Ice Road Truckers (2007) s05e15 Episode Script
Judgement Day
Tonight on Ice Road Truckers The roads are fading, my body's fading.
It's almost time for the end of the season.
Hugh's load gets too close for comfort.
Well, that sucks.
Lisa steps up.
If I'm allowed to follow, I just do, but if I need to lead, I-- I'm really good at it.
And two rookies fight to stay on the road.
- Oh, please move over.
- You've made some mistakes.
Across the frozen tundras of north America, the ice roads are melting, the dash for the cash hits the home stretch, and ice road truckers on both sides of the continent gear up for the sprint to the finish.
At Polar Industries in Manitoba, Canada Hey, Rick, you awake? Yeah.
Go ahead.
Hugh rowland and Rick Yemm are up early, hoping to squeeze in one more load before the ice road disappears.
These roads are pretty much [Bleep.]
sight right now.
Look at that.
Does that look frozen? The roads are fading, my body's fading, my hair's fading.
It's almost time for the end of the season.
- Okay, I'm rolling.
I'm good.
- Okay.
I'm getting this thing ready to roll and we'll get out of here.
Hauling 60,000 pounds of concrete barriers, Hugh and Rick hit the road to St.
Theresa Point one last time.
9AM and the morning sun is taking its toll on the road and the rigs.
The sun's coming up there and she's got quite a bit a heat there and the roads are getting pretty slick out now.
Traveled as much as we could at night there.
Another couple of days are gonna make a big difference here.
Spend with my hot tub and get my back back in shape again rather than spending a couple bucks at the old chiropractor.
Hold on, he's in good.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
I'm gonna jum out here and see what the [Bleep.]
's going on.
I wonder, wonder, wonder.
The rough road caused one of the cement barriers to slide forward and just inches away from slamming into Hugh's cab.
Are you serious? 300 miles from help, Hugh's run may be over before it starts.
Well, that [Bleep.]
sucks.
100 miles South, Alex Debogorski is neck and neck in the race with Hugh.
I'm not gonna compete on the talking end of it.
You know, sure I like to talk too, but I'm not gonna argue with those guys.
Maybe I didn't get the most loads every year, but I was up there.
I always got lots of loads.
I got my fair share.
Most guys had a lot less loads than I did.
This 20-ton load of building supplies bound for St.
Theresa Point will help him keep pace.
I get a lot of good bounces that I come off the seat, but most of the holes, I can hit 'em.
You know, you've got a split second to decide before you hit that hole and swerve and just catch that hole right so you kind of go through it smooth and it doesn't-- It doesn't put the frame right down on the last spring, eh? He's stuck.
The tow truck's stuck.
There's Bob's truck.
Look it, the wheel's off.
Oh, the tow truck is getting him.
As the road melts, more and more trucks spin out in the soft snow and mud.
Even a tow truck has gotten stuck halfway through a rescue job.
You want me to give you a tug? Sure appreciate it.
Half price today.
And now we're gonna give this tow truck a tow.
What next, they said, eh? If you just sort of slip-- Slip the clutch, and I'll back up and then I'll give it a jerk.
- Just let the clutch out.
- Anytime you're ready.
Okay, I'm gonna back up a little.
Hey.
Enjoy your week and the rest of your time here.
It's not much longer, I guess, huh? Yeah, not too much longer.
Well, the story here is another one.
Don't often get a chance to pull out a big tow truck.
Yeah, so I-- I'm gonna be super trucker.
But just ten miles up the road, Alex hits another snag.
What are you doing out here? Well, I'm just, uh, doing some test holes here, just trying to see how, uh, thick the ice is.
As the end of the season approaches, the frozen lakes begin to thaw, and it's up to researchers like Dr.
Gordon Geezbreck to determine when the ice becomes too dangerous to cross.
You know, you can-- You can start right here.
Oh, oh! That's it.
That wasn't too deep, is it? It's about 18 inches but, uh, you know, like, two, three weeks ago, it was like, uh, four feet thick, so A car might float along on the surface for a minute or two before it sinks, but if you're in a big truck, if it breaks clean through, it'll basically sink in about three seconds.
If you're doing any more driving, be very careful because, uh, you know, break-up is happening and the ice is getting very thin very quick.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Popsicle.
Alex will play it safe.
I'm taking the long way up the, uh, West Side of Lake Winnipeg on highway 6.
The long way adds more than 200 miles of driving to his run, but with the ice thinning quickly, Alex would rather risk losing the load count than his life.
I'm not gonna worry about stuff that's gonna happen tomorrow right now.
I've got a plan.
I'm gonna stick to the plan until the plan changes.
2,600 miles west in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, veteran Tony Molesky is looking for a back haul to juice up his load count.
Looks like the yard is pretty thin this morning.
This late in the season, the Prudhoe yard is usually packed with loads heading South, but today, the - freight yard is a ghost town.
- Let's see what we've got in here.
Pretty thin out there in the yard, huh? Yeah, lots of empty trailers.
Lots of stuff coming in, uh, but not a whole lot going South right now.
Perfect.
A lot of our hardware's tied up because there's a polar bear.
At least a mom and a cub, and I had to pull everything off and wait, so-- - Did they evacuate? - Yep.
With a 1,200-pound polar bear stalking out a nearby equipment yard, the road from the oil field to Prudhoe Bay is closed and the area has been evacuated for a mile in every direction.
Wow.
'Cause they were-- They were here before we were.
The one-mile evacuation zone is part of a federal law designed to protect both people and bears.
In 1973, president Richard Nixon signed the endangered species act The time has come for man to make his peace with nature.
Giving the polar bear and other animals with dwindling population a better chance of surviving.
So, for now Is there gonna be a bunch of back hauls coming soon? We do have, um, some metal scrap bins-- Mm-hmm.
That need to get back to Fairbanks.
Yeah.
Nice.
Tony gets lucky.
- Thanks for the trip, Huey.
- Yep.
- I'll see you in a week or so.
- All right, take care.
- Be safe, bro.
- All right, we will.
I just laid claim on the only back haul, so rank has its privileges, man.
There's polar bears costing huge money, and we're running out of time on the ice, and there's nothing we can do.
500 miles South, at Carlile headquarters - Come on in.
- Hey, Lane.
- How are you doing? - What's going on? Have a seat.
