ELK GROVE, Calif. (UPI) -- Observers gathered this weekend in a valley in Elk Grove, Calif., to watch competitors battle in an intense tree-climbing contest, participants said.

Twenty-five climbers traveled from four Western states to take part in the climbing contest in Elk Grove Regional Park, the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday.

"The competition is really about pushing your own envelope. You're climbing a living organism. It's something that lives and moves," said Chad Brey, 32, a two-time winner for the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.

Competitors train to master events with unusual names such as footlock, belayed speed climb, aerial rescue, throwline and work climb, the newspaper said.

The competition, which began in 1976, was scheduled to wrap up Sunday after the top five climbers were chosen. The final winner will get a chance to go to St. Louis to compete in the global tree-climbing contest in July, the Bee said.

Might be a good event to watch but not participate in