116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Climbing to the top
The Nature Call: Arborists from around state showed off skills in Cedar Rapids
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The elm in my boyhood backyard was the best.
It was a friend with whom I spent a lot of time in the upper branches, usually for pleasure, sometimes to get a better look down the lane.
On occasion I’d climb to escape the consequences of some trouble I’d gotten into. Neither of my folks were going to climb the tree after me.
We lived on an acre full of mature trees, but this one was special.
It splayed from the trunk only about three feet off the ground. Its limbs were limber enough to feel the sway of the tree, under the wind or my weight. The branches were large enough to feel safe and small enough my hands could get a good grip.
I liked to think the tree enjoyed my climbing. I want to believe my attention helped it ward off the Dutch elm disease.
Grown men, and some women, were climbing trees in Cedar Rapids the first weekend in May. The occasion was the arborist skills competition, where work became sport and the winner would be off to New Zealand for the international contest. The Iowa Arborist Association hosted the events which drew teams from across Iowa and some neighboring states.
Trees are irresistible. If they didn’t exist then we’d need to invent them. Without trees, how could civilization even have happened?
Trees are in our DNA. As primates, we were masters of the leafy realm. But over millions of years, trees left our ancestors and I believe part of us has always been looking to get back.
The forested home range of our long ago relatives withered because the earth slowly uplifted, causing the area to dry out. I don’t believe we chose to wander out into the savanna as much as we were forced
Some species are better for climbing than others. Oaks seem like a sure choice, but I found their hard branches unfriendly because before they would bend, they’d snap. Softwoods like elm and ash, and some maples, were my preferred choices.
The white pine looks perfect. Its springy limbs provided a lot of feedback. The well-spaced laterals often gave them the sense of being a ladder. And as they grow so tall, those ladders can reach foolish heights. But then there is the sap, a lot of sap.
There was a large white pine on top of the hill for the contestants. It was the “Belay Climb” station. The arborists had to pull themselves up a rope that was fixed high in the tree. The rope looped through a buckle and then returned to another arborist on the ground who paid out the line to keep a minimum of slack. If the climber slipped or fell, then the terrestrial partner would manipulate the rope to stop the fall.
It was the kind of exercise favored by Boy Scouts and Special Forces.
Those ascending muscled up to some large limbs about 10 feet up, where they were then able to scramble higher to hit the bell. Finally, the climber could enjoy the gentle and steady ride down under the control of the rope tender.
These climbers were athletes, full stop. After watching a couple runs of the station, I began to vicariously feel soreness in my muscles. The experts made it look almost easy. I’m no expert.
The white pine was the outlier. Daniels Park was the home of great oaks. Our historic storm decimated the park’s residents. Those that remained were the specimen trees challenging the arborists.
The city planted a grove of challengers on the east side of the park. Those five will never soar like oaks, our state tree. Indeed, for the second city of the Hawkeyes, the planting seemed like an outright challenge as they were the representatives of the Big Ten’s evil empire: buckeyes!
Fortysix climbers tested their mettle on five stations. The other four were: Aerial rescue, ascent, rope throw and work climb — which started in a bucket truck. An unofficial station was reserved for kids, and looked really fun.
Xx arborists advanced to the master competition on Sunday. After the ropes had rested on the Sabbath, two claimed victory. JOHN DOE, of Arbormaster in Davenport, won for the men, his sixth title in a row. Ashley Whittlesey won for the women. She owns and climbs for That Girl Tree Care of Cedar Rapids. They’ll be off in October to take on the world’s best treetop humans in Christchurch.
They will return to the trees, like we did as children and dream of as adults.
Looking up, looking ahead, and keeping my pencil sharp.
John Lawrence Hanson, Ed.D. teaches at Linn-Mar High School. He sits on the Marion Tree Board, and is a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America
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