Back in mid March I was in Minneapolis/St. Paul to hear a talk, check in with a colleague, and spend some quality time in a library. On my way out of town I was not far from Loring Park, where the ITCC (International Tree Climbing Competition) is held every summer. It was a lovely day, sunny and in the 50's (torrid for Minnesota in mid March), so I figured I had to go climb. A nice looking bur oak beckoned. I should know better. Bur oaks, for those who don't know them, are the most fiendishly designed throwline snaggers of any tree species. A light breeze and a slight mis-placement of the throwbag and my line was quite securely tangled. Of course, about this time a friendly guy with a camera comes along asking my about what I'm doing. I give him the short version about rec tree climbing, and continue to answer questions while getting set up to rescue my throwline. Eventually tie in DdRT and do a short climb to retrieve my line. At that point I'm out of time (facing a 4 1/2 hour drive back north to Bemidji) - all in all, a lot of fuss for a pretty short climb. But the next day, this picture was published in the front of the "City and Region" section of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
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