BILLINGS — Professional arborists from across four states are competing in the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture's championship in Billings, scaling trees and racing against the clock at Pioneer Park.
The competition runs through Saturday and features 40 competitors and roughly 60 volunteers, according to Executive Director Kelley Apodaca.
Watch the fun of the tree climbing competition:
"We have 45 competitors, well, 40 competitors today, about 60 volunteers," Apodaca said Friday.
Competitors are representing Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
Ashley Fox, a trained arborist who traveled from Colorado to compete, said the event offers more than just a trophy.
"It's a great learning experience and then networking," Fox said.
Fox said the competition pushes arborists to sharpen the same skills they rely on every day on the job.
"In each competition, you get just a tiny bit better at decision making when there's pressure," Fox said.
She said the events mirror real-world arborist work.
"How quickly can I get my line set? How quickly can I get up to the work? How quickly can I move around the work? How efficiently can I rescue?" Fox said.
Fellow competitor Deacon Maloney said the event is as much about community as it is about competition.
"A lot of it's just getting out, seeing people that we only see once a year. You know, most of us work for different companies. So being able to see different people, the camaraderie, hanging out, having fun," Maloney said.
Maloney added that safety is a central focus throughout the weekend.
"It basically focuses on the safety aspect of what we do at work every day, a little bit of the efficiency, but definitely doesn't necessarily straight correlate from one to the other," Maloney said.
The competition continues through Saturday at Pioneer Park in Billings.
