Tower Climber Experience

“You learn something every day. I’ve been doing this for years and I still learn something new every day,” said tower climber Robbie Cleveland in an interview with Inforum. Cleveland currently works as a foreman for Midwest Steeplejacks and has been in the tower industry for over 20 years. He spoke on the dangers of tower climbing and the eye-opening experiences he has come across during his time in the profession.

A recent increase in cell tower fatalities has been reported by PBS’s Frontline program and by local news outlets. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration systematically tracks contractors and monitor accidents occurring on work sites, but what has been called the “hidden cost” of the rising trend in mobile has been unusually high in the past few years. Another tower climber commented, “There’s a lot of fatalities in the industry and it’s due to the fact that people don’t follow the rules or [that] they’re not careful.”
Despite the dangers and the cold—what tower climbers often say is the most challenging thing about the job—there is a sense of camaraderie. The climber related his experiences to other climber hopefuls on a job shadowing website. He described instances climbing in 20 degree weather at two in the morning when a dispatcher would tell him, “It’s not working,” and all he would want to do is give up and go home. But the feeling after walking away from a completed tower after a week with a small crew and a truck load of steel that came at the beginning of the week—those were the most rewarding moments.
The job is not meant for everyone. Tower climbers emphasize the need for a technician to truly enjoy what he does. They should enjoy the outdoors, follow safety procedures and use common sense, be adept problem solvers, be able to tough-out physically challenging situations, and be comfortable making decisions with a widespread impact. So, the next time you reach for your mobile device, think of the individuals behind the network that allows the devices to connect people across the country to one another.
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