Our Norwegian cousins are lumberjacks

Solveig and Bill returned last week from Norway, visiting relatives, seeing the sights. We asked her to send us photo stories of some of the adventures. Here is the first installment:

Lumbering with the Rolfsruds

Stein Rolfsrud cuts the trees and Erik Rolfsrud runs the sawmill.

In 1999, Stein taught us ax throwing, and although we practiced past midnight, we never joined the circuit of World Championship Lumberjacks with Stein.

This trip, we’re off to the forest to see how they lumber a century after Nils last watched. Stein, Bill, and Arne lead the way (top) while Erik and I take our time through the ferns. (right) Deep in the woods, the Timberjack waited.

Bill and I were privileged to ride shotgun. We held the grips as the cab moved in 3D over the wheels stabilized (I think) on the hillside. From our perch, we could watch Stein’s joysticks and the computer screen.

The computer calculates angles for felling the tree without damaging neighbors, measures the diameter and length of the tree, and given today’s prices for type of wood and type of use, calculates cost-efficient cuts. At the end of the day, it totes up the inventory in dimensions and kroner.

The machine cuts the tree, picks it up, shreds off the branches, cuts off lengths, and places the logs in convenient lots for the truck to pick up. Optionally, the ends of the logs can be marked with a shot of paint, red for building materials, blue for paper pulp, and so on.

Norwegians are so neat, aren’t they?

The operator, by the way, makes more decisions in one minute than a fighter pilot. And particularly difficult work is clearing trees on either side of a power line. (right)

Need a tree cut? Call Stein Rolfsrud.

Postscript by Stan: Our grandfather, Nils Rolfsrud, worked briefly during one winter at a logging camp in northern Minnesota around 1902. The conditions were bad, of course, and everything was done by men and horses. Stein's timberjack probably does more in one season than an entire camp of lumber men.

Below is a video of the Rolfsrud machine at work. Click to play.

You wonder what Nils would think of all this. The machine is the true Paul Bunyan.