This is not your average tree climbing. Sure, technical tree-climbing and urban arborists are pretty legit, but speed-wise they're no match for climbers sprinting up an 80-foot pole in a matter of seconds.
This video is from the 2013 Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival, in Squamish, British Columbia, and features Brian Bartow (left) and Stirling Hart (right), two of the fastest tree climbers out there. The top record to beat is 17.04 seconds, which includes going all the way up and then getting all the way back down. Bartow and Hart come very close in this bout.
There are also intermediate and novice categories; intermediates climb to a 60-foot mark and back down, while novices just climb up, with the descent going untimed. Outfitted with ropes and harness, when it's time to come down, these guys keep their legs mostly out of the way and use the rope to half-slide half-fly.
Watch out for splinters, eh?
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