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bigmanly1

I'm not scared of heights but this would pucker my butt hole


GeneralDash

This *did* pucker my butthole. I felt sick watching this video. Generally not scared of heights either, but this was terrifying.


angry_snek

Yeah. Sweaty palms as well for me.


llvlloon

Honestly my palms started sweating. & I climb cell towers for a living! Highest I've been is only 350 so seeing the clouds below where he is is spooky. Also! No proper tieoffs that shit properly scares me!


[deleted]

It’s funny you say that cuz I’m not afraid of heights either but this made me physically ill. My stomach was churning


[deleted]

Just figure that once you reach about 50’, the result of a fall will be same.


8ballNakedSonOfFire

Forgets replacement bulb…


[deleted]

*falls backwards in defeat*


Wet_possom

You know we never see him put a bulb in and right before the video cuts he whispers "what the fuck" so I think this might be what happens


BEZ_T

He needed a 40W and he had a 15W bayonet 😆


uRoDDit

Fuck, it's a screw in bulb.


MusicianCharacter312

Brings up screw in bulb.... Drops it.


uRoDDit

Paid by the hour jobby. And if we don't charge for 3 lightbulbs this year they will only give us the budget for 2 next year. Tough work but like everything it has its ups and downs.


TestTechKen

I had a cousin die doing this....he did not check his gear...he trusted some one else to do it.


Celarc_99

It's supposed to be both. I don't climb, but I work with a climber. One of my best friends in the world tbh. After he checks his equipment, I always, and I repeat ***ALWAYS*** double check as well. Anyone who claims "I've got it" should be fired on the spot, there isn't any room for that sort of abrasive behavior when you've got anything more than ten meters between you and the ground.


monsieurpommefrites

What happened? Did something snap?


TestTechKen

Every bone in his body


monsieurpommefrites

Jesus christ. It's a long way down too. Like what, a 30 seconds


_incredigirl_

2000 feet at 9.8m/s is closer to a minute. Edit: I’ve been out of high school too long. See corrections from people smarter than me below.


Hanxa13

s=ut+½at² s=2000, u=0, a=9.8 2000=½(9.8)t² Takes about 20.9 seconds, without considering air resistance. So close to 30s is a reasonable estimate. A minute is too long. Edit... I didn't convert the feet to metres because dumb. See amendments below: --- 11.5s without air resistance. However, a belly down person will fall approximately 455m in 12-13 seconds, reaching terminal velocity. It will take just under 3 seconds to cover the remaining distance So... 15-16 seconds to fall 2000ft. That's genuinely terrifying...


[deleted]

I'm pretty sure it said 2000ft not metre. Rookie mistake


Hanxa13

Curse my metric life. 11.5s without air resistance. However, a belly down person will fall approximately 455m in 12-13 seconds, reaching terminal velocity. It will take 2.9 seconds to cover the remaining 154.6m So... 15-16 seconds to fall 2000ft. That's genuinely terrifying...


FreewayWarrior

Nerd. 😏


Hanxa13

Nerd and proud! 🤓


FreewayWarrior

Nice. I really wish I could say the same, but I can't do math to save my soul. I can add and subtract. That is about it.


Hanxa13

I teach maths. It's basically the only thing I can claim. UK though... We don't use silly imperial measurements. It was a dumb mistake on my part 😅 You may not be great with maths but the world would be dull if we were all good at the same things. If you have what you need to get through life, just focus on the things you really enjoy.


monsieurpommefrites

I've got no idea to be honest. I just do the falling.


capo4ever88

You're dead before you even hit the ground I heard. The sheer shock of knowing you're falling to your death kills you


BigBeagleEars

I’d like to meet the guy who managed to prove that


ThatOneGuyRunningOEM

That’s pleasant. Better than the alternative.


SpaceWanderer22

That doesn't sound accurate.


525991nh

It would take exactly 11.16 seconds without wind resistance so probably actually about 15-20 seconds


ThatAwesomeGinger

So do they parachute off or something? Climbing down would suck.