It's judgment day for Dave Redmon.
I'm gonna grab the door quick.
- Want me to grab it? - Thanks, Dave.
Let's, uh, let's talk about what's going on out there.
Um, I'm still getting some-- A little bit of negative feedback from my guys out there.
You know, from the first trip, you've had problems.
I feel like I'm [Bleep.]
eight years old over here, driving a [Bleep.]
big wheel.
I think everything's going fine.
I mean, I keep my mouth shut, I do my job.
I've spoken to Phil.
Phil is concerned still because he doesn't think that you're communicating out there.
- Copy that there, Dave.
- Shut up! About the incident the other day with the convoy, it's when you passed Maya, it was on a blind corner and they said there was almost a collision with her over there.
That's bull[Bleep.]
.
That's absolute bull[Bleep.]
.
Bull[Bleep.]
, bull[Bleep.]
, bull[Bleep.]
.
You play the tape back.
If that's the case, I'll walk out of here right now.
She was just going real slow.
He's following way too close.
I mean, you don't even follow that close on pavement.
You're gonna follow that close on the [Bleep.]
ice? And she was just, you know, I just kept saying, "well, I'm-- I'm having a hard time keeping this truck slowed down going down the hill.
" Give me e-[Bleep.]
-nough room between us.
Well, I could if I wasn't 80,000 pounds.
And I said, "Maya, as soon as you go around that next corner, I'm gonna come around you," and she said, "that's fine.
" That works for me.
I'm gonna let him get around soon.
It'll make everybody's life a little easier.
She came around the corner, I went around her and got right back in front of her.
I mean, I thought we did that as safe as we could have done it under the circumstances.
There was no near miss with no four-Wheeler.
That is bull[Bleep.]
.
Okay, all right, 'cause I heard that from a couple people, so-- That's bull[Bleep.]
.
In the office of Carlile's top brass You know, from the first trip, you've had problems with-- With personalities.
Tony has quit talking about it, because he knows that.
I don't say anything to Tony.
If Tony comes up and tries to say something, I just stand there with my mouth shut.
You're pissed because I [Bleep.]
pissed in your sandbox.
Well, yeah, you disrespected me and my truck.
You're wanting me to come over here and grovel.
Okay, it's-- It's not gonna happen.
You've made some mistakes.
Your last trip with Phil, I mean, you high-hitched a trailer.
Ah, mother[Bleep.]
.
How the [Bleep.]
did I miss it altogether? Not only could that have done damage to the pipe, but it's, once again, it's a-- It's not a veteran mistake.
- Right.
- I mean, it's not something - that the guy that's been driving for 25 years does, and I mean-- - You're right.
Your mind is somewhere else, and it's not on what you're doing.
You know what? You're probably right.
My mind is-- probably 50% of the day, all I do is wake up and wonder, who's gonna [Bleep.]
me today? How am I supposed to drive on the most dangerous road in the world with no damn seat belt? And it won't get any better.
I think at this point that we don't really have any choice but to, you know, part ways and-- And, uh, and-- And move forward.
Okay.
I don't have any hard feelings with you, Dave.
I think that while you were here, you did a-- A-- A good enough job as far as getting up and down the road, but-- But there's more to it than just that.
Right.
I appreciate you giving me a shot.
Well, I apprec-- I appreciate your time, Dave.
All right.
I really do.
Thank you.
With the load leader down for the count, just outside of town, Lisa Kelly gears up to make a run for the crown.
I'm never gonna give up.
After a rocky start, Lisa fought her way back to heavy haul, and today's 15-ton shack will put her skills to the test.
- Hi, Rod.
- How are you doing? - Good.
How are you? - Good, good, good, good.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you too.
It'll be fun, won't it? - Yes.
- Yes.
With 25 years experience, driver Rod Cahill should be leading this oversized convoy, but he's got a problem.
All right, I just noticed you have a block and I don't.
And I'm going, uh-oh.
That means you're gonna have more problems than me.
Yeah.
The 5,000-pound cement block weighs down the front axle, increasing traction on the slippery road.
- What? - Do you want me to take that one? Oh, no, I'll be fine.
I'll be fine.
I'll let you lead.
All right.
- Is that cool with you? - Yep.
All right.
Well, this'll be fun.
If I'm allowed to follow, I just do, but if I need to lead, I-- I'm really good at it.
Rod.
I think he's been with the company for a while, but we haven't really run together that much.
He just, he's very, very happy all the time.
Oh, my gosh.
But less than 30 miles into their journey Oh, this is bad.
My truck has a code 95.
When the truck's computer system detects engine problems, it will automatically reduce the available horsepower.
I've got a tail-heavy, overweight, oversized load combined with a derating truck, and it's going to make for a challenging day.
Derating could be a computer glitch or a sign of bigger problems, but Lisa isn't backing down.
Everyone's gonna outpull me, and that's fine.
Whatever.
I'll get there, two miles an hour.
I don't care.
It'll get there.
Back in the Fairbanks truck yard, rookie Maya Sieber tightens down her load.
- Hey, lady.
- Hey, Phil.
What's going on? Not much.
How are you doin'? Good.
So you know, uh, Dave's no longer with us.
- Are you serious? - Yeah.
Um, he got let go.
In short, um, he was unwilling to-- To really learn and listen to what's going on out there, and so you know, like I told you before, everybody's watching the new drivers.
You know, a certain amount of negativity makes it back to the - boss here in town, and-- And that's how it happens.
- Right.
And things are changing.
The snow pack is turning to ice, and the ice pack is turning to slick ice.
You know, it's just, the job is definitely changing.
- I'll do what I have to do.
- Yeah.
- All right, have a good one.
- Thanks.
With Dave out of the picture, the last rookie standing is feeling the pressure.
It's really, really tough to, you know, to be open to learning all over again, but it's something you have to do.
Up here, it's-- It's completely different from any driving you will ever do.
It's important for me to get these loads in.
Dave's out of the picture now and I'm the only rookie up here.
You know, I have to prove myself.
It kind of sucks because the road's getting really slick because the sun's really strong.
And it's melting the top layer of ice, and because I'm so light, it's gonna be kind of difficult to have traction.
It could be a fight to get up there.
Today I'm in the mood for a fight, so it's okay.
the season's critical loads rolling north, it's up to the Alaska DOT to keep the roads open and safe.
