It's all 'Hart' at Outdoor Games

RENO -- It was Greg Hart's turn to win the tree topping event Friday at the Great Outdoor Games at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.

Hart, a logger from Maple Ridge, British Columbia who has switched off winning gold and silver each of the four years of the games, came from behind to defeat defending champion Wade Stewart, also from British Columbia, to claim his second gold medal in the event.

Stewart appeared likely to repeat in tree topping, a timber sport in which two competitors race against each other by climbing up a 65-foot cedar pole with only rope and some spurs and sawing through a large block at the top, when he easily made it up to top of the pole ahead of Hart. However, Hart roared back with his sawing and knock off his block nine seconds before the tiring Stewart.

Hart said he owed a lot of it to his new equipment.

"One of the big things is that I got a new saw," said Hart, 42, after his performance. "For the last ten years I've always out-sawed everybody no matter what. Then last year Wade came up with this new saw and for the first time ever he beat me. I knew it was because of the saw."

Stewart was using a custom made saw built by fellow Canadian J.P. Mercier called a modified pagan raker. It has a completely different tooth configuration than the traditional "m-tooth" saw that Hart was using.

And since it helped Stewart out so much, Hart decided to give it a try. However, he didn't get much practice.

"Believe it or not, I just got it five days ago," Hart said. "I made four cuts with it the other day because it's a completely different saving program compared to what I'm used to. But behind that comes 28 years of competing."

On top of just receiving the saw, Hart said that this year he has done less training than he has ever done before.

"A lot of it I don't even practice for. I don't even saw a block on the tree anymore when I'm training," he said. "I know what it feels like; I know what I have to do. Most of my training is just fitness now. The technique is there."

Hart said that most of his training took place while he was building a logging road near his home in Canada. He would run up and down the hill each day to stay in shape. He also does some training with his 14-year-old son Stirling, who appears prime to take his father's place one day.

"We train together," Hart said, saying that his son can go up and down the 65-foot pole in 20 seconds and sometimes likes to sit on top. "We go down to our climbing pole and egg each other on. You know, hurl abuse at each other. Then we'll sit and go out for ice cream and then come back and climb some more."

The games were held in Lake Placid, N.Y., the past three years, so Hart had to fly there. With the games in Reno, Hart drove down with his whole family, including Stirling, who was the first to congratulate his father in a warm embrace after the victory.

"I think it just kind of snuck up on him," Hart said of his son's actions. "His emotions got the best of him. I think he was pretty proud of his dad right there. He knows how hard I've worked over the years and how the young guys are coming."

Hart said he was thrilled to make the drive so his family could see his win, but that the heat and altitude of the area were hard to adjust to.

"The (conditions in Reno) are pretty harsh. For a bunch of Pacific Northwest loggers it's pretty harsh," he said. "Of course, I've had a headache all day, but right now, as you can tell, it's gone away."

A gold medal -- and the $3,450 purse that goes with it -- can do that. If things stay the way they have, Hart can expect another one in two years.

Notes: There are only two competitors from Nevada, and both are already out of the games. Reno's Jim Crouse, who participated in the shotgun event, was ousted Thursday night in the first round by Scott Robertson, of Flower Mound, Texas. Robertson didn't miss a target, earning 20 points out of a possible 20. Crouse finished with 14. Pam Richcreek of Sparks and her dog Puff participated in the agility competition for small dogs and were eliminated before the medal rounds....There is no public parking for the games, which are free, but there are shuttles running from the University of Nevada campus to bring fans to the park. The shuttle stops are north of the Central Services Building on Twilight Road and on the north side of 15th Street, below Lawlor Events Center.