EDMONTON — It’s a warm, wonderful April morning at an acreage in Strathcona County. The goats and sheep are curiously watching as a pair of visitors unload and set up their camera equipment. There’s barely a wisp of wind.
We’re awaiting the arrival of Ian Jones, who recently competed at the International Tree Climbing Championship in Tampa, Florida. This morning, he’s going to show us the ropes.
We’re pretty sure we have discovered his practice tree. It’s a an awesome sight: a 60-foot willow. The tree is as wide as it is tall. It resembles a monstrous octopus doing a headstand. The branches are immense, which must be tantalizing material for an expert tree climber.
Jones drives in with his wife and two of his three children. He’s an arborist.
“It’s about the maintenance and preservation and removal of trees. Tree care.”
Jones has been part of this profession for 15 years now. He currently owns and operates Canopy Tree Care.
“The job itself is awesome. There’s no job like it.”
He’s 5′ 10” tall and weighs 155 pounds: a lean, keen, climbing machine. Jones would classify as a Super Welterweight in the boxing ring. Today’s he’s taking on a giant in the great outdoors.
“You need every aspect of your being basically to do the job – your physical, mental, your emotional, your will – just to keep doing it.
“It’s a very, very tough job, but it’s very rewarding to come home and known you’ve done a good, hard day’s work.”
Of course, Jones started his career at the bottom. But he has learned to combine mountain climbing gear with arborist equipment and skills, and eventually take his trade to the top.
“It’s a competitive industry. There’s lots of people who do it and lots of people who don’t follow the rules. You’ve got to think about ‘how can I do it quickly, what’s involved in the job, what kind of tools, what kind of techniques am I going to need to get this done efficiently and safely and make money at it?'”
There’s no monkeying around here. Jones wears a helmet, gloves and special shoes. He is tethered to various appendages of the tree with a rope and harness. The branches could break at any time. Because of that, Jones is also armed with a great deal of experience.
WATCH: A local arborist is back in Edmonton after competing at the International Tree Climbing Championship. John Sexsmith has his story.
“Then you get up there and you’re tied to a branch and there’s no label on the branch that says: this one will hold you.
“So you’re up there and you kind of have to go by experience and feel. And you’ve got to trust your gut and you’ve got to trust movement.”
Fortunately, Jones has made many of the right moves so far. He hasn’t suffered any major falls or injuries on the job.
“Because I knew I was going to do this for a long time, I bought a lift truck, so I have a 50-foot lift truck. That’s a huge advantage when you’re doing this kind of stuff, when you can use the lift truck.”
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Safe to say; it’s tough to keep up with Jones. Even more so during tree climbing competitions.
“I’ve been doing a little bit more of the competitions and really enjoying them.”
Jones began competing in 2006 and is focussed on two different disciplines. The “Work Climb” tests a climber’s ability to move about a tree on a rope and harness and then perform a specified task at five different stations.
“Secured Footlock” is an event that measures a climber’s ability to rapidly ascend. Jones looked like he was quickly climbing an invisible ladder during his Footlock demonstration.
“You don’t climb one tree beside the other guy and compete. You each have your own turn and they have judges and everything and tell you the results later.
“You have to be mentally prepared, you have to have a plan, you have to have the strategy and all the gear you need and then you go for it.”
On March 22 and 23, Jones was among a world class field at the International Tree Climbing Championship in Tampa.
“It was amazing climbing with the best in the world!”
Unfortunately, the arborist from the north had a tough time with conditions in the south.
“It was hard because it was the last event of the day, so it was right in the heat, it was 31 (degrees) with 98 per cent humidity and I was already tired,” he explained. “I just wanted to lay and watch these people climb. They said, ‘okay Ian, get up there,'” he laughed. “And I said, ‘okay.'”
Jones didn’t place on the podium. He came in 31st, as a matter of fact. But for him, the situation was win-win anyway.
“It was more of an opportunity to share and to learn new techniques and new things that are happening in the industry. Technology is changing in every area.”
And the friendships he has formed through tree climbing are now deeply rooted.
“I just started to really enjoy the arboriculture culture: the people, the characters, just meeting other individuals in the industry and sharing stories and learning from them and teaching them. And I kind of more fell in love with that aspect than the tree climbing.”
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