Ax Men

★ 6.3 · 2008 · 60m · Reality

Danger is a full-time job for these brave men who put everything on the line each and every day to retrieve the Pacific Northwest timber with which we build our country. Snapped cables, runaway logs and razor-sharp chainsaws are just some of the dangers that threaten their lives daily. Even with new technology that should make the job easier, anything and everything can and does go wrong.

Episodes

▶1. Man vs. Mountain60m · Deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, rugged men make their living doing one of the deadliest jobs in the world... logging. Their mission is to retrieve timber perched on mountainsides too steep to access with machines, but it's no easy task. Plagued by mechanical failures, relentless weather, and unpredictable terrain, these brave men risk their lives retrieving the timber with which we built our country. Meet four companies trying to survive each day. Pihl Logging--a rag-tag group of loggers based in Vernonia, Oregon. Gustafson Logging--a close-knit crew working one of the most dangerous jobs in the region. J.M. Browning--the best of the best. Stump Branch Logging--the young guns with a lot to prove. These are the Ax Men.▶2. Risk and Reward60m · Just days into the fall logging season, the Ax Men are already being put to the test. J.M. Browning races to meet a big deadline. Stump Branch Logging tempts fate by jury-rigging their old equipment. The Gustafson Company races mother nature as they attempt to build a road to access their logging site. Father teaches son the lessons of logging as the men of the Pihl Company haul in the forest's cash crop.▶3. Storm Season Strikes60m · As a storm closes in on the Oregon coast, the Ax Men race to stay one step ahead. Jesse continues to push the J.M. Browning crew to meet its looming deadline, while muddy roads trap trucks on their way to the Stump Branch site. Robby battles for control of the Gustafson crew. Pihl Logging feels the effects of the slumping lumber market.▶4. The Big Hit60m · Across Northwest Oregon, the Ax Men continue to grind it out. Storm season arrived with a vengeance--shutting some crews down while others struggled to stay afloat. Now a bigger storm is brewing. The stalled housing market's effects are hitting the Ax Men hard. Jobs will be shut down; men will be put out of work. This week, the housing market hits home.▶5. Market Meltdown60m · The loggers of the Pacific Northwest perform what is said to be North America's most dangerous job. Watch as the men react to news of upcoming layoffs. Gustafson Logging tries to get back on track, Browning Logging races to meet a big deadline and Pihl Logging needs to finish the Pig Farm Job. Despite Melvin's best efforts to keep up with his old equipment, Stump Branch Logging loses one of its most important machines.▶6. Reversal of Fortune60m · Logging has been called North America's most dangerous job. Logging giants throughout Oregon are falling. Two of the biggest--J.M. Browning and Gustafson Logging--are fighting to survive. Jay Browning, usually flush with lucrative deals, is forced to make tough decisions. Gustafson Logging is down but not out. Smaller outfits, like Stump Branch and Pihl, find winning strategies in their young leaders.▶7. The Close Call60m · The season is halfway through, and the gap between winners and losers is widening. Stump Branch tests a new but more dangerous logging strategy... and it poses great danger to the men in the rigging. The Pihl men play while the bosses are away. Browning Logging is a team divided. Jesse struggles to prove himself to his father... but faulty equipment isn't helping matters. A mistake on the Gustafson crew may end one man's career.▶8. Loggers Under Fire60m · In the wake of the plummeting logging market, the Ax Men are barely surviving. The Gustafson bosses have a close call while taking over for their laid-off crew. An old hook tender returns to the Browning team, stopping Jesse's ascension to company management. Pihl loses a crucial member of the team as it struggles to finish Pig Farm. At Stump Branch, the young guns take matters into their own hands when Melvin has to leave the site.▶9. A Logger's Thanksgiving60m · Thanksgiving arrives; winter weather strikes and the men of Pihl lose one man after another to illness. The younger crew members of Gustafson blow off steam while the bosses toil away. Jay is forced to ax some of the Browning gang staff. The season's first snow is a warning of things to come for the Stump Branch crew.▶10. Black Friday60m · Thanksgiving is over, but the return to work brings more trouble for the Ax Men. The Gustafson crew now faces a nearly impossible deadline after returning from a devastating two-week layoff. Pig Farm is close to its deadline, but half of the Pihl crew skips work, leaving greenhorn Cody to pick up the slack. Mistakes and inexperience at Stump Branch put profits and lives at risk. Jay Browning makes a troubling discovery about his next job.▶11. Storm of the Century60m · The town of Vernonia is declared a disaster area as the worst storm in 25 years pounds the Oregon coast. Members of Pihl and Stump Branch are forced to flee. Jay Browning can't be found. Darrell must act fast to save his house from falling trees as the town of Astoria descends into a blackout. The future of the logging industry is in jeopardy.▶12. Picking Up the Pieces60m · The loggers try to put the storm behind them, so they can get back to work; Darrell makes a discovery that startles the crew; Jay struggles to motivate his crew without phone service; the Pihl crew comes to the rescue of one of its own.▶13. The Final Haul60m · The loggers toughest season begins to wind down; Jesse begins to wonder about the family business; rumors begin to spread, to the other crews, that the Gustafson crew is pulling out.

More Like This

The Last Woodsmen

2024 · ★ 8

In the Pacific Northwest, Jared Douglas and his logging crew risk life and limb to harvest the planet’s remote and valuable trees, but getting these giants from the forest to market is deadly.

More info →

Vie de chantier

2018

An immersion into the daily lives of forest workers and rangers through an 8-month forestry season. The series follows a team of emergency mechanics struggling to repair broken equipment, cooks responsible for feeding 400 workers a week, and truck drivers hauling 100 tons of lumber across a 200-kilometer trek to the nearest sawmill.

More info →

Big Timber

2020 · ★ 6.2

Follows the dangerous work of logger and sawmill owner Kevin Wenstob as he and his crew go to extremes to keep the family sawmill, and their way of life, alive.

More info →

Timber Titans

2024

Following four logging companies in British Columbia as they fight through extreme weather and merciless terrain to harvest one of Canada’s most vital natural resources.

More info →

On n'est pas sorti du bois!

2014

No synopsis available.

More info →

Wildboyz

2003 · ★ 5

Jackass stars Chris Pontius and Steve-O travel the globe to places like India, Mexico, Africa, Thailand, Argentina, Thailand, Argentina, for a nature show with a Jackass twist.

More info →

Top Gear

2002 · ★ 7.6

This fast-paced and stunt-filled motor show tests whether cars, both mundane and extraordinary, live up to their manufacturers' claims. The long-running show travels to locations around the world, performing extreme stunts and challenges to see what the featured cars are capable of doing. The current hosts are Paddy Mcguinness, Chris Harris and Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff.

More info →

Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica

2003 · ★ 6.4

Newlyweds follows the always interesting, and sometimes funny, newly married Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Don't miss the parties, the performing, the love, and of course, the 'Jessica Moments' as Nick and Jess put their celebrity marriage on display in Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica.

More info →