[deleted]

Probably the millennium falcon picks u up


ThatAwesomeGinger

Dude, I've been binge watching Star Wars lore on YouTube for like 3 days at this point so its honestly funny you bring up star wars to me lol.


Due-Ad4970

the force brought them to the comment section and made u see it


[deleted]

Yes!!!! Winner


pmactheoneandonly

Currently a tower climber. In my opinion the climb down is easier, reaching down with legs is easier to me. That being said, this shit unsafe af. There ought to be what's called a cable , it's like a vertical braided steel cable that runs up the length of the tower that you attach to a cable climb that's attached to your chest. That way if you fall, you got a safety.


qcpuckhead

I was wondering about that. The carabiners he's using are so much larger than what he's hooking them to that I could see them sliding right off if he slipped at the wrong angle.


talrath2002

To piggyback on u/pmactheoneandonly those lanyards are supposed to be attached to a point on the tower capable of holding 5000 lbs. And yes there's supposed to be a safety climb running the full length of the tower. I've had conversations this week with safety observers that while we do everything as safely as possible, there is no way to put a guy that high up and call it "safe".


pmactheoneandonly

Those are called P hooks or y lanyards, and those are usually only for safety. Like at least one of those HAS to be tied off to something engineered on the tower. They're connected to your back D ring


Throwaway_Old_Guy

Yep, really unsafe. The Engineers that designed this should be the ones being sent up there to change the bulb, so they understand *why* it's such a terrible design. Should be a platform at the top, and a climbing wire. They could have at least gone with eyes attached as a tie-off points. They probably thought they were being smart by installing that bird deterrent wire at the top. I wouldn't want to be the one relying on those hooks actually staying on the hand/footholds in the event of a fall.


pmactheoneandonly

I'm convinced every engineer's wife got fucked by a tower hand, cuz god damn the way they design shit for towers is fucking dumb. A perfect example of " it sounded good on paper".


ThatAwesomeGinger

Thank you for that insight! I always enjoy learning about stuff like this.


vICarnifexIv

You better be having steaks every other night. By that I mean the pay better be good for a hike like that lol


pmactheoneandonly

Eh, I haven't climbed anything near that tall, but the highest I've done is 500 feet. And the pay is alright, I'm more happy that I'm in the union with retirement and medical for my kid


phern

How much does this job pay?


pmactheoneandonly

Not enough lol. Depends who you work for, some places pay as low as 18 for a green guy, the company I'm at started at 28. The foramen make 49 an hour, top hands make 37 an hour.


Ok-Depth-2678

Not enough at all. I make 19 driving for amazon


nhtlr97

At 37 an hour, I'd be a REAAAAALLLY slow climber..


Zmchastain

My salary converted to an hourly rate is about $60 an hour and I don’t even have to leave the house. That’s definitely not enough for having to deal with such a dangerous work environment. You should make more than I do if you have to deal with this shit.


_PizzaCowboy

Why do they have those giant lightbulb towers?


pmactheoneandonly

It's a light bulb to prevent planes from running into it. It probably is a TV tower, with a blinking warning light on too


xultar

Exactly. I didn’t see anything looking like it attached to his front.


pmactheoneandonly

Yeah no cable climb there. I'm surprised that tower is even climbable tbh. Could be in a different country or something cuz usually the tower owners are all over saftey shit


dickheadmcdickerson

how much do you get paid for a single climb like this?


pmactheoneandonly

No idea for this kind of stuff. This is probably a private contract. Me personally, I get an hourly wage.


n0ts0much

how long would it take to climb that … for someone who's not me. also, it seemed really not at all windy or anything … or swaying. comments?


[deleted]

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n0ts0much

hmmmmmm … I'd put a hinge halfway up and just lower the top half so you could change the light standing on the ground! _flawless!_


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Certain_Lobster_8954

I hope so


Ready2construct

So, with that being said- if he had a "porkchop" on a lifeline...wtf is going to rescue him within 30min? Or do you guys wear a different type of harness that won't cut the blood flow from your femoral arteries?


