Instead of riding horses & roping cattle, young apprentices climb telephone poles, rescue dummies (hurt man rescue), rewire transformers and the like. It's nothing less than a fun day for all, families included!

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To be an electric lineman, a person has to apprentice for four years, climbing poles, setting line, and learning the ropes before becoming a journeyman lineman. These contests display their abilities.

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Safety is of the utmost concern. Thus, there is a lot of gear each man needs carry/wear to protect himself when working wire. After all, those lines can carry huge amounts of wattage.

Overhead power transmission lines are classified in the electrical power industry by the range of voltages:
Low voltage – less than 1000 volts, used for connection between a residential or small commercial customer and the utility.
Medium Voltage (Distribution) – between 1000 volts (1000 volts = 1 kV) up to about 33 kV, used for distribution in urban and rural areas.
High Voltage (subtransmission less than 100 kV; subtransmission or transmission at voltage such as 115 kV and 138 kV), used for sub-transmission and transmission of bulk quantities of electric power and connection to very large consumers.
Extra High Voltage (transmission) – over 230 kV, up to about 800 kV, used for long distance, very high power transmission.
Ultra High Voltage – higher than 800 kV. (that's 8,000,000 volts!)

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A hardhat to keep your head from accidentally touching a hot line above you, leggings that enable easy pole climbing, and a harness, to strap oneself to the poll. Those two large (and heavy) clips on each side of the harness enable one to switch sides easily. This basic gear weighs about 20 pounds.

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The entire enchilada (the gear these men carry up the pole with them) weighs in around 50 pounds! ...not including well insulated boots. Imagine having to wear 50 extra pounds for several hours at a time when doing line work in the dark of night; plus, any cold weather gear the person needs when repairing your line. That's exactly what these brave men do in the middle of thunder, lightning and rain storms when your lights go out...so you can cook, use hot water, watch TV, and the many other luxuries we take for granted that electricity brings.

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Linemen are family men. They give up their time whenever it's needed, to see you have lights.

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You can tell that the gear isn't easy, even for this strapping young man, to walk in!

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Climbing harnesses ensure, that should you slip or be electrocuted, you won't fall to the ground head first - a sure tragedy nobody wants to suffer!

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Most Linemen are indeed men, as it's a tough job, but there are women that do this too.

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Yes, it's our 55 year pole veteran.

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Another long time veteran of linemen.

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You may notice, that there are several different ways to climb a pole.

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Jeff refers to this configuration as a "Christmas tree".

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I love opening ceremonies!

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Linemen have a particularly dangerous job. As you can see, that is a dummy in place of a "hurt man". Should a person be electrocuted (and yes, it happens, which is why they need practice this), the linemen must to be able to get the hurt man down the pole within 7 minutes or less to save his life.

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By securing the electric line up and out of the way, a man is able to work much safer than if the second line were nearby.

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The disintegration is almost instantaneous!

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....it involves taking a raw egg in a bucket to the top of a pole, switching out the bucket, placing the egg in your mouth and descending the pole without breaking the egg. Speed counts.

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Jeff has 35 years in this field. I'm so proud of him!

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This was pretty funny, as those apprentices sure thought they had youth and strength over those "old" men!

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