage him to do something stupid? He has his own climbing gear from Wesspur Co and has been reading the Tree Climbers Companion but I was just wondering. When does age become a limitation to tree climbing? Our mind stays sharp into old age but our bones and other body parts may not be able to handle the stress. Any opinions?????

Happy Birthday Moss! You are two years younger than me!

Thanks Oldtimer, I thought by your handle that you were at least 90!

About your 84 year-old neighbor... he can climb if he is able. For instance if he has heart problems then the exertion might be unhealthy. So you'd want to know his medical history basics before assisting him in a climb. It would be fair enough to ask. Based on his history you can assess the best way for him to climb. You could set up some pulleys to give him some mechanical advantage for instance if he needs it.

Assuming that he checks out medically, just getting him on the rope would be good, he doesn't need to climb very high to get some benefit and enjoyment. Low and slow would be mandatory.
-moss

Some (all?) fitness centers, exercise programs, "ropes course" team-building programs, etc. require a medical checkup before acceptance. What the neighbor does is his own responsibility, but I'm sure that any of us would be deeply affected if someone we were training had any climbing-related illness or accident.

May I propose that you tell him of the effort involved and suggest that he talk with his doctor and get an appropriate checkup?

It's funny how we age physically but our mind seems to still want to get up and go.
Having your friend's doctor give him the OK before climbing sounds prudent and wise.

You could get more "legal" and have him sign a paper that he agrees to take the risk and absolves you of responsibility. That might be wise too.

Have him try a low climb, just a few feet, to see how he does, if you decide to let him climb. Make sure he uses a foot loop and not arms alone.

His age is getting up there. I have had a few in his age group at the school. One fellow was a farmer and did great. Another fellow found out his mind was that of a young man housed in an older body and had to stop.