On a recent sunny afternoon, Nick Johnson tossed a bag of lead weights into a tree in Richfield, over the fork where two branches parted.
He tied a larger rope to the line, pulled the rope back through the gap, tied it down and started climbing.
For the next half-hour he dangled from the tree, cutting dead branches with a handsaw. He explained his job in an interview.
Q: How long have you been climbing?
A: I've been climbing for like 12 years. My dad started his own business back in the mid-90s. As I grew up, I spent my summers hanging around with him, and it just sort of turned into full-time. He shut down his business last fall, and I came to Rainbow Treecare because they're renowned for training good climbers. I also have my own business on the side.
Q: What do you spend most of your time doing? Hanging from a crane, swinging a chainsaw around? Or are you on the ground a lot?
A: I climb anywhere from two to seven or eight trees a day.
Q: So you climb up the tree. Tell me what happens from there.