McGill woodsmen have axe to grind

For the past five years, the McGill University men’s team has chopped, sawed and climbed its way to the top of the pile in the Intercollegiate Woodsmen Competition. On Saturday, Jan. 26, they will defend their title in the 48th edition of the annual display of lumberjack prowess.

McGill’s lumberjacks and lumberjills will host 180 competitors from Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New York and elsewhere, testing their mettle in 14 events that include sawing, chopping, pole climbing, log rolling, snowshoeing, axe throwing, water boiling and more. At last year’s competition, the Mac men’s team defeated 14 other squads from Canada and the US to win their own event for the fifth consecutive time en route to winning their fifth national title.

The 48th Intercollegiate Woodsmen Competition takes place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Watson Field on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Rd. in Sainte Anne de Bellevue.