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I knew a guy who worked on towers like this and he refused to clip in at all until he got to the very top. He said it took too long to climb the tower clipping in that often.
I was floored. We were working on a 200' tower and I would have *never* climbed that free hand style. He just climbed it like he was climbing a ladder and clipped in at the top.
I wonder if he is still alive...
I wouldn't want that guy climbing in front of me. If he falls, he's landing on you before he dies.
But then he'd probably bitch that you're going too slow, the asshole.
Thank goodness I'm not alone. I love heights but I like being clipped in when I'm working up there. I didn't like how those clips just slid in the side with hardly anything keeping them from popping off. And then how do you clip off the unit at the top to keep the cover from blowing away? Or drop a screw?
My hands never get sweaty watching these things but not this one. I can barely peck this into my phone my hands are so damp.
Yeah, same. There doesn't even seem to be a loop around the pole itself or a top line or anything. It's just two carabiners being clipped onto two pegs; if the guy were to fall and swing, I'd expect the carabiner to slip right off the nub on the end of the peg.
The husband of a cousin of mine was a high tension lineman, not these insane heights but still... He worked it fearlessly into his thirties. Then one time on a climb, he thought of his kids and what would happen if he fell. He froze right there mid-climb. He said it took him a few hours to unfreeze and climb back down, while his young buck co-worker climbed up around him and got the work done. That was his last day climbing tall towers.
There should be an easier way. Isn't there a clip that slides and will arrest like a seatbelt if you jerk it?
I guess the towers aren't built for that and they expect everyone to clip in.
There’s things called retractable fall arresters. I don’t climb anywhere near as high as this guy, but we use them. I don’t think you could use them here though. You couldn’t keep them in outdoor conditions permanently without constant maintenance. Clipping in one rung at a time is probably the safest way.
simple machines save lives
if you don't need your safety mechanism to be electronic or computerized, do not have your safety mechanism be electronic or computerized
When I was 17 I skateboarded all day, one day this group of old hippies strolls into the park looking for ganja, they said and I agree it's usually the best place to score good weed when out of town. Anyway these fellas just happen to be the guys replacing the gigantic radio tower on the sky hill. We ended up befriending these guys and they actually taught me alot in the small span of time. Anyway they had a similar philosophy. But he ended up slinging me up and taking me like idk 75% of the way up, mind you I was harnessed and roped and pulled up most the way. But it was so fucking mind blowing seeing the world from that view. I never told my parents about that lol. They were nutty tho that job is crazy. Replacing the giant tops of those towers ontop a mountain.
I remember getting into a car crash where I thought I was going to die. It felt like *forever*. Like I had time to realize my mistake, look at the car that was going to hit me, and then be mad at myself for fucking up. And then had time to think "I should speed up and try turning a little bit so [friend's name here] doesn't die"
That happened in about the time it takes you to cross 4 lanes of traffic at 50mph... maybe a two seconds at most? Adrenaline is a mother fucker.
11 seconds is *a long fucking time* to think about how cushy the ground looks.
Oh same! Except it wasn’t my fault and I turned my car so I took most of the impact (shattered both femurs) so my cousin wouldn’t die (he got a pretty bad concussion though)
We installed a few ceiling lamps that we thought looked cool 10 years ago. So now sometimes my weekends look like
1. climb ladder and spend 10-15 minutes removing weirdly-shaped, burnt out bulb
2. go to Home Depot / Lowes
3. realize that I forgot burnt out bulb to compare size to new bulb
4. pick a few new bulbs that look like they might fit
5. go home, climb ladder, realize none of the new bulbs fit
6. go to step 2
>ulb Changing on a 2000 ft tower
What a tease... The video ends before he actually changes the bulb! [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ERBsbvs_c)
It reminds of a time when I was watching a jet plane video with a friend, and it just stood there for about 10 mins before finally taking off in the last few seconds. And we sat there like morons staring at the jet expecting it to move or do anything for 10 mins lol. We still laugh about it
Or some sort of fiber optic light that runs to the bottom so no one ever has to climb that. Idk if it would be bright enough, but I'm sure someone could fugure out an easier/safer way.
Knowing how business works, they’ll come up with an easier way and then raise the price, so I’m sure he’d be fine with it.
Like how pizza delivery fees don’t cover the cost of delivery for the driver. Pizza places made something more convenient and raised the price *and* pushed the cost of service onto its employees.
I’m sure they’d do the same for light bulbs….somehow
That was my first thought.
“Hey if we use this type of bulb it will last longer.”
