Climbing spike scar on a maple changed my whole removal approach

Last month I was doing a big removal in Portland and used my spikes on a client's prized maple to get up fast. The bark was thin, maybe 2 inches of live tissue, and my gaffs tore it up way worse than I expected. The homeowner walked out and pointed at the scars, said 'that tree has been in my family for 40 years.' I offered to discount the job but the damage was done, and it got me thinking about how often I default to spiking when a rope climb would take 10 extra minutes. Now I carry a lanyard and flip line kit in the truck for any tree that isn't dead or hazardous. Has anyone else had a customer call out spike marks, and how do you decide when it's worth the extra setup time?

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tylerw721mo ago

Had the same thing happen on a red oak in a backyard in Beaverton, three years back. Customer came out while I was still up there and just stared at the trunk, didn't say a word, that was worse than yelling honestly. What worked for me after that was a simple rule: if the tree is staying (pruning job, or the wood is going to the mill), spikes stay in the truck. I keep a set of preset climb lines so setup is maybe 5 minutes now, not 10. For takedowns where the trunk gets cut into firewood anyway, I still spike it, nobody has ever cared about a stump. Also started asking the homeowner upfront if the tree means anything to them, you can usually tell by how they talk about it.

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