A real high flying position

Daily Telegraph reporter Tim Vollmer tries out being a high ropes window cleaner. Picture: Jeff Herbert Source: The Daily Telegraph

MY MIND is racing as I scramble over the edge of the office building's roof -- the street below now worryingly distant -- with just two strands of rope, no thicker than a finger, all that is holding my weight.

I struggle to slide into a small wooden seat, clip my full body harness on to it, then am handed the tools of my trade for the day -- sponge, small bucket and squeegee.

With the rise of glass-covered multi-storey towers has come a new job, the high-rise window cleaner, requiring a handful of brave souls to dangle anywhere up to 100m in the air from a flimsy-looking rope, washing away the city's grime.

"The gear doesn't fail . . . usually," Safetek director and my boss for the day Jan Kroupa says reassuringly, seeing my nervous eyes glancing at the collection of carabiners, descenders and safety lines hanging from my body. We've attached our ropes to two anchors on the roof, which I'm told is actually the biggest safety risk, as the team's mechanical test kit regularly uncovers unsafe bolts that could give way.

Once over the side I slowly lower myself down to the first window, making sure all my equipment is clipped to me with lengths of cord so nothing falls to the footpath.

We've already tested for wind -- using the hi-tech technique of spitting from the roof and watching where it falls -- ensuring we work in the right direction and don't have drips blowing on to clean sections of glass.

Through the glass I can just make out the office workers at their desks, with a few of the women giving a wave and a smile, but most oblivious to the pair of spider-men clinging to the window.

The actual washing is an artform, with the window quickly covered in suds before I attempt the surprisingly difficult task of wiping it off with the squeegee using a single unbroken motion.

We give the edges a quick wipe, again to stop drips, then lower ourselves down slightly and start the process over.

Each strip is about 2m wide and experienced guys can do much more, swinging across and jamming their skyhooks into crevices on the building.

I've picked an easy day for it, with almost no wind and mild weather. On a summer scorcher the task becomes substantially harder, with a surface temperature of more than 60C giving just seconds to do the whole task before the water evaporates.

For Jan, the biggest challenge is finding good staff.

"For some reason this industry attracts a lot of weird people," he says.

I can't imagine why.

Source:http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/a-real-high-flying-position/story-fn6bm90q-1225987411442