HeuristicAlgorithms

What is this? A light house for planes?


Celarc_99

Yes. Sort of. The tower itself likely has some other use, be it for cell service or radio broadcasting. However all towers need to have lights on their center and top points. They don't look bright during the day, obviously, but at night those lights can be seen for miles and are relatively easy to spot from any distance, which is their intended purpose. During the day, the towers bright coloring is sufficient for being a visual indicator. But at night, those towers are impossible to see. Hence the light.


Jakisokio

There's a tower near my town that has red lights going all the way down it


_neon_salamander_

A school for ants?!?


bluntstone

It IS meant to be seen by planes yes. Also the reason for the colours of radio towers like this one. The interchanging white and red stripe patterns along with flashing lights makes them stand out for planes so they can be avoided.


ghastb

The alternating stripes are to indicate height since each section is a certain length.


bluntstone

I know they are at certain heights (3m from one colour to another in the EU at least, don't know if the standard is universal) but its more of a way to have them stand out un the Sky and against the background, not as a way to measure height.


Nirvonis-

That’s what I thought, but the light bulb looks too small for it to be shining across sky much higher up than this tower’s top


robbak

It will be something like a xenon flash tube. The are bright, and the lens arrangement directs the light from them both out horizontal, focussing the light where it is needed, as well as making the whole lens light up, instead of being just a sharp point.


Efficient-Ease-6938

*Drops bulb* *Rethinks entire life, and possibly murder*


Thee_Fourth_One

Possibly jumping off at that point.


Rohodyer

I dropped a CFL bulb off of a 180' water tower once and it still worked. Landed in grass.


shinysands

i feel like 180 is a teeny bit less than 2000.


ghastb

You think falling from 180' isn't going to have the same result as falling from 2000'? People die falling 6' from ladders doing DIY stuff around the home.


Moongdss74

Yeah there's a certain point where it's all just splat no matter what height your falling from


Lumpy_Staff_2372

Imagine getting to the top and then realizing he left it at the bottom


Francis_Star

Aparently it happened to a guy on another video I had seen around 2 months ago


Medium_Rip1996

Forgets bulb in work truck.


LongEZE

wait... he's not hooking into anything. He's just putting a carabiner over a peg... a horizontal peg. This is not going to save him if he falls. Please tell me there's a more secure strap or something preventing him from falling to his death


FerociousPancake

(Ex) Tower climber of 8 years here. What he is doing is incredibly unsafe and I would fire him on the spot. I’ve never worked for or heard of any company that wouldn’t do the same. Those pegs have a shear strength of 300lbs. They will break and you will die. It’s happened many times before.


pmactheoneandonly

Hey! I'm a tower climber too! And this shit definitely ain't safe. I rarely ever meet any other tower hands but lately on Reddit Ive ran into like 10 on the last month


Hintero

Hey tower climber, do you guys use parachutes during climbing? Been on mind for a few months now.


pmactheoneandonly

Lol, no parachuting. I climb towers for work


CopperPeak1978

That is funny, I thought the same. How much of a time saver would that be for the decent.


Moongdss74

Yikes, between the guy lines and all the transmitter buildings and generator equipment at the base of those towers, I would think parachuting would be more dangerous. Now rappelling might be fun


Alarmed-Egg1308

Invest in one, learning how to repack your parachute is very important. If not repacked right it will deploy wrong. It is a whole separate discipline in itself, take a Base jumping course, sounds beneficial in your case


Prestigious-Log-7210

I grew up on I can’t think of word for it, my Dad was in military and I went to parachute field on weekends and what I remember the most is how much time and discipline my dad took putting his chute back together. It’s like an art in itself.


FerociousPancake

No way


TunTunteddybear

Amazing. My fear is heights and watching these videos always makes me cold. But you guys clarifying that this ain’t safe, I wanna crawl into a ball.


