Smith Woods: Part Four: Tyrolean Traverse!

The adventures into the high frontier continue on: For the fourth consecutive Sunday in a row, the tree climbing team ventured off into the Old Growth forest near Trumansburg, NY! Today we decided we would climb two neighboring trees in two separate parties and join up across the open space between the two trees. Tartter/Katz climbed “Sketch-tasitc” and Kelly/Thompson climbed up an old time favorite “Ewok Village.” Both trees are emergent tulip poplars with first branches approximately 65′ feet from the ground and about 50′ apart. We wanted to traverse through the open air on a Tyrolean traverse, so we connected the two trees at 100′ above the ground with two separate ropes, and cruised back and forth across the open space! It was an amazing feeling being suspended completely in the open air above the understory canopy. Usually one climbs next to a tree, but being suspended out in the open space was quite different, 100′ off the ground!

This week the trees were moving quite a bit from the strong winds. We spent a majority of the time “surfing” around the tops of the trees swaying in the wind. It’s a wild ride, and I still feel like I’m blowing around hours later sitting in a chair on the ground.  While waiting for the bus back home, Eric and I climbed into some urban-style American Beeches: It’s strange to be on the ground, I think we are becoming tree dwellers…

If it doesn’t get cold anytime soon, we might continue this Sunday tradition indefinitely!

A fellow climber suggested this.
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