My last 6 years before retiring from the Operating Engineers Union was operating Tower Cranes in the San Franscisco Bay and Sacramento, California areas. The highest Tower Crane I ever had to climb was 500 feet. It wore me out. It took almost 45 minutes to climb it, taking a break every 100 feet. If you can imagine climbing a ladder up a 50 story building, it's a killer. Once the outside windows were installed on the building, there was no way to take the elevator and cross a scaffold bridge to the top part of the crane's mast. I hated that climb. One day the foreman says on the radio, "Hey, we've got a safety meeting at noon. You have to come down for that." My reply, "If you think I'm going to climb this crane twice in one day, you're out of your mind."
But here's a good story for you. When I was younger and stupid, I used to skydive. One day I paid to do a hot air balloon jump for the novelty of it. The balloon pilot didn't know that was an airplane pilot, and asked, "Does it scare you to be up in a balloon?" My reply, "Why should I be scared...I'm the one wearing a parachute."