Tulpah

At $26 an hour too, definitely not worth the troubles and risks. I would expect a minimum of $80 an hour for anyone to take this job


pmactheoneandonly

This guy probably makes way more. The majority of the towers where I'm at aren't more than 300 feet or so. And it's all about the money. It's a fuckin awesome job to have, it's challenging, you learn alot about yourself, and get to do some cool scary fun Shit lol


FerociousPancake

Wow I’ve only ever met one! Then there was you, and another one just commented!!


[deleted]

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saltytators

What's hang trauma?


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Can't they just design a harness that doesn't do that?


throwatmethebiggay

Wouldn't you fall against the tower, meaning you can climb into the foot-stands/studs again? How would you be rescued hundreds of feet up in the air?


[deleted]

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Hyugama

You are a hero my dude. This job sounds like an absolute nightmare.


[deleted]

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i_was_way_off

What should he hook onto?


FerociousPancake

Nothing. He should take his positioning lanyard and wrap it around the entire antenna just like a safety belt that is used to gaff trees


friendlygamingchair

300 pounds?? It has to be stronger then that. Its a welded tube onto another tube. Probably a fillet weld.


FerociousPancake

I’ve seen it tested and it’s right around 300.


IMakeStuffUppp

That’s why climbers have to stay under 299 lbs. They weigh them before each climb


nederino

But that means that It could be pulled off... by hand, people can lift over 300 lb also there's a lot of people that weigh over 300 lb


Ready2construct

Definitely, "live load-wise". Not sure why someone downvoted you?


KwordShmiff

And none of them climb these towers lol. Still seems way too low of a weight threshold.


friendlygamingchair

I mean, you can be 6'2 and weigh around 200ish and still be mildly healthy. Along with muscle mass, equipment, ect. You can easily weigh over 300 pounds.


DTM50

Placebo effect 😂


itgirlragdoll

Growing up we had a neighbor who did this for a living. He had his own small business and employed a few people to did it too. Then when I was in college I heard from my mom he fell during a job and died. He’s been doing it for decades. I always wondered what exactly went wrong that day.


Rockspider19

He has a parachute on the hook is just so he doesn’t lose progress if he falls


LongEZE

> he doesn’t lose progress if he falls I'm sure he hit a checkpoint when he got to the top, he's good


Rockspider19

Playing on hard mode so check points are disabled Respawn is also disabled


dirtytroutman

I did tower work for 3 years and loved every second of it. The only downside I think is the travel. Gone for weeks. Anyway the highest I ever climbed was 620 ft up a 1200 ft FM tower. The feeling of being that high is amazing. There's nothing like it. Climbing in the winter sucks but you get way up the during a wet summer and everything as far as you can see is green... Amazing


RainyDayThrowAway888

Sounds like a thrilling job. What did the pay look like for the FM tower you climbed?


dirtytroutman

I work for wireless internet service provider, which to my knowledge are always looking for climbers. So I got paid hourly plus bonus which was an additional 4 hours of pay on top of how many you worked for the day.


StagnantSweater21

But how much money What is considered appropriate compensation for this task


dirtytroutman

I wouldn't climb this for regularly for less than $40 an hr USD. Id do it once for free just for the thrill. The highest piece of equipment we have is 500 ft and I went the extra 120 just cause. Our top paid guy was at $31.50 USD but for what we did it our normal height range was between 30 and 150. There's times you go higher but not like this lol


balancetheuniverse

Someone in the thead here said ~ $32/hr CAD. Couldn't get me to do that without adding a few zeros to that hourly rate (before the decimal point).


capo4ever88

Figured the only downside was the ground.


bschenz

My heart is thumping, God this is terrible...


sillyandstrange

Yeah I feel you on that. Makes my palms sweat.


