maintenance on a transmission tower

[inthebarnagain]

My husband works for OVEC and part of his job was to climb these towers.  He said that is exactly what climbing is like.  What they don't tell is that they have to wear a special pair of boots that cost about a $1000 to keep the static electricity from bothering them.  He said that it still feels like ants crawling all over him.  He really made me feel better when he told me that when they come down they will "slide steel" to save time.  No wonder the company pays an accidental death and dismemberment policy on them.  The really sick thing is he told me he misses climbing the towers. 

 

[Hilltop]

You may think I am nuts but had to watch the video 3 times.I would not do this now but would of tried it when I was younger. Thought it was very cool!!!
When I was working derrick on the rigs I could put the lanyard rope on my belt, stand on the edge of the tubing board, put my arms out, close my eyes and let myself fall forward for the rope to catch me. It was a RUSH!!! Doubt if I could do that now and it was only 60 ft in the air.
I would feel safer doing that than driving on some of the highways these days!

 

[jason]

I think I could slowly make up the first part with the ladder, but no way up the round pole with the foot pegs.

I know in the rugged backcountry, they use helicopters to repair electric lines.

 

[wfq]

Man I got a queesy stomach just watching.  I climb our 60' grain elevator leg and I think that is too far up in the air.  I don't know where they find people to do this.  We are lucky they do because I don't know what we'd do without radio, television and cell phones. God bless em and pay them well!!

 

[justintime]

We have silos that are 90 feet high, and I remember how my arms and legs felt just climbing to the top of it.When we were filling them I would oftentimes go to the top several times a day, but this video almost made me sick. I found myself almost screaming at him to hook his safety hook, as I watched this video.
Another thing I wondered about while I watched this, was how mjuch wind there must be when you are that high. I can still remember how it could be just a very slight breeze on the ground, and when I got 90 feet up, my shirt was flapping pretty good. Many times I lost my hat when I got to the top of the silo.

Guys who do these kind of jobs are far beyond being nuts. They are nuts and probably should be locked up at night.

 

[LostFarmer]

These guy have a brass set for sure.  I get nervous when I am on the back of a horse as too high up.  ;D

 

[JbarL]

That is nothing like 99.99 % of the population does.  No idea how much I would have to be paid to do something like that, but I do know NO ONE could afford it.   (thumbsup)

not sure why what I posted was included in the Union-NonUnion discussion, but I can guarantee that topic was the last thing on my mind gentlemen!  Let me rephrase it for ya.......  in response to wrc in the post above my initial..... there are not many people that would have the guts to accept such a job.  That is flat out numbing and you could not pay me enough to take part.  Could really care less if those two guys are Union or not...... all I can say is they each have a set of brass!

point is....99.99% of us wouldnt put on scuba gear and jump in freezing water to retrieve dead bodies after a plane crash...or enter a burning building to put out a fire and look for survivors....or walk on a 12 inch piece of steel  200 feet in the air to build a bank....or weld around a damaged nucelar reactor.....but it happens all the time.... it has to be done....some people would never do any of these things....some people do it everyday, and having a set of brass may be one way of looking at it....making aliving may be another....jbarl

 

[PaFFA Proud]

OMG I  love heights but that got to me. No way in H**L would I ever do that nor would anybody in my family..I would hang them first. I think I held my breath the whole time I watched that. Talk about being a crispy critter if a lightning storm blows in (clapping)