Transmission tower climb

[murphyv310]

I agree!!
I showed this to my wife and youngest (not so young now) and all of us felt really queasy.
I have been up 120ft on a British Relay mast when a teenager but even then and at that height it felt scary, no way could I do that job not for all the tea in China!

[Herald1360]

Oooof! Just loved the line about nearly there, only 60 feet to the top.

Not sure whether queasy feelings down to vertigo or the way the helmet camera sways about- unlike eyes it can't focus on one point as the climber moves.

I suppose in actual physical climb terms, the distance free climbed is about the same as a lot of cranedrivers daily commutes.

Not for me, anyway.

[AndiiT]

I have no head for heights, but braved the video out of sheer curiosity. Admittedly I nearly fell off my computer seat several times and am still a little dizzy while typing this

Excellent footage though

Andrew

[Richard]

Nice job, heights dont bother me, but that would be a good test of how not bothered I am

Richard

[Alistair D]

I get scared when my feet are more than 3 ft off the ground. Even flying scares me. The thought of there being 5 miles of fresh air between me and the ground makes me jittery. Add to this the only things that are propelling me forward are 2 ginormous blowlamps!

Al

[phasedout]

I dont mind Heights, but this is near the upstairs bosses front door, goodness what a climb, what if you get took short??, brilliant film, thanks...Alan.

[ppppenguin]

I saw that film a while back and had to stay to the end even though my stomach was churning. I've got a lousy sense of balance and it took a long time before I would even climb a simple loft ladder. I'm a bit better these days but never happy working at height.

Originally Posted by Alistair D

....Even flying scares me. The thought of there being 5 miles of fresh air between me and the ground makes me jittery. Add to this the only things that are propelling me forward are 2 ginormous blowlamps! l

Commercial airliners are actually very good gliders when all the blowlamps fail. Even 1 (out of 2, 3 or 4) engines will keep a plane happily aloft. I hate flying myself. Actually I'd better explain that properly. I hate all the palaver at the airports and being cramped up in a small seat for hours. The actual business of being aloft in a tin tube propelled by a couple of blowlamps is no trouble at all.

I'm not sure who said: "If god had intended us to fly he wouldn't have invented the railways".

I have one friend who's an experienced mountain climber and caver yet is scared of using a small step ladder to change a lightbulb.

I was upgraded to first class once from the USA to UK, sitting at a bar drinking brandy in a large cigar tube 1/8th" thick 5 miles up going at 500 MPH in the warm without additional oxygen was hard to comprehend, and I know how it all works. Perhaps it was the brandy?

[raditechman]

I doubt if I would have the energy or strength nowadays to attempt to climb that mast, and I would never try it without a safety harness I suppose the lift to the climbing section might be OK assuming the lift was caged in.
On a much lower scale I changed theatre stage lights at one time and used a "Tallerscope" (vertical ladder on wheels with a platform at top) which would go up to about 9.5m, guess I am to old to climb them now.
I wonder what the movement would be on that transmission tower in the video if a breeze got up.
John

[cmjones01]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

I'm not sure who said: "If god had intended us to fly he wouldn't have invented the railways".

It was Flanders and Swann, I think

[MichaelR]

You have to admire somebody that could climb that structure and let us not forget that somebody had to assemble that structure when it was first built.

While doing some work with the BBC back in the early 90's I had to go to the top of Emley Moor TV mast ( about 1100 feet), fortunately there is a very small lift inside the structure but it still took 10 minutes to get to the observation platform.The lift was not very big I can appreciate what those chilean miners felt when being rescued I was ok in the platform but they would have had to knock me out to get me up the last 200 feet to the top.

You have to bear in mind that not only do I suffer vertigo , but I actually get very uneasy stood next to very tall structures especially when there are no other buildings around.

Each to his own those riggers deserve every penny they earn

Mike

[murphyv310]

Very true.
I took my grand daughter to Whitelee Wind farm at Easter of this year, and I was standing next to one of the wind turbines with 5 year old Kaitlyn, Anne was doing her usual with the camera, I can assure you I felt really uneasy and young Kaitlyn said to me "papa i'm scared".
I can understand where you are coming from Mike.

[Michael Maurice]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

I'm not sure who said: "If god had intended us to fly he wouldn't have invented the railways".

Or the quote from James Bond's Diamonds are Forever

"If god would have wanted man to fly he would have given him wings Mr Kidd"

[joe]

And don't forget that however rigid the tower appears I wouldn't mind betting it sways quite a bit in the wind. Not for me.

Joe

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by joe

'And don't forget that however rigid the tower appears I wouldn't mind betting it sways quite a bit in the wind...'

I'm told that the old 1,000 foot TV mast at Caldbeck (and those of a similar construction) will move over a radius of around six feet from vertical at the very top in a strong wind.

But there'd be no-one up there in those conditions, of course.

[DAVEHALL]

Originally Posted by murphyv310

I agree!!
I showed this to my wife and youngest (not so young now) and all of us felt really queasy.
I have been up 120ft on a British Relay mast when a teenager but even then and at that height it felt scary, no way could I do that job not for all the tea in China!

Quite agree - I was a regular visitor to the Rhombics serving the inner Hebrides in my youth - not exactly tall, but compared to the average telephone pole -massive . I was really thankfull that most of the masts on the islands were Yagi .

[bluepilot]

So it takes two climbers to change a light bulb then.

[Jamie-Skinner]

jeez thats tall!!! AND FREE CLIMBING!?

[Jeremy M0RVB]

Originally Posted by bluepilot

So it takes two climbers to change a light bulb then.

I hope they checked they had a spare in that bag before they set off - and another couple just in case that one was dud!

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by bluepilot

So it takes two climbers to change a light bulb then.

Light bulb? LEDs these days!

But yes: it takes two...