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[Kevin Wood]

I'm also never happier than when a mile high in a plastic aeroplane with no engine, and I love fiddling with radio transmitters, but not at that height, thanks.

I tell you what, if I had his job to do I would be taking my parachute. bu66er climbing back down that lot when you're finished!

I bet there's a fair old bit of movement at the top of a structure like that with a couple of blokes climbing it. 

I wonder what UK H&S would have to say about the cavalier attitude they appear to be displaying towards harnessing themselves to the tower?

Mind you' I don't see a guy with a clipboard and a hi-vis jacket watching them!

Kevin

[bertiecbx550]

Yes i`m bloody terrified of em!!!!!!

[Tony H]

A company I worked for many moons ago did sub contract work for the CEGB. The job consisted of climbing pylons and removing protective grease and applying new grease to the insulation pots. To expand we climbed the pylons which some times were up to 250 feet high. carrying a bucket of parraffin and a big bunch of cloths,then traversed the arm of the tower and in some cases were the pots hung vertical from the arm hung a short ladder along side the pots and cimbed down it to clean off the old grease. The trick was not to get any grease or parraffin on your boots because this made climbing back down very hairy
One pylon we worked on had a loose climbing bolt about 60 feet up the leg. It was o.k. but moved when you grabbed it. One of my collegues climbed said pylon and when the bolt moved he froze (not uncommon) he wouln't climb down it took the fire brigade three hours to get him down using the turn table ladder.
Work at power stations was the hairiest one job was to climb concreate A frames some up to 60 feet high  and walk along the top of a ten inch wide concreate beam with no safety harness.
I wonder what the HSE would make of it nowadays :-/
Ones thing for sure you wouldn't get me up one of those under the same circumstances nowadays!

[Psychoca]

All that to seemingly change a light bulb....When he climbed out, I got that queasy feeling, again when he went up what looked like an antenna, I only hope he was attached to his mate below him who may have been better roped on...

It also bugged me how he seemingly stood on the top, fiddling with a D-Link with both hands....

[zirk]

Done a fair bit of Radio Tower climbing myself, in my fitter days, mostly in the UK, although my worst memory was climbs in Moscow, Ostankino TV Tower, the towers 540m (1770 ft) in height, scary as hell, not because of the height but due to complete lack of ongoing maintenance of the thing, loose bolts, flexing booms and bits of unsecured heavy duty cable flying around doing its best to squash your fingers or push you off balance. As for the Russian Riggers not even going to go there.

Most Towers or Mast in the UK are no longer Free Climbed, but have a Rail Lock system in place whilst climbing, a sort of vertical Man Safe system, although theres still a few riggers that dont use them because its time consuming, the going up and down bit is the easy part, the dodgy part is then having to free climb outwards to another leg or something then strapping your belt lanyard to something so you can hang off with both hands free to do the required work.

My pet hates were low level Guyed Masts, up to 100ft, they had to be built and climbed whilst building them so your life really was in the hands of the Guy on the ground who was tensioning the Guy Wire as it was being built.

Happy Days 

Chris.

[jereboam]

Heights don't bother me.  Edges do.

But I am really, really scared of the physical effort involved.  I find the clinb upstairs to go to bed is absolutely exhausting.  Think I need to move to a bungalow.