Crew climbs to 'death zone' to work on WRAL tower
Shane Best considers himself part of a "special breed of people.” Perched high in the air, his job as a tower rigger regularly puts him 2,000 feet off the ground.
Posted — Updated“There (are) very few people who can do what we do,” Best said. “A lot of people say they've got the gumption and the guts and the backbone, but when they get up there, they're white-knuckled and they can't move."
WRAL’s tower has six antennas at the top, making the work a little tricky. Clouds and howling winds stopped work for a few days, but crews eventually lowered the old antenna and hoisted the new one.
“This job's a little more difficult than a normal antenna change,” Best said.
He and the crew said they get a thrill from working at extreme heights.
“Once you pass 50 feet, it's the death zone. I'm an adrenaline junkie,” Best said. “We don't really care if it's 2,000 or 10,000 feet. It's the same to us."
The crew's work on WRAL’s tower will allow the station to use new technologies in the future, including mobile television.
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