Power tower ‘hammocking’ enthusiasts warned about deadly falls, electrocution
Authorities and power company reps sounded an alarm on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, about young people climbing high-voltage power transmission towers to swing in hammocks, an activity known as hammocking. The tower shown here in the foothills of North Ogden carries lines with 46,000 volts of electricity.
Authorities and power company reps sounded an alarm on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, about young people climbing high-voltage power transmission towers to swing in hammocks, an activity known as hammocking. The tower shown here in the foothills of North Ogden carries lines with 46,000 volts of electricity.
Authorities and power company reps sounded an alarm on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, about young people climbing high-voltage power transmission towers to swing in hammocks, an activity known as hammocking. The tower shown here in the foothills of North Ogden carries lines with 46,000 volts of electricity.
NORTH OGDEN — There’s something about the power towers in the foothills overlooking North Ogden and Pleasant View — young people keep climbing them to do some relaxing hammock swinging, albeit at the risk of fatal falls or electrocution.
“Kids are up there every day,” said Lt. Cortney Ryan of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, which posted a warning on social media Friday of the apparently unabated dangerous activity. A photo with the post showed two hammocks on one of the towers.
County officials and leaders in the two cities have been aware of the “hammocking” trend for several years. It grew out of a boom in the nationwide popularity of hammocking in other, less dangerous, venues.
Rocky Mountain Power spokesperson David Eskelsen said Monday he wasn’t aware of power tower hammocking occurring anywhere else on the company’s system.
“I’ve been with Rocky Mountain Power for 34 years and I’ve only run across it twice,” Eskelsen said. “Both times have been in that general area.”
Ryan said the sheriff’s office will be running extra patrols in the power line areas and violators will be cited for trespassing.
“It’s actually a very popular thing among the teenagers,” Ryan said, and recreation companies now make small, convenient, portable hammocks.
Eskelsen said the towers are more than 100 feet tall and the lines carry 46,000 volts, more than enough to cause death. Proximity to a line, not even touching it, could cause electrocution because the high voltage can jump.
Some hammock enthusiasts climb 60 or more feet up the towers, Ryan said. Panoramic views of the valley are available from there, “but it also creates a huge fall risk,” Ryan said.
A photo provided by the sheriff’s office showed a person who had climbed high up between the power lines.
“We strongly urge people not to do that, particularly the upper location, which is well into the danger zone,” Eskelsen said. “It’s close to the conductor. Even our linemen don’t climb those towers.
Rocky Mountain crews use lift equipment when they need to work on the towers and their lines, he said.
The utility has talked about perhaps installing fencing around some towers, “but refitting these things would be operationally complex,” Eskelsen said.
Fencing “might make sense if the situation is persistent,” he said, “but one thing we have noticed is that a determined climber can defeat even pretty aggressive fencing by cutting the fence or climbing over it.” Such determination has been seen in people breaking into power substations, he said.
“We are always sensitive and open to additional measures if they become necessary,” Eskelsen said.
He also stressed that the towers are on private property and in addition to trespassing, there are laws against interference with major power transmission lines. “Here, there is a potential for interference,” he said.
Ryan said the sheriff’s office is appealing to parents to prevent teenagers from the potentially deadly hammocking.
There’s a North Ogden city park with a hammocking area, providing an alternative to the risky outings, Ryan said. “It doesn’t provide the views they’re looking for but it’s much safer,” he said.