On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:44:48 -0700 (PDT), gwandsh
wrote:

At a remote location we have a couple of large oak trees that partially overhang or lean towards our cabin roof. These are tall, narrow profile scrub oaks, but are 50'+ high and have trunks about 2' in diameter. The terrain is sloped, so essentially I am looking to fell these trees "uphill".

I was thinking they could be safely taken down with minimal pre-pruning by attaching a grapple at a fairly high location (20-30' up), roping to a block on another tree, and applying a lot of pull on the line as the trunk is cut.

I realize a pro would be the best option, but as I said, it is pretty remote and cost is a large factor.

Wondering if anyone has taken a similar approach to removing trees that need to fall in specific directions. Would a standard block and tackle suffice, or are there specific tree handling versions I could rent somewhere? Not seeing much info online.

Cheers
How strong is the block and tackle?