My name is Patrick Masterson, aka TreeMuggs. I am a husband, father, arborist, serial entrepreneur, and teacher, as well as a podcast addict, libertarian freedom fighter, homesteader, university dropout, and semi-professional used book collector. Have you ever had your 7-year old make fun of you for having too many books? Yeah, I’m that guy.
Before the internet, books were everything. If I had a project, I went to the library and was lucky to find a book on the subject that was only 20 years old. Nowadays if your sources are more than just a few years old, your information is probably hopelessly outdated. We live in a time of unprecedented change, and information is the new currency.
Early on, I discovered that I could learn anything, anything at all if my interest was high enough. Given the resources and sufficient time, the only barrier to mastery was my own will to learn. Now for me, the will to learn is either there or it isn’t. It is not something that I can talk myself into. The will to learn must be authentic for the learning to be authentic.
I am 35 years old at the time of this writing (June 2016). I began climbing recreationally in 2007 and I have worked as a staff-climber, self-employed climber, and contract climber since 2008, in and around London, Ontario, Canada. I have shared knowledge with countless professionals and semi-professionals and I have always wished I had a dedicated space to capture and share this material. EducatedClimber is that space. The information presented here is opinionated and raw. I do not burden myself with political correctness. I am not affiliated with governing bodies of the trade. I am not “Captain Safety” as so many of the authorities in the trade purport to be. I am an actual, working, production arborist and tree climber.
I have always been of the opinion that a climbing arborist is really 2 jobs in one:
- knowing how to climb and work-position, access an entire tree, ie. the practical, physical aspect
- cutting & rigging, getting required work done, ie. the technique, theory aspect
A recreational tree climber has a huge learning curve just to be able to access trees, but they don’t need to know anything about cutting and rigging. Conversely, an arborist who uses a bucket truck exclusively has to know an immense amount about getting work done in the air, but they don’t need to know anything about climbing. A climbing arborist, on the other hand, needs to know everything about both aspects and be able to combine them seamlessly into a complete package of aerial production. This is one reason that beginning climbers can be so quickly overwhelmed.
EducatedClimber is designed to catalogue the core information, skills and techniques required for long-term success as a professional in this trade. It is my goal to present a comprehensive package for arborists of all stripes: practical, physical knowledge as well as technical, theoretical knowledge. It is designed to be consumed in a non-linear fashion: take what you like, ignore what you don’t.
There is so much conflicting and contradictory information available on the internet. My hope is that you will find this site highly valuable, informative, and useful as a primary resource. Never stop learning, never stop sharing, never stop growing, in work as in life.
Climb High, Work Smart, Read More.
– TreeMuggs
Continue Reading: Back To Basics
I would love to hear from you. Please send all comments/questions/hatemail to patrick@educatedclimber.com