Would You Do This?

[tucking fypo]

Tower climbing fever. Your hands and feet might get sweaty after watching this.

Climbing A 1786 Foot Tall Tower*Video (http://www.break.com/index/climbing-a-1786-tall-tower)

[Scoobz0202]

I watched that the other day. I got sick to my stomach just watching it.

[RendeR]

Umm....not just..umm...NO..but...ummmmm...



FUCKINGHELLNO.

[Chief Rum]

I love the comment underneath the video. Something like, "After watching this, I thought of two words. The second was 'that!'"

[EagleFan]

Umm....not just..umm...NO..but...ummmmm...



FUCKINGHELLNO.

+1

[Abe Sargent]

Sexy awesome vid, thanks!

[JS19]

Curious how much guys like that get paid?

[kingfc22]

I just shat my pants watching that.

[thesloppy]

If I was in on the design meeting for this antenna, when it came to the topic of servicing the thing, and someone suggested "just weld a few bars to it, and hire some mechanic climb to the top with a 30 lb. toolbox" I would have strenuously objected to the idea that such a person existed.

[DanGarion]

Crazy it appears he's doing the first group of pegs with two points of contact. Finishes it with three though.

And hell fuck no I wouldn't do that. I don't even climb at my work and my bosses have been trying to get me to do it so I can help with training.

[dawgfan]

Tower climbing fever. Your hands and feet might get sweaty after watching this.

Climbing A 1786 Foot Tall Tower*Video (http://www.break.com/index/climbing-a-1786-tall-tower)
I didn't get more than about a quarter of the way through that video. Once he got to the part that was totally exposed, with just the rungs sticking out off the side of the tower, I was done watching.

I can't believe that was the design for getting people all the way to the top, and I can't believe there are people that do that.

[SackAttack]

Curious how much guys like that get paid?

Not remotely enough.

The amount of money you'd have to pay me to do something like that is sufficient that I'd be able to pay some other poor sap to go in my place and I'd STILL be set for life.

In other words: not happenin'.

[judicial clerk]

The video commentary is innacurate. The voice-over said that if a storm comes in there is no fast way down. I disagree.

[Apathetic Lurker]

I'm too fuckin' lazy to climb stairs

[lungs]

A good friend of mine does do this type of stuff though I'm not sure if he climbs anything that high.

I believe he told me that tower climbers have the most frequent fatalities of any job in America though I/he may be wrong as I've never seen the stats.

[Jughead Spock]

I have literally had nightmares like that. No f'ing way ever. No amount of money.

[Alan T]

At first it didn't seem too bad. Then it continued to get progressively worse as it went on. It is amazing to me how nonchalant he seemed to be while climbing that as well.

[JS19]

Life As a Wireless Tower Climber - Pays well, but for a reason.... - dslreports.com (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/86842)

Not entirely sure on the validity of the source, but they claim... "Climbers often charge $1,500 or more a day plus additional insurance fees; one climber notes that he bills out at $295.00 per hour".

[terpkristin]

The "without protection" part is what gets me. I used to be an avid climber, and climbed some big stuff. I've carried heavy bags of gear up and down, in caves and on rocks. But I've always had a line to catch a fall. It looked like once he got to the top that he clipped in a safety line, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable doing any of it without a safety line (though I can understand how much of a pain it would be).

/tk

[johnnyshaka]

How much of a pain it would be to attach a safety line 1700 feet from the ground...ah, I can think of worse pain.

Are there any engineers around here? Surely there is money to be made in how to provide a safer environment for these guys to climb in...it really can't be that hard, can it?

Oh, and, FUCK ME those guys are crazy!!

[lungs]

Are there any engineers around here? Surely there is money to be made in how to provide a safer environment for these guys to climb in...it really can't be that hard, can it?


Well my buddy that does this for a living works for an engineering firm so I'm not sure they've figured it out.

[Alan T]

How do they even put those towers up in the first place?

[Chief Rum]

How do they even put those towers up in the first place?

They fire them up from Cape Canaveral and back them into place from orbit. Just listen for the reverse beeping to check it out.