Today, worker Ken Bear is on an emergency mission.
We're heading up north in the valley here, and we're gonna go up to milepost 195, where Sheep Creek is, and take a look at this big bubble and see if we can't drill a hole in the side of it and get some water pressure to release.
As the weather warms, lakes and rivers go through a cycle of freezing and thawing.
If the pressure continues to build, the ice bubble will eventually burst, flooding the road.
K-Bear uses an ice auger to relieve the pressure.
You can see these big cracks along the-- The front and the side here.
We averted disaster.
That's ice cold.
- Coming up, Alex is down for the count.
- The run is finished.
And Maya Definitely fighting my way up here right now.
Faces trouble on the Pass.
Ooh, I'm slipping.
of the Canadian bush I'm gonna jump out here and see what the [Bleep.]
's going on.
I wonder, wonder, wonder.
The rough road has caused one of Hugh's massive concrete barriers to slide dangerously close to the cab.
Well, that [Bleep.]
sucks.
But 100 miles from a forklift, the polar bear has a plan.
Trailer to push it back on.
They'll take advantage of horsepower and the high, flat edge of Rick's trailer Watch it, watch it, watch it, go.
To carefully push the barrier back in place.
Using the rig got it close.
Take a chain and boomer and just-- Yeah, we'll get it.
Just, I need your help, though.
But the rest will take muscle.
Sliding was such a good idea, eh? [Bleep.]
, I pulled that muscle big-time.
We are gonna reinforce that so the blocks don't slide out.
We're getting snow all over the deck.
It's a warm day, and the blocks are starting to slide around here a little bit.
Are you ready? Well, it has begun.
While Hugh and Rick get back in the race, Alex is adding hours onto his trip to avoid crossing the thin ice.
I don't wanna get stuck in there, I don't want to wreck the freight, and I don't want to wreck the truck.
My goal is to get this whole truck back in one piece.
I don't want to be the guy that finishes it off.
Let somebody else finish it off.
I'd like Orvis to be able to say, "I gave Debogorski that old truck and, uh, you know, he drove it all season and brought "it back in the same or better condition it was than it started.
" Right now, my job is to get it to the turn-off and the bush.
I've got a plan.
Gonna stick to the plan until the plan changes.
The detour will keep Alex off the thin ice, but driving the back roads means 200 extra miles of bumping and battering for his truck.
I'm losing air pretty quick.
I got zero air on one side and And it's not long before his beat-up rig gives out.
Look under here.
The transmission, drive shaft.
The drive shaft let go at the back of the front dif, and it snapped the, uh, pinion right off on the back dif.
It flew out, took out the right airbag and, uh, a couple of air line.
After 19 punishing runs, Alex is down for the count.
I'm about ten minutes past Pelican Landing, where I fueled-- Fueled up.
Sorry about that.
Bye.
Well, this, yeah, this finishes a run.
It doesn't matter whether I'm on the ice road or in the bush or whatever.
The run is finished.
Back in Alaska, Dave Redmon is licking his wounds after being fired from his job.
You know, I came up here, I-- I guess I beat 'em at their own game, and now they're pissed off at me and now they don't want to play with me no more so, you know, they're just basically just making my life miserable.
Uh, tainting the opinion of the [Bleep.]
management as far as me driving safely and doing stuff safely, well, you know, it's kind of obvious.
You know, everybody they've stuck me with has been in a wreck, in a wreck, in a ditch, uh, whatever, but I don't have any accidents.
What the [Bleep.]
is up with that? I mean, it's-- It's kind of obvious who-- Who's the [Bleep.]
winner, so [Bleep.]
'em.
I'll just go home, go back down to the [Bleep.]
lower 48, where-- Where at least, uh, everybody appreciates, you know, somebody who can do a good job.
Guess all that's left is to get my [Bleep.]
and get the [Bleep.]
out of here.
[Sighs.]
I've never been fired from a job in my life over petty bull[Bleep.]
rumors.
You know, the [Bleep.]
employees are taking over this [Bleep.]
company.
They show up to work when they want, they hold up everybody, they don't give a [Bleep.]
.
It's just getting out of hand, so it's best that I just [Bleep.]
go.
Don't need 'em anyway, so [bleep.]
it, I'll go back home and work where I'm appreciated.
is hauling the day's only back haul, and he's approaching a stretch of road that's all too familiar.
This is, um, kind of back at the same-- Same spot, same truck.
Heading into surprise rise here.
At the start of the season, Tony was lucky to - survive a crash in this very spot.
- I thought I was gone.
See if we can do this right this time.
Is this Tony? Yeah.
What's happening? I've got a 21-wide.
He's gonna wait for you on the other side of the detour.
Okay, Diana, we'll blaze on down there.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
With northbound truckers normally having the right of way, Tony speeds up, not wanting to keep the 20-wide waiting, but as he approaches the rise Oh! Thought he was waiting for us the other side of the detour.
I guess not.
Tony is facing an oncoming 20-wide.
Oh! Thought he was waiting for us the other side of the detour.
I guess not.
Crazy.
She told me he'd wait on the other side of the detour.
That's why I come down there.
Ah, you're fine.
- It all worked out.
- It's all good.
You guys have a good day up there.
That just goes to show you, you have to expect the unexpected, even when you do communicate, you know? Kind of ironic where we met him, too.
We just met that 21-wide right next to where I got hit by a trailer here a while back.
You just never know.
Um, I can't tell.
Lisa has limped her oversized load all the way to Atigun Pass.
Thank you.
With the polar bear standoff resolved, back hauls have resumed out of Prudhoe Bay And Lisa and Rod I'm gonna go by this guy, and I don't want to do another ditch dive.
Are running into the first southbounders.
Yeah, we got-- Uh, I guess they're coming up behind us too.
I've been slipping and sliding all over here.
I managed to not burn out this year or last year, so I'd like to keep it that way.
Before heading up The Pass, Lisa pulls over to find out what she'll be facing.
I spun out on the Pass going before, and it really is - down and coming back, so-- - Oh, really? Yeah.
The Pass is not very friendly.
- Thanks for the info.
- Good luck.
He said that the Pass is not good.
He's going out before he even made it to the waterfall, but now that it's not in good shape, I'm throwing on my second set.
