Steep terrain & soft ground
When the ground won’t hold a 20,000-pound boom truck — lakeside banks, septic fields, freshly rained-in yards — manual climbing is the only safe option.
SW Michigan · TCIA-Certified
Hand-on, rope-on, no shortcuts.
Manual tree climbing and technical rigging across Allegan, Kalamazoo, Van Buren & Cass counties. TCIA Tree Climbing Specialist and Rigging in Arboriculture credentials. The craft of taking a tree down piece by piece.
Why manual climbing
Because a bucket truck is the wrong tool for half the jobs we take.
Inside the fall zone
Tree too close to a house, garage, or line to lift a boom into. We climb in, set rigging, and lower pieces a controlled foot at a time.
Narrow & fenced access
Backyard trees behind fences with no gate wide enough for a truck. Hand-carry the gear in and climb out.
Electrical-hazard training
Line-clearance work near energized conductors. With proper cover-up and approach distances, manual climbing on adjacent trees is the safe path.
The gear
What we run on the rope.
200-foot bull rope
Long enough for one setting on tall backyard trees without resetting partway down.
10-ton snatch block
Redirects load around corners — useful when the only safe landing zone is forty feet off the trunk.
10-ton steel-cable hand winch
Pulls heavy trunk sections through the air when friction alone won’t move them.
Hitch-pulley systems
Mechanical advantage — one hand on the descent line controls a 400-pound log.
Load-rated slings & blocks
Each piece rated and inspected before it goes in the air.
Standards
What “certified” actually means.
- 01
TCIA Tree Climbing Specialist
Formal credential covering advanced climbing systems, friction hitches, work positioning, climbing knots, and rescue from a tree.
- 02
TCIA Rigging in Arboriculture
Load calculations, rigging anchor selection, block usage, and crane signaling.
- 03
ANSI Z133 safety standard
The industry safety standard for arboricultural operations: PPE, electrical-hazard approach distances, and rescue procedures.
- 04
ANSI A300 pruning practices
The standard for tree-care pruning work — what we follow when we’re trimming instead of removing.
FAQ
Climbing & rigging questions.
Do you use bucket trucks?
Sometimes — but for the work we’re known for, we don’t need one. Manual climbing is the right approach when a bucket won’t fit, the ground won’t hold one, or the tree is too close to a structure.
What is TCIA certification?
TCIA — the Tree Care Industry Association — runs formal credentialing for arborists. Climbing Specialist and Rigging in Arboriculture are earned by passing written and practical exams. Both Chris and our 1099 crew hold both.
Is manual climbing slower?
Yes — and that’s usually a feature, not a bug. Slower cuts, more control, every piece on a rope.
How high can you climb?
Past 100 feet on the right trees. Climbing system redundancy, double-checked anchors, and rigging matched to the load.
Where we work
Climbing & rigging across SW Michigan
Allegan County
Plainwell · Otsego · Allegan · Holland · Dorr · Wayland · Fennville · Saugatuck
Kalamazoo County
Kalamazoo · Portage · Oshtemo · Comstock · Cooper · Richland · Vicksburg
Van Buren County
Gobles · Paw Paw · South Haven · Lawton · Decatur · Mattawan · Hartford
Cass County
Dowagiac · Cassopolis · Marcellus · Edwardsburg