Guys,
Those of you that do regular work with wooden poles, should know that before you lean a ladder up against the thing, you should test the integrity of the timber as it leaves the ground.
How is this done in the US?, or any other country for that matter?.

We used to take a big screwdriver and poke the wood around ground level. I think that is where it rots first. I seem to remember allowing up to an inch or so of rot was okay.