(wind gently whooshing) (climbers softly chattering) - [Chad] All right, I think we got everything.

- [Narrator] It's Day 1 at Tree Climbing School.

These students will be spending the next week learning to climb hundred foot tall trees like this one.

Alaina Makowski and Megan Schaap have never climbed before and they wanna collect pine cones for the Forest Service.

But cone collection is dangerous work and involves limb walking in the world's tallest trees.

To do it, you need a certification.

- I have never climbed before.

This will be my first time up in a tree like this.

- [Narrator] Emily Boes has been collecting cones for about five years, but she needs to get recertified to stay on the job.

In order to climb, it helps to have an experienced teacher: - [Chad] Oh, that's the one.

- [Narrator] someone like Chad Marks-Fife, who's been climbing for over 15 years.

- My particular teaching style is very in the tree.

There is only so much I can tell you on the ground.

- [Narrator] At the end of the week, Chad will decide if the students are ready to be certified.

- This is all about safety.

I don't want you clinging to the tree thinking, "If I let go of this, I'm falling out."

You will always be strapped to something safe.

- I guess more on a personal level, I wanted to be able to overcome kind of a fear of heights that I have, just being able to just be high up in a tree and not be scared.

Oh my gosh.

- I'm a cone that you really badly want right here.

There it is.

- Oh no, I'm sorry.

- So I think more space here.

The one thing that kept me in the field of restoration ecology was if I could get up in the trees.

Ah!

- Oh, so close.

- [Alaina] So to have this opportunity to actually do it has been a little dream come true, I guess.

- [Narrator] There's a lot of really important forestry work that can only be done in trees, like studying animals that spend their lives in the canopy.

- [Climber] Oh, settle down.

Nobody's gonna hurt you.

- [Narrator] And for pro climbers, being up here is sort of a natural high.

- You have a bird's eye view of the world that you don't have anywhere else.

It's just a lovely place to be.

- [Narrator] In the Northwest, pine cone collection is another big reason for tree climbing.

- [Climber] (chuckles) Perfect.

- [Narrator] Without these cones, scientists wouldn't be able to research sick trees and replant healthy ones.

- [Climber] Ooh, sugar pine, little brittle.

- [Narrator] But even for experts, the danger is real.

(branch snaps) - Oh, geez.

Whoa.

- [Narrator] Climbers are routinely 100 feet off the ground and carrying 20 to 30 pounds of gear.

Usually, the only thing holding them up is a piece of rope secured by a bunch of really strong knots.

Chad demonstrates one of these knots.

It's part of a bare bones system that's quick and easy to learn.

But getting up the tree is a different story.

- This'll be your first bar for whether or not you wanna do this.

Arch your back like that, and then push up.

Then, reset your feet.

Arch your back.

It's gonna look like you're kinda humping your way up this tree.

(climbers laugh) That's just what it is.

Alright, when you're ready, arch.

There it is.

Oh!

- [Megan] That's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

- Climbing can be overwhelming, especially in a setting here where they have one week to learn what is a lifetime of knowledge.

- [Narrator] For their first test, Alaina and Megan need to climb the tree and walk out onto a limb to retrieve a weighted line.

(Megan panting) At 20 feet off the ground, Megan's fear of heights is catching up with her.

- [Megan] (nervously exhales) Oh my god.

- [Narrator] So Emily climbs up to check on her.

(Megan nervously exhaling) - [Emily] Hey, girl.

- [Megan] Hello.

- [Emily] You feeling alright?

- [Megan] Oh god.

(nervously exhaling) I'm just having a little bit of a panic right now.

- [Emily] Hey, just take a break.

You're totally safe.

- [Megan] Oh, gosh.

- [Emily] And what can I do to help you?

- It's gonna take a lot of practice for me to get used to.

- [Emily] Yeah.

Yeah.

Raise yourself up and get standing upright against the tree.

- [Megan] Oh, that sounds so scary.

- [Emily] It sounds scary.

Okay.

- [Megan] Oh god.

- [Emily] If I need to rescue you right now, I'll go get stuff.

(Megan laughing) You can do this.

- [Megan] Oh man.

Sorry about this.

- Don't be sorry.

Bless your heart.

You're doing awesome.

You can read through manuals, you can watch videos, but how your body is going to react in a tree is just something you don't have until you're there.

It's learning to trust something that you've never done before.

- [Narrator] Emily knows how overwhelming all this can be for first-time climbers.

She patiently coaches Megan through the fear.

- [Emily] It's okay.

- Okay.

- [Emily] It's okay.

It's okay.

- I'm gonna take a second.

- Back on the other side.

- Come on.

Come on.

Thank you so much.

- You're welcome.

You're doing great.

This is all part of it.

- Yeah.

- She's learning all of those things that she can then carry with her the next time.

- It was terrifying.

That was fun, but so scary.

I think the more I do it, the better I'll feel about it.

- [Narrator] In the late '70s, the Forest Service saw a need for national tree climbing standards.

(bow initiates) (bow launches) - [Climber] That's probably a decent shot.

