Well described Sara!The cultivar could in my estimation be several possibilities.Why did you pick this one?Not a test ......just learning.If any of you have not explored this nice persons blog ,"Form and Foliage"you're missing some special treats .......a reformed "Perenialista"Sara leads the coniphile charge in Northern California and beyond.Doug

If you could breed climbing Llamas that feed on Leylandii you'll be very popular indeed.

When you limb up a small conical tree with no bark interest the exposed stems look raw more often then not. And the top looks like it is hovering, producing an appearance of instability. Whereas one branching to the ground looks anchored and elegant. Definitely this pruning job gets filed under Butchery. According to Jacobson, Trees of Seattle - Second Edition (2006) the larger bristle-cone pines seen in Seattle at that time were in the 20-33+ ft. range, with there being a large number of smaller ones also. In my travels in this region I have seen many about the size of the one in the picture on this thread. To age a specific example without coring it annual shoot growth would have to be estimated by studying the trunk and branches up close.

Awwwww, c'mon Ken, those trees look fine, ==>>. didnt say they did not ... what i brought up.. is the difference between removing a 30 foot tree .. and a 60 foot tree ... one job might have no impact on the landscape and cost say.. 500 bucks ... the other might involve cranes and thousands of dollars .. regardless .... there is no reason not to think about.. and plan for the next decade .. the future ... i used to remove trees.. in the last season i could do it myself.. with my chainsaw ... and that usually involved when i could still make it fall down ... and not crush a bunch of other stuff ... its a variable and an option that should be discussed.. or thought of ... not just ignored ... ken