I slowly climbed the 90 foot pole. It was mid day, very hot and I was unfit. Anyway, I got up there and released the wire rope from the top of the first pole. When I got down, I was totally exhausted. Climbing a pole is not the same as climbing a tower. The base of the pole was about two feet in diameter so you are leaning back with your feet at different levels on the foot spikes.
Most of the team had gone over to the shack for drinks and had left me there still only half way down the pole. The first 15 feet didn't have foot spikes and was the most difficult. Eventually, I managed to reach the ground and virtually crawled back to the shack. I was so knackered that I consulted Jim Tankersley, HZ1AB's resident pediatrician. He said I was suffering from sever dehydration and quite a bit of knackeration and recommended that I don't do any more climbing this day. After a good rest and a few sodas, we returned to the Rhombic. The crane driver was just lowering in the second Rhombic pole. After some gentle persuasion from the guys, I still refused to climb again so the contractors for the crane and concrete mixers decided to go and get another crane to finish the job. At first the contractors tried to make some kind of liftable platform but after getting about half way up the pole decided to come down again.
As I was the proud owner of a body harness, a new one, I suggested that I get lifted by the second crane to release the wire rope after the poles had been lowered in to the holes. This became the procedure for the remaining three poles and was Jeff's major contribution to the Rhombic erection. The three pictures show this unconventional step in the construction of a Rhombic.