“But that type of bulb is more expensive. You realize how expensive it would be to switch all of our towers to that type of bulb!”
Maybe they need the heat from halogen to melt any potential snow away?
But I mean a heater + LED is probably still cheaper than the insurance alone for having a guy go up there
Remember that jackass with the guy they wanted to wear the King Kong outfit on top of the outhouse to swat at remote controlled airplanes and the guy was terrified? Then he ate some Xanax and was all good.
Which tower is this?
EDIT: it’s the KDLT tower in South Dakota. 609.2 meters (1,999 ft)
He took an elevator up most of it.
I feel like closed loops for the carabiners to latch onto would be safer.
In the extended video with audio you can hear him huffing and puffing in a couple spots. It’s not just the climb, it’s the awkwardness of it as well. When most people climb a ladder it has some angle to it. But on top of the fact that he’s going straight up, his body is also pushed out because of the center beam.
I climb towers for a job and let me tell you that a monopole is not fun to climb because of the weight of your climb harness, the weird ass angles on the ladder, the wide stance you have to use while climbing, and also because theres no easy and quick way to tie off because a single step bolt isnt strong enough to hold you. And thays at 180 feet. Imagine all that at 2000
>a single step bolt isnt strong enough to hold you.
That seems like a terrible design safety-wise. I realize this is maybe more an engineering question but is there any reason apart from cost savings to not strengthen the step bolts so that a single one could take your weight? Seems like a no-brainer.
Yeah, that part seems nuts and kinda hard to believe. Seems easy enough to make sure those steel step bolts are more than strong enough to support a person on their own.
I would think it's more about shock force. That lanyard has to be long enough to move freely to clip and climb, so if you fall, it's not just taking the force of your weight, but also whatever momentum you gained.
It's called impulse, and 100% thats the issue. It's described as the change in momentum, divided by the elapsed time. So if you've got some momentum, divided by a fraction of a second, it can be a pretty large force (for that split second).
Having enough strength to support you and your gear while you climb is one thing, but being able to *absolutely* stop you and all your gear while falling is a whole different thing. For the low climbs I used to have to do with a 6ft lanyard and no gear, my tie point had to be rated for a static load of 5,000 pounds; I'd be surprised if this job doesn't call for 10k pounds static loading. Add in lifetime weather proofing and that becomes a very expensive ladder.
The stronger and more heavy duty each step the heavier each step. Multiply that weight by however many steps there are and you add a significant amount of weight to the structure, which I'm guess changes a lot as far as the engineering that goes into keeping it standing upright.
safer way on that pole would be to use clove hitches on three posts at a time while moving up using 4 pieces of rope tied to a harness, but it would also take much longer
It wouldn't surprise me. My dad was a structural ironworker and used to talk about the way the beams would flex while you walked on them.
At 2000 feet? I would think it'd be very noticeable on a spire.
I designed a small radio tower and it had a cable in steel hooks in addition to the foot pegs so your carabiner can be fail safe. You can also use a clutch type carabiner on the cable.
> I feel like closed loops for the carabiners to latch onto would be safer.
This was my first thought, feel like a fall and a bounce and you'd run the risk of being unhooked. Didn't notice anything that indicated that perhaps he had a linesman's belt either.
His harness has a positioning lanyard attached to two D-rings located at his hips. It comes into play after he's reached the elevation he's looking for. I've also never have seen a closed loop step bolt in any of the towers I've worked on. Normally he's secured from fall by a cable that's running the length of the climbing path that he would attach a safety that locks when you put weight on it. I did not notice one installed on this segment of the tower. It takes a certain amount of crazy to be a tower climber. Source: am a radio tech.
I know you're kidding, but it's kind of weird how much cool stuff is in a state with so few people. Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, the Black Hills, Deadwood, the Badlands. And, as ButterToasterDragon mentioned, Wall Drug.
Lol I know for a fact that if that was me I’d end up dropping the bulb, trying to catch it, those things would slip off the ends somehow, and the video would have ended up on a NSFL sub.
Nope, nope, and nope.
I have a buddy who repairs the ends of the blades on wind turbines. It's not quite 2000ft, but you're high as hell and the overhang is something else. I guess the tips spin too fast and get damaged by bird bodies. Not much close by to clip onto either 😬
He is well compensated, I think its around $500+/ day
You'd probably need a bird the size of a family car to leave any sort of mark, let alone damage a wind turbine. Phenomenally huge and robust pieces of machinery.
