Women get their whack at wood splitting on Saturday during Carbondale’s Mountain Fair

News News | Jul 29, 2023

Each year, Carbondale’s Mountain Fair has a competition of the toughest residents in the area — the Women’s Wood Splitting competition.

Although there is also an exciting Men’s Wood Splitting competition at Mountain Fair, there is something especially inspiring about watching women in fun costumes annihilate large pieces of wood while the crowd goes wild. The women are scheduled to compete at 4 p.m. on Saturday as the fair swings along through Sunday.

“I’m so happy that I feel like, in the last five to 10 years, the idea of womanhood is really growing,” said Kim Pedersen, second-place winner of the Women’s Wood Splitting last year at Mountain Fair.

This is a big change from growing up in the 1990s, when there was a more stereotypical idea of what it means to be a woman, like having to be pretty, quiet, and never taking up too much space, she said.

“We are more so embracing this polar idea of women as being strong and confident and fun and silly,” she said. “I feel like the wood-splitting competition is really putting that all on display. It’s more so for me what it means to be a woman.”

She’s in her sixth year of competing after originally starting because women before her inspired her to try it.

“I always thought that they were so cool, and I really just wanted to hang out with them,” she said.

Olivia Pevec, a wood-splitting competitor for around 20 years and five-time winner, said she started competing in 1999 and has only missed a couple competitions over the years.

“Wood splitting is for everyone, and it’s actually been fun to see how the women’s competition has kind of bled some of that over to the men’s,” Pevec said.

She competed with the men last year. She said she had fun, but she’s excited to compete with the women again this year.

“If I accomplished anything, splitting with the men last year, maybe it was just one little brick kicked out of the wall,” she said.

Both she and Pedersen said they did not do much training for the competition, but wood chopping was not a foreign chore for them. Pevec works as a local blacksmith, and Pedersen got her original chops as a wood splitter working at Rock Bottom Ranch a few years back.

“I’m wondering if I prepare for both competitions in the same way, which is mostly just to try to stay calm,” Pevec said, who is also competing in the song-writing competition for Mountain Fair.

“I don’t think I split wood since the last competition,” Pedersen said. “I rely on luck, and I do feel like it’s somewhat the luck of the draw with the wood that you get.”

At the end of the day, a lot of what decides the winner does seem to be luck. Some years, the wood will be wet, making it harder for both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Everyone also works with different techniques. They all get to use a second, bigger log to set the wood they are splitting on top of. Some don’t use the log, some use the side of it, some use the center, like Pedersen.

“I’m always really impressed with Olivia Pevec; I feel like she’s a legendary superstar of the wood-splitting competition,” she said. “She is just so strong and will kind of go right down the middle, which is really impressive.”

Pevec said she has some techniques for chopping but didn’t think she had anything too structured, especially when working with the wet wood. The wet wood really does change the whole atmosphere though.

“I think we’ve all got to the point where we’re like, wait, this is not nearly as much fun as when the wood goes flying, and everyone gets that wonderful crack of well-cured wood,” she said.

Striking where the wood is already split and practicing to know the weight of the ax and how to support it were two main suggestions she had for beginners.

The competition is open to all, and although it is competitive, there is still a strong feeling of community and support in it, along with straight silliness. Both Pevec and Pedersen said they loved the silliness and how it made them feel womanly.

“It’s a place for expression, self-expression,” Pevec said.

Gender is also not the main focus of the competition, anyone nonbinary, gender fluid or trans are also welcome to compete, Pedersen said.

“I think it’s a choose-your-own-gender event,” Pevec said.

Most competitors dress up, and if someone is taking too long splitting their wood, supporters come help them. The goal is just to have a good time.

Aug 1, 2023

Cassandra [email protected] Olivia Pevec gives it her all during the Women's Wood Splitting competition during the 2022 Mountain Fair.