Having family in the timber industry, I can say that they really overplay a lot of the dramatic elements. I’ve also been told that it’s a surprise that OSHA hasn’t come down on them for some of the stunts they have pulled on the program. However, I don’t think that the label “biggest idiots alive” is warranted at all. Have you ever tried to do this kind of work? As a teen one summer, I worked as a little scrub doing clean-up work on the landings and it kicked my ass. And that was nothing compared to the real jobs of the cutters, choker setters, etc. One thing that is very true is the level of danger in that line of work. I have nothing but respect for these guys.
*ping*
I worked in a sawmill for a while and that can be awfully dangerous. As it was explained to me that we were working with “Un Engineered” materials and there is danger inherent in that.
I was working in a safe zone once and ended up with broken ribs because of a log that got bound up and shattered. I was just lucky that it hit me flat instead of pointy end first.