Expert arborists compete in tree climbing competition; Athens, GA

Local tree competition puts the ‘limb’ in ‘climb’ The Red and Black:
Patty Jenkins began climbing trees when she fell in love.
“I married the guy who founded the sport,” she said. “I met him somewhere, he pulled a baby squirrel out of his pocket, and he thinks that’s what won my heart.”
Years later, she’s the head administrator for Tree Climbers International, an educational group dedicated to teaching tree climbing safety. Her husband, Peter Jenkins, opened the world’s first tree climbing school in Atlanta in 1983.
Tree Climbers International partnered with the Georgia Arborist Association to organize the GAA Professional Tree Climbing Competition Saturday at Whitehall Forest in Athens.

Five groups of professional climbers participated in various arboreal challenges designed to test their abilities to maneuver up the trunk and in the tree canopy.