- [Narrator] With its rich tradition and forestry work, Oregon seemed like a natural fit, and just like that, the tree climbing school was born.

(device launches) People travel from all over the country to attend and from all walks of life: biologists, arborists, technicians, and even smoke jumpers.

(wind whooshes) (bird chirping) It's Day 3, and Chad's ramping things up.

- We're climbing.

Let's do it.

Pretty sharp enough to step through your own toe if you step on your own foot.

Go down as tight as you can possibly go.

I would not describe any spurs to be comfortable.

- [Narrator] After learning how to spur climb, Alaina will attempt a mock rescue.

- You're gonna have to come get me off that tree.

- [Narrator] Chad climbs the tree and pretends to be knocked unconscious.

- [Chad] Crack!

Boom!

- [Emily] Chad, can you hear us?

- [Narrator] Alaina has to spur climb above Chad, attach him to a rescue line, and lower him down safely.

- It's gonna go super well, and that's what I have to tell myself to get up there.

Okay.

Whew.

Whoa.

It feels very strange to stand in these.

This is a big deal because I need to be able to do this in order to actually get certified.

Okay.

I need this one above your line now without whacking you.

- [Emily] You're just gonna have to gently raise it above.

There's no other way around it.

You have to get that lanyard above.

- Above his head?

- Mm-hmm.

- [Alaina] Oh god.

- [Narrator] Alaina just learned a bunch of complicated rope systems, and this is her first day spur climbing.

She needs to apply all these newfound skills to perform the rescue, all while supporting her full body weight on her ankles.

- [Alaina] Oh my god, if I could just get my feet up.

(Alaina nervously exhaling) - You're doing awesome.

- I know, it's just my feet.

I had this moment where I was freaking out and I have to build this whole rope system and then get down to Chad and reposition Chad and connect him to me, and I was like, "Oh, there's so much ahead of me."

I feel like my muscles are getting exhausted and shaking.

Just trying to keep my composure.

I mean, I think I just don't know the correct resting position.

- [Chad] Bend your legs and kinda lean back.

- Oh, there it is.

Thank you.

I'm gonna try to think of what's happening next.

I'm making an alpine butterfly in the middle of this.

- [Narrator] Alaina can't forget that she's got weapons strapped to her feet.

- [Alaina] God, they really get in there.

- [Narrator] The spikes are sharp and they're dangling just inches from Chad's face.

- [Alaina] There she is.

You're now connected to my system.

- [Emily] There you go.

There you go.

- [Alaina] Whoa, whoa.

- We did it.

- Whoo!

- Learned a lot.

Made a lot of mistakes.

Switching the systems is daunting, to take your weight off of what you've been relying on and then trust what you've built up there.

I'm still gathering myself.

- She performed very admirably for a person going through a stressful situation and thinking for just a moment, "Maybe I can't be here anymore," and then just collecting themselves and moving on.

Alright, we finally made it: Day 4, the fun part.

- [Narrator] After demonstrating a new rope system, Chad wants to test Megan's limb walking skills, something she was too scared to do a few days earlier.

- Megan, why don't you lead this?

Since she's going to be working a lot of cone collecting, I wanna make sure that she can work her way out to the place that the cones are actually growing in the tree.

Hey, Megan.

- Yeah?

- You know all these times that I've sarcastically said, "Oh, my bag is stuck, I need it rescued"?

- Uh-huh.

- My bag's actually stuck now.

- Okay.

My feet shaking.

It's stuck.

- [Chad] Kick it out.

Give me a little foot kick.

There you go.

- [Narrator] Megan has to trust that this rope system she only learned a few minutes ago will hold her safely in the tree.

- [Megan] Okay, it's fine.

Just go, just go.

- [Chad] Can you flip it over the branch for me?

You can sit down if you want to; you can do whatever you like.

- [Megan] Okay.

(line zips down) - [Chad] Cone is on the ground.

- Doing good, Megan.

- [Megan] Ground.

- Whoo!

- Oh my god.

- [Emily] Doing an awesome job.

- Wow, that was probably the most terrifying thing I've ever done in my entire life.

I did the limb walk, it took a while, but I'm really happy that I didn't bail and I got it done.

- [Narrator] It's the final day, and Chad's ready to let the students know whether they've been certified.

- I am very pleased with the both of you as new climbers.

I found each of you to be totally competent in everything we did, and the things that made you uncomfortable you did anyway.

I intend to sign you both off as functioning trainees in all of these techniques.

Is that good?

- Sounds great.

- Yes, thank you.

- Emily, you are totally competent already.

You are confident, you are prepared and ready to lead and participate at this capacity, if you'll allow me to sign you off as a climber.

- Yes.

(climbers laugh) - Alright, well, three success stories, two trainees and a climber.

- I definitely want to keep climbing.

I wanna be able to just walk up that tree and just feel really confident and really secure and be able to just really enjoy being up there.

- [Emily] Looking smoother, Alaina.

- I think I'm hooked.

I think I need more practice and I need to get more comfortable, but once that's down, hanging out up there is just a blast.

(birds chirping) (bright music) - Great people just doing their thing in their own Northwesty way.

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