Felling a dead tree with a chainsaw - PEP BB woodland.sand.deadchain

Harvesting some firewood

I dropped a 6” diameter (not measuring the bark) dead Ponderosa Pine tree with a chainsaw.

Pictures include:
1) dead tree with the wedge notch cut
2) tree on the ground

Taking advantage of a beautiful fall day harvesting future firewood I decided to also do some BBs.  This one is my submission for cutting a dead tree with a chainsaw.  I'm using a battery powered chainsaw to drop and cut these trees into large sections that I can haul up closer to the house where my corded electric chainsaw can be used to cut up further.  Anyway, the tree I'm cutting down for this is a dead ash tree killed several years ago by an infestation of the emerald ash borer.  Almost all the dead ash trees have been sending up suckers from the still live root systems in a sort of natural coppice.  In cutting this tree I had a secondary goal of saving the largest of the new shoots to hopefully become the new trunk for this tree valiantly striving to live on.  I believe I managed to save the new trunk, though it did get some damage in the process.   Time will tell if it survives.

I'll include 3 images.  One of the tree before the work.  One after I have the wedge cut out.  The last of the tree dropped exactly where I was aiming for.  

Oh, a couple added notes.  This tree had a very thick hearty vine of poison ivy growing up it.  Earlier in the year I took my bow saw and cut out a 1 foot section of it to kill the vine, letting it sit all summer to be fully dead and not oozing itchy juice when I go to cut it!  This tree was also one of the bigger ones in my stand of dead ash with a risk for falling on my house.  So I had to make certain to drop it before a wind storm did, and make sure to drop it in the direction I wanted!

Here is my BB submission!

Picture of tree size (Sorry for upside tape!):


Video of me doing chainsaw dance (sorry it's 7 second too long!):

After felling a few trees with the bow saw, it was time to upgrade.  I honestly don't know how we managed before chainsaws... SOOOOO much faster.  Though it did take a minute to read the users manual.  Again some of the outside flaked off from rot, so the measurement is a bit lower, but even with the loss it is still 6" at the cut (albeit barely).

Felling a dead tree. This one was somewhere between 7 and 8 inches.

I have a question for this badge, do I have to have done this alone, or just me with a spotter?

Today we took town a tree in my lawn as a group. It was in a tight space. I designed and led the project, my partner cut it with my chainsaws, and due to the state of the tree (multiple feet wide, twisted, rotten hollow core, 20 feet tall, within feet of critical infrastructure) we had six people on ropes to make absolutely sure it fell in the right spot. I was one of the six.

Would this count for this badge?

I think your partner may be able to submit and get certified.  Having help on a rope is probably acceptable.  Same as having help getting a heavy log up on a 3 log bench or hugel scaffold.  

He's not interested in certification. He was cutting, I was leading the six person rope crew. So my planning it, leading the project, leading the rope crew for a safe fell, and being on ropes myself, etc. is insufficient?

Unfortunately it isn't enough for this BB.  You gotta be working the chainsaw.  There are BBs in community for organizing a work party though...