Whenever I saw a professional on a ladder, there was someone else at the foot of the ladder holding the sides of the ladder.
Now that my rain gutters are frozen solid, they are creaking, and I'm concerned the load may break them.
Is climbing to the gutters above the second level really a task that an amateur should not tackle, certainly not alone, or does there exist a way to dig the feet of the ladder (by spokes into the ground, perhaps) to stop the ladder from sliding?
Update: The unstated (but, I figured, pretty obvious) reason why I'm asking this question is that I'd like to save myself from even the most mundane of fall injuries.
In other words, please do not add comments saying it's dangerous. If you'd like to mention that repairing a slightly chipped tooth is far more expensive than hiring someone to do it, well, I know that. Feel free to write instead as an answer why this is so dangerous that no amateur should tackle it. Some tasks (such as rolling/unrolling garage door springs) are so risky, no amateur should tackle them. Some are outright illegal for an amateur to tackle (modifying the gas pipelines). Cleaning gutters is clearly not in the latter category. Is it in the former? Arguing for this is a perfectly valid answer.
Best Answer
You don't need a ladder. A garden hose taped to a long stick plus hot water will do the job just fine. If you can poke it out of a roof window, you'll need a shorter stick. You could also use a spray nozzle, but the water jet will be cold by the time it arrives on the ice you want to melt.
Plus you won't have to smash the ice which risks destroying your gutters in the process.