In Western Canada, major problems in drying sub-alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook)), either alone or as part of the spruce-pine-fir species mix, have been largely attributed to the occurrence of wet-pocket wood in this species. The species is notorious for containing wet pockets that significantly extend the drying time and make it difficult to create a uniformly dried end product. Some of the problems are usually caused by the initial high and variable moisture contents, which causes the lumber charge to have wide variations in final moisture contents after drying. Since there has been an increase in harvesting of sub-alpine fir in recent years, the industry is faced with drying larger amounts of this species. Therefore, there is a need to develop suitable schedules for sub-alpine fir. The objective of this study was to develop or improve current drying schedules for sub-alpine fir containing wet-pockets based on wood properties and drying behaviour by manipulating drying conditions. Twenty-three kiln drying runs, using Forintek's experimental 3-foot kiln, were performed using different combinations of air-drying, pre-steaming and conditioning in the drying schedules. Air-drying phase of the schedule was 0-, 4- or 8-weeks; pre-steaming phase was 0-, 4- or 8-hours; and, conditioning phase was 0-, 2- or 4-hours. Basic density, initial and final moisture content distributions, were determined for each lumber load as well as an estimation of the amount of wet-pockets were recorded. Moisture diffusion was examined for wet-pocket wood with different pre-steaming periods. Use of hand-held moisture meters to determine the final moisture content of the wood was examined. In general, air-drying can significantly reduce lumber kiln drying time. The air-drying period for this study was during the summer months. The effect of 4-weeks air-drying and 8-weeks air-drying are similar. Air-drying can improve final moisture content distribution within each run. There is a reduction of over-dried and under-dried percentage with air-dried lumber when followed by kiln drying. Pre-steaming slightly increased the drying rate when average MC of the load was below about 40%. Pre-steaming has no significant effect on final moisture content distribution with in each run. The diffusion of moisture in the wet-pocket wood appeared to increase when the wood was pre-steamed. Based on the results in this study, the best strategy for drying sub-alpine fir is using air-drying in combination with the mill's conventional schedule. This report provides details of the different combinations which mill personnel can use to develop their own drying strategy to improve the quality and uniformity of sub-alpine fir lumber.