My first job after high school was a tower climber, made a whopping 16 bucks an hour to work a couple hundred feet off the ground. I tried to get back into a few years back but the companies did not want to pay for time to and from jobs and they worked all over the U.S. There was no chance I was spending 10-15 hours a week in a pickup not getting paid.
SIL and my youngest son both have done it. Not those towers, but the windmill towers from 280-400 ft. up. My youngest has also welded on grain bridges over the Miss. river 200 ft up.
Myself, I can't even watch that stuff, makes me hurt and even sick at times.
Both got smarter I guess, one is a Heavy equipment operator now and the other is a plumber. LOL
Watched the weather channel last night. They had some of the worst jobs in the world. Guys sitting on a platform on the side of a helicopter while working on high line wires. Workers climbing and hanging off the rotor blades of wind towers repairing them. Parachutist fire fighters dropping into forest fires to fight them. Coast Guard water rescue personnel in Alaska.
When I was in my 20's I was a mountain climber - really. A group of us would go out on our free time and climb shear face walls. I still have a crate full of ropes, harnesses, and other stuff in my attic. A few years ago, my crew had already left for the day and there was a small emergency that came up and required a bucket truck so I took the truck out myself. I hadn't been at heights for about 10 years at that point.
I spent the whole time holding onto the side of the bucket with one hand and trying to work with the other. I don't know what happened to me but I can't do heights any more.
My two sons doing a bridge inspection. I think it is the Golden Gate Bridge. This is not for me.
Watched "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe a few years ago. He was working with a crew painting the Golden Gate bridge. They painted the supports and the cables. That man amazes me with some of the jobs he did on that show. Really pretty fearless and obviously not afraid of heights. The only job I ever remember he couldn't handle was at sea on Deadliest Catch. He lasted two days and never did get his "sea legs". That's another job that you'd never get me doing.
Yep. When I was young, i'd do anything, I didn't care and I have the scars to prove it. Now, just seeing people climbing anything makes my sphincter tighten beyond water tight. No thank you!!
My grandson was cleaning windows on high buildings in Toronto. 55 story, was the highest . Lowers over the side on rope , cleans on the way down, has water bucket ,squigi and lots of nerve. He enjoys doing it. Not for me, old243
Just about every "climber" I have ever known has either "locked up" or had to deal with others who did.
Had a real good friend that did tree work as a climber. One day he was up about 25' and just totally locked up. Couldn't make himself turn loose of the tree or move. Had to get the FD to get him down. He never even tried to climb again.
My BIL had to leave a fella on top of a water tower once for the same reason. Guy had been climbing for years, then one day BANG, he was done. Took High rescue a cpl of hours top get him down.
I have never liked heights although I do have to work alot on roofs. I am about to quit doing that on anything over 1 story.
Caves I used to really enjoy going into. Not anymore. The older I get the more close places scare me.
Funny part for me is, I would love to be able to go up high, or deep into caves and such. Just can't do it.
Back in the 80s, we mined for over 2 years in an area that averaged 32”. We had to cut at least 30 inches to get the equipment through. You get used to crawling after a while. The worst thing was having to take a dump in a low mine.
The good things about low coal.....your posts were short and light, and if a rock fell out of the roof, it didn’t hurt as bad as it did in an 8 foot high seam.
I used to be a Union Iron Worker. I built power plants, cell towers, bridges, 3 smoke stack along with many other projects. I also do tree work. Heights never bothered me, but working at heights in winter or rain thing get really slick, and let's not even discuss spring pop up thunderstorms.
I used to climb around on those wind generators. Its not good for ones knees i can tell ya. Climbing up a ladder 300 feet 2 to 3 times a day. I'll leave that to the younger crowd
Not for the weak that is for sure. Was up a 75 footah one time in a snow storm first pole on a rivers edge and an angle pole to boot. The river was downI would say another 40 feet or better. Long ways down. LOL The spots lights from the ground didn't help one bit, I had a headlamp which helped some. It was the one time I was a bit concerned couldn't see my feet from the blowing snow. I was in hooks/belt on a wood structure. I got my work done up there and lived to tell about it. Live by prayers and on the edge. LOL
Its really not that bad. Big babies. Once climbed a 500'er outside of Billings up on the suicide cliffs at night with no safety cable to repair a blown beacon bulb. And was super excited to do it. My best tower climb.
Sorry. Finally had my chance to be that guy on trapperman
I climbed one to a ellevation 13,200 ft... top that !! lol was a 20 footer on the top of a mt peak outside of gunnison... my buddy had to get down on one knee so all ya could see was me and skyline in the pic
My buddy and I both lost jobs in a mold shop in the crash of 2008, I got a job at different mold builder 8 monthes later, he started to do wind tower work. He said the first thing was climb the ladder inside with a cable to start pulling up gear once on top outside. He said a lot of temp help was hired that was glad to get a job back then for $15 an hour. Also said they had competitors that just hung off of ropes to do work, he called them dope on a rope guys, based on what they did at break time.