Tree climbers are a different lot.
They endure rope burns. They dangle 30 feet up in the air. They sketch in their minds how the branches they lop off with chain saws will fall to the ground.
Some of them even sleep in tree hammocks in the upper branches of towering oaks.
On Saturday, 25 of them defied rainy weather to compete in the Western Tree Climbing Championship, sponsored by Duquesne Light Co., in West Park on the North Side.
The climbers scoot up the branches using a rope-and-pulley system. They say they climb for the challenge, for the thrill of it, and also because, as the people who keep trees pruned from power lines, they find satisfaction in a job well-done.
"You don't need drugs when you're high in a tree," explained Mark Moeske, 34, of East Albany, N.Y.
Moeske traveled from New York for yesterday's competition. He's placed as high as 25th in international competitions. He first started climbing in 1989 and started competing in 1997.
"There's nothing I'd rather do," he said yesterday while waiting his turn in the "aerial rescue" competition, which requires participants to rescue a dummy trapped in the top branches of a ginkgo tree.
The competitors make it look easy. Dangling from ropes and pulleys, they shimmy up into the air like frogs skimming across water. But it's hard work.
State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, tried a test climb, assisted by event organizer Dave McQuaid, 49, of Ellwood City.
Wheatley, a former Marine, stalled about 8 feet into the air, panting heavily, before getting a new burst of strength that took him about 20 feet up into the branches of a test tree.
The secret is to thrust with your hip as you pull on the rope that gets you up into the air, one participant confided.
True, the hip action does wonders, this reporter can confirm. He was able to make it 20 feet up into the air during a test climb. Once safely on the ground, he found his hands sore, his chest constricted and his head filled with a sense of euphoria.
"Anytime you leave the ground, you're taking a calculated risk," McQuaid said.
The world's top tree climbers will gather at West Park again on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 for the International Tree Climbing Championship. They will come then to test their skills in the massive oaks that surround the National Aviary.
A contingent arriving for that competition plans to sleep in tree hammocks, said Jennifer Arkett, a manager for vegetation management for Duquesne Light Co.
"Some of them don't speak English, but they all speak the language of the tree," Arkett said.
