Andersen a champ when it comes to tree climbing
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Andersen, in town for the city’s celebration of Arbor Day and TREE CITY USA award ceremony, was the state champion tree climber last year. He missed going to the international competition by just one point.
As he swung from branch to branch while sky high in the decades-old red maple located on the courthouse lawn, trimming dead wood with a chainsaw.
An arborist for nine years who has a tree-trimming business in Nashville, Andersen met the city’s urban forester Nick Kuhn last year when Kuhn judged a competition in Memphis.
Andersen, a proponent of trimming as opposed to tree topping, was contracted to trim some trees locally, so when Arbor Day activities came up, he was naturally inclined to participate when asked to perform a demonstration.
Andersen said he trains for the competition along with members of his crew, all of whom compete as a natural offshoot of their business. Andersen said he can climb and work in between 10 and 15 trees per day depending on the work required.
In competition, there are events like speed climbing, aerial rescue and seeing how fast one can move through a tree. There has been a national tree climbing competition for years, but tree climbing championships in Tennessee have only been going on for the past three, he said.
It’s not all that dangerous, but you had to wonder as on-lookers gaped at his height in the red maple Friday.
“There’s inherent danger in anything, but nowadays, the way our equipment is developed and safety is a real important feature, it’s really very safe,” he said of his job. “There are often risks involved, but I’ve been involved in this for nine years and there’s been cuts and scrapes, but I’ve never been injured and it’s more a matter of using your head. It’s a pretty safe job and it’s becoming more so.”
It all may sound a bit crazy, but Andersen said the competition aspect is just plain fun. He said even though he lost the title to his brother this past year, he will compete again this fall.