[BC] Two Clear Channel workers fall from a Denver radio tower

[RichardBJohnson at comcast.net]

When I used to climb towers, the methods used were to keep ones belt stowed while climbing, then feed it through a tower member, clasp it, then lean back to let it take your weight while resting. Typically, we would climb two or three sections at a time, a section being about 20 feet. Using this method of slow-climb would allow anybody who was fit to climb even 1,000 foot towers. Because I was young, I was often the one who would make the first climb and bring along the end of a rope and a block.

Once I would get to the "top," which was really the base of a TV antenna or similar platform, I would secure the block, thread the rope, and start its loop back down. Once it was lowered, the first thing to be hoisted was a heaver block, which could support a steel cable. Once this arrived, I would fasten that to the tower and feed the hoisting rope back down through it.  Then the crew would start pulling up the steel hoisting cable. If we were lucky, the cable would be pulled through the block with no problems.

Anytime the cable was moving, I was to be belted in, inside the tower so if anything let go, I would not be cut in half. If I were unlucky, I would have to help coerce the cable through the block, exposing myself to the hazard of a 1,000 foot-long steel cable coming loose. Anyway, after the hoisting cable was in place, the rest of the crew would secure it with a "Johnyball" and then I could climb back down, again with the belt stowed and not wrapped around a tower member for security.

Once my preliminary work was done, it was time for a coffee break. Later, everyone working on the tower would be raised and lowered by the cable using a Boson’s (or boatswain) chair.

Now I understand that there are new OSHA regulations that make most of this illegal! In particular, you are no longer able to climb without the belt secured to a tower member! I do not have a clue how this is possible, you would need two belts, one to use while you unhook the other to get it around a horizontal member. I seriously doubt anybody actually does that, just as I seriously doubt that anybody uses a table-saw with its guard in place!

As a 65 year old, it has been over 40 years since I have climbed. However, I still remember the thrill of the first "real" climb. It was 670 feet! I still have my original belt, hanging on a hook in my basement --just in case I need to secure myself to a stepladder <grin>.

Cheers,
Richard B. Johnson
Book: http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Glen Kippel" <glen.kippel at gmail.com>

On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 3:55 PM, Cowboy <curt at spam-o-matic.net> wrote:

>
>  "riding the line" is, in fact, legal, with several proivisos.
>
>  This isn't the first time I've heard of exactly this accident, for various
>  reasons, and usually close to the ground as was this one.
>
>  -------------