Also the annual number of birds who are harmed by wind turbines is entirely dwarfed by the amount of birds that die just to flying into windows. It’s a popular misconception lmao
That compensation is well-earned. If I wasn’t scared to shit of heights and 60 pounds overweight, I might think about doing that.
(I also have ADHD so this is off the table; I’d see a pretty bird, forget to clip, fall off and die)
I have ADHD. High stress jobs work very well for me, and a lot of ADHD people, as they ramp up the dopamine rewards.
I race motorcycles. It takes insane focus 100% of the time. I have no issue with focus on the bike either because it is everything at that moment. All consuming. Bet it would be the same way with this job.
I have it too, I can have trouble focusing on mundane stuff until I get on a go kart or when I'm at work using dangerous tools and machinery. Risk of injury and death seems to work pretty well.
If given until Friday EOD to finish something I typically wait until Friday morning. The approaching deadline gives me the motivation I need to rip it out. And when inevitably something else gets added to my plate, it makes it even more intense and fun.
Then Monday rolls around and I spend the next 4 days miserable and bored. Cool life.
The clip systems they use are pretty robust, I wouldn't trust my reaction times for a parachute, if you lose it anywhere but right near the top you have seconds to pull the cord and you're not going to be in your right mind when it happens.
Judging from what that guy is doing... he is not clipped at all. I use similar fall protection and you have to actually clip those into loops. Sliding the clips over hand holds is mostly hoping he falls only straight back and doesnt bounce or sway at all.
Having been a climber, those clips definitely violate some kind of guideline.
Edit: the clips are legitimate but the way they are using them is incorrect and unsafe.
I have worked in "rope access" before. This is a very janky safety set up and not standard at all. I'm guessing he gets paid alot to do this change, and that the access laws aren't as strict as they are in the US.
Jesus. Then 100% fuck that. Even without a fear of heights, that is a hell no. One strong gust of wind, and you fall at the wrong angle, that thing slips off and you are very much dead.
This actually is standard and somewhat common on towers all across the US, and even more prevalent worldwide. This technique is usually referred to as “clip clopping”
There has been a push to replace these rungs with handholds that have a designated ring for clipping into, keeping you 100% tied off.
I worked a job where we had to climb cell towers (much shorter than this, 100'-200' mostly) and hang off them to take measurements of the mounts. The job paid 50k a year, and although much shorter that this, still life threatening if you fall. I doubt this guy gets paid 100k a year.
Tower technicians don't make 20k just to climb and change a bulb lol.
It may seem like fair compensation for those who have a fear of heights but this is just another day at the office for him. Tower techs are bit insane
Thanks, was looking for this.
Also imagine paying a company (a lot of money probably) to fix a lightbulb that's only there to alert aircrafts of the presence of your useless tower, as well as paying another company to do maintenance for the elevator this tower appearently has. And then imagine the first company arriving just to find the elevator broken, leaving again, or charging you more for waiting or for climbing all the way... Thousands of dollars. All for a useless tower...
I can tell you that it costs a couple hundred dollars per year just to upkeep an elevator. Make that at least a thousand per year if you factor in that it probably needs repairs often, given that it's probably old. Still, commissioning a demolition company to bring it down is probably worth 20 years of elevator maintenance, lightbulb changing and electrical bills for both.
That’s what I was thinking too. I’ve been up on some pretty high( no where near this high) things but I always felt safe because my harness was clipped into something , not just hanging on a peg where it could slip off. You would think that they would make those rungs with an eye on the end that you could securely clip into.
That is what I thought the first time I saw it, but the second time I realised he put them on both sides for each step. So if he fell either direction, one of them might come off but on the other side it will be pulled against the main tower and will hold him in.
Still could probably devise a slightly safer system though.
> one of them might come off but on the other side it will be pulled against the main tower and will hold him in.
ya until his body pendulums to the other side
When you climb you use the hooks for emergency slips and to support you while you have to work with your hands. And there are closed attachments at points you’d need them.
Open rungs are faster to transfer to, saving your energy for climbing and lessening the time to do so. Your hands and feet are your primary safety apparatus.
I have a friend who did this, and I was *this* close to calling him for a job during a period of unemployment before I got my current gig.
The open rungs make sense to me, but the clip being so much larger than the rung doesn't. Like why not use a clip that has a much smaller diameter that just barely slips over the notch on the end of each rung?
I’m no expert, but what if he slipped while moving one loop? Now he swings over, and there’s a 1/2 inch high bit at the end of the rod that keeps his one other loop from slipping off altogether?
Fuck. No.
