As I grow older (and I'm not even 40 yet), I become more adverse to risk with each passing year. I don't go up on ladders past the first story. In North Carolina, it was fine because we had a ranch. Now, in VA, we have a 2-story house and the rear is actually 3 stories up because we have a walk-out basement. Sorry, not happening. I do see some gutter guards sticking up, so the previous owner had them installed (but they may not be in good shape). We have a ton of trees, and this is something I'll have to evaluate this fall (actually, pretty quick-like).
In this case, the risk is not worth the reward to me. Cleaning gutters on a 3rd story is a huge safety risk for me. I won't do it. My wife won't support me doing it. It will be subbed out to an insured contractor. In our case, we'll likely have them inspect the current gutter guards and replace as necessary, so we won't have to worry about it again for a while.
In this case, the risk is not worth the reward to me. Cleaning gutters on a 3rd story is a huge safety risk for me. I won't do it. My wife won't support me doing it. It will be subbed out to an insured contractor. In our case, we'll likely have them inspect the current gutter guards and replace as necessary, so we won't have to worry about it again for a while.