High winds

I took a walk in the woods today to visit some some old friends and to look for new trees to climb. with the leaves down it's possible to find good climbers that have been overlooked. The wind was cranking from the north/northwest. During one sustained gust I braced downwind against a small tree to keep my footing and barely preserve my calm. Felt like it was over 60 mph. My hand on the trunk could feel the rattling vibrations of the crown. Didn't climb today, being on the ground was thrilling enough. It took me a little while to get used to being in the woods with the treetops whipping back and forth. I scouted a huge cottonwood I've been eyeing and watched how the crown responded to the gusts. It handled it just fine. It was clear to see how the the slight lean of the trunk and the entire form of the tree has been shaped by the prevailing winds. If I had been tied in on a rope I would've been bouncing around like a deranged puppet. One of these days I'll get into that tree.
-moss

Trees actually tune their own structure to their mechanical environment. Any part of a branch that bends (undergoes what the engineers call strain) more than other parts actually has diameter growth stimulated there. That's one of the reasons why isolated trees in clearcuts, or trees on the edges of blowdowns, often get more damage; they're not "tuned" to the conditions anymore, and they have some catching up to do. Trees certainly compete for light, but they also shelter each other.

I've never climbed in a real windstorm, but I've been 70 feet up a white pine in a wind strong enough to blow my climbing line out to a 30-40 degree angle. Rather fun, really, and for an hour or two after the climb you feel the swaying still going on even when you're just sitting at the table. You just want to make sure you have a really sturdy tree for a day like that.

Exactly That
Windy days are special.
To be standing in the tree top during a heavy wind gust and look straight down the trunk and observe the axial twist of the trunk.

Smaller trees I expect to twist but when it happens in a big fat Poplar or a mature hardwood, well, I kinda’ get butterflies in my stomach. Seems odd that a big fat old tree can move “that” much.

Here's a little video I took on a windy day up in a tall Blue Marble tree. My goal had been to go up and spend an hour or so in the tree relaxing but when I got close to the top I was getting swung around so much I was afraid I was going to get motion sickness. It was hard to even stay standing on a branch as gusts kept blowing me off and I was having to cling on to stay in one place. It sure was exciting, though, and definitley beautiful to watch the canopy around me moving.

It's not great video, but I thought I'd share anyways. Click the link.

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lmarcus/blue_marble_022.avi



edit: I just realized I may have posted this before. If so my apologies for being repetetive.

we had 60- 100 KM winds herew last night, Gale Force warning on the water. NO WAY would i want to be up in a tree last night - the forest was a symphony of cracking.....

pretty neat night though.

Have to admit, I spent the weekend climbing in the wind. I am SURE that I was more safe in the trees than I was on the ground (with proper selection of trees, and nearby dangers). The real danger was not in the risk of tree failue, but rather in being hit by falling debris. Sunday morning was marked by the incredible amount of fallen limbs. I'm still swaying everytime I hear a breeze.

I'll be posting some LARGE video files sometime soon at TCNC, so be on the lookout.

Camping in the trees was out of the question. We carefully picked a campsite for windbreak and lack of overhead debris. I have to say, my crazy crib and crazy tarp performed flawlessly, better even than the nearby tent, which shook through the night like a sail.

Gotta go, time to climb...No wind today, no coat either!

Climb Safe!
Icabod

I did promise, even though I've been gone a while, here is the link to the photo.

Really, don't folow my lead. This day could have really turned out differently.

VIDEO OF HIGH WINDS CLIMBING

We had debris falling early in the day. I think by lunchtime all the loose materials in the trees were on the ground. It looked like forest droped it's vacum cleaner bag.

Climb Safe!
Icabod

Icabod, Cool video. Thanks for posting it That was definitely a windy day. Who were the "victims" climbing below?

Whew! Rough day to be in a tree. Agree that it was probably more hazardous to be on the ground. Just a bit more. I won't get into a tree with that kind of wind intentionally. I have ridden out an intense squall, that was interesting.

Did you shoot the video in late October when a northwester whipped the eastern U.S.?
-moss

Yeah that was a nasty weekend at the end of October. In fact it was the last cold spell untill about two weeks ago that required thermal underwear to bear the cold.

That weekend the atire was thermals, base layer, mid layer, outer layer, and wind layer. It was nasty. The scariest part of the weekend though was choosing a campsite. I found a great place that was very sheltered, and experienced no limb falls during the night. I will say that my Crazy Crib and Tarp made an excellent sleeping platform. The tent near me flapped all night, must have sounded like a drum inside there, but I slept in a noisless caccoon. In fact I only woke once, thinking I had to, shall we say, make soil, turned out I was only dreaming and by the time I woke enough I was already quite literally freezing my butt off!

I've got more video, but I talked alot, and to be honest I don't like my accent (it doesn't sound the same in my head).

The guys below were some college students I know. Believe it or not the dude in the red helmet is afraid of heights, he climbed to about 40' in that tree. I was impressed especially given the wind.

Climb Safe!
Icabod