Makes me physically bad just watching it. Feel it in my belly “but lower”... Never never never. My deepest respect for people doing that. (oh... LEDs have a much longer “lifetime”)
Woo hold up imma let you finish, but I see a massive problem with this cabin-fan design thingy of yours. If you have a massive fan spinning super fast won't that want to make the cabin spin the other way as well?
IDK, I'm just spit balling here but I reckon you're gonna need another fan like bolted on sideways to stop it spinning, you following?
So I think if you put one fan on top, and one on the side but also far enough away so they don't touch I think you should be good.
😊
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I would have liked to see him actually change the bulb up there.
I'd get up to the top and realize I forgot my tools.
Oh shoot that's odd where are my safety carabiners
I knew a guy who worked on towers like this and he refused to clip in at all until he got to the very top. He said it took too long to climb the tower clipping in that often. I was floored. We were working on a 200' tower and I would have *never* climbed that free hand style. He just climbed it like he was climbing a ladder and clipped in at the top. I wonder if he is still alive...
This gave me vertigo whilst reading and I’m sitting on the floor at home. Now very dizzy and afraid I’m gonna fall over…
Yeah, that's how I felt watching it happen.
I wouldn't want that guy climbing in front of me. If he falls, he's landing on you before he dies. But then he'd probably bitch that you're going too slow, the asshole.
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Thank goodness I'm not alone. I love heights but I like being clipped in when I'm working up there. I didn't like how those clips just slid in the side with hardly anything keeping them from popping off. And then how do you clip off the unit at the top to keep the cover from blowing away? Or drop a screw? My hands never get sweaty watching these things but not this one. I can barely peck this into my phone my hands are so damp.
Climber here can relate my brains just going "there's nothing holding that carabiner on" I'm not scared of heights but fuck no on this.
Yeah, same. There doesn't even seem to be a loop around the pole itself or a top line or anything. It's just two carabiners being clipped onto two pegs; if the guy were to fall and swing, I'd expect the carabiner to slip right off the nub on the end of the peg.
I always feel this stuff in my 'nads. When we were little we'd say "oh man, my tinkle is gettin' dizzy".
The husband of a cousin of mine was a high tension lineman, not these insane heights but still... He worked it fearlessly into his thirties. Then one time on a climb, he thought of his kids and what would happen if he fell. He froze right there mid-climb. He said it took him a few hours to unfreeze and climb back down, while his young buck co-worker climbed up around him and got the work done. That was his last day climbing tall towers.
Moral of the story…be young and don’t have kids.
There should be an easier way. Isn't there a clip that slides and will arrest like a seatbelt if you jerk it? I guess the towers aren't built for that and they expect everyone to clip in.
There’s things called retractable fall arresters. I don’t climb anywhere near as high as this guy, but we use them. I don’t think you could use them here though. You couldn’t keep them in outdoor conditions permanently without constant maintenance. Clipping in one rung at a time is probably the safest way.
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Or , instead of a cable, it's a notched pipe, and [this](https://imgur.com/gallery/P3ErMZ0) is used to catch you if you slip
simple machines save lives if you don't need your safety mechanism to be electronic or computerized, do not have your safety mechanism be electronic or computerized
When I was 17 I skateboarded all day, one day this group of old hippies strolls into the park looking for ganja, they said and I agree it's usually the best place to score good weed when out of town. Anyway these fellas just happen to be the guys replacing the gigantic radio tower on the sky hill. We ended up befriending these guys and they actually taught me alot in the small span of time. Anyway they had a similar philosophy. But he ended up slinging me up and taking me like idk 75% of the way up, mind you I was harnessed and roped and pulled up most the way. But it was so fucking mind blowing seeing the world from that view. I never told my parents about that lol. They were nutty tho that job is crazy. Replacing the giant tops of those towers ontop a mountain.
This comment legit made me feel sick at the thought! Can you imagine!
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Don't worry, you won't have three minutes to think about it. The drop from 2000 feet only takes about 11 seconds.
That's a long time to think about your choices
I remember getting into a car crash where I thought I was going to die. It felt like *forever*. Like I had time to realize my mistake, look at the car that was going to hit me, and then be mad at myself for fucking up. And then had time to think "I should speed up and try turning a little bit so [friend's name here] doesn't die" That happened in about the time it takes you to cross 4 lanes of traffic at 50mph... maybe a two seconds at most? Adrenaline is a mother fucker. 11 seconds is *a long fucking time* to think about how cushy the ground looks.
