ELITE Lineman - Learning to Climb Day One 

god bless the linemen. these are the guys that get your power and internet back up at 3AM in the middle of winter during a blizzard. unless you have lazy linemen, then it takes a week lol

31 years as a professional firefighter and when asked if I wanted to be a lineman all I could say was "Aw, hell no!" Balls of steel those guys have.

What a fun job. And that instructor is like something right out of a movie, I want him to teach me everything

Receiving a complement from this guy while climbing must have felt like you won in life.

Man i remember my first day of pole climbing. I was nervous as hell lol. Never climbed with a buck squeeze, looks cool

Linemen are definitely a true breed and they are hero’s for risking their lives everyday my son and son-in-law are linemen and I have a lot of friends that are with power companies God bless you all thank you for what you do

These students worked well. Six months to a year they will be teaching someone else, and remember climbing up a pole may be natural for a squirrel but not people. Good luck to you all

I remember we all had to climb to top and pass a football around on the last day. The bucksqueeze would of helped my nerves back then.

Good job instructor,did that for 2 years.everyone needs to learn this skill and keep it honed sharp.It pays exelent,and allways in demand.

Good ol bucksqueeze, saving lives all the time !!

God those hammer sounds at the beginning were safisfying.

When I was a lineman we free climbed everything. Burned a few poles and hit some elevator cracks but I loved being up there.

Was in pole climbing school for Verizon, on pay day, the instructor took our paychecks and placed them on the top of the pole with a rock on top. Undeniable method to show him you could climb.

I remember being in pole school when I started in Bell Atlantic 27 years ago. We had a training yard setup similar to this and our instructor made us climb up to 30 feet and toss a basketball back and forth to each other to improve confidence and maneuverability. If you were the one to drop the ball…. Guess what… down you’d go to retrieve it and then bring it back up. I remember on graduation day, our instructor put our certificates on a hook at the top of the pole forcing us to climb one last time.

He made climbing look easy

I'm turning 30 this year and have been considering going to a lineman school, I want an actual career I enjoy and have fun doing not just another 9-5 i dread going to. Everything i've seen on youtube about these jobs looks like they would be fun and rewarding careers! Anyone think the 30s is to old/late to get into the field?

Very good instructor

Is having a country accent a requirement to become a lineman?

Nice new poles! Class I just went through, the poles were all shredded. Multiple “elevators” on all of em

Took telephone telegraph lineman training before being discharged from AF in 1973. Hated it.

The instructor is my hero

We were trained two point free climbing method, this is WAY different than what I know. Safer, I suppose? That's MOST important...

I gaffed my foot on the pole during the test. Superglued it then did my test and passed.

As Electrical engineer, I am thankfull that I have people beneath me to perform those tasks. Bless Yall. Stay out of University.

I wanna go to school to be a lineman however I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with it. I wanna climb a pole to see if I like it or not before I pay to go to school.

ALBAT was one of the hardest things I finished in my working career

Before I retired I was a climbing instructor. It was one of the most nerve wracking jobs I ever did. Always hoping some idiot wouldn't burn the pole.

If you're interested in becoming a journeyman lineman, a true recognized journeyman lineman, get yourself into a union apprenticeship

I love this!

As kids in the 70’s we found lineman climbing gear and thought ourselves. Absolutely stupid

Billy Bob Thornton gonna play that guy in an upcoming blockbuster film 💯

confused about where the elite part was

hi sir good day i am Philippines i am working us lineman here in lapulapu cebu city in Philippines I am interested to there how apply thank you su much.

Lmao they even have their own ad at the end of the vid i dont know if its the same every time but its pretty funny

Need one of those suit.. just in case of end of the world or zombie time or tremor worm.. nice

A young mans game for sure

I notice theres no emphasis on keeping your ass away from the pole so the angle of pressure is in, not down. I learned that f om a dude who never cut out using the old school safety. Keep your hips out and the pressure is in, not down

Elite 😄, here in Mississippi we don't put the belt around poll till we reach the top

Where do I sign up for this class.

What happens if the guy is climbing and his strap goes higher than the pole?

UP DOWN!!!!

Bit of a question... leading leg lower when you circle? Is there a reason for this? Doesn't seem right to me. I remember being told leading leg higher, so that you don't accidentally gaff yourself with the following leg

I built catv systems across the country during the late 70's through the 80's! No safety equipment like was shown here! Free climbing not hitch hiking!

Excelencia

Squeezin ain't easy!!

Bartledoo

Lol I remember the first time and there wasn't fall restrains. One guy with a down fill vest cutout on a pole look like someone skin a rabbit.

Music spoils a great video

Can someone answer the phone please! 😅

You can tell that instructor doesn't take any sh*t. Done it enough times to know that drill in and out.

I worked 8 yars and then left this job.

I wish my instructor was like this, the worthless mf i got wont even get on the pole with us

Linemen have nothing on tree climbers

we should bury the lines

EZ money job

Dude has the most country howdy cowboy accent 😂💀

💚💚💚💚 bookmark/notes premed 🥜 ❤️💙students …..lice climbing my brush ( black hat suckers ) learning to climb in Vietnam 🇻🇳 ( around time I believe what was polyurethane for skateboard wheel? Something like that when no tiide ) , before bag of bones grandma let you call California / Oregon ( the button not going in the smart phone she top the tree already 🗻) #Sequoia -g-b, bot ⚗️📚📜🏟🏯🗺🏰🌋🌌 🍯🔥🔗⚒🛠⛏🔨🔧🌕🌎🪐

Wanna be NLC school

Without a lip full of dip you ain't no real instructor

How to be a Lineman.. Step 1. Throw bucksqueeze in the trash. Step 2. Climb the pole like a man

Not as easy as it looks.