- Okay.
- Oh.
Oh my gosh.
With two sets of chains and an underpowered rig, Lisa rolls her 15-ton load onto Atigun.
I'm double chained so it should be good.
- Lisa, are you leading? - What'd you say? I wanted to know if you were leading.
Oh, my gosh.
Who trained you, Rod? They did a good job.
All right, tell her good job.
Okay, all right.
Rod's contagious.
Oh, here we go into derate mode.
I think this thing would do better if I hooked my mini up to it.
Here.
Yeah, there-- See it, see it? There's not much rock up here.
I am so glad I have chains.
There's no way I'd make it up this.
No way.
Hey, that's about what we were doing pull-truckin'.
No, pull-truckin', we were going about 11.
Push-truckin', I was going about 6, and right now, I'm doing about 13.
That's bad.
I'm not gonna make it.
He needed all that room.
Yeah, it Yep, yep, yep.
With only half the horsepower, the only thing that got Lisa up the Pass was an extra set of chains and determination.
Yay! My boss made it! All right! We're doing good.
I set the chains and I'm glad that I did it.
I-I don't even think I would have made it to the switchback with this thing.
It was the right decision.
It's-- I can't say the next stop is Prudhoe, 'cause you never know what's gonna happen between here and there.
We've still got four hours to go.
If you remember the last time I had one of these, I went off at Toolik and that's still that way about an hour.
And then, remember the time the tires fell off my dolly? That was up at Chicken Run.
That's past Toolik, so a lot could happen between here and there.
It ain't over till it's over.
Lisa, at the base of Atigun, Maya Sieber checks her - You know, it's all good.
- I'm just about to head up the Pass.
I didn't put on chains today, and, uh, I just passed another truck that had chains on that just came down the Pass.
I heard 'em clanking and I looked and I was like, "why is he chained up?" I don't know.
This could be trouble.
I guess we're gonna find out, huh? Despite Phil's warnings The job is definitely changing.
Yeah.
And there's gonna be a little bit more chaining up than we've had to do the last few weeks.
Too late now.
I'm heading up.
The last rookie standing may not be standing for long.
Oh, please move over.
And he's right where I need to be on the-- On the left side.
Ooh, I'm slipping.
It's really slippery.
It's slipping the whole way.
Just about to the top.
The top is only halfway.
Now it's time to go down.
Oh my goodness.
I am not looking forward to going down.
I'd rather burn out than, uh, lock up going down.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
On the north slope of Atigun Pass, Maya Sieber is in trouble.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
Maya, can you get stopped? Um, yeah, I can try.
Okay, give it a try, 'cause we have a northbounder coming up to you.
See if you can just stop and it will all work out good.
Do you mean a southbounder? Yeah, I mean a southbounder.
I'm sorry.
A southbound truck is taking up both lanes, forcing Maya to stop on Atigun's steep 12% grade.
Okay, I'm stopped up here.
Okay, southbounder, she's got it stopped.
- You can keep on going.
- All righty, thanks.
Thank you very much.
I was getting a little worried there.
I don't like that.
We're not supposed to stop.
Because northbounders are expecting to haul ass down this way, and it's not good that I'm stopped.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Okay.
Definitely paying attention and listening for anytime you lock up, because if you don't know you're locked up, you are in a lot of trouble.
I am concentrating right now.
I have to listen to the engine.
Going up, you have to listen for slipping and spinning, and then, going down, you have to listen for locking up.
To me, this is, like, the most challenging part of the road.
And this is just, like, miles and miles of downgrades and "S" turns and crazy [Bleep.]
, but we're down.
I fought that hill.
I fought it without chains.
I'm still on to Prudhoe Bay.
Any-- Any hour I'm out here, I make it the most productive I can, and that's it.
This is grind time.
This is how I roll.
In Canada, Hugh and Rick roll into St.
Theresa Point.
This is my turnoff here, buddy.
I'll, uh, go see what I gotta do with these blocks.
Okay, I'll just wait till you-- You can get over this way, and I just gotta drop this trailer at the school and then pick up a van trailer, so I'll only be a couple of minutes.
We're here.
We'll unload and we'll head back, and hopefully the road doesn't get too screwed up tomorrow, and we'll deal with this in the morning.
'Cause I'm just gonna unpin.
I don't need any help or there's no unload times or nothin', so it's, uh, should be quick and easy for me, so good enough.
Done for the day.
On the other side of town, Hugh delivers his concrete barriers.
The only thing different about this and the-- The Dalton boys is, we actually have to work.
We gotta load our loads and unload our loads.
With the winter roads melting fast, Hugh's 21st load of the season will put him one up on Alex.
Back in Fairbanks, Dave Redmon is headed home.
You know, as far as I know right now, I'm ahead in the load count, you know, so it's about as far as I can go with that.
It's been a good experience, you know, coming to Alaska.
The Dalton highway, the people, the weather, the challenges, everything that's been put forth to me, uh, it's just the working environment took a [Bleep.]
.
I appreciate the ride! I mean, I was an absolute outsider from the day I got here till the day I'm leaving right now.
You know, nobody gave me a fair shake here.
Dave's season is done, but the Alabama slammer leaves at the top of the load board.
ready to make a run for the title.
We are just entering Prudhoe Bay.
I'm looking forward to an intensive, long night of sleep.
I am tired, I'm exhausted, but I'm still here, still going, and I finished the job.
No wimping out, man.
I trucked all the way here but-- Slow going up the hills.
I freakin' made it.
In Canada, Alex also has a reason to celebrate-- A replacement truck has arrived.
Okay, very good.
Now, what do you think for, uh, windshield wipers? Okay, that's good.
Alex is back in the race And we're getting ready to try it again, to head north again.
Um, it's a Volvo, which I've never driven before, so of course, I'm learning, uh, in the dark, like usual.
I do my best work in the dark.
Next time on the finale of Ice Road Rruckers, Alex fights to stay in the game.
I got a leak.
A pretty big leak.
While mother nature's final punch leaves Hugh and Rick stranded in the bush.
Everybody gets in a [Bleep.]
hurry without thinking ahead.
In Alaska, the last rookie standing Oh, my God.
Breaks new ground.
Oh, my God.
And the Ice Road Crown It's pretty crucial that we get this done.