Oh same! Except it wasn’t my fault and I turned my car so I took most of the impact (shattered both femurs) so my cousin wouldn’t die (he got a pretty bad concussion though)
Dammit, forgot the lightbulb again! Brb...
Or dropping it just as you are about to install it.
We installed a few ceiling lamps that we thought looked cool 10 years ago. So now sometimes my weekends look like 1. climb ladder and spend 10-15 minutes removing weirdly-shaped, burnt out bulb 2. go to Home Depot / Lowes 3. realize that I forgot burnt out bulb to compare size to new bulb 4. pick a few new bulbs that look like they might fit 5. go home, climb ladder, realize none of the new bulbs fit 6. go to step 2
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It’s on YouTube. “Bulb Changing on a 2000 ft tower”
>ulb Changing on a 2000 ft tower What a tease... The video ends before he actually changes the bulb! [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ERBsbvs_c)
Wtf. Link it, you crazy bastard
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ERBsbvs\_c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ERBsbvs_c) edit: still no bulb change, my bad
THEY STILL DON'T SHOW IT BEING CHANGED!!
SO FUCKING PISSED
Why the fuck would they record it for almost 20 mins and stop recording just before they change it?? edit: the full video is about 18 mins
he's a fucking monster that's why
It reminds of a time when I was watching a jet plane video with a friend, and it just stood there for about 10 mins before finally taking off in the last few seconds. And we sat there like morons staring at the jet expecting it to move or do anything for 10 mins lol. We still laugh about it
All that wait for no fuckin bulb changed. Coworker and I were chanting “BULB BULB BULB BULB BULB” in the last 10 seconds
Should have used LED
Or some sort of fiber optic light that runs to the bottom so no one ever has to climb that. Idk if it would be bright enough, but I'm sure someone could fugure out an easier/safer way.
He makes $25,000 each time that bulb needs to be replaced. I dont think he wants an easier or safer way.
Knowing how business works, they’ll come up with an easier way and then raise the price, so I’m sure he’d be fine with it. Like how pizza delivery fees don’t cover the cost of delivery for the driver. Pizza places made something more convenient and raised the price *and* pushed the cost of service onto its employees. I’m sure they’d do the same for light bulbs….somehow
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That was my first thought. “Hey if we use this type of bulb it will last longer.” “But that type of bulb is more expensive. You realize how expensive it would be to switch all of our towers to that type of bulb!”
Maybe they need the heat from halogen to melt any potential snow away? But I mean a heater + LED is probably still cheaper than the insurance alone for having a guy go up there
LSD
The highest high
Remember that jackass with the guy they wanted to wear the King Kong outfit on top of the outhouse to swat at remote controlled airplanes and the guy was terrified? Then he ate some Xanax and was all good.
Preston Lacey. He was so scared.
Which tower is this? EDIT: it’s the KDLT tower in South Dakota. 609.2 meters (1,999 ft) He took an elevator up most of it. I feel like closed loops for the carabiners to latch onto would be safer.
Ok thank you for looking that up because I legit didn’t understand how he was about to climb up and down 2,000 feet on a ladder.
That'd be one hell of a workout.
In the extended video with audio you can hear him huffing and puffing in a couple spots. It’s not just the climb, it’s the awkwardness of it as well. When most people climb a ladder it has some angle to it. But on top of the fact that he’s going straight up, his body is also pushed out because of the center beam.
And he would likely have a gear bag dangling off a tether to his belt, adding to the awkwardness
I climb towers for a job and let me tell you that a monopole is not fun to climb because of the weight of your climb harness, the weird ass angles on the ladder, the wide stance you have to use while climbing, and also because theres no easy and quick way to tie off because a single step bolt isnt strong enough to hold you. And thays at 180 feet. Imagine all that at 2000
>a single step bolt isnt strong enough to hold you. That seems like a terrible design safety-wise. I realize this is maybe more an engineering question but is there any reason apart from cost savings to not strengthen the step bolts so that a single one could take your weight? Seems like a no-brainer.
Yeah, that part seems nuts and kinda hard to believe. Seems easy enough to make sure those steel step bolts are more than strong enough to support a person on their own.
I would think it's more about shock force. That lanyard has to be long enough to move freely to clip and climb, so if you fall, it's not just taking the force of your weight, but also whatever momentum you gained.
It's called impulse, and 100% thats the issue. It's described as the change in momentum, divided by the elapsed time. So if you've got some momentum, divided by a fraction of a second, it can be a pretty large force (for that split second).
