In today’s edition of The Times, Kate Galbraith writes about a job you probably didn’t know existed: “rope access technician.” These are people who turned a hobby, rock climbing, into a career in which they scale giant wind turbines to make repairs. It is a small but fast-growing field made necessary by the rapid growth of wind power in the United States.
True, big wind turbines look pretty impervious as they turn slowly in the stiffest breeze. So why would they need repair? It turns out they can be damaged by lightning, ice buildup and other mishaps that can chip blades or create other problems. So episodic patches and repairs are necessary even for the best-designed turbines.
Ms. Galbraith points out that repairing big blades at the end of a rope is not necessarily an easy business to get into, even for those with the necessary climbing skills. Lining up liability and workers-compensation insurance can be a challenge. Still, some small companies, like Rope Partner in Santa Cruz, Calif., have managed to make it work.
Anybody interested in this sort of career challenge might start by exploring the training classes and job postings on this Web site. And for a richer sense of what the work is like, don’t miss the video that accompanies Ms. Galbraith’s article.