North American Tree Climbing Championship features competitors, live oaks - Savannah, GA

Climbing in the park | savannahnow.com

Clutching a bright orange rope, Lucas Drews gracefully swung from a branch halfway up the massive Forsyth Park live oak toward the tree's trunk.

As the 29-year-old climber ascended higher and higher among limbs and Spanish moss, cheers of encouragement rang from the spectators gathered below to watch him at Sunday's Master's Challenge championship of the two-day North American Tree Climbing Championship at the Savannah park.

Drews, of Rockford, Mich., stood momentarily in the tree's canopy as he worked to prepare his final maneuver toward the last of the four checkpoints placed in the tree by the competition's judges.

The event - held in conjunction with the North American Tree Conference and Trade Show held at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center - attracted 69 competitors from across the United States and Canada.