Is up for grabs.
Yeh! Woo-hoo!
It's almost time for the end of the season.
Hugh's load gets too close for comfort.
Well, that sucks.
Lisa steps up.
If I'm allowed to follow, I just do, but if I need to lead, I-- I'm really good at it.
And two rookies fight to stay on the road.
- Oh, please move over.
- You've made some mistakes.
Across the frozen tundras of north America, the ice roads are melting, the dash for the cash hits the home stretch, and ice road truckers on both sides of the continent gear up for the sprint to the finish.
At Polar Industries in Manitoba, Canada Hey, Rick, you awake? Yeah.
Go ahead.
Hugh rowland and Rick Yemm are up early, hoping to squeeze in one more load before the ice road disappears.
These roads are pretty much [Bleep.]
sight right now.
Look at that.
Does that look frozen? The roads are fading, my body's fading, my hair's fading.
It's almost time for the end of the season.
- Okay, I'm rolling.
I'm good.
- Okay.
I'm getting this thing ready to roll and we'll get out of here.
Hauling 60,000 pounds of concrete barriers, Hugh and Rick hit the road to St.
Theresa Point one last time.
9AM and the morning sun is taking its toll on the road and the rigs.
The sun's coming up there and she's got quite a bit a heat there and the roads are getting pretty slick out now.
Traveled as much as we could at night there.
Another couple of days are gonna make a big difference here.
Spend with my hot tub and get my back back in shape again rather than spending a couple bucks at the old chiropractor.
Hold on, he's in good.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
I'm gonna jum out here and see what the [Bleep.]
's going on.
I wonder, wonder, wonder.
The rough road caused one of the cement barriers to slide forward and just inches away from slamming into Hugh's cab.
Are you serious? 300 miles from help, Hugh's run may be over before it starts.
Well, that [Bleep.]
sucks.
100 miles South, Alex Debogorski is neck and neck in the race with Hugh.
I'm not gonna compete on the talking end of it.
You know, sure I like to talk too, but I'm not gonna argue with those guys.
Maybe I didn't get the most loads every year, but I was up there.
I always got lots of loads.
I got my fair share.
Most guys had a lot less loads than I did.
This 20-ton load of building supplies bound for St.
Theresa Point will help him keep pace.
I get a lot of good bounces that I come off the seat, but most of the holes, I can hit 'em.
You know, you've got a split second to decide before you hit that hole and swerve and just catch that hole right so you kind of go through it smooth and it doesn't-- It doesn't put the frame right down on the last spring, eh? He's stuck.
The tow truck's stuck.
There's Bob's truck.
Look it, the wheel's off.
Oh, the tow truck is getting him.
As the road melts, more and more trucks spin out in the soft snow and mud.
Even a tow truck has gotten stuck halfway through a rescue job.
You want me to give you a tug? Sure appreciate it.
Half price today.
And now we're gonna give this tow truck a tow.
What next, they said, eh? If you just sort of slip-- Slip the clutch, and I'll back up and then I'll give it a jerk.
- Just let the clutch out.
- Anytime you're ready.
Okay, I'm gonna back up a little.
Hey.
Enjoy your week and the rest of your time here.
It's not much longer, I guess, huh? Yeah, not too much longer.
Well, the story here is another one.
Don't often get a chance to pull out a big tow truck.
Yeah, so I-- I'm gonna be super trucker.
But just ten miles up the road, Alex hits another snag.
What are you doing out here? Well, I'm just, uh, doing some test holes here, just trying to see how, uh, thick the ice is.
As the end of the season approaches, the frozen lakes begin to thaw, and it's up to researchers like Dr.
Gordon Geezbreck to determine when the ice becomes too dangerous to cross.
You know, you can-- You can start right here.
Oh, oh! That's it.
That wasn't too deep, is it? It's about 18 inches but, uh, you know, like, two, three weeks ago, it was like, uh, four feet thick, so A car might float along on the surface for a minute or two before it sinks, but if you're in a big truck, if it breaks clean through, it'll basically sink in about three seconds.
If you're doing any more driving, be very careful because, uh, you know, break-up is happening and the ice is getting very thin very quick.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Popsicle.
Alex will play it safe.
I'm taking the long way up the, uh, West Side of Lake Winnipeg on highway 6.
The long way adds more than 200 miles of driving to his run, but with the ice thinning quickly, Alex would rather risk losing the load count than his life.
I'm not gonna worry about stuff that's gonna happen tomorrow right now.
I've got a plan.
I'm gonna stick to the plan until the plan changes.
2,600 miles west in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, veteran Tony Molesky is looking for a back haul to juice up his load count.
Looks like the yard is pretty thin this morning.
This late in the season, the Prudhoe yard is usually packed with loads heading South, but today, the - freight yard is a ghost town.
- Let's see what we've got in here.
Pretty thin out there in the yard, huh? Yeah, lots of empty trailers.
Lots of stuff coming in, uh, but not a whole lot going South right now.
Perfect.
A lot of our hardware's tied up because there's a polar bear.
At least a mom and a cub, and I had to pull everything off and wait, so-- - Did they evacuate? - Yep.
With a 1,200-pound polar bear stalking out a nearby equipment yard, the road from the oil field to Prudhoe Bay is closed and the area has been evacuated for a mile in every direction.
Wow.
'Cause they were-- They were here before we were.
The one-mile evacuation zone is part of a federal law designed to protect both people and bears.
In 1973, president Richard Nixon signed the endangered species act The time has come for man to make his peace with nature.
Giving the polar bear and other animals with dwindling population a better chance of surviving.
So, for now Is there gonna be a bunch of back hauls coming soon? We do have, um, some metal scrap bins-- Mm-hmm.
That need to get back to Fairbanks.
Yeah.
Nice.
Tony gets lucky.
- Thanks for the trip, Huey.
- Yep.
- I'll see you in a week or so.
- All right, take care.
- Be safe, bro.
- All right, we will.
I just laid claim on the only back haul, so rank has its privileges, man.
There's polar bears costing huge money, and we're running out of time on the ice, and there's nothing we can do.
500 miles South, at Carlile headquarters - Come on in.
- Hey, Lane.
- How are you doing? - What's going on? Have a seat.
It's judgment day for Dave Redmon.
I'm gonna grab the door quick.
