I have about 15 trees on my property that have to come down, they're all sweetgums. I'm looking at about $800 per tree to have them removed by a tree company. I already have a tractor, skidsteer, PTO chipper, helmet, and saws (including a climbing saw). Has anyone taught themselves tree climbing? I'm looking at ordering spikes, lanyard, and a saddle. I talked to a few commercial climbers and they were all self-taught or learned OTJ, so I know its doable. Just checking to see if anyone here has done the same and what advice do you have.

In before all the corny Don't fall and other related jokes...

You can do it yourself. Any human, theoretically, can learn to do anything.

Learning it the safe and correct way, that's another matter.

Start here. Yes, pay for training. Yes, its worth the money. Just like any other endeavor that is dangerous, training is important. Just because I can ride my ninja at 120mph does not make me a MotoGP racer, for example.

https://treecareindustryassociation.org/education/tree-care-academy/tree-climber-specialist/

Certified arborist for 10-ish years. Certified Wildland firefighter sawyer class A.

Get training. Not youtube.

Practice before you commit. Once that saw starts and you're tied in, there's no putting the cut back and doing it over.

I just cut them down and then chop them up when they're down where I can reach them.  

I'm able to do that with one tree, the rest I will have to climb and bring down in pieces.

In my 20's I used to do tree cutting as a side to my full time job, I climbed and moved around like a monkey, never using any gear except a rope tied to my saw. Dropping limbs, I used 3/4" and 1" rope, both nylon and hemp. If the tree was in an area open enough to drop with one cut, I did that. I have fallen twice, and both times from a ladder, once landing in some thick bushes and once flat on my back. If you are agile, and not afraid of heights, or being out on a limb, have good ropes, trust your knots, no electric lines in the way, have the time and the want to do it, you can save money.  The clean up and disposal is the worst part of the job..one that I was not thrilled about

OP, I don't want to crap on your tree climbing ambitions, because it's a great skill to know, but are you able/have you considered renting a lift?  I rented a lift recently that is a tracked machine that can fit through a 5' gate, and I think it extended something like 40'.

I know a few great climbers.  Are you fairly young, in good shape and not afraid of heights?  I guess if you are not in a hurry, even a fat old guy could get it done, but it will make for a long (or maybe really short) day.  I know there is at least one guy here in the HF&G forum that posted about being in a similar situation as you.  He bought the equipment, did some kind of training, and successfully did exactly what you are describing.

Yeah, I get it.  I'm mostly just a cut-my-own-firewood guy, but have still lusted over many a Craigslist bucket truck.

I climb trees for hunting like this. Not a recommendation for you, because training/professionals/yadda yadda yadda.

Pay to have the first one removed and pay attention to how they do it. If nothing else, it may convince you whether you want to do it yourself or not.

I helped a friend that taught himself just so he could take down 2 trees hanging over his garage. I provided tree cutting expertise and worked as his ground guy. He climbed until he couldn't anymore. Then I tried; he's 12 years younger and a LOT more fit than me so I tired out much faster.

Do NOT underestimate the fatigue. When you're in the tree it's a continuous leg workout with no breaks. My friend, a skinny guy in his mid-20's lasted about 90 minutes and got half of a tree topped out in 1 day. I lasted 30 minutes max and got 2 very tricky limbs taken out.

I've also used a bucket truck a neighbor has. Bucket truck wins everywhere a bucket truck can go. Pros make climbing look easy on YouTube but they are pros that do it every day, they are proficient and they've built muscle where needed to do it fast & for long durations.

Honestly, this is what I would do in your situation.
#1 check to see if any rental companies have a tow behind boom lift you can rent fairly cheap. If not, #2 check on getting a Genie lift (these are usually delivered by the rental company and are a bit more expensive). #3 Do anything to avoid climbing unless you really like a physical challenge. #4 Resort to climbing. You will spend at least $1k in equipment to do it right and you will need to study up on climbing safety & techniques along with rigging safety & techniques (both for you and for roping tree limbs down).



ETA, if you can't go to a 40 story building and climb the stairs to the top floor without your legs getting fatigued and losing strength you aren't fit enough to climb trees. It seriously is a HARDCORE leg workout...

I did exactly what you're talking about.  

I had an ash in the back yard that had to be climbed as there was not enough room to bring it down whole.  I got quotes and because of the lack of access, the quotes were insane.  The cheapest one for a single 50ish foot tree was $1800.  I bought tall the gear to climb and remove the tree including the saw, for less than that.  

I didn't pay for any training.  Didn't pay a cent.  Not that paying for training is a bad idea, I just didn't.  YouTube has a numerous very smart and well trained people that are putting out very good information on how to climb and remove trees.  Obviously there are plenty of idiots out there too..so you have to know enough to know which ones to follow and which ones to ignore.  However, watching people fail at tree cutting is just as informative.  Knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do.

It took quite a bit of time.  From the time I bought the gear, to the time that I actually took down the tree was about 16 months.  I spent a TON of time climbing low and slow.  Tying and re-tying knots.  Setting up, tearing down, and re-setting up my gear.  Doing it until I could essentially do it blindfolded.  I probably climbed 50 trees without the saw before I attempted to remove the tree I had set out to remove.  


I ended up taking down my tree without incident.  After that I did numerous trees for family and friends.  Then I started contract climbing for a couple local companies.  That's the best.  They cover all the hard parts, all I do is show up, climb and cut.  

You can absolutely learn to climb and cut trees from YouTube.  But you also have to be smart about it. Watching 20 minutes of YouTube and heading out with the saw is a recipe for disaster.  Watching 400 hours of YouTube and doing a bunch of practice getting confident climbing before dismantling a tree.  You're in much better shape.  There's no guarantee.  It's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world for a reason.  There is nothing 'safe' about climbing trees with a chainsaw.  Ever.  

My 'advice' is to climb a bunch of trees without the intention of cutting them down.  Know your gear inside out.  Know how to get down quickly.  Practice using a figure 8.  Practice getting into good work positioning.  Practice, practice, practice.  Set up your gear, climb up 3 feet (literally 3 feet off the ground), climb down and take down your gear.  Set up and climb to 6 feet, down and repeat, going up little by little.  The repetition will teach you so much.  

Honestly, climbing isn't that difficult.  Cutting trees isn't that difficult.  Most humans can learn to do it.  Doing both at the same time...that takes a lot of forethought and understanding of both equipment and physics.

I would highly suggest climbing on a rope system.  I would not climb only on spikes and a tree belt personally.  Be tied in twice when cutting.  Double/triple check your ropes when making cuts.  If you're planning on rigging limbs make sure your rigging ropes aren't going to tighten around you or run on your safety ropes.

EDIT: DM me or @ me if you have any specific questions you want me to answer.  I can give you more specifics about the gear I used or would recommend if that's something you're interested in.

Even with all that equipment?   Are they quite close to buildings?   Otherwise, just hook a rope or chain to them and pull them wherever you want them to go.

Odds are there isn't enough room to fit them on the ground whole.  

Obviously anyone would choose to dump a tree whole over climbing it if that is an option.

Thanks for taking the time to type that out.  Excellent write up.