[Desnudo]

How much of a pain it would be to attach a safety line 1700 feet from the ground...ah, I can think of worse pain.

Are there any engineers around here? Surely there is money to be made in how to provide a safer environment for these guys to climb in...it really can't be that hard, can it?

Oh, and, FUCK ME those guys are crazy!!

I'm not an engineer, but I would surely think enclosing most of the ladder might help...

[Alan T]

I'm not an engineer, but I would surely think enclosing most of the ladder might help...


At the start of the video, I didn't think it looked too bad since it was an enclosed ladder.

That opinion did not take too long to change however!

[lighthousekeeper]

is that footage from Cloud City?

[Chief Rum]

How much of a pain it would be to attach a safety line 1700 feet from the ground...ah, I can think of worse pain.

Are there any engineers around here? Surely there is money to be made in how to provide a safer environment for these guys to climb in...it really can't be that hard, can it?

Oh, and, FUCK ME those guys are crazy!!

Two words: Rocket pack.

One additional word, filed under "necessary equipment": Parachute.

[johnnyshaka]

Well my buddy that does this for a living works for an engineering firm so I'm not sure they've figured it out.

I hope to God that they aren't sitting on a better solution because being able to bill these guys out is more profitable...but then again, that wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[JS19]

Two words: Rocket pack.

One additional word, filed under "necessary equipment": Parachute.

Seriously. I mean people do jump off of these things for fun, so I know I would be an experienced BASE jumper if I was in this line of work.

[MizzouRah]

I don't even climb on my roof to put up Christmas lights.. my 14 year old daughter does that.

Wow.. it was rough just watching that video.. freaking crazy!

[cartman]

If you decided to save a couple of seconds at the top by not clipping in the safety line, you'd have 10-11 seconds before the ground reminded you that wasn't the best of ideas.

[JediKooter]

They need to make those things retractable. One thing I noticed (maybe it was just edited that way), he never looks up. He looks down and around, but, never really straight up.

[Abe Sargent]

How they build them -

Crane for as far as the crane can go, and then they use the antennae as a sort of crane and leapfrog parts up until they are done.

[Chief Rum]

How they build them -

Crane for as far as the crane can go, and then they use the antennae as a sort of crane and leapfrog parts up until they are done.

I like my way better.

And how about this? Build it flat, then just push it up with a whole village of Amish people. Cue Witness music.

[Noop]

That is insane.

[Chief Rum]

That is insane.

Not really. Get a 1000 Amish men. Bring out their woman to churn butter and prepare the post-tower-raising supper. Tell the men it's for hanging bird feeders. And you're done.

[stevew]

Just a point-
You are likely dead from a massive head trauma before you can activate a jetpack/parachute.

[Alan T]

Just a point-
You are likely dead from a massive head trauma before you can activate a jetpack/parachute.


Clearly he was not thinking that solution all the way through when he suggested it.


The real solution is obviously anti-gravity boots.

[SackAttack]

Clearly he was not thinking that solution all the way through when he suggested it.


The real solution is obviously anti-gravity boots.

The real solution is not to climb it in the first place!

[CU Tiger]

I've climbed a 480' tower to change an antenna..that was no sweat.
1500+' I dont qualify because of my weight/size.

That said I don't have to anymore...thats why I have employees...nah seriously we dont have the contract anymore we once did. But ive climbed 250' + dozens of times.

I had always heard the megas were changed by repelling from chopper and clipping on...guess not.

[Dodgerchick]

Uuuummmmmm no

[RendeR]

There are many high towers that are changed by chopper lifted mechanics. There was a show on Discovery Channel about them.

I could probably do that job. I'm never, EVER climbing that high. I know for a fact that I fall all too easily.

(getting out of bed, let alone anything else)

[zums]

video didnt really bother me - i honestly dont think i would have a huge problem with climbing that high

my issue: getting down

[cartman]

I've done some pretty high rock climbs, but that is an entirely different dynamic. Your brain processes it a lot differently than being exposed on all sides like that.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gLDYtH1RH-U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[CleBrownsfan]

No thanks... My stomach was turning watching climb that last tower.