10/12 Pitch

I may not be afraid of heights, but I sure like to keep my feet on solid ground. This realization was instilled in my brain quite quickly with my first roofing job. Maybe a 10/12 pitch isn't the steepest roof around, but I'm not sure it really matters when you're standing on any angled surface thirty or forty feet off the ground!
My first day on the new job consisted of nailing tongue and groove to 32" spread log rafters. After putting tongue and groove on as high as we could reach, I got to learn what a "toe board" is (a long 2x4, nailed to the roof so your toes have something to catch to slow you down just before you fall down and go boom). Lesson for day 1: Tool belts are handy, especially when the surface you're standing on is too steep to set anything on. Also, roofing kills your ankles, toes, and back.
Day two began with a big fork lift with an extendable boom, dropping trusses down from above, with 3 of us standing on 4" wide walls, trying to stay balanced while the wind rocked these huge trusses back and forth. The rest of the day was carrying 4x8' sheets of OSB from the stack on the fork lift, onto the roof, over to the next roof, where I kept doing a face plant because the roof was so steep I couldn't get any traction. But at least I had a tool belt. Lessons for day 2: (1)good balance does come in handy, (2)always check your cutting depth on your saw before you cut, so you don't cut through 4 sheets of OSB all at the same time (oops!), and (3)"new guy" will be blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Day three was insulating, driving 8" screws, more sheeting, and more picking on "new guy," also known as "Richard," who "new guy" replaced because "Richard" was making mistakes all the time (as was "new guy," hence the new name of "Richard"). Day 3 lesson: "Richard" still gets blamed for everything.
Finally, day four. More sheeting, more insulation, and rolling out "paper" (waterproof barrier). What did "Richard" learn? (1) don't cut a sheet of OSB and lay it down on the roof unless it's going to be nailed to the rafters immediately. Or else someone, like maybe your boss, will come along and fall through the roof, cuss you out, and make you go clean up all the trash around the house. (2) If you want to get off the steep roof because you need to stand on solid ground for a while, cut a sheet of plywood and lay it down on the roof, but don't nail it. Then, maybe someone like your boss will step on it, fall through, cuss you out, and make you get off the roof to go clean up trash. Works every time.

Really, the week wasn't all that bad, but I did make a few mistakes and learn some good lessons along the way. Don't worry, my boss is okay, and I don't think he's going to fire me anytime soon. For now, it's Friday, I have a 3 day weekend, and I won't be back on a roof until Monday.