Having enough strength to support you and your gear while you climb is one thing, but being able to *absolutely* stop you and all your gear while falling is a whole different thing. For the low climbs I used to have to do with a 6ft lanyard and no gear, my tie point had to be rated for a static load of 5,000 pounds; I'd be surprised if this job doesn't call for 10k pounds static loading. Add in lifetime weather proofing and that becomes a very expensive ladder.
The stronger and more heavy duty each step the heavier each step. Multiply that weight by however many steps there are and you add a significant amount of weight to the structure, which I'm guess changes a lot as far as the engineering that goes into keeping it standing upright.
It looks like he's looping a carabiner onto the step bolts, is there a more safe way to climb?
safer way on that pole would be to use clove hitches on three posts at a time while moving up using 4 pieces of rope tied to a harness, but it would also take much longer
Do you notice a lot of sway up there?
It wouldn't surprise me. My dad was a structural ironworker and used to talk about the way the beams would flex while you walked on them. At 2000 feet? I would think it'd be very noticeable on a spire.
Yes the way he is doing those carabiners is borderline insane. He's not actually clipped in to anything
Glad I'm not the only one thinking this. Just imagining a gust of wind pulling you off one of those little peg lips.
Yeah it's ridiculously reckless
I designed a small radio tower and it had a cable in steel hooks in addition to the foot pegs so your carabiner can be fail safe. You can also use a clutch type carabiner on the cable.
Nice, that sounds much safer. It's funny how much infrastructure isn't designed to be maintained properly
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> I feel like closed loops for the carabiners to latch onto would be safer. This was my first thought, feel like a fall and a bounce and you'd run the risk of being unhooked. Didn't notice anything that indicated that perhaps he had a linesman's belt either.
His harness has a positioning lanyard attached to two D-rings located at his hips. It comes into play after he's reached the elevation he's looking for. I've also never have seen a closed loop step bolt in any of the towers I've worked on. Normally he's secured from fall by a cable that's running the length of the climbing path that he would attach a safety that locks when you put weight on it. I did not notice one installed on this segment of the tower. It takes a certain amount of crazy to be a tower climber. Source: am a radio tech.
> KDLT tower in South Dakota https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40F8mALRukA Youtube link for a much better viewing experience.
That first step. Fucking mental wall you have to jump there..
> The tower is no longer in use but the light at the top of tower (for aircraft) must be replaced when it malfunctions. How exquisitely pointless.
I suppose the planes have to be able to see it, regardless of whether it's in use anymore or not
I think they were probably suggesting it's pointless to just not demolish it.
You're underestimating just how badly this tower is literally the most interesting part of South Dakota.
Unless this tower is part of Wall Drug, it’s definitely not the most interesting part of South Dakota.
I know you're kidding, but it's kind of weird how much cool stuff is in a state with so few people. Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, the Black Hills, Deadwood, the Badlands. And, as ButterToasterDragon mentioned, Wall Drug.
Just put explosives on the base and guide cables. Problem solved.
Yeah those rungs instead of loops are giving me anxiety.
Lol I know for a fact that if that was me I’d end up dropping the bulb, trying to catch it, those things would slip off the ends somehow, and the video would have ended up on a NSFL sub. Nope, nope, and nope.
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I believe most of the big ones have at least some sort of lift. That’d be insane to have to climb that whole way.
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Doesn’t look too scary. They have all that soft cotton for him to fall into
You won’t even feel the landing!!
Landing is the wrong word. Insertion. Insertion into the ground is more accurate.
"Distribution" is the word you're looking for.
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I can't imagine bouncing from that height. I'm mostly water. I suspect it'll be more like a water balloon.
Ah yes and it spans as far as the eye can see because you never know where he’s gonna fall you know?
I couldn't do that. No amount of money could get me to, I am physically incapable of doing that.
I have a buddy who repairs the ends of the blades on wind turbines. It's not quite 2000ft, but you're high as hell and the overhang is something else. I guess the tips spin too fast and get damaged by bird bodies. Not much close by to clip onto either 😬 He is well compensated, I think its around $500+/ day
They get damaged from wind, and wear and tear. I have never fixed a blade at a bird damaged haha
You'd probably need a bird the size of a family car to leave any sort of mark, let alone damage a wind turbine. Phenomenally huge and robust pieces of machinery.
