#lparborcare

This ponderosa pine tree is located on bear creek near Evergreen, CO. We measured the height to be 111′3″. This is the tallest pine we have measured in the front range. It’s not very often in Colorado that you have to climb 70′ to get to the lowest branch. What a fantastic old tree for this area.

Colorado Tree Climbers goes to Costa Rica!

Malinda Painter, Drew Nelson and I traveled to Costa Rica in December to a place called Rancho Mastatal. We were asked to remove some trees in order to let in more sunlight for the vegetable gardens. The environment is so lush with much plant diversity and I found myself frequently hanging around trying to take it all in. Drew and I were also able to spend a couple days teaching tree climbing techniques. Everyone was kind, eager to learn and a pleasure to spend time with.  Unfortunately, I contracted a nasty virus and we had to end our trip early. Thanks to everyone at Rancho Mastatal for having us.

This photo is of Drew Nelson removing a tree near the main house. You can see the red roof. 

In May I headed north to Cheyenne, Wyoming to work for Damien Carre, owner of Wyoming Tree Care. Also working with us was Ben Trapanese, owner of Heartwood Tree Care out of Portland, Oregon. I met Damien in January while in Portland and we spent a couple days talking about trees and life. It turns out we share a lot of similar ideas about how trees should be pruned and cared for.

In Cheyenne, Ben and I climbed a bunch of large cottonwoods and had a great time. The only unfortunate part was that it rained all week and we were soaked. I just pretended that I was in the northwest and worked on. These guys really care a lot about trees and are trying to promote some of the most current ideas on tree preservation. I hope to work with Ben and Wyoming Tree Care again soon.

This is a photo of Ben lowering out of a large, heavily-decayed cottonwood in downtown Cheyenne just before another thunderstorm.

Chris Kupka removing a ponderosa pine at Logan Mill in Boulder, Colorado.

Four guys having fun climbing a large cottonwood tree at Riverside Park in Salida, Colorado.

The city of Salida contracted LP Arbor Care along with Reinholt Tree Care to climb and assess the structural integrity of two large cottonwood trees in Riverside Park. These photographs were taken in the cottonwood that overhangs the bandshell. This is the largest tree I have ever climbed. Overall the trees are growing vigorously and we enjoyed a great autumn day of climbing.

Drew Nelson and I spent a week in Salida climbing for Terra Firma Forestry. Here we are trimming a large american elm tree and having fun. Drew is an advocate of single rope technique so our time was filled swapping stories about trees and learning climbing styles from each other.