Ice Road Truckers (2007) s07e06 Episode Script
Hail to the King
[Battery explodes.]
Aah! Male narrator: Tonight [Sirens blaring.]
on Ice Road Truckers Oh, fuck, and he's got the cops behind him.
Narrator: Hugh shuts down the competition.
Uh, I have a disgruntled employee who is a security threat here at my building.
- What the heck? Narrator: - And Polar season - Holy fuck! - Oh, my God.
Narrator: - goes up in flames.
- Holy mackerel.
- Get out of the truck.
- Oh, my God! Narrator: And up north I am the King of Obsolete, and there will be no other.
Narrator: The trucker who dares to go beyond the winter roads.
If you spread 60 tons of weight across thin ice You could fall through.
Oh! [Blues rock.]
Narrator: The war for the winter roads is almost halfway over.
[Horn blaring.]
Rodeo! Narrator: VP Express owners Hugh Rowland - Hang on.
- and Vlad "The Mad Russian" Plestkot are struggling to keep up with Polar Industries.
[Horn blaring.]
They're losing contracts to rival Mark Kohaykewych.
Polar Industries.
There's another couple loads for us.
Shamattawa? Thank you.
Narrator: Driver Art Burke's future is in doubt Half our company's up there because of Art.
You must be fucking kidding me, man.
Did you pull the pin? Yes, of course I pulled the pin.
Yeah, I think we're gonna have to let him go.
I'm not making any money.
I would much rather be home.
Maybe I should've went to Polar.
Narrator: And Hugh and Vlad are scrambling to get their company back on track.
Yeah, okay.
Thank you, thank you.
Bye.
- Hey, man.
- Hey, Hugh.
How's it going, man? Pretty good.
I just got back from that Polywest deal.
Oh, and? [Laughing.]
- We got, like, 25 loads, 27 loads.
- Oh, I was afraid of that.
I just got a few more loads.
- Um, Tadoule Lake.
- Tadoule.
Yes.
That's all the way up there.
Yeah.
Fuck.
Narrator: Landing contracts for more loads is good news but only if they can pull it off.
So-- so we got Wasagamack.
That's, uh, rolling.
Now you picked up 25 more loads, you said? How you gonna do that, man? I think I'll just stay on the Wasagamack.
And then why don't we send the new guys Todd and, uh Todd and Art? Todd and Art up to Tadoule? Oh.
But the problem I have is with Art, you know? Well, I think we gotta do what we gotta do for one run anyway.
Yeah, I guess.
I mean, we'll be short of trucks anyway, so-- If he fucks up, we'll just let him go when they get back.
Narrator: - With their fleet of drivers stretched thin - G'day, g'day.
There he is.
Hey, Fart.
How you doing, buddy? Good, you? Narrator: Hugh and Vlad will have to keep Art around for now.
So far, we haven't been too happy-- too impressed about your services here.
Well, my-- a lot of the stuff wasn't my fault, eh? One of those things that we're not too impressed by is you don't listen.
Sometimes, you just gotta shut up.
Well, I do that sometimes.
But sometimes too, I find, when I go to give my point-- Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.
Okay, I'm listening.
Okay.
I-- the way I operate is, in my-- See, I get a time-out when I go to say my piece.
This is what I don't understand.
I don't really care how do you operate.
Okay.
- You gotta kind of get used to our way of operation.
- Okay, and I'm getting there.
All right.
What did we do here? We invited you over here to do a certain job.
Right on.
Unfortunately, the certain job hasn't been done yet.
You don't know how to put chains, you don't know how to strap down, you don't know how to drive or how to find a place.
But we're gonna give you another chance.
Well, you're bobtailing up to Tadoule Lake.
Okay.
Then you're gonna bring a van back.
Can you read this? "Last chance.
" And that's what you're getting on this trip.
All right.
This-- last chance.
Do your job, you're gonna be fine.
Cool.
- If you don't do your job - Cool.
I'm gonna ask you to leave.
- Cool.
Deal.
- Simple, yeah? - Shake my hand on it.
- Right on, buddy.
Shake it regular way.
Just like this.
[Hugh laughing.]
I'm not your buddy.
I'm not your friend.
Okay.
I'm not gangster or anything like that, I'm a businessman.
Cool.
