High above Tennessee

Date 06-19-2014 14:37

Great pictures Shawn! and a nice "office" too. You see, you just couldn't leave those towers/heights alone could you? Well as long as the weather is like that I can certainly see bonuses to that sort of work, although I probably wouldn't be a great candidate for it myself. Thanks for sharing and best regards, Allan

By pipewelder_1999 (****)

Date 06-19-2014 15:50

Cool. Thanks for posting.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 06-19-2014 16:18

Great shots from the top of the world there Shawn. Thanks for sharing.

He Is In Control, Have a Great Day, Brent

By Northweldor (***)

Date 06-19-2014 17:01

Great pictures! How do you protect those ropes while welding?

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-19-2014 18:36

Protecting the rope is all about positioning mostly and morning inspections. I've got several different positioning lanyards. A 6', 25' and a 50' lanyard for positioning. The 25' and 50' might sound absurd but when rigged right work really well in areas where climbing a face is nearly like climbing a shear face of granite...only the face is plastic.

My 6' lanyard is made of Kevlar and a nomex like material. Special made by a company and is touch as nails.

By Stringer (***)

Date 06-20-2014 01:12

Wow, those pics are pretty amazing. May you see as far as the future and may you get paid a lot more than a little.

By Chris2626 (***)

Date 06-20-2014 01:48

Thanks for posting the pictures.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 06-20-2014 11:20

Thanks for sharing!....great views from waaaay up there.

By CWI7611 (**)

Date 06-20-2014 15:09

That right there scares me and I ain't afraid of nothing.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-22-2014 14:16

It was fun! Got up top and took a seat on an old and empty light mount. Ground crew was messing around getting things set up to hoist to the top so I sat up there and took a few pictures. Funniest part about this job is that it was exactly one minute from my house. So as I sat up there I saw my wife headed towards work down the road, she slowed down and I sat up there waving at her! She couldn't see me though. Got a picture of her driving by. I'll have to get the pictures she took. She sat on a side road taking pictures of us one day. You would think that you'd be pretty easy to see up there but from a distance you're hardly noticeable.

By strother (***)

Date 06-25-2014 00:16

Cool pics!

By Jssec

Date 07-03-2014 02:57

Be safe up their this one down the road from me turned out horrible today.

http://www.kentucky.com/2014/07/02/3320645/man-is-decapitated-while-working.html

A man was decapitated Wednesday while working on a Verizon cellphone tower on Waits Road in Harrison County KY.

The man, whose name was not given, was 240 feet in the air when an antenna fell, said Harrison County Sheriff Bruce Hampton. Either the antenna or a broken strap decapitated the man and cut off one of his arms.

Police were called about the incident at 2:20 p.m. Hampton said he spoke to a foreman and was told four men were working to replace the tower's antennas, which each weigh 1,800 pounds. WKYT, the Herald-Leader's reporting partner, reported that two of the men were working atop the tower and two were working on the ground when the accident happened.

One antenna had been removed and was being replaced when it fell just two feet away from the tower, Hampton said. The man was still in his safety harness when he was killed. The Northern Kentucky Technical Rescue Team was called to get the man down about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Hampton said the man's name would be released Thursday after his family was notified.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/07/02/3320645/man-is-decapitated-while-working.html#storylink=cpy

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 07-03-2014 21:52

I raise hell if they are working above me, wouldn't be working below if they were trying to drop a boom either. Had a guy drop a bolt from about a hundred feet above me and hit me in the shoulder, left a bolt mark shaped bruise. Sad to see another one killed this year. Every time I'm at the tower site it seems like there is a new story of another guy falling or getting killed. I've lost count on how many have died this year.

By pipewelder_1999 (****)

Date 07-04-2014 17:33

If you are every up on the Greeneville Tn area holler at me. Just moved there.

Gerald Austin
6626600162

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 07-04-2014 22:06

I know your almost my age Shawn but dang if it was 20 years ago...yada yada yada. I know how much you enjoy it, just please do me a favor and make DAMM sure your not one of the statistics...I know you know and all that but remember you can walk away anytime,,,your rare bird and in high demand. You sure did not have to spend much effort to hook up with a new company so.....I doubt that will change much anytime in the next ten years or so as much towers they are trying to mod. When they are in a spot and got a good basket handy you know who you can call.