Nova is Way High

Karla from Vinemont AL contacted me - her sweet kitty "Nova" was way up a sweetgum, 70 feet, stuck for three nights. The tree was not the best as it had been previously struck by lightning and had an open cavity on the trunk, and one climber had already declined to climb because of that. My gut said it was ok, that it was obviously an old wound and the scars/dead tissue was not that deep.  It was a difficult rescue because limbs that I could use as a tie-in ended at about 45 feet, where I put my tie-in. When I reached that, I put my climbing hook about 15 feet higher on a smallish limb and use a lanyard on the trunk as backup. When I reached that point, I used cinching rope to trunk climb the last 10 feet. Nova was happy to see me and the nab/bag was easy (she had tried to come down me once and almost fell, so she was eager for a rescue).  All ended happily! Karla and Josh, many thanks for your generous donation!