International Society of Arboriculture Texas Chapter
Steve Houser, shouser@arborilogical.com, 972-877-0361
John Giedraitis, Exec. Dir., ISAT, jpg@isatexas.com, 979-324-1929
Oct. 30, 2015 — DALLAS, Texas — Dallas area tree climber Miguel Pastenes took top honors at the North American Tree Climbing Competition in Longmont, Colorado, Sept. 20 — crowning him the top tree climber in North America.
The International Society of Arboriculture hosts the two-day North American Tree Climbing Competition honoring climbing professionals within the tree care industry. Top ranking climbers from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. compete and challenge their own physical and mental aptitudes for climbing safely and effectively.
The event is focused on safety and is designed to assess the climbers’ abilities as they ascend ropes and climb to different points designated throughout a tree, performing a variety of work-and-rescue-simulations along the way. At times these challenges are as high up as 100 feet.
One challenge focuses on the climber’s ability to ascend a 50-foot rope in a timed event. The “work-climb” demonstrates a climber’s skill, balance and coordination. The “aerial rescue” challenges a climber's ability to rescue a worker stranded 30 feet up, injured perhaps by a run-in with a live electrical wire or chainsaw accident.
This year’s elite group of climbers included 37 male and six female tree climbers from across North America. The top ranking climbers, including Pastenes, advanced to the Masters Challenge final round to compete for the title of North American Champion.
Pastenes holds the unprecedented record of winning the International Society of Arboriculture Texas Chapter Tree Climbing Competition eight times. His state win gave him the opportunity to represent Texas in the North American and international competitions.
“The competition requires a great deal of training and education as it tests a tree climber’s strength, agility, balance and ability to use various climbing and rope techniques,” says Pastenes.
The International Society of Arboriculture Texas Chapter congratulates Miguel Pastenes, tree climber and crew leader with Arborilogical Services Inc., www.arborilogical.com.
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Editor’s Note: This article was produced by the International Society of Arboriculture Texas Chapter.
For more information on the competition please visit http://www.itcc-isa.com/events/regional/natcc/natcc.aspx
Photo available at https://twitter.com/isarboriculture/status/645702111842299904