There’s clawing your way to the top, and then there’s climbing your way to victory — which is what Carpinteria resident Jacob Claassen and Kate Miller, the 2024 Tree-Climbing Champions, did on Father’s Day weekend at the 2024 Western Chapter ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Tree-Climbing Championship.
Held at Alameda Park June 14-16, Claassen (the 2022 winner, who is the owner and lead climber at Nimble Tree Care in Carpinteria) and Miller (the defending champion, who works in urban forestry in the Sacramento area) led a field of 35 competitors (30 male, three female, and two over-age-40 climbers) in a series of events that included Ariel Rescue, Belayed Speed Climb, Ascent Event, Throwline, and Work Climb.
According to the westernchaptertcc.com website, the first Western Chapter Tree-Climbing Championship was held in 1949 and has since become an annual tradition that celebrates working arborists, promotes safe climbing techniques, and “puts on a good show.” It also states that the competition is open to anyone who is engaged in any phase of the trimming care, or maintenance of trees, and that the Eucalyptus viminalis tree, which stands approximately 100 feet tall, was selected specifically for this contest.
