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This task isn´t for the faint-hearted

W

wiltzei

Charter Member
Let´s just say that for me personally being inside an aluminum tube filled with fuel at 40,000 feet is relatively speaking a 'little' bit more comfortable than job in the following video clip.

Video.
 
Boy, this video is making the rounds fast. Have received it in an e-mail and posted on Facebook. I used to climb towers and poles when I was in the service. Highest I ever when on a tower was 300 ft. in Puerto Rico. It was also on the highest mountain peak in the area. That was good enough for me. I would have left fingerprints in the steel had I went up that far. :jawdrop:
 
I couldn't watch the whole thing. I have a hard time watching the final scene of King Kong (the most recent version) when he's on top of the Empire State Building.
 
I watched it a couple of times and noticed the only time he used the safety clip was when he stop to rest. The rest of the time he wasn't using anything.
 
Awwwww sheesh, I forgot to pack the phillips!

Seriously, who (in their right mind) went to the careers teacher in school and asked about following that career path?
 
Perfect job for a base jumper...climb to the top...fix whatever needs doing and parachute back down. The winds would be pretty strong up there too, I guess.

I bet that the money is good though ;)
 
I founded Antennas Unlimited of Gainesville back in the mid-70's. It began as a tower relamping service, but eventually expanded into a full-service commercial tower company.

The highest tower AU ever built was the 996' tower for WTLV in 1985. I only climbed it once, but that was far more than enough for me! I have always had acrophobia, and it was a real challenge for me to get past that! Fortunately, my only purpose for the climb was to do a final inspection.

By then, I had hired and trained enough tower rats to do all the real work... :icon_lol:

I've often wondered precisely what motivated me to even begin such a business!

BTW, I never allowed any of my employees to climb without using their safety harness...
 
Been there, done that, albeit only an 878-ft tower I had to work on.

And if you think the climb up is scary, I wish they had filmed the climb down. You have to climb and descend with the patience of Job, you strap and rest, your biceps begin to feel like stone. But the climb up is easy, the climb down is what is really scary as sh-eet! Oh, and the tower moves too, even a 5-mph breeze with give you a thrill ride like you've never seen.

Caz
 
So How many Tower Climbers Does it Take to Change a Light-bulb??

You'd think they'd hinge the thing at 1684 ft, so they can give it a coat of paint from the top of the elevator while they're at it...
 
I was wringing wet by the time he got to the top ... he didn't take long rests ... :mixedsmi:

I'd probably freeze about half way up and they'd have to pry me from the structure.
 
After having "slept on it" overnight, I've concluded that the only purpose of that specific climb was to make the video...

I say this because quite honestly, there's really nothing to be "serviced" on the antenna itself, because it is essentially a sealed system. If there were a problem, they'd have simply removed the complete antenna assembly and lowered it to the ground.
 
I'm an Infantry vet, I've ridden in helicopters flying nape of the earth, no biggie, been trussed up in a STABO rig beneath the helicopter, no biggie, I've repelled from them, parachuted from them, fast roped from them, jumped from airplanes, been shot at, shot at folks; I've raced motorcycles, both street and dirt, raced cars, been hang-gliding and done a whole host of things that make my mother lose sleep at night. I honestly have to say that, they do not print enough money to get me on top of one of those.

I've climbed the little towers 100' or so that my Amatuer Radio Club had for repeaters 25 years ago and while that is high enough to kill you, you wouldn't have near as long to think about it on the way down.

CAD
 
And I thought this one was bad...

[YOUTUBE]oWVLzVhnYE0[/YOUTUBE]


I'd really rather climb Burj Dubai than that free-standing tower.

Although...climbing up is less than a problem than down. When climbing something high I usually don't want to come down because the view is so great from the top. :d


- Edit: A positive thing about freeclimbing: If you make a mistake, you won't have to worry about making more ever after.
 
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