If you land in a tree in Annecy, France then you will meet the Tree Rescue Guy, aka Benoît Pellarin. Once you have been plucked from the trees by the rescue services Benoit will get your kit back swiftly and, hopefully, in one piece. Joanna Di Grigoli went to meet him (on the ground).
Salut Benoît! Tell us what your job involves
I’m a tree surgeon and my job is to trim trees in the city or cut dangerous trees. I feel comfortable on trees. I also rescue paragliders and hang gliders from trees and cliffs. My job involves finding the glider and then getting it down undamaged, because gliders are expensive.
I climb very high on the tree, untangle the glider, cut some branches if I have to, throw the branch away, and put the glider in a bag so it won’t become tangled again when I climb down.
How did you get into it? What are your skills?
I used to work for a company with my friend Loïc near the landing field at Perroix and our friends used to call us to...
