High Riggers of the BC Coast: Topping Spar Trees in the 1930s

How did a high rigger on the British Columbia coast climb and cut the top off a 200-foot Douglas fir in the 1930s, with nothing but spurs, a belt and a rope? This is the story of the spar tree, the men who climbed it, and the logging system it powered. 00:00 The Man Below the Fog 01:38 Why a Tree Had to Become a Machine 04:00 The Tools of the Climb 06:22 The Higher He Went 08:22 Topping the Spar 10:46 Rigging the Mast 13:07 When the Spar Came Alive 15:43 Wind, Rain, and Judgement 17:58 The Camp at Night 20:11 From Spar to Saltwater to Sawmill 22:18 The End of the Wooden Spar 23:59 The Men Who Went Up SOURCES: Ken Drushka, Working in the Woods: A History of Logging on the West Coast (Harbour Publishing) Royal BC Museum / BC Archives: historical logging photograph collections BC Forest Discovery Centre (Duncan, BC): collections on coastal logging Annual reports of the Workmen’s Compensation Board of British Columbia Library and Archives Canada: forestry industry photographs and records Some scenes are illustrated reconstructions created for this documentary. #LoggingHistory #BritishColumbia #CanadianHistory #HighRigger #SparTree