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Climbing 200 Feet at Midnight

If you're running a small business, it feels like everything must be done immediately. But if it's hauling heavy equipment up a 200 foot tower, members of the ISP-Wireless list suggest that careful planning is worth the time.

[March 5, 2002]

On the ISP-Wireless list in February, JF inquired,

"I currently have a wireless POP on a tower. I need to add a couple more antennas to it, and the installation has to happen at night. Any ideas on how to get a heavy enclosure 200 feet up a tower in the middle of the night? Should I use a pulley and a winch?"

A number of respondents recommended considering alternate options:

[PL asked] "For God's sake, is this worth your life? If you have to ask these questions, you have no business on the tower. Without the knowledge to do this, you shouldn't even try it."

[MS agreed] "It's only Internet, guys: why risk life and limb? Add up the money and the risks. I'll bet it's just as cheap, or darned close, to build more POPs that are lower and closer to the customers. And that's better for reliability and interference issues, anyway."

[BM added] "Whatever you decide, go with your heart, not your pocket."

EG warned that climbing at night adds a significant amount of danger:

"Climbing during the night is asking for trouble. If you have to climb at night, I suggest you do it early in the morning just as dawn cracks. Then, at least, you will have some way to see what you're doing. Lamps are fine when you're working on smaller areas, but if you point lights 200 feet up a tower, the climbers will have no way of seeing what's going on on the ground. And small head lamps aren't going to be enough for the climbers, if you don't point lights up the tower. Just don't do it when it's dark, unless you have a death wish."

Others offered some pointers on how to handle JF's specific scenario:

[PV suggested] "Have one pulley at the top, or just above the point you will be going to. Have another pulley at the bottom of the tower. Have a tag line attached to the item you will be pulling up, and put someone you trust your life with on that tag line. One hard hit of the item against the side of the tower might be all it takes to fold up that tower like stepping on a soda can. Take your time, and work slowly."

[GI added] "When we have to lift gear up a tower, we use one of the mounts that extends off the tower and loop the rope with both ends tied together. We then have the ground crew keep the bottom rope as far away from the tower as possible. That allows the gear to be held away from the tower and the other gear mounted to it."

[MS offered] "Make sure that your rope is at least twice as strong as it needs to be. You need to have a capstan winch, so that nobody has to work hard to keep the load steady for you. Make sure that, as the load goes up, you stay on the other side and out of harm's way in case something goes wrong. Make sure that the ground crew stays a long way from the base of the tower, in case a bolt or anything else falls. Keeping the ground crew further out will also make it easier for them to see what you are doing. Have one man dedicated to safety only: he watches from a short distance and does nothing else but make sure things are happening the way they were planned. And use radios to talk instead of yelling."

[TM advised] "Use an experienced crew. Heavy stuff needs to be pulled up from the ground with pulleys. Hard hats must be worn, so the ground crew doesn't die when you drop that wrench. I have climbed a few hundred feet with heavy equipment: I learned quickly to use a ground crew and pulleys. I would hire it out, then be ready to climb safely for repairs as needed."

—End