I recently had the opportunity to photograph a group of arborists scale the aptly-named Big Tree in La Pine State Park. The climbers, from the nonprofit Ascending the Giants, set out for the top of the ponderosa pine to take measurements and video of their efforts. The group tries to identify and climb champion trees, the largest living member of a species. Though not yet official, the 167-foot-tall ponderosa is likely to be classified a champion.