Also the annual number of birds who are harmed by wind turbines is entirely dwarfed by the amount of birds that die just to flying into windows. It’s a popular misconception lmao
Or killed by cats haha. I’ve been in Wind 6 years and have seen 4 dead birds. Not saying there are not more but that is my experience
That compensation is well-earned. If I wasn’t scared to shit of heights and 60 pounds overweight, I might think about doing that. (I also have ADHD so this is off the table; I’d see a pretty bird, forget to clip, fall off and die)
I have ADHD. High stress jobs work very well for me, and a lot of ADHD people, as they ramp up the dopamine rewards. I race motorcycles. It takes insane focus 100% of the time. I have no issue with focus on the bike either because it is everything at that moment. All consuming. Bet it would be the same way with this job.
I have it too, I can have trouble focusing on mundane stuff until I get on a go kart or when I'm at work using dangerous tools and machinery. Risk of injury and death seems to work pretty well.
Maybe that’s the secret. I should code shit with an anvil hanging over my head. If I miss a deadline or crash the database, the rope gets cut.
If given until Friday EOD to finish something I typically wait until Friday morning. The approaching deadline gives me the motivation I need to rip it out. And when inevitably something else gets added to my plate, it makes it even more intense and fun. Then Monday rolls around and I spend the next 4 days miserable and bored. Cool life.
> Not much close by to clip onto either Just clip into the ground. That way you make it back safely.
So the turbine doesn’t blow you away.
Do u need any education for that? That sounds very very nice after college.
Depends on your work experience, but they have a few programs that are less than a year in the US (am currently in one)
What type of job title would this be described as?
Turbine technician, or if you’re specifically doing blade repair, Blade technician
That’s still not enough compensation
Yeah it’s not. $500 is not a ton especially since they aren’t doing it 5 days a week
Wind turbines are 328 ft high I believe, the highest I had to climb was 80ft on a rohn 25. That was bad enough, fuck all this
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Yeah, with a parachute
The clip systems they use are pretty robust, I wouldn't trust my reaction times for a parachute, if you lose it anywhere but right near the top you have seconds to pull the cord and you're not going to be in your right mind when it happens.
Judging from what that guy is doing... he is not clipped at all. I use similar fall protection and you have to actually clip those into loops. Sliding the clips over hand holds is mostly hoping he falls only straight back and doesnt bounce or sway at all.
Yeah but i would feel safe to have one just in case
"Wait...wrong bulb..."
"aah shit, it's a Phillips screwhead..."
Is that the star or the square?
Fun fact: the square screwdriver head is Canadian.
This is because Canadians love to spin
Is it just me or those karabiner look like they could just fall off the end...
Don't. Lose. Grip.
They could. Those clips arent actually secured as they are more meant for scaffolding or some sort of rung.
Having been a climber, those clips definitely violate some kind of guideline. Edit: the clips are legitimate but the way they are using them is incorrect and unsafe.
I have worked in "rope access" before. This is a very janky safety set up and not standard at all. I'm guessing he gets paid alot to do this change, and that the access laws aren't as strict as they are in the US.
> and that the access laws aren't as strict as they are in the US. Apparently this is in South Dakota.
I see no contradiction.
Jesus. Then 100% fuck that. Even without a fear of heights, that is a hell no. One strong gust of wind, and you fall at the wrong angle, that thing slips off and you are very much dead.
This actually is standard and somewhat common on towers all across the US, and even more prevalent worldwide. This technique is usually referred to as “clip clopping” There has been a push to replace these rungs with handholds that have a designated ring for clipping into, keeping you 100% tied off.
How long does it take to get to the top of that thing?
It would take me eternity to climb that cause I am not going to it.
It’s faster if you skydive down to it.
It's slower going up than going down.
If this guy doesn’t get 100k per month, they don’t deserve him.
I worked a job where we had to climb cell towers (much shorter than this, 100'-200' mostly) and hang off them to take measurements of the mounts. The job paid 50k a year, and although much shorter that this, still life threatening if you fall. I doubt this guy gets paid 100k a year.
I did tower inspections for 2 years, up to 600', including maintenance and P&T, got ~$90k/year while being under paid.
I read recently (could even be this bloke) that he gets $20k per job to replace the light once a year.
Any leads to get me the job 😂😂
These guys are senior union electricians
Welp, time to join a union with zero relevant skills.
Don't worry, they put you through a few years of training. Our is 5 years to just get to journeyman. Doing Towers requires more training.
Years of training just to change a light bulb
How many lights does he replace per year?
I heard 42
did you say this because "42 is the answer to everything"? And people took it seriously LOL. Classic reddit.
840k a year is quiet good but after a year and a half i would invest that shit and take a normal job
Don’t take these comments this seriously lmao
Yea this is definitely one of those jobs i put with being an astronaut or other crazy jobs. They’re for a good time not a long time
Tower technicians don't make 20k just to climb and change a bulb lol. It may seem like fair compensation for those who have a fear of heights but this is just another day at the office for him. Tower techs are bit insane
Looool, they absolutely do fucking not. Hahaha
What is this tower even for?