- Want me to grab it? - Thanks, Dave.
Let's, uh, let's talk about what's going on out there.
Um, I'm still getting some-- A little bit of negative feedback from my guys out there.
You know, from the first trip, you've had problems.
I feel like I'm [Bleep.]
eight years old over here, driving a [Bleep.]
big wheel.
I think everything's going fine.
I mean, I keep my mouth shut, I do my job.
I've spoken to Phil.
Phil is concerned still because he doesn't think that you're communicating out there.
- Copy that there, Dave.
- Shut up! About the incident the other day with the convoy, it's when you passed Maya, it was on a blind corner and they said there was almost a collision with her over there.
That's bull[Bleep.]
.
That's absolute bull[Bleep.]
.
Bull[Bleep.]
, bull[Bleep.]
, bull[Bleep.]
.
You play the tape back.
If that's the case, I'll walk out of here right now.
She was just going real slow.
He's following way too close.
I mean, you don't even follow that close on pavement.
You're gonna follow that close on the [Bleep.]
ice? And she was just, you know, I just kept saying, "well, I'm-- I'm having a hard time keeping this truck slowed down going down the hill.
" Give me e-[Bleep.]
-nough room between us.
Well, I could if I wasn't 80,000 pounds.
And I said, "Maya, as soon as you go around that next corner, I'm gonna come around you," and she said, "that's fine.
" That works for me.
I'm gonna let him get around soon.
It'll make everybody's life a little easier.
She came around the corner, I went around her and got right back in front of her.
I mean, I thought we did that as safe as we could have done it under the circumstances.
There was no near miss with no four-Wheeler.
That is bull[Bleep.]
.
Okay, all right, 'cause I heard that from a couple people, so-- That's bull[Bleep.]
.
In the office of Carlile's top brass You know, from the first trip, you've had problems with-- With personalities.
Tony has quit talking about it, because he knows that.
I don't say anything to Tony.
If Tony comes up and tries to say something, I just stand there with my mouth shut.
You're pissed because I [Bleep.]
pissed in your sandbox.
Well, yeah, you disrespected me and my truck.
You're wanting me to come over here and grovel.
Okay, it's-- It's not gonna happen.
You've made some mistakes.
Your last trip with Phil, I mean, you high-hitched a trailer.
Ah, mother[Bleep.]
.
How the [Bleep.]
did I miss it altogether? Not only could that have done damage to the pipe, but it's, once again, it's a-- It's not a veteran mistake.
- Right.
- I mean, it's not something - that the guy that's been driving for 25 years does, and I mean-- - You're right.
Your mind is somewhere else, and it's not on what you're doing.
You know what? You're probably right.
My mind is-- probably 50% of the day, all I do is wake up and wonder, who's gonna [Bleep.]
me today? How am I supposed to drive on the most dangerous road in the world with no damn seat belt? And it won't get any better.
I think at this point that we don't really have any choice but to, you know, part ways and-- And, uh, and-- And move forward.
Okay.
I don't have any hard feelings with you, Dave.
I think that while you were here, you did a-- A-- A good enough job as far as getting up and down the road, but-- But there's more to it than just that.
Right.
I appreciate you giving me a shot.
Well, I apprec-- I appreciate your time, Dave.
All right.
I really do.
Thank you.
With the load leader down for the count, just outside of town, Lisa Kelly gears up to make a run for the crown.
I'm never gonna give up.
After a rocky start, Lisa fought her way back to heavy haul, and today's 15-ton shack will put her skills to the test.
- Hi, Rod.
- How are you doing? - Good.
How are you? - Good, good, good, good.
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you too.
It'll be fun, won't it? - Yes.
- Yes.
With 25 years experience, driver Rod Cahill should be leading this oversized convoy, but he's got a problem.
All right, I just noticed you have a block and I don't.
And I'm going, uh-oh.
That means you're gonna have more problems than me.
Yeah.
The 5,000-pound cement block weighs down the front axle, increasing traction on the slippery road.
- What? - Do you want me to take that one? Oh, no, I'll be fine.
I'll be fine.
I'll let you lead.
All right.
- Is that cool with you? - Yep.
All right.
Well, this'll be fun.
If I'm allowed to follow, I just do, but if I need to lead, I-- I'm really good at it.
Rod.
I think he's been with the company for a while, but we haven't really run together that much.
He just, he's very, very happy all the time.
Oh, my gosh.
But less than 30 miles into their journey Oh, this is bad.
My truck has a code 95.
When the truck's computer system detects engine problems, it will automatically reduce the available horsepower.
I've got a tail-heavy, overweight, oversized load combined with a derating truck, and it's going to make for a challenging day.
Derating could be a computer glitch or a sign of bigger problems, but Lisa isn't backing down.
Everyone's gonna outpull me, and that's fine.
Whatever.
I'll get there, two miles an hour.
I don't care.
It'll get there.
Back in the Fairbanks truck yard, rookie Maya Sieber tightens down her load.
- Hey, lady.
- Hey, Phil.
What's going on? Not much.
How are you doin'? Good.
So you know, uh, Dave's no longer with us.
- Are you serious? - Yeah.
Um, he got let go.
In short, um, he was unwilling to-- To really learn and listen to what's going on out there, and so you know, like I told you before, everybody's watching the new drivers.
You know, a certain amount of negativity makes it back to the - boss here in town, and-- And that's how it happens.
- Right.
And things are changing.
The snow pack is turning to ice, and the ice pack is turning to slick ice.
You know, it's just, the job is definitely changing.
- I'll do what I have to do.
- Yeah.
- All right, have a good one.
- Thanks.
With Dave out of the picture, the last rookie standing is feeling the pressure.
It's really, really tough to, you know, to be open to learning all over again, but it's something you have to do.
Up here, it's-- It's completely different from any driving you will ever do.
It's important for me to get these loads in.
Dave's out of the picture now and I'm the only rookie up here.
You know, I have to prove myself.
It kind of sucks because the road's getting really slick because the sun's really strong.
And it's melting the top layer of ice, and because I'm so light, it's gonna be kind of difficult to have traction.
It could be a fight to get up there.
Today I'm in the mood for a fight, so it's okay.
the season's critical loads rolling north, it's up to the Alaska DOT to keep the roads open and safe.
