Brian French and Will Koomjian are certified tree geeks. Beyond the arborist certification from the International Society of Arboriculture that allows them to care for the trees in your yard, they each have a passion for trees that runs so deeply, one suspects they might be carriers of a rare tree gene. Trees are that essential to their being. They speak Tree Latin: Pseudotsuga menziesii often stands in for Douglas Fir in everyday conversation, Thuja plicata for Western Red Cedar. They argue about the origin of species. When asked about the decline of the Baker Cypress, Cupressus bakeri, the discussion went like this:
Writer: [Whole groves have been lost since] the tree was discovered in the 1940s?
French: Yeah.
Koomjian: No, no, no. Since this species was discovered.
French: Yeah. That was in the 1940s.
Koomjian: (talking over French) No it wasn’t. No it wasn’t.
French: Yes it was. Oliver Matthews discovered the species.
Koomjian: No. (now rolling his eyes) Oliver Matthews did not discover the species. He discovered that tree in that grove. The species was discovered in the 19th century.
French: I thought it was Matthews who got it.
Koomjian: No. That was the sub-species.
French: Oh, yeah, Right, right. Sorry about that.
Koomjian: We’re not talking about the sub-species. We’re talking about the whole species. And there are nine groves of the entire species.
Koomjian even sports a tree tattoo on his left, upper arm. Thuja plicata, Western Red Cedar. It is the image of a dead trunk. Apparently, as cedars age, the center treetop dies and shoots new tops off the old trunk creating a candelabra effect. Koomjian climbed a ‘total freak tree’ in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington that grew on the top of a hill instead of in swampy, bottomland areas where Thuja plicata prefer. This tree is one of the largest Thuja plicata in the world and is close to 500-years younger than any of the other giant, old trees of that species. Koomjian climbed a hemlock that grew out of the base of the main tree and then swung himself over into the tallest stem in the canopy of the cedar and there he saw it: the dead trunk that to him was as beautiful as a Van Gough painting.
Twenty-somethings French and Koomjian often find themselves in big—no, giant —trees regularly and it is not just because of their arborist day job. In 2007, it occurred to them that their tree climbing skills would allow them to venture into worlds that no one ever sees—the canopies of the biggest trees of each species, known as champion trees. They decided to explore the vertical unknown to discover the measurements, habitats and mysteries of these ancient organisms so others could experience their wonder. And besides, it would be a very cool thing to do.
Ascending the Giants was born. Since French and Koomjian’s first big tree climb in a Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata, in the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Portland, Oregon-based, volunteer-run organization has measured over 100 trees, recording 38 national champions and 15 future champions in Oregon, California, Montana, Washington and Vancouver Island, B.C. Incidentally, they also happened to discover the active nests of both the marbled murrelet (considered endangered) and the elusive red tree vole (considered threatened) and a pair of clouded salamanders at a record-breaking height of 250’ in a 257’ tall Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii.
Tree Geeks, Pt. 2: Climbing Big Trees, Pt. 3, Pt. 4