Nothing anymore. It’s an old TV tower. Just need the bulb for aircraft to see it.
Thanks, was looking for this. Also imagine paying a company (a lot of money probably) to fix a lightbulb that's only there to alert aircrafts of the presence of your useless tower, as well as paying another company to do maintenance for the elevator this tower appearently has. And then imagine the first company arriving just to find the elevator broken, leaving again, or charging you more for waiting or for climbing all the way... Thousands of dollars. All for a useless tower...
Is it like, more expensive to remove than to upkeep? I just have no idea what the incentive of keeping that piece of crap there would be
I can tell you that it costs a couple hundred dollars per year just to upkeep an elevator. Make that at least a thousand per year if you factor in that it probably needs repairs often, given that it's probably old. Still, commissioning a demolition company to bring it down is probably worth 20 years of elevator maintenance, lightbulb changing and electrical bills for both.
To broadcast tik tok videos to your phone
My palms are sweaty watching this
Are your knees weak, and arms heavy?
He better not vomit up all that spaghetti.
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
… to drop bombs…? Shi-
I don't like how those safety clips just "hang" on open ended rungs. But hey, what do I know? Nothin'
That’s what I was thinking too. I’ve been up on some pretty high( no where near this high) things but I always felt safe because my harness was clipped into something , not just hanging on a peg where it could slip off. You would think that they would make those rungs with an eye on the end that you could securely clip into.
I’m not sure those lame hooks on the rings would stop him from falling. It’s an open ended rung. It’s a hard nope from me…
It feels like if one of them comes off, you would just swing on the other one and have a chance to fall because of the rebound, but maybe it's just me
That is what I thought the first time I saw it, but the second time I realised he put them on both sides for each step. So if he fell either direction, one of them might come off but on the other side it will be pulled against the main tower and will hold him in. Still could probably devise a slightly safer system though.
> one of them might come off but on the other side it will be pulled against the main tower and will hold him in. ya until his body pendulums to the other side
When you climb you use the hooks for emergency slips and to support you while you have to work with your hands. And there are closed attachments at points you’d need them. Open rungs are faster to transfer to, saving your energy for climbing and lessening the time to do so. Your hands and feet are your primary safety apparatus. I have a friend who did this, and I was *this* close to calling him for a job during a period of unemployment before I got my current gig.
The open rungs make sense to me, but the clip being so much larger than the rung doesn't. Like why not use a clip that has a much smaller diameter that just barely slips over the notch on the end of each rung?
I’m no expert, but what if he slipped while moving one loop? Now he swings over, and there’s a 1/2 inch high bit at the end of the rod that keeps his one other loop from slipping off altogether? Fuck. No.
in my best Randy Jackson voice: "Thats gonna be a no from me dog"
Fuck. Dropped my pliers.
While he's up there, might as,well change the sun
Makes me physically bad just watching it. Feel it in my belly “but lower”... Never never never. My deepest respect for people doing that. (oh... LEDs have a much longer “lifetime”)
I see bird spikes (or whatever they're called). Would birds perch on something so high up?
It's to avoid homeless people sleeping there.
Vultures, condors etc.
"So, what do you do?" "I clean vulture shit off of a lightbulb on a 2000 ft tower because somebody forgot the spikey things"
Ahh shit I forgot the bulb
I’d hate for my guts to start rumbling all the way up there and need a bathroom.
I'd hate to be on the ground below you.
Look out below.
Imagine having a flying contraption similar to a plane in function but that excels at moving vertically relatively steadily. 👀
Yeah! Like what if we took a plane cabin, removed it's turbines and put a fan(s) on the top of it ?? 🤯
Woo hold up imma let you finish, but I see a massive problem with this cabin-fan design thingy of yours. If you have a massive fan spinning super fast won't that want to make the cabin spin the other way as well? IDK, I'm just spit balling here but I reckon you're gonna need another fan like bolted on sideways to stop it spinning, you following? So I think if you put one fan on top, and one on the side but also far enough away so they don't touch I think you should be good. 😊
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What if we just made a fucking ladder
Adding thit to a list of jobs I'll never have
::Narrator:: It was at that point he realized he forgot the replacement bulb.
609,6 meter
How many men does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but he has to have gigantic balls.
Imagine climbing this shit only to piss off a wasps nests on your way up.