Feature: Lumberjacks gather in Canadian B.C. town to test strength

Canadians have a reputation for being tough people, and the toughest of all Canadians tend to be lumberjacks.

Located about 70 km north of Vancouver on Canada's West Coast, lumberjacks gathered on Saturday for the 59th annual Squamish Days Logger Sports to test their stamina, speed and strength.

The spectacle may look strange to some, but logging has been part of the fabric of West Coast Canadian culture and commerce for the past century or so.

Amy Fast, Loggers Sports spokeswoman, told Xinhua that logging is part of their heritage here in Squamish.

"We were kind of founded as a logging town and though that industry has slowed a little bit in the area, we're starting to see a resurgence of it here, and we like to keep the spirit of that history alive," she said.

Rarely do people use a hand saw any more when working as a logger, as chainsaws and heavy machines do a lot of the hard work in the woods these days. However, many lumberjacks still enjoy using their hands and testing their brains and brawn like the lumberjacks in the old days.

"It's a sport that's based on a skill that you had to have to do the job. So as far back as the 1800s when they were logging here in the coastal forests, they would have to take an axe and a saw with them to chop down the trees. They weren't using chainsaws, so it's really interesting to see those old skills being practised and used today."

In the speed climb, competitors wearing spikes and straps race up the trees as fast as they can, ringing the bell at the top. The first to return to the bottom is the winner.

The competition attracts about 100 lumberjacks from around the region and the country. Loggers from as far as the United States, Australia and Norway also come to compete here. Endi