NW birch

[Onthesauk]

Not sure what our native birch here in the NW is but here is a picture of how you often find it growing.  This clump of 8 or 9 trunks is on top of an old growth wester red cedar, probably cut around 1905.  These are about 12 to 14 inches DBH, (although DBH is about 10 feet off the ground.) 

The question is whether there is any good way to safely cut these?  This clump is a little too close to my drainfield and birch is notorious for finding water.  Not real excited about cutting from a ladder, pretty tough to figure out an escape route.

[SwampDonkey]

I would say either white birch or red alder. Is the bark white and papery? white birch. Anything else was planted or another alder shrub species. Man the perspective in that image has me thinking those stems are only 4 inches on the but.  12 inches? Well one thing about clumps at least is the stems all lean outward a bit. I can't offer any methods.  I know how I'd do it, but whether my methods would stand up to forum standards is another matter. ;D 

[Kevin]

Ladders are risky, they need to be secured and you need to be secured.
You will probably find the branches inter locked with one another.
I would attempt to get a line in the top of each leader, leave a hinge and pull them over one at a time with a rope from a safe distance.

[Onthesauk]

Yes, these are birch.  Much of what I have is red alder but the birch get started in the cedar stumps because of the way they hold water.  Up the hill behind the house I've got one that is about 22" DBH and the cedar stump is at least 7 feet tall.

I've kind of figured that if I can get one or two of these down I will have a bit of a working area on top of the old stump and the rest might be a bit easier.

[Coon]

I have white birch growing around large spruce stumps on our farm.  Atleast with spruce stumps you know they will eventually rot away, however I some of these stumps have been there for atleast 15 years and still seem solid.  With some of the birch I cut three years ago I simply fell them about waste high if they were growing around a large stump.  Once I was finished falling them I simply went back with the saw and cut what was left off for firewood.