The beginner’s session will introduce participants to traditional Adirondack woodsman skills. This will include expert instruction in competitive events such as speed chopping and sawing, as well as some of the finer points of camp life.

• Learn the history of the Adirondack woodsmen
• Build a fire in any weather (without matches)
• Learn to keep your Stihl® chain saw in prime running order
• Master the art of crosscut sawing
• Learn to swing a racing axe with precision
• Throw an axe
• Practice log rolling in Lower St. Regis lake
• Lead an overnight war canoe expedition

The advanced session enables experienced students to hone their lumberjack prowess and develop new skills. Students must have successfully completed session one, or have at least two years of collegiate lumberjacking experience in order to attend.

• Spend an afternoon training with a Stihl® Timbersports® Pro
• Build a canoe from scratch
• Learn advanced techniques to fell trees with a cross cut saw and axe
• Learn to skid logs using low-impact draft horses
• Master your campfire cooking skills
• Practice bushwhacking and orienteering
• Learn the secret to creating a truly razor sharp axe
• Compete in a real lumberjack competition

You’ll experience authentic camp life as you settle into your new home on the shore of Lower St. Regis lake. The daytime headquarters for the school is the famed Paul Smith’s Forestry Club Cabin. The cabin includes a lumberjack sports practice arena as well as an indoor training facility for rainy days. When not sleeping under the stars, students will stay in a lakeside residence hall. All meals will be provided either in the college dining hall or prepared over a campfire in the field. Leisure time will also be provided for hiking, swimming and simply relaxing in the Adirondack Mountains.