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5. tower work gear:




The last thing I want to talk about is the gear you use to get the job done.

Ground Crew: even for small jobs, you'll want someone on the ground to be able to support you when you need
help. The ground crew can do a lot of work. They send up tools when you need them, rig and lift up equipment,
watch out for safety issues, help you plan ahead, keep bystanders away from the tower, etc.

Tools: I have a small canvas toolbox I keep stocked with a pliers, cutters, shears, screwdriver, deep-well
sockets, a few combination wrenches, wire ties, electrical tape, and a small parts tube. The wrenches and
sockets are in small cloth pouches. The box has a rope tied to the sides so it lifts easily. Most of my tool
needs are taken care of by this box. When I climb, I take my tool bag rope (with pulley) up the tower. When
I get to the work spot, I attach the pulley and drop the rope down. Ground crew attach the tool box and lift
it up so I can get started. If I need other tools, they also get lifted up to me. Also, before I start up the
tower, I attach another pulley to the bottom of the tower, so ground crew are pulling away from the base
of the tower when lifting.

Ropes: eventually you're going to want to have a few good long ropes - a big one for lifting heavy gear, and
a small one for lifting little things and your tool box. Remember that you need (at the bare minimum) enough
rope to get to the top and back to the ground, preferably more. This goes for the heavy and the light ropes.
You'll also need several short (4-10ft) medium size accessory cords for tethering equipment, and a bunch of
thin tethering lines for tools and light gear. I use (safety-orange colored) paracord-550 for my thin tethers.
I've also got several pouches with colorful 300ft paracord-550 tag lines in them for controlling lifts.

Gear: A "tower stand" is a platform that latches onto the tower and gives the climber a flat surface to stand
on. This is incredibly helpful in preserving stamina otherwise lost trying to keep hold your body against
the tower when standing on a rung. A "gin pole" is used to position a pulley above the tower so that tower
sections and antennas can be lifted into place. A gin pole works in combination with a tower clamp, that is
what attaches the pole to the tower. Separating and joining tower sections is aided by using either a scissor-
jack or a furniture clamp. I prefer the clamp, but sometimes the jack is needed for stuck sections.

Accessories: I keep a number of accessories in my fanny pack, including a micro-traxion, pulley carabiner,
half a dozen carabiners and quick-draws, a handful of short ropes, a pouch of tethers, a miniature tape measure,
and emergency whistle. I've also installed a small link inside my fanny pack, that I can use to tether tools
to so they are tethered before I even get them out.

If this sounds like a huge amount of gear to have, don't worry, you don't need even half this to be effective
on a tower. This is just what I've accumulated over several years of climbing, and I tend to "fill in the
gaps" as I discover areas that look like they need improvement. A few tethered tools in a bucket on a lift
rope can be enough to get the job done. Get started with what you can put together, and keep track of what
you wish you'd had, to prepare for your next climb.




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