BETHESDA CRANE WEEK: LIFE OF A CRANE OPERATOR

Bethesda Crane Week continues!  Wednesday, you learned crane signals.  But what about the brave men and women who climb into the clouds and operate these machines?

It's not a lifestyle for the faint of heart!

Up on these rigs, even getting lunch is a major operation.  And there's no elevator ride to the top, either.

Experience the crane operator's non-operating challenges vicariously, in these exclusive photos:

In this close-up, you can see the ladders leading
up to the crane rig.  That's Triangle Towers in
the background

Click to enlarge this, and you'll see an
intrepid crane man making the climb

The day is over, but the crane men can't carry
their lunch coolers down; they're lowered down

A long way down!

"Hope I screwed that Thermos lid on tight!"

"Don't drop my egg salad!"

In case you doubted those were really lunch coolers