TUSTIN — As the initiated can attest, the passage of time feels different at ground level than it does perched in a tree. Harv Teitelbaum calls it “tree time.” “You’re in a different world and a different time,” said Teitelbaum, who is a longtime member of the Global Organization of Tree Climbers, which is holding its annual International Recreational Tree Climbers Rendezvous later this month in Osceola County.
Teitelbaum has been climbing trees for 25 years, starting shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks — an event that sparked him to seek out more meaningful pursuits in his life. “I wanted to get out and do something that was more in touch with who I was .
.. we shouldn’t be wasting our lives for things that don’t mean a lot,” said Teitelbaum, who first witnessed tree climbing as a recreational activity on television; it looked so compelling to Teitelbaum that he immediately tracked down the climber he saw on TV and began training with him in Georgia.
In 2007, Teitelbaum and a handful of other climbers started the non-profit tree-climbers organization. Teitelbaum served as the club’s first president. While the annual gathering of tree climbers is something that has been happening since 1999, Teitelbaum said the techniques of tree climbing first were developed decades before, in the mid-1980s.
Like other popular climbing activities such as rock climbing or wall climbing, tree climbing has its own set of best-practices to ensure safety. In the club’s history, Teitelbaum said there have probably been hundreds of thousands of tree ascents but not a single serious injury or fall. It’s human nature to feel some fear when climbing, Teitelbaum said; after all, it’s not an activity humans are designed for.
Teitelbaum said people tend to become more comfortable, however, after they experience what actually is involved and how much control the climber has over everything. “It’s the human-scale nature of it,” Teitelbaum said. “The climber controls if they’re going up or down, their pace and how far up they want to go .
.. you only have to go as far as you want.
” By using tree climbing methods and specialized equipment, Teitelbaum said just about anyone can participate in the activity, including those with missing limbs and even those who are wheelchair-bound. “Most people can do it,” said Teitelbaum, who added that climbing is great exercise that mostly involves the use of the muscles in your legs. “If you can get up out of a soft couch, you can probably do it.
” Using a system of ropes and anchor points, Teitelbaum said it’s possible to magnify a person’s natural strength multiple times to help them climb. It isn’t necessarily the point to reach the top of the tree; in fact, Teitelbaum said many climbers prefer not to. “We want to feel the tree is always bigger than us,” Teitelbaum said.
“It’s not about the conquering thing or the thrill.” The views from high up in a tree, however, can be spectacular, Teitelbaum said. “You get a perspective of the landscape opening up around you,” Teitelbaum said, “and the tree’s swaying a little bit in the wind .
.. you’re in tree time.
” Brandon Butler learned about the Global Organization of Tree Climbers when he attended tree-climbing school in 2018 to learn skills for his business — BB’s Tree Service, based in Marion. Butler’s tree-climbing instructor also happened to be a member of the club and told him about how they meet together once a year, oftentimes in exotic locations, including Europe. The notion of traveling to different parts of the world every year to climb trees was all Butler needed to know about the club to join and his first rendezvous experience was climbing 300 feet up a redwood tree.
“It’s scary like an amusement park ride,” Butler said. “It’s something humans aren’t really meant to do but you know you’re safe.” This year’s rendezvous was originally planned for a locale in Oregon but when this fell through due to insurance issues, Butler said he pitched the idea of bringing the event to Northern Michigan.
The place he had in mind was Center Lake Bible Camp and club leadership agreed that it would be a great place for the event. “The setting looked beautiful,” Teitelbaum said about Center Lake. “It looks like there will be some great opportunities there.
” There is a wide variety of trees in the area, Butler said, offering a range of species for climbers to choose from. In addition, Butler said Center Lake also offers other activities besides tree climbing, which is just as important, considering that attendees won’t be climbing all day. The rendezvous will be held Sept.
20 to Sept. 24 and will include 11 meals, free unlimited use of canoes at the lake, a high ropes course, climbing walls, access to hiking trails and trees, swimming, campfires, workshops and climbing presentations. The cost to attend and set up a tent is $545 or $1,075 for a hotel-style room at single occupancy.
A basic tree climbing course will be offered Sept. 19-20 and taught by GOTC-recognized Tree Climbing Colorado instructors. This is for people who have never climbed independently before and want to learn the basics of recreational tree climbing, including knots, rope setting, gear, climbing techniques, and more.
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