Holy cow, and I thought my job was hard

[Hoss]

...make sure you have motion sickness pills.  This guy has a cam mounted on his hard-hat as he climbs to the top of a nearly 1800-foot tall TV antenna tower.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/8244494/21915033

[custosnox]

oh hell no.  That made my hole pucker just watching the video.

[Breadburner]

I was going to post that but it had been taken down.....For fear of the guy that did the climbing could get black listed in the idustry for being un-safe.....Its amazing to me.....

[Smokinokie]

...make sure you have motion sickness pills.  This guy has a cam mounted on his hard-hat as he climbs to the top of a nearly 1800-foot tall TV antenna tower.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/8244494/21915033

I did a lot of that in my younger days. I'm to old and fat to do that anymore. I was working on one of the towers out in Coweta. After a long hot day, I completed my work and was headed down. I knew better but I was tired and wanted to feel my feet on the ground so I was decending a little to fast. At the 100 foot mark, I moved from the inside to the outside of the tower. I let my mind start wondering and BAM! My hand slipped and I knew I was dead. Turns out I was only 15 feet from the bottom.
I did three or four more jobs after that, then just couldn't do it anymore. Looking down never bothered me. Looking up would convince me I was in the wrong line of work.

[Conan71]

No idea why I watched that, I've got a horrible fear of heights.  Flying small aircraft never bothered me, but put me up on a tall ladder or on the edge of a roof top more than 20 ft off the ground and my skin crawls.

[Hoss]

No idea why I watched that, I've got a horrible fear of heights.  Flying small aircraft never bothered me, but put me up on a tall ladder or on the edge of a roof top more than 20 ft off the ground and my skin crawls.

Same with me.  I can fly aircraft all day long.  It might have something to do with the fact that you're enclosed within a space and moving, whereas in that situation, if you fall, it's your hindquarters.  In a plane, you feel a little more in control of your fate.

[nathanm]

put me up on a tall ladder or on the edge of a roof top more than 20 ft off the ground and my skin crawls.

For me, it's not the going up or being up that bothers me. It's the climb down that really freaks me out. Especially that first step back onto the ladder. When I was younger, I'd just jump off the roof rather than get back on the ladder.

[custosnox]

For me, it's not the going up or being up that bothers me. It's the climb down that really freaks me out. Especially that first step back onto the ladder. When I was younger, I'd just jump off the roof rather than get back on the ladder.

I tried that jumping off thing recently.  It seems that as joints age, they don't appreciate that kind of stuff.  Good thing I still know how to tuck and roll.

[DolfanBob]

I gaffed poles for Tulsa Cable and I know what a swaying pole feels like. I cant even begin to imagine how badly that tower must sway.
The free climbing they are talking about was called step poles back in the day. I liked those a whole lot better than one spike on each foot.
Everytime I splintered out on a pole, I was climbing down. The rule of thumb was to push off and free fall. Hugging the pole all the way down was way worse than the fall.