Kamloops logging brothers have their own TV show called Mud Mountain Haulers

The rugged challenges that come with B.C. logging can be viewed as entertainment thanks to two Kamloops brothers.

Craig and Brent Labeau, who own Lebeau Bros Logging in Kamloops, are the stars of Mud Mountain Haulers – a show that captures the hazards of harvesting timber in the backcountry.

The show documents job sites that are far off the grid and they often require a sketchy commute. When problems arise, the team often has to find a solution by improvising with what’s on hand.

“It’s not like everyday when something goes wrong, it’s not like there’s a Napa store where you can go get a fitting,” Brent said.

With such large commercial vehicles tying to maneuver steep and muddy roads that get washed-out, many things go wrong, as seen on the show. The problems that arise are often in areas where ambulances cannot reach. So it’s important for the team to share a deep sense of trust and solidarity while working so remotely, he said.

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The main antagonist in the show is mud, because getting a grip on it can be extremely tedious for truckers. Frozen roads, when travelled with proper equipment, are far less stubborn.

Brent said dealing with mud is obligatory for B.C. loggers, otherwise there would only be about three weeks of harvesting each year.

The province requires operations to be temporarily shut down in the spring when roads are too wet and again in the summertime when the risk of wildfire becomes too high.

“We log a solid 10 months a year,” Brent said.

For a job as risky as trucking up and down the shoddy, muddy logging roads right beside such steep cliffs – how does somebody learn the ropes?

“Get good quick or die I guess is where it’s at,” Brent said.

Logging has been in the Labeau brothers blood since the 1950s – their dad used to do it and their grandfather was also a logger.

Brent said the technology has changed the scope of the job quite a bit since their grandpa's logging days.

“But the bits and bolts are the same – we still get up early, work hard, get home late, and it’s dangerous.”

Despite the extreme dangers however, Brent said the most stressful aspect of the job is managing other people.

Getting out into the bush and being away from most people is the best part of the job, he said.

“I’m not a real people person.”

Like most reality television, the characters on Mud Mountain Haulers sometimes find themselves in conflict with one another.

READ MORE: 'Stacked too high': Loose logs fall from truck under Revelstoke rail bridge

But are the conflicts actually “reality,” or are they just trying to make the show more entertaining?

“It is absolutely 100% authentic I won’t have it any other way,” Brent said. “None of us went to acting school.”

On the contrary, arguments are often much more heated than what ends up getting aired on the show, he said.

“Someone even gets a slap every once in a while.”

Even on days when the film crew is shooting, logging crews are still able to put in a full day’s work, so the show doesn't get in the way of the Labeau brothers' operations. 

“We got them dialed in – if we start at 5 a.m. they’re there at 4. They’re almost loggers now those guys.”

Season one of Mud Mountain Haulers can be watched on Crave and Apple TV with a subscription. The first two episodes of season two, the show's latest season, can be watched for free on the CTV website.

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