My son did this job for many years for a company in Beaumont Texas. They changed bulbs, repainted old towers and put up new ones. I always thought the only reason he took this job was because he knew I couldn't stand on top of the kitchen table without fear. I tried to never even think about it. After the initial years I was able to talk to him about it. The difference in tower companies is in their adherance to the safety side of the job. He was almost (ALMOST) always strapped to a safety harness and safety wire. My question is what happened if he slipped and was falling even attached to the safety cable, his answer, They teach you to stick out a body part and try to hook it on the tower, yes you were going to break something really bad, but the option was worse. He climbed the Local TV/Radio station tower here in Houston that was almost identical to the video, 3/4 of the tower you rode in a elevator and hand climbed the rest of the way. At times he was above the clouds. What kind of shape, When he started he was a very normal size young man, 5'10" maybe 165. After a couple of years his handshake would cripple you and his shoulders were almost double their original size. It is an occupation that takes its toll both physically and mentally. Thank goodness he no longer does this, I sleep much better at night.
BTW-The hiring test is to climb an 160' tower free style and step over the top and back down. He said several times in his years there they had to climb up and winch a person back down who froze up.
2-X-BTW-The money wasn't enough, not enough money out there for me and still not enough for my son who wasn't afraid of heights and was really good at it. Maybe 80K a year on a year he was busy, But a lot of down time for bad weather
Larry Boatner
Larry
