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Tree trimming and ethics
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Suppose a moderately popular high quality route has a nearby tree and the tree has grown tall enough with branches long enough to now require climbing the crux of the route through branches of the tree. A fall from the crux sends you through a number of branches on the way down in fact. What are the options here? Candidates:
I'm sure this is a common situation, but it's the first time I've run into it myself and I'm not sure what the "standard" ethic is here. I'm aware of the Joe Kinder story and the fallout from that, but I believe The Kid chopped a tree down entirely, and it was some kind of rare or very old species. The tree I'm referring to is a pretty standard pine tree, among thousands on this hillside. That said, I'm reluctant to mess with it... so my inclination is option (2) above. Thoughts? |
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I’ve been an arborist, among other things, for almost as long as I’ve been a climber. Ethics are personal here, but if you trim a tree using basic professional tree trimming methods, you basically can’t kill the tree. Certain pines if over trimmed become susceptible to beetle infestation if the tree is under drought stress, and you make so many cuts that the sap flow is damaged. Healthy sap flow basically smothers the larvae from the beetles. Make the cuts flush with the trunk on a healthy tree and they will heal over and eventually disappear. Leaving stubs is unsightly and prevents the cut from healing properly. Instead of growing back over the cut, the bark dies back from a stub cut, leaving wood open to insect penetration Some people get all emotional about cutting branches off of trees, but done properly it does no harm, can even help the tree to become healthier, or prevent it from uprooting or losing major branches in a storm Aesthetics and land management regulations are a different matter. A skilled arborist can take a lot out of a tree and leave it looking natural and like it had never been trimmed. |
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It entirely depends on where you are located. Here in the north east USA if you don't mow a field every year it becomes a forest in 20 years. I have to clear cut around the cabin every three years to keep it from disappearing .. Cut a tree down and ten more grow to replace it. Many places out west is a completely different story. Certainly Jo Kinders problem besides being a general ass hat was that he comes from a place where it is usually no big deal to cut down a tree. |
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It depends. |
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To add on to Kevin’s comments, time of year when trimming and species matter as well. Is it in an area where that type of tree isn’t very common? Often trimming in early spring or late fall is best for cutting limbs as the tree can either produce enough sap to heal fast or be near its dormant stage and less susceptible to damage. Also, is it a large tree for the species type where limbing likely won’t effect growth as much?is your area in a severe drought where the trees already stressed? Lots of factors to consider my dude, maybe reach out to your local advocacy group for better advice. They probably already have it on their radar if it’s a popular route |
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If you can “head back” or tip prune the problem branches, that might work and be better than removing entire branches back to the trunk. You just have to climb as high as you can above the problem branches and set up a rope that allows you to tension out the branch to make a clean cut with a pruning saw, leaving minor radiating branches. Corona makes a curved bladed saw that is super sharp and fast. You can do it using rock climbing gear. The only other thing I would say is undercut first, to avoid bark tear out on the underside of the branch, or just drop the bulk of the weight with a fast top cut a foot out from where you make your final clean flush cut. |
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Here‘s a good article, diagram. https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2019/07/07/tree-pruning-how-to-remove-tree-branches-correctly/ Always prune the branch past the collar of the limb, it’s healthier for the tree. I was a certified arborist and ran our family tree trimming business for many years, this Is the best approach.  |
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I almost took a branch to the butt hole once falling on a route with a protruding dead branch. Ended up with sciatica for 5 years instead. I'm guessing the branch had been fallen on or broken off but what was left was dangerous. If you leave it to chance most likely branches will be broken off anyways and they most likely will not break cleanly or in the right place.. It's my belief that a tree wastes a lot more energy trying to repair/living with broken branches than it would just growing a new one. |
John RB wrote: Trees serve at our (human's) pleasure. Clear the tree away for progress. Sport climbers demand it. |
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Apparently trad climbers will wipe their ass with trees when no one is looking. |
Pete S wrote: Ok so this is bad advice! I too am an arborist. You ALWAYS want to leave the branch collar attached to the tree. Because of the way branches grow, flush cutting is actually cutting into the trunk. The branch collar has a lot of meristematic tissue, which helps ensure the wound compartmentalizes properly. Just to emphasize as strongly as possible here: DONT FLUSH CUT; leave the branch collar intact ALWAYS. |
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Now I'm a little confused. Aren't Dayn Gray and Pete S giving the same advice to not cut so flush that the branch collar is damaged? Then Dayn says that Pete is giving bad advice. I'm not an aborist, but I do some tree trimming in my yard. |
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Garry is correct. I used the word flush for simplicity as opposed to leaving a stub. Generally the cut should be made where the branch widens as it meets the trunk or major branch, as in the illustration. |
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I appreciate all the advice! And I think I understand how to trim branches in a healthy way (not flush to the trunk, but out past the collar). That said, I still feel hesitant to climb up there with a saw given my zero experience, not to mention the optics of a climber doing this (if a hiker walked by below and saw me). I'll reach out to the BCC (Boulder Climbing Community) and see if they have experience in such matters! Thanks again all! |
Dayn Gray wrote: Lol. Dayan re-read my post or just follow the picture. |
Pete S wrote: There's some ambiguity in what it means to cut "past the branch collar". But the picture is very clear. |
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#3 if you're anywhere east of the Mississippi |
Pete S wrote: Ya sorry, I think we’re on the same page it’s just the language used. “Flush cut” is pretty much always used to describe removal of the branch collar. It’s important to keep the collar intact is all. |
John RB wrote: If you do decide to take it on, remember to always tie off twice when using a cutting tool aloft. |
Dayn Gray wrote: Yeah, I would use two separate strands of rope to the anchor, each on opposite sides of my body. I don't normally wield sharp metal thingies while hanging from a rope! Yikes... |
