USA - The Wood-Mizer Way 99 Spring/Summer 2017 | Page 29

FA RM ING
&
SAWYER STORIES
MI L LING in the
Swiss Alps
By Heini Hutter
I
live on Mount Rigi in Switzerland and
run an organic mountain farm with goats,
cows and sheep. I have been here for 10
years now. The farm is unique, because you
can only get to it by taking the mountain
railway or by hiking up the trail.
On the mountain, I have 3 hectares
(7 ½ acres) of my own forest, but without
any road access, I was limited to only
producing firewood from it - until now.
I always need lumber here. The
stables and the old house always need
repairs and improvements. I looked
around at a few different sawmills, got a
good price for this LT15 and bought it.
Sawing was something
completely new for me.
I have always found it fascinating.
Whenever I saw a sawmill running,
I enjoyed watching.
Just the smell of fresh sawn
timber is amazing.
When I first bought the Wood-Mizer
sawmill, I had no real knowledge about
sawmilling. It has been an excellent
investment for me.
I live alone here on the mountain, and
town is a ways away. I need that distance.
I have a beautiful panorama and I can
see the whole world, and the same time I
have some distance away from it. I really
enjoy that. I don’t feel like there are many
disadvantages to living here – otherwise I
wouldn’t be here, right?
Product models, availability, and specifications may vary
by territory.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In order to interview Heini, we
packed all our gear onto the train and began the
ascent of Mount Rigi. Known as a “cogwheel”
train, the train rests on tracks like any other,
but has an additional gear that is attached
to a cogged track between the two smooth
ones. The gear locks into this cogged
track, pulling the train up the steep
mountainside railway to the
summit of Mount Rigi.
Watch Heini Hutter’s video
at woodmizer.com/hutter
or woodmizer.ca/hutter.
Heini’s only option for supplies and timber to use on
his farm was to arrange for it to be brought up by the train.
The train, full of tourists from all over Switzerland, Europe, and
beyond, would accompany his timber to his farm, the timber would
be unloaded, and then the train would continue to the top of Mount Rigi.
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