This June and then again this fall, Olds resident Kali Alcorn will be competing in several tree-climbing competitions, including one here in this community.
Alcorn finished 13th out of 20 in the World Tree Climbing Championships April 1-3 in Texas.
She'll be competing in tree climbing championships at Olds College June 18 and 19, organized by the Prairie chapter of the International Society of Aboriculture (cultivation of trees and shrubs).
In addition to the one at Olds College, Alcorn plans to attend competitions and/or conferences in Ontario and Quebec this fall, including the North American tree climbing competition.
“I might do Ontario, Quebec and the North Americans, all within four weeks of each other this fall, so I'll be nice and practised up by then,” she says.
Alcorn says her training for tree climbing competitions includes everything from climbing trees to hot yoga (literally yoga in a hot room).
“Just yoga in general is good because all of the components of how yoga helps your body, it also really helps the tree climbing end,” Alcorn says.
She also plans to do lots of running and to work on her core strength and upper body strength.
“Where I'm lacking the most is in my upper body strength, so (I'm) just trying to do as much of that as I can,” she says.
“I don't like the gym. So I just have to be out and about and have some lines installed in trees around town and hopefully not get in trouble for it,” she adds with a laugh.
It won't take Alcorn long to get going. She arrives back in Olds tomorrow (Wednesday, April 13) and will be back at work at For Trees, a Didsbury tree and shrub care company, on Monday, April 18.
Initally, Alcorn, 29, an Olds College grad, didn't do any tree climbing. For Trees hired her as a landscape foreman. That's basically what she trained for in college.
However, bit by bit, she got interested in tree climbing.
“I've always been interested in climbing. I've done rock climbing and rappelling and zip-lining and bungee jumping and all that --- skydiving and everything,” Alcorn says.
“I've always been kind of interested in that sort of stuff – like heights and ropes and adrenalin.
“So climbing just kind of came – I get to climb, which is cool, and then I get to climb with a chainsaw, which is even cooler,” she adds.
Alcorn stresses competitors don't climb with chainsaws in competitions – just for work.
Alcorn is originally from Ontario. She says she'll likely feel more pressure to perform well during the competition in Olds than she did at the Internationals.
That's because she's lived in this community for about five years now, and has become pretty involved in the community, volunteering with the hospice society and the fair trade committee. She also helped out with the Hay City Slam skateboard competition.
"I've always been interested in climbing. I've done rock climbing and rappelling and zip-lining and bungee jumping and all that --- skydiving and everything."KALI ALCORN
