Idaho's Ethan Schussler makes bicycle lift for treehouse
What a tree-mendous idea! Man uses his bicycle to get up to his treehouse after becoming so fed up having to climb 30ft ladder
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Having spent months building his treehouse high in the forest near his home in Sanpoint, Idaho, Ethan Schussler knew he couldn't just use a standard ladder to climb up there.
Acting on a suggestion from a friend, the resourceful 23-year-old instead adapted an old bicycle into a novel, man-powered elevator. He sits on the saddle, turns the pedals, and a series of counterweights, ropes and and pulleys spring into action, pulling him up 30 feet to his secluded den.
Mr Schlussler, a construction worker, who built the treehouse himself, admitted it there were probably safer methods. 'Of course it's not "safe",' he scoffed. 'But neither is walking across the street.'
But he said that he had made it so that its constituent parts were stronger than needed, and no single component would lead to a fall if it broke. 'And even if it did fall, I would most likely survive; it's only 28 feet,' he said.
Ingenious: Ethan Schlussler uses his re-purposed bicycle to get to his treehouse in Sanpoint, Idaho
Resourceful: Mr Schlusser designed and built the pedal-powered elevator after a suggestion from a friend
Clever: He sits on the saddle and pedals - and a series of counterweights, ropes and and pulleys spring into action
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Smart: Mr Schussler, who spent around a week building the elevator, designed it himself
Unusual: He was inspired to do it because he wanted something more interesting than a regular ladder to get up to his treehouse
Well thought out: He unclips the chain which anchors his bicycle lift to a to a rock on the forest floor
Up, up and away: As Mr Schlussler pedals, his contraption gradually begins to rise the 30 feet to his treehouse
A little shaky... But Mr Schussler insists that it is strongly built and the failure of any single component would not lead to an accident
Brave: 'Even if it did fall, I would most likely survive; it's only 28 feet,' said Mr Schlussler
Life at the top: Mr Schlussler's treehouse offers him panoramic views of the surrounding woodland
And down again: The descend from his eyrie, all he has to do is take his hands off the pedals and glide slowly down to the forest floor
Smooth: A counterweight controls his rate of descent so he doesn't plummet back down to the ground with a bump
Daring: Mr Schlussler, a construction worker, who built the treehouse himself, admitted it there were probably safer methods to get up and down
Genius: Mr Schlussler's low-tech solution is the perfect finishing touch to his woodland hideaway
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