Why every time they need to add stupid ass music to the videos? For one if I want to hear music I’ll turn on the stereo. Second the music is always louder than the guy talking. Because of it I’m going to give a thumbs down. 👎

I always wonder when I hear dudes talk like this if when they was kids they said “When I grow up I’m going to talk like a douchbag for no reason when I’m teaching people.”?

you call these guys ELITE when they can't climb poles? Nonsense you weren't even given the title of lineman unless you could climb a pole for the phone company...

If ed Bassmaster was a lineman apprentice..

This looks some Attack on Titan scout training 😂😂 LOOKS AWESOME

I trained as lineman in the US Army Signal Corp, at the time MOS was 31K (wire dog) as we were called, it was a lot of fun. When we trained on the poles we would throw a ball from soldier to soldier, if you dropped it or threw it badly, you had to retrieve the ball from the ground and climb back up.

I went through Boston Edison's line school in 1970. we had to free climb a 35 foot pole before they even gave us a belt . there were wood chips around the base of the pole in case we fell. different times I guess.

Dude that must be so nice to climb, I’m a tree climber and have climbed trees 45inch around maxing out a 12 foot steel core land yard going 150ft. I want to be a line man cause it would be an easier climbing job and make more money lol. Or I climbed some crazy leaning tree that wants to keep making u want to fall to the side cause u have to balance your way to the top

You can learn the basics in a day. But it takes weeks to be good!💪🏾

These fellows are lucky...I had to learn on my own with maybe 10 minutes of instruction. Climbed about 60 poles my first day doing disconnects for a local cable tv company. My arches were black for about two weeks due to improper gear and technique. Only time a safety belt was used was once I reached my destination...free hand up and down. The one thing I got from that 10 minute instruction was "don't step in your safety"...my safety belt always hung loose from one end because of that. Kind of like boot camp at Parris Island...some things you never forget.

The music makes some basic skills training seem epic.

This dude is the guy from the holes movie. lol I start in Horry in January I cant wait so fucking excited!

I’m glad these boys learned how to climb on clean poles unlike I did. Makes a huge difference in training. That’s a great instructor.

The only climbing linemen do anymore is into the bucket trucks.. And then climbing into the trucks for lunch. 😂

I'm so glad the overdramatic music was put in. It makes it so much better! 🙄

I applied for a class A apprenticeship lineman job . At passed the written test now I have to climb a pole I have never climbed a pole I have to go up 30 ft turn come down . Im watching videos to get some advice . Thank you for the video

I do line clearance. A class for climbing would have been nice but my foreman being my foreman took me to a 70’ maple and said “alright get on up there”. Lol.

I just wished every pole I’ve climbed looked as good as these. Lol

I sound my pole i get escorted out of olive garden and told 'get that thing out of your penis you freak' but these guys sound their poles and are called proffessionals. Cruel world.

The hardest , most physical week I ever had going to pole climbing school. Burned one pole from 30 feet up, luckily I just gaffed myself in upper thigh. Have no idea how I did that. I think bootcamp was easier

I start in Oroville in Dec , can't wait!! Awesome video !

Just discovered this job and I'm already in love! It looks rewarding as hell.

I wanted to be a lineman, but the first week of pole climbing, I was like "nope". If they can get the pole to X location, they can get a damned bucket truck to it as well is my thought ha ha.

He has a funny hat , but lots of knowledge

I like lines work, am from Ghana Africa

How are these students to know if its a bad pole if yu dont give them examples of a bad pole that coud be rotted, set shallow , and or make comparisons to new poles or improperly set poles. THis type of traing gets people hurt. . Climbing is fine but even the cadence is wrong come on man... Come on. give some poles and see if the students can see which should orshouldnt be climbed. U didnt even explain the brand marking. and or how the brand could be higher or lower..

Meanwhile, in California, a biological male with a bun and shaved legs is learning to make a soy latte.

I was a new lineman 30 years ago and did it for a number of years in the cable tv industry. We never had the secondary safety strap. Bare hands to grip better with was the rule for us...lol I enjoyed it very much especially the outdoors and the freedom but, also the satisfaction of getting a hard job done. Here's to the linemen!!

shit he made me think all I need is the tools to become a lineman

Instructor we had poured lighter fluid on the pole and lit it if you didn’t m9ce fast enough.... different company. These guys are pretty chill

AMERICA!

Climbing is no joke, which is why I was a ground man! (Trees not electrical poles, that's a whole nuther level of hard!! Linesman is scary stuff!!)

30 years ago I had to figure this out fur myself..... Now today I have to jump from planes to catch a thrill If rather climb a tree than a pole, and I use pole gaffs on every tree every time.... Funny watching these newbs, be safe boys 🇺🇲🪂🦅👍🏼

We had to climb with just are hands to the top and then throw the strap around the pole and secure ourselves in. Lot of people fell cause the spikes broke loose off the pole. Broken legs shattered kneecaps, very dangerous.

When I learned to climb in the late 90s, it was free climb up and down with 3 points of contact. Free climb because if you ever fell, you wanted to fall away from the pole and not skid down the pole. Lol. There were no safety squeeze belts. I'm not one of those bad ass "we were tougher in our days" type people. I was scared every time I had to climb until I got safetied off.

Jeepers, so much safer utilizing the belt on the way up and down! Phone company has us belt on only when stationary.

Climbing is simple once you learn it.

A friend of mine was a lineman working during hurricane Sandy, I never saw anyone work non stop like that before.

Where are all of the feminists? I don't see any of them training for this job.