Episodes

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 supply for the U.S.

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; and Stump Branch Logging - the young guns with a lot to prove. These are the Ax Men.

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 while 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, and father teaches son the lessons of logging as the men of the Pihl Company haul in the forest's cash crop.

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, and Pihl Logging feels the effects of the slumping lumber market.

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.

But 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.

The loggers of the Pacific Northwest perform what is said to be North America's most dangerous job. Watch this week 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.

Logging has been called North America's most dangerous job - and that's before job security is considered. Now 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.
 

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 poses great danger  to the men in the rigging.

Meanwhile the Pihl men play while the bosses are away, but the Browning Logging is a team divided. Jesse struggles to prove himself to his father - but faulty equipment  isn't helping matters. Finally, a mistake on the Gustafson crew may end one man's career.
 

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, while an old hook tender returns to the Browning team, stopping Jesse's ascension to company management.

Meanwhile Pihl loses a crucial member of the team as it struggles to finish Pig Farm, and at Stump Branch, the young guns take matters into their own hands when Melvin has to leave the site.

Thanksgiving arrives, but brings with it a nasty strike of winter weather which sees the men of Pihl lose one man after another to illness. Meanwhile younger crew members of Gustafson blow off steam while the bosses toil away.

Jay is forced to ax some of the Browning gang staff, and the season's first snow is a warning of things to come for the Stump Branch crew.

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.

Meanwhile mistakes and inexperience at Stump Branch put profits and lives at risk, and Jay Browning makes a troubling discovery about his next job.

The town of Vernonia is declared a disaster area as the worst storm in 25 years pounds the Oregon coast, forcing members of Pihl and Stump Branch to flee their work sites. Amongst the devastation, Jay Browning cannot be found, Darrell must act fast to save his house from falling trees as the town of Astoria descends into a blackout, and the future of the logging industry is in jeopardy.

The Ax Men are ready to get back to work and put the storm behind them, but it's easier said than done. As Gustafson returns to work, Darrell makes a startling discovery that could mean the end for the Challenge job.

The Stump Branch crew must figure out a Plan B and find missing greenhorn Michael. Still without phone service, Jay Browning struggles to gather his troops, and the Pihl crew bails out one of its own.
 

Even as logging's toughest season winds down, the battle is far from over. J.M. Browning continues to fall from glory, leaving Jesse to question the future of his family's business.

The Gustafson crew returns to the Challenge, but rumors of a final pullout abound. The Pihl crew wraps Beaver and celebrates a successful year, and one member of the Stump Branch crew announces that he will not return.