1500' TV Tower

Somebody has to change out that lightbulb at the top of those tall TV towers!

This is tower climber Kevin Schmidt making the climb to the very top of the now inactive KDLT TV analog broadcast antenna near Salem, SD.

It was a beautiful fall day for a climb and the views are stunning! I would suggest watching at 1080 HD in full screen to get a small taste of the experience.

[mark-dietz]

I climbed a ladder today to change the kitchen lightbulb, and I didnt even cry.
Guys like me and Kevin are a rare breed!

[davidmoyar]

A couple of weeks ago (May of 2022) a tremendous storm rolled through South Dakota, and brought this grand tower down. It was a sad day for the handful of men who have made memories on this structure over the years, me included. I've been in this industry since 1983, and actually work with the guys who made this video.

Back in the 80s Todd (the video editor) )and I worked with a guy named Kenny Jackson. He'd been at it for years, and was a prototype of the guys who were in the industry back then, absolutely rough & tumble. He'd never have made it in today's more buttoned-down tower world. But he was just what you would have imagined of a tower climber back then. He was also of Caribbean descent, and had some pretty funny idioms. For instance, his warnings were generally of three varieties: "You do that, you'll be good & dead." "You do that, you'll be plenty dead." And, "You do that, you'll be deader than hell!"

One slow day I asked him what was the difference between good & dead, plenty dead, and deader than hell. I don’t think that the thought about it for more than a couple of seconds, then a grin spread across his face. “Good & dead is when someone drops something off the tower and it hits you. Plenty dead is when you fall off the tower far enough to die.” Then, widening his eyes, he solemnly told us, “But deader than hell is when you fall from so high that they have to dig your ass up before they can bury you!”

Everyone just fell on the ground, laughing. All these years and stories later, this remains one of my all-time favorites. I’m glad no one was working this tower when it went down. They’d surely have ended up “deader than hell!”

[timesurfingalien]

I built and climbed these for 15 yrs. Took me all over the world. Best veiw ever

[RickRairdon]

As an Ironworker I climbed a 1, 000 foot TV tower in Mishawaka, IN. I was working for Tesco Tower Co.

[myfavoritemartian]

While I am retired now, I used to be an Ironworker. My grandfather was, my father was, my sons are not. (RN and Genetic scientist) We built bridges, towers, tower cranes and high rise buildings. I spent 25 years at it before changing to a trade more suitable to an older man. Most tower erectors have a light bulb changing service, but occasionally we would get a call to change one. I remember doing it twice. Most towers are not that tall. That one I guessed to be a mid-west area TV tower. I looked and sure enough it was. TV service is a triangle. The higher you go, the farther you reach. Those spikes reaching up above the lamp assembly are lightning arrestors. Note that the tips are charred black from the strikes.
Oddly enough, when you are up really high like that, you know it is dangerous, but it just seems surreal and peaceful. He picked a fine day for it, as there seems to be very little wind.

[seltaeb]

.."is the picture any better Ma"

[erickeller]

Climber ....Kevin Schmidt.
Pilot....Joseph Thorin
Thorin
Toilet Soft

[sh]

I visited the CN tower in Toronto, Canada. On the deck, we have the floor made of thick glass tiles. When you look down, you will see the ground level a couple of hundred feet below. I decided to sit on the glass floor instead of standing as if three feet will make any difference. My fear of heights is so bad. Most part of the flights I take, I am really scared. I lose sense of time and my IQ level drops 50 points because of anxiety. Simple crossword or trivia games on airline entertainment system become huge issues for me. Look at this guy climbing an impossible tower and looking all right. Brave man.

[richardvanwagenen]

My dad had a radio station in Provo Utah with a 185 foot tower. I changed the lights on it one day (58 years ago) for the princely sum of $20. My dad watched me go to 60 feet and then walked into the radio station. I never saw him again till I got down. He said as soon as I started climbing, he regretted it hired me, and he wasn't going to watch me fall if I fell! Quite an experience – – 185 feet seems quite high, but this 1500 footer is incredible!

[iviaverick]

I feel like a parachute should be part of his toolkit.

[tonyb]

As someone who has climbed a 516 foot tower to fit new antennae, I can assure you that going up is tiring but easy. The big issue is coming down and resisting the impulse to look down. Looking down will completley freak your mind out.

[rollingthunder]

When I was in college in Washington, D.C. (back in the Pleistocene) I worked as an area tower beacon light changer. And most of the towers were well over 1000 feet and most were guy wire stabilized. The pay was astronomical but the hazards equally breathtaking. All I had to do was change a single beacon and I was flush with cash for a month, at least. All it took was a good recommendation from one station and all the other stations started calling.

[antrigen]

I used to work for Steel & Tank Service Co. and this really brings back the memories! We mostly did water tanks but did maintenance on the towers in the wet months. I never climbed a 1500 foot tower though. My record was around 700 feet.

[jacksonrhodes]

That moment when he realizes that the tools are still in his truck

[Sgt.Hartman]

I beleive I just saw this structure going east on I90, it was like a line going to the sky. Crazy.

[frankwalker]

It's unreal how different people are I could never do that and this guy's up there like it's no problem balls of steel

[tapasprinsen]

Fun fact: When designing a tower like this they have to make sure it can support:
1. Wind velocity
2. Lightning strikes
3. 1200 pound testicles

[tonyogden]

Thank you Prairie Aerial for uploading this incredible video. Thank you Mr. Schmidt for your amazing confidence and strength. Thanks also to the Thorins for some excellent cinematography and videography.

[John-rwzf]

This video is absolutely amazing. I have viewed these towers and often wondered about the people who need to climb them. Now I know. The person in this video looks perfectly relaxed performing this task. It gives me the WILLIE'S just watching this guy up there on my smartphone. I really must take my hat off and applaud this person and others like him who can do something like this. WOW.

[hotchihuahua]

You have to love your job to do this kind of work !
Having climbed tall trees to do work in my youth, this takes it to another level !
Also, the building of the Empire State Building and the men who walked the beams, without being tethered, is one that sends chills up my back every time I watch it !