Just saw that a former localish councilman has died from injures from falling out of a tree. He was 63. Am I being too ageist for thinking that is getting up there for getting up there? (Of course, his falling to his death doesn’t hurt my case.)
(As an aside, the hexigenarian in a tree was the first thing that surprised me about the story–the second is that I recognized the name–he was a blowhard who installed spyware on another councilman’s computer, published the guy’s documents on-line, and was arrogantly claiming that he did no wrong right up to the prisonsentence.)
I’m still a few months shy of sixty but I was up my bigass maple tree not too long ago–it’s the easiest way to get up on the roof of my shed and some roofing material came off in a windstorm. I didn’t fix it, though, left that to a couple youngsters after I figured out what materials I needed.
Mr.Wrekker is 69 and was up a pecan tree to knock down the pecans for me. I didn’t think a thing about it til he was way up in that tree. I thought holy crap if that man falls out of this tree how will I explain this to the EMTs, his kids, his friends. Needless to say he won’t be climbing that pecan tree anymore. He calmly informed me he climbs dozens of trees every deer season. That’s ok, sez I, not on my watch.
A lot depends on the 60+ year old - some folks are fit and active well in what could be called old age. On the other hand, I know 20-something folks who couldn’t climb a tree if their life depended on it.
I’m 72, and I have never climbed a tree at any age. I probably could have done it ten years ago, but definitely not now (recovering from knee replacement surgery).
I’m a few years over 60 and I was up a cypress tree a few weeks ago over by the coast. Not that high up, but only because the tree wasn’t that tall. As a kid, climbing trees was one of my primary fun activities. The higher the better.
I climbed trees a lot as a kid. Went up very high to a few feet of the top of Douglas Firs and such. Fearless.
Somewhere between 20 and 40 I got the jitters climbing trees. Not sure when. The “why” might have something to do with recognizing mortality, having a family, etc.
I’m 60. My last tree climbing was about 3 years ago. I climbed an old tree on our property, then pulled my chainsaw up with a rope so that I could cut off a big limb. Then I climbed back down and dropped the rest of the tree. I tackled the project when my gf was away on business, because I knew she’d object.
The project went very smoothly, but I could easily have been killed. I also had a severe leg cramp that night. Since then I’ve paid pros to do tree climbing work.
I haven’t had the occasion to climb up a tree (in the usual sense) recently. But I have climbed up inside the hollows of giant redwoods like the awesome “corkscrew tree” in Prairie Creek Redwoods.
I’ve never climbed a tree in my life. Never had the opportunity, nor did I have the interest. And none of the trees in my yard are climbable anyway, so it’s a moot point.
I haven’t climbed a tree since I turned 60 unless you consider stepping up about 2 feet into the split of a pair of trunks to pull out a dead branch. But I still climb up on to roofs and ladders leaning against trees. Climbing trees is not particularly more dangerous as you age, hitting the ground when you fall may be though.
I was wondering if there had been alcohol involved, but after reading the second article I’m guessing that alcohol wasn’t necessary as a motivator. He sounds like a guy who goes full speed ahead when he gets an idea in his head.
I had to google to see if there was any mention of why he was in the tree. Apparently it was a neighbor’s tree and he was helping work on it. And apparently, he was also convicted of tampering with a grand jury after being released from the information charges. When indicted on that charge, he wrote and submitted a motion to dismiss because he hadn’t been given a speedy trial. Either he didn’t think he needed a lawyer or his lawyer wouldn’t do it. So, not the first tree he’s climbed up.
No matter how old you are, if you have any inclination to climb trees and find yourself in Southwestern Australia, be sure to check out the Gloucester Tree. I was 49 when I made it to the top.
My dad, in his mid-60s, recently climbed pretty high up an oak tree on his property to remove a groundhog that he had shot in it. To be fair, he used a ladder to get most of the way up. But he did have to climb onto the tree to get the groundhog carcass. And yes, groundhogs also climb trees.
Only if I have to these days - to get a kite or an airplane for a kid. The last tie I climbed a tree was to identify a golf ball that got stuck during a tournament. If you ID it, you get a free drop right underneath it. If you don’t/can’t, you have to go back to the tee and re-drive starting with shot #3.