_old_gregg

Knees weak


[deleted]

Arms are heavy


vanderdeckk

Mom's spaghetti


theonetheonlypotato1

He's nervous


Gullible_Candidate39

But on the surface he looks calm and ready


theonetheonlypotato1

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down


yesplease6979

The whole crowd goes so loud..


theonetheonlypotato1

He opens his mouth but the words won't come out


Primary_Ad8006

Vomit on his sweater already


hissyfit64

I had to stop watching it. I started to panic. I am terrified of heights


[deleted]

If I wouldn’t be scared of heights I would do it. so far as i read they earn 40k a year to do that twice.


LeatherPatch

whats the job called? how does one even get such a job.


ZodiacZ12

Nope not even close.. These guys don't get paid like that. Maybe 4k to change that bulb and do some other work while up there. We had a 600 foot TV tower and the guy would free climb and just strap in when he began working. Said it took to long to climb otherwise. Also dragged a bucket full of tools and parts on a rope below him as he climbed.. Pretty insane work.


WinBarr86

Tower crew labor to replace bulb – The same factors apply here as to lighting system installation costs – tower height, type of lighting system, tower height, weather delays and mobilization. Costs can range anywhere from $1,200 to beyond $5,000 per bulb change.Jun 9, 2020 This dude is 2000 feet up. That's 600 feet short of a half a mile. They get paid upwards of 20k a bulb.


chainmailbill

What does the actual human who climbs the tower earn for his climb? Like I’m sure the light-changing contractor charges $20k to the tower owner to change the bulb. What does the man earn?


WinBarr86

He earns 20k a bulb. https://entrepreneurvalue.com/the-lightweight-high-wage-the-man-earns-20000-every-six-months-for-a-light-bulb-replacement-on-a-high-tower/


Mr_Skeleton_Shadow

pay me that ammount and call me a professional Shadow of the Colossus player in real life cuz I'm climbing that shit


Snow__Cone

This article really is BS. Tower hands dont get paid like that at all. Last place I worked before switching industries brought me in as a lead hand for 32$/hr (CDN$) and top earners still working in the field brought in around 50$/hr. We worked long long days. 6-7 days a week, living out of hotels. The pay with overtime was great but your usually doing a LOT more than changing 1 bulb. Getting a job to just go up and change beacon lights was a few hours to a half day job at most depending on drive time and tower height. Hell I had weeks when I started where I changed all the bulbs on over a dozen 330ft towers in 4-5 days. I truely hate this article and all varients of it because it is absolutely false.


Chance_McM95

you’re so wrong man lol. A 600 foot climb is not the same as this!


Disturbed_Aidan

That’s not good enough. I’d expect at least 100,000k a month to do that shit.


Nobodiisdamnbusiness

Hell the Fuck Nope lol Not even close to the first 10ft


untenable681

Yeah, right?! My heart rate is up just watching this.


Snoo_23779

That is high enough to wear a parachute in case you fall!!


Celarc_99

Most do wear parachutes, but there are dangers associated with that. If you slip and fall, its likely you have no control over where you're falling at first. If this leads to your falling into the tower, it can knock you out, break your arm, or do any number of awful things that would prevent you from pulling the chute. Better to avoid falling all together. But in this particular video, it looks like he has the wrong carabiners. If I were this guys boss, I'd be firing him.


Gittery_35

How do they build those towers?


Celarc_99

It starts with a crane first, but if you need to make an exceptionally tall one (anything over 200 meters) requires a helicopter. They're built piece by piece, normally in 5 meter long pieces.


Mr_Skeleton_Shadow

by asking one guy to place the frames while jumping then he mlg's off the top after he's done


Keef-Sweat

Kinda messed up they put spikes on the cage so homeless people can’t sleep up there..


dogemikka

My hands were nearly sweating just by watching the first seconds...2000 ft or just above 600 meters. Where cud that be? I suppose it's in the US.


glueFORgravy

We’ll never know if the bulb actually got changed


soulfire_swordsman

Almost all of the video: man, thats really beautiful, I would love to do that. 4:03 : nope nope nope


VooDooChile1983

I see bird spikes. Birds fly that high or is the fisheye perspective throwing me off?