Today, worker Ken Bear is on an emergency mission.
We're heading up north in the valley here, and we're gonna go up to milepost 195, where Sheep Creek is, and take a look at this big bubble and see if we can't drill a hole in the side of it and get some water pressure to release.
As the weather warms, lakes and rivers go through a cycle of freezing and thawing.
If the pressure continues to build, the ice bubble will eventually burst, flooding the road.
K-Bear uses an ice auger to relieve the pressure.
You can see these big cracks along the-- The front and the side here.
We averted disaster.
That's ice cold.
- Coming up, Alex is down for the count.
- The run is finished.
And Maya Definitely fighting my way up here right now.
Faces trouble on the Pass.
Ooh, I'm slipping.
of the Canadian bush I'm gonna jump out here and see what the [Bleep.]
's going on.
I wonder, wonder, wonder.
The rough road has caused one of Hugh's massive concrete barriers to slide dangerously close to the cab.
Well, that [Bleep.]
sucks.
But 100 miles from a forklift, the polar bear has a plan.
Trailer to push it back on.
They'll take advantage of horsepower and the high, flat edge of Rick's trailer Watch it, watch it, watch it, go.
To carefully push the barrier back in place.
Using the rig got it close.
Take a chain and boomer and just-- Yeah, we'll get it.
Just, I need your help, though.
But the rest will take muscle.
Sliding was such a good idea, eh? [Bleep.]
, I pulled that muscle big-time.
We are gonna reinforce that so the blocks don't slide out.
We're getting snow all over the deck.
It's a warm day, and the blocks are starting to slide around here a little bit.
Are you ready? Well, it has begun.
While Hugh and Rick get back in the race, Alex is adding hours onto his trip to avoid crossing the thin ice.
I don't wanna get stuck in there, I don't want to wreck the freight, and I don't want to wreck the truck.
My goal is to get this whole truck back in one piece.
I don't want to be the guy that finishes it off.
Let somebody else finish it off.
I'd like Orvis to be able to say, "I gave Debogorski that old truck and, uh, you know, he drove it all season and brought "it back in the same or better condition it was than it started.
" Right now, my job is to get it to the turn-off and the bush.
I've got a plan.
Gonna stick to the plan until the plan changes.
The detour will keep Alex off the thin ice, but driving the back roads means 200 extra miles of bumping and battering for his truck.
I'm losing air pretty quick.
I got zero air on one side and And it's not long before his beat-up rig gives out.
Look under here.
The transmission, drive shaft.
The drive shaft let go at the back of the front dif, and it snapped the, uh, pinion right off on the back dif.
It flew out, took out the right airbag and, uh, a couple of air line.
After 19 punishing runs, Alex is down for the count.
I'm about ten minutes past Pelican Landing, where I fueled-- Fueled up.
Sorry about that.
Bye.
Well, this, yeah, this finishes a run.
It doesn't matter whether I'm on the ice road or in the bush or whatever.
The run is finished.
Back in Alaska, Dave Redmon is licking his wounds after being fired from his job.
You know, I came up here, I-- I guess I beat 'em at their own game, and now they're pissed off at me and now they don't want to play with me no more so, you know, they're just basically just making my life miserable.
Uh, tainting the opinion of the [Bleep.]
management as far as me driving safely and doing stuff safely, well, you know, it's kind of obvious.
You know, everybody they've stuck me with has been in a wreck, in a wreck, in a ditch, uh, whatever, but I don't have any accidents.
What the [Bleep.]
is up with that? I mean, it's-- It's kind of obvious who-- Who's the [Bleep.]
winner, so [Bleep.]
'em.
I'll just go home, go back down to the [Bleep.]
lower 48, where-- Where at least, uh, everybody appreciates, you know, somebody who can do a good job.
Guess all that's left is to get my [Bleep.]
and get the [Bleep.]
out of here.
[Sighs.]
I've never been fired from a job in my life over petty bull[Bleep.]
rumors.
You know, the [Bleep.]
employees are taking over this [Bleep.]
company.
They show up to work when they want, they hold up everybody, they don't give a [Bleep.]
.
It's just getting out of hand, so it's best that I just [Bleep.]
go.
Don't need 'em anyway, so [bleep.]
it, I'll go back home and work where I'm appreciated.
is hauling the day's only back haul, and he's approaching a stretch of road that's all too familiar.
This is, um, kind of back at the same-- Same spot, same truck.
Heading into surprise rise here.
At the start of the season, Tony was lucky to - survive a crash in this very spot.
- I thought I was gone.
See if we can do this right this time.
Is this Tony? Yeah.
What's happening? I've got a 21-wide.
He's gonna wait for you on the other side of the detour.
Okay, Diana, we'll blaze on down there.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
With northbound truckers normally having the right of way, Tony speeds up, not wanting to keep the 20-wide waiting, but as he approaches the rise Oh! Thought he was waiting for us the other side of the detour.
I guess not.
Tony is facing an oncoming 20-wide.
Oh! Thought he was waiting for us the other side of the detour.
I guess not.
Crazy.
She told me he'd wait on the other side of the detour.
That's why I come down there.
Ah, you're fine.
- It all worked out.
- It's all good.
You guys have a good day up there.
That just goes to show you, you have to expect the unexpected, even when you do communicate, you know? Kind of ironic where we met him, too.
We just met that 21-wide right next to where I got hit by a trailer here a while back.
You just never know.
Um, I can't tell.
Lisa has limped her oversized load all the way to Atigun Pass.
Thank you.
With the polar bear standoff resolved, back hauls have resumed out of Prudhoe Bay And Lisa and Rod I'm gonna go by this guy, and I don't want to do another ditch dive.
Are running into the first southbounders.
Yeah, we got-- Uh, I guess they're coming up behind us too.
I've been slipping and sliding all over here.
I managed to not burn out this year or last year, so I'd like to keep it that way.
Before heading up The Pass, Lisa pulls over to find out what she'll be facing.
I spun out on the Pass going before, and it really is - down and coming back, so-- - Oh, really? Yeah.
The Pass is not very friendly.
- Thanks for the info.
- Good luck.
He said that the Pass is not good.
He's going out before he even made it to the waterfall, but now that it's not in good shape, I'm throwing on my second set.
- Okay.
- Oh.
Oh my gosh.
