July 25, 2001
Class takes climbers out on a limb
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Gently swaying in the breeze, up where birds and squirrels live, tree climbers get a view of the world not normally seen by ground huggers.
Perched on a branch watching wildlife, drinking in the view and taking a swing in a Treeboat, a specialized hammock for tree climbers, hours can slip away unnoticed.
"The trees are very embracing, it is just so neat to be sitting up in a tree," said Scott Paradis of Traverse City, a tree climber for the past few years. "It is kind of like scuba diving for the first time, when you sit under the water and breathe, it is wonderful."
Paradis was helping some novice climbers experience tree climbing Saturday afternoon, assisting instructor Dick Flowers with his Tree Climbing class. Offered by Northwestern Michigan College's Extended Education Service, the five students in the class used ropes and special tree-climbing harnesses called saddles to ascend into the canopy of a walnut tree near Cedar Lake in Grand Traverse County.
Working their way to just below the tree's top, they found a different world awaiting them.
"Tree climbing is getting to see God's creation from an entirely different viewpoint," said Lyn Boyer of Williamsburg, who attended the class with her daughter, Amanda Pennington, 16. "It is really very beautiful."
Beautiful, schmeautiful - what about the height, skeptics may ask. Like dozens of Flowers' students before her, Boyer found that hanging out 30-40 feet off the ground really wasn't scary.
"I didn't think about it too much, but every once in a while you would look down and go, 'Holy cow!'" Boyer said. "But you really feel pretty secure with the ropes and you just don't think about it."
Flowers emphasizes to his students before they start climbing that fear of heights is a natural, healthy response and that the top of the tree can be wherever each person wants it to be. Confronting such an ingrained fear and climbing anyway is a triumph for the climber.
"Part of the fun of climbing is getting confidence with one of the major fears," said Karen Flowers, Dick's wife and tree-climbing companion, who helped with the class and also loves climbing trees. "At first, it is very difficult to get used to letting go. The danger comes in when you get too comfortable with it."
Before heading up, Flowers demonstrated how to use the equipment, the basics of knot tying and various methods of controlled ascent and descent. Students then donned saddles, threw their weighted line over a branch and began their climb.
Using techniques similar to the wildly popular sport of rock climbing, tree climbers work their way up from branch to branch. But this is no extreme sport - tree climbing is laid back and much more of an experience than a constant physical and mental challenge.
"Rock climbing is a different rhythm than tree climbing, it is way different," said Flowers, who began climbing in the mid-1990s.
A long-time rock climbing instructor, Flowers learned of tree climbing while teaching at the now-defunct Bay Area Adventure School. At first, he had no interest in climbing seemingly boring trees when there were so many rocks to conquer. Then he began to think about it and realized there are far more trees in this area to climb than there were rocks.
"I went out back one winter day with my rock-climbing gear, put it up in a tree and was hooked," Flowers said. "I couldn't honestly tell you what it is about tree climbing, the list of reasons to do it is long. It is a whole other ecosystem in a tree."
The Flowers now weave tree climbing into their travels. Dick has climbed many types of trees in different parts of the country, including 200-foot high old growth Douglas fir in the Pacific Northwest. His whole family is now hooked on tree climbing and his daughter has brought along her baby on climbs, nursing her in the swaying heights.
Teaching three classes a year for the past three years, plus a parent-child class and Rock Climbing II, Flowers continues to spread the word about exploring trees.
"The woman I heard about tree climbing from does not think too many people should be in trees, it might harm the trees," Flowers said. "But I believe that the more people you introduce to the sport the more conscious they become and the more they will care for the trees."