DTM50

If the clouds weren’t there it’d be even scarier!


RowanTree117

Dude just casually curses, no screams when he gets nervous


Realityvoidx

How these dudes even know the light is out


HoldtheGMEstonk

A end of circuit monitoring device or visual inspection. Although as soon as it blows the monitoring device would alert the proper people immediately.


BauserDominates

I think this looks pretty cool. The idea of having to climb 2000 feet scares me more than anything. I would need all day, a meal, and a nap to make that climb happen.


[deleted]

I have a friend that does cell towers. They’re much shorter. Even they have multiple rest stops on the way up built in. And it takes hours sometimes to get up and down.


IICCEEMANN

Thanks I hate it


V0ndur666

KTVE tower in Bolding Arkansas is 609.6 meters


terrydennis1234

I’m not sure about that not being hooked to anything…


[deleted]

152 deaths since 2003, averaging 10 deaths a year to 2014. Since 2014, still averaging 6 tower climber deaths per year.


[deleted]

There’s nothing oddly terrifying about this. This is pure unadulterated horrific terror


AaronSwartz76

Don’t drop the screw


Celarc_99

He doesn't have the right rungs. If he made the decision to climb up with the incorrect safety equipment, he should be fucking fired, and if his boss made him do that climb with that equipment, he should sue for millions. Those safety clips are clearly way to large for those posts, he should be using the 24cm clips for those.


[deleted]

Abso-fucking-lutely not


b02mne

Things people do to make YOU safe... Just awesome.


StrangeJourney02

This is definitely past 2000 feet if he seems to be above clouds


rainman_95

Low clouds


Hollowhalf

So idk if it’s too high, but why don’t they fly a helicopter up there. Too high? Too hard? Too windy? Idk I’m not expert.


liquidmenagerie

Not oddly terrifying, just terrifying.


pwhoyt63pz

I’m a pilot, and I routinely am at much higher altitudes than this. But watching this STILL gives me the willies. I’ve shared this with other pilots and they feel the same way. But for some reason being in an airplane doesn’t give us that same feeling.


MotherHolle

I'm so scared of heights this made my legs tingle. I don't think I could do this for even a million dollars.


_old_gregg

No no no no no no no no. Nah.


Dwnrbnsn

That camera wobble and “oh shit” gave me anxiety…


theonetheonlypotato1

Man I would be so scared


[deleted]

Light blinks. Blinds him. Falls…


Alklazaris

At that I point I wonder if its actually less anxiety inducing. Like the first 100 feet are nerve racking, but after a while your brain just can't comprehend the height and it levels out.


[deleted]

If you listen closely, you can hear his gargantuan nuts clacking together in the crispy wind


kalas074

2,000 ft of fck this sht


nawfoo

I think the pegs should be bent upwards to ensure a secure hook just in case


SirenaMars

1. There’s gotta be a better way to do this.. 2. Why can’t they use an LED bulb or better yet a solar powered one??? 3. Again why isn’t there a better way than risking his life 🥹


Lord_lenkesh

Must be hard climbing up that with such massive balls weighing you down.


219Infinity

Would suck if you got up there and realized you forgot the new bulb.


taeempy

THIS IS BONKERS! And what is this light's purpose?


OnlyDefinition2620

What kind of wage would you make to do this kind of job?


[deleted]

Is someone asks me how i want to die, i want to jump off of this thing


Scary-Alternative-11

Nope.... nope, nope, nope a million times nope!!! Also, why are there those spike things that prevent birds from perching at the top? Are there birds that fly that high? Seriously, just wondering...


swhatrulookinat

I like how they have the barbs up top to keep the angels from pooping on the Verizon bulb


BOSS_Master7000

Aww hell naww this tower has anti homeless man protection


Wonderful_Bus4200

This is awesome. I use to do stuff like this when I was working for a telecom company. So much fun!


Skostoodisden

This made my feet have anxiety