A champion tree climber turns her work into a passion – Courrier Frontenac

WINNIPEG – Climbing trees, wrestling with ropes and navigating twisted branches at odd angles on a good day may not be for everyone.

However, this is the case for Jordyn Dyck, who made her career as a forester her passion that led her to participate in international tree climbing competitions.

“By my mid-20s, I had tried several different jobs, mostly demanding jobs, but nothing fulfilled my soul in the way I needed it to. And then someone told me you could climb a tree (to work), and that seemed like a good way to go,” she said while trimming a large oak tree that towering over a two-story townhouse on Winnipeg’s west side.

“I think my favorite part is that it’s so difficult. Perfection is impossible to achieve. You need to be strong mentally and physically. You have to have a good understanding of biology and physics, angles and forces (…) every day is a new puzzle to solve.”

Several years ago, her boss at Trilogy Tree Services encouraged Ms. Dyck to participate in competitions. Now in her thirties, she has earned several victories, most recently at the Prairie Chapter’s annual tree climbing competition, which took place last month in Calgary.

This allowed him to qualify for an international competition to be held next year in New Zealand. Later this year, she will travel to another international event in the United States.

Climbing trees is hard work, she said.

She demonstrated this by throwing a rope onto a large branch, climbing more than 10 meters and walking on the branches without getting caught by the sharp leaves and branches.

“This is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically. Every day, every muscle in your body is put to the test.

Competitions can test all aspects of a forester’s skills. It’s not just about speed: competitors earn points in a series of events focused on accuracy, safety and other factors.

Climbers may have to throw ropes at targets placed in a tree. They may also need to simulate professional tasks, such as operating a hand tool or aerial pruner. There’s also an aerial rescue simulation, where contestants have to bring another person down from a tree safely.

Points can be deducted for any dangerous movement or for breaking a tree branch.

Ms. Dyck estimates that the tallest tree she climbed competitively was about 75 feet in Tennessee. Climbing the great redwoods of the Pacific coast is on his “bucket list”.

Her passion pushed her to get a tattoo of the tree used in her employer’s logo on her back.

“I tell everyone that this job has allowed me to give the best of myself. I am pushed every day to find the best in myself.”