With two sets of chains and an underpowered rig, Lisa rolls her 15-ton load onto Atigun.
I'm double chained so it should be good.
- Lisa, are you leading? - What'd you say? I wanted to know if you were leading.
Oh, my gosh.
Who trained you, Rod? They did a good job.
All right, tell her good job.
Okay, all right.
Rod's contagious.
Oh, here we go into derate mode.
I think this thing would do better if I hooked my mini up to it.
Here.
Yeah, there-- See it, see it? There's not much rock up here.
I am so glad I have chains.
There's no way I'd make it up this.
No way.
Hey, that's about what we were doing pull-truckin'.
No, pull-truckin', we were going about 11.
Push-truckin', I was going about 6, and right now, I'm doing about 13.
That's bad.
I'm not gonna make it.
He needed all that room.
Yeah, it Yep, yep, yep.
With only half the horsepower, the only thing that got Lisa up the Pass was an extra set of chains and determination.
Yay! My boss made it! All right! We're doing good.
I set the chains and I'm glad that I did it.
I-I don't even think I would have made it to the switchback with this thing.
It was the right decision.
It's-- I can't say the next stop is Prudhoe, 'cause you never know what's gonna happen between here and there.
We've still got four hours to go.
If you remember the last time I had one of these, I went off at Toolik and that's still that way about an hour.
And then, remember the time the tires fell off my dolly? That was up at Chicken Run.
That's past Toolik, so a lot could happen between here and there.
It ain't over till it's over.
Lisa, at the base of Atigun, Maya Sieber checks her - You know, it's all good.
- I'm just about to head up the Pass.
I didn't put on chains today, and, uh, I just passed another truck that had chains on that just came down the Pass.
I heard 'em clanking and I looked and I was like, "why is he chained up?" I don't know.
This could be trouble.
I guess we're gonna find out, huh? Despite Phil's warnings The job is definitely changing.
Yeah.
And there's gonna be a little bit more chaining up than we've had to do the last few weeks.
Too late now.
I'm heading up.
The last rookie standing may not be standing for long.
Oh, please move over.
And he's right where I need to be on the-- On the left side.
Ooh, I'm slipping.
It's really slippery.
It's slipping the whole way.
Just about to the top.
The top is only halfway.
Now it's time to go down.
Oh my goodness.
I am not looking forward to going down.
I'd rather burn out than, uh, lock up going down.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
On the north slope of Atigun Pass, Maya Sieber is in trouble.
Holy [Bleep.]
.
Maya, can you get stopped? Um, yeah, I can try.
Okay, give it a try, 'cause we have a northbounder coming up to you.
See if you can just stop and it will all work out good.
Do you mean a southbounder? Yeah, I mean a southbounder.
I'm sorry.
A southbound truck is taking up both lanes, forcing Maya to stop on Atigun's steep 12% grade.
Okay, I'm stopped up here.
Okay, southbounder, she's got it stopped.
- You can keep on going.
- All righty, thanks.
Thank you very much.
I was getting a little worried there.
I don't like that.
We're not supposed to stop.
Because northbounders are expecting to haul ass down this way, and it's not good that I'm stopped.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Okay.
Definitely paying attention and listening for anytime you lock up, because if you don't know you're locked up, you are in a lot of trouble.
I am concentrating right now.
I have to listen to the engine.
Going up, you have to listen for slipping and spinning, and then, going down, you have to listen for locking up.
To me, this is, like, the most challenging part of the road.
And this is just, like, miles and miles of downgrades and "S" turns and crazy [Bleep.]
, but we're down.
I fought that hill.
I fought it without chains.
I'm still on to Prudhoe Bay.
Any-- Any hour I'm out here, I make it the most productive I can, and that's it.
This is grind time.
This is how I roll.
In Canada, Hugh and Rick roll into St.
Theresa Point.
This is my turnoff here, buddy.
I'll, uh, go see what I gotta do with these blocks.
Okay, I'll just wait till you-- You can get over this way, and I just gotta drop this trailer at the school and then pick up a van trailer, so I'll only be a couple of minutes.
We're here.
We'll unload and we'll head back, and hopefully the road doesn't get too screwed up tomorrow, and we'll deal with this in the morning.
'Cause I'm just gonna unpin.
I don't need any help or there's no unload times or nothin', so it's, uh, should be quick and easy for me, so good enough.
Done for the day.
On the other side of town, Hugh delivers his concrete barriers.
The only thing different about this and the-- The Dalton boys is, we actually have to work.
We gotta load our loads and unload our loads.
With the winter roads melting fast, Hugh's 21st load of the season will put him one up on Alex.
Back in Fairbanks, Dave Redmon is headed home.
You know, as far as I know right now, I'm ahead in the load count, you know, so it's about as far as I can go with that.
It's been a good experience, you know, coming to Alaska.
The Dalton highway, the people, the weather, the challenges, everything that's been put forth to me, uh, it's just the working environment took a [Bleep.]
.
I appreciate the ride! I mean, I was an absolute outsider from the day I got here till the day I'm leaving right now.
You know, nobody gave me a fair shake here.
Dave's season is done, but the Alabama slammer leaves at the top of the load board.
ready to make a run for the title.
We are just entering Prudhoe Bay.
I'm looking forward to an intensive, long night of sleep.
I am tired, I'm exhausted, but I'm still here, still going, and I finished the job.
No wimping out, man.
I trucked all the way here but-- Slow going up the hills.
I freakin' made it.
In Canada, Alex also has a reason to celebrate-- A replacement truck has arrived.
Okay, very good.
Now, what do you think for, uh, windshield wipers? Okay, that's good.
Alex is back in the race And we're getting ready to try it again, to head north again.
Um, it's a Volvo, which I've never driven before, so of course, I'm learning, uh, in the dark, like usual.
I do my best work in the dark.
Next time on the finale of Ice Road Rruckers, Alex fights to stay in the game.
I got a leak.
A pretty big leak.
While mother nature's final punch leaves Hugh and Rick stranded in the bush.
Everybody gets in a [Bleep.]
hurry without thinking ahead.
In Alaska, the last rookie standing Oh, my God.
Breaks new ground.
Oh, my God.
And the Ice Road Crown It's pretty crucial that we get this done.
Is up for grabs.
Yeh! Woo-hoo!