Western cutting is a wholly different enterprise.
My visits out west to see tree cutting methodology 30-40 yrs ago, encompassed a complete aspect of different training.
I don't know what you have left out there timber wise, but trees w 3 or 4ft dbh's and approaching 125-150' tall called for a new skill set from my type of logging here in the east.
What struck me the most was having these massive tree takedowns on slopes you didn't want to stand on with no chainsaw let alone with one and to say nothing of the under brush. What was just as dangerous if not more so, was quartering these trees on these slopes for extraction.
In my opinion, cutting is way more dangerous out there and what we talk about here as the average firewood gatherer, is of no comparison.
I don't ever recall having a notch wedge weighing 200-300 lbs. (well, maybe a few times when we dealt with 4' or 5' wolf trees)