This is the way we shake hands.
- All right.
- Right? Perfect.
Cool.
Very good, thank you.
All right.
I came down here to make some money, and that's the plan.
I didn't come down here to be the fucking patsy for this fucking hole.
Now I'm gonna go have a good day for myself.
And fuck it all.
Fuck it all.
Narrator: While Art's job at VP Express hangs by a thread Hey, guys.
There he is now.
Hey.
Narrator: Ice road rookie Todd Dewey is the company's rising star.
So we've decided the place we're gonna send you is Tadoule Lake.
Okay.
- Um, it's a tough road, and - It's rough.
on top of it, we need a baby-sitter.
And it's gonna be you, baby-sitting Art.
Okay.
But we're really happy with what you've been doing for us, seriously.
Good.
Good deal.
Narrator: Todd's charged with leading a convoy to recover equipment from Tadoule Lake a remote community with a road so unforgiving it's even shut down the boss.
That's it.
This is gonna be a long long freakin' experience right here, bud.
You got copy? Can you hear me? Cool.
Narrator: Todd will have to get Art and freelance driver Derek Vivier to the most northern town on the winter roads.
Yeah, this, uh-- this trip's gonna be the first, uh, real big, big, big, big big challenge.
This is a huge ice road.
You know, we're talking a total of about 1,300 miles just to get there.
Two of the trucks are bobtailing.
I'm pushing up the rear.
I got-- I got a trailer.
You know, the bosses kinda sat me down and said, "Hey, Art don't know how to drive.
He's not doing very well.
We need you to baby-sit him.
We need you to take him up there.
We need you to push him.
You know, that way, if he gets in a situation, you know, you'll be there to help him out.
" And hopefully everything goes well.
This is the first convoy I've been on without Hugh or Vlad.
[Laughing.]
Hey.
I like that.
The roads are getting bad.
It's all turned to ice, buddy.
What's going on? [Beeping.]
The fuck is that all about? It just beeps, beeps, beeps.
Beeps, beeps, beeps.
That's been going on now steady.
So far, so good.
I haven't lost my mind yet, but we're-- it's only early in the day.
Narrator: A glitch in the radio torments Art, but he can't turn it off, or he'll lose contact with the convoy.
It does kinda drive you up the wall.
Listen to it.
Like a kid that won't stop crying.
You just wanna choke it, eh? Well, if it's not yours.
[Laughing.]
Yeah, my VHF is arsing up in here, man.
It just beeps, beeps, beeps steady.
I like Art.
I know Art's got a big heart, you know, and he's trying real hard up here.
He's putting everything he's got into it to, uh-- you know, he's trying to make the bosses happy, and it's just not working.
But when things consistently keep happening, then you stop looking at the truck, and you start looking at the driver.
That's the way it works.
[Radio beeping.]
Never a dull moment in here.
[Beeping stops.]
And the beeping stopped.
So we're cool.
I'm happy.
Eh? Fucking shit happens.
[Beeping continues.]
Isn't this fun? Narrator: - Back at Polar - Yeah.
No, I'm sorry it has to be that way.
All right, bye-bye.
Hey, Ryan.
Yeah.
Looks like Yuri's gone.
Narrator: Mark gets word that an employee switched sides Gonna be heading over to VP, it looks like.
So scratch him off the board.
Okay.
Narrator: Former driver Yuri Davidoff quit to work for rival VP Express.
It's typical Hugh business practices.
I mean, he knows I've got the best of the best.
He knows I got the loads.
He knows I've got everything here.
He's going after my customers, going after drivers, going after my loads, going after my routes.
I mean, Hugh Rowland, think for yourself for once.
Quit riding my coattails.
I explain Mark, I not happy with job.
Well, at least you know.
At least you know what's going on over there.
Mark doesn't care about his drivers, so it's his own fault.
I'm gonna bury Mark, and that's what's gonna happen.
I'm gonna bury Polar Industries this year.
Narrator: Yuri was slated to haul a rush load, and now the job is hours behind schedule.
Mark, you wanted to see me? Hey, Lisa, how are you? Good, how are you? [Laughs.]
Narrator: So Mark's counting on Lisa Kelly to finish the haul in record time.
You've been doing a hell of a job, so I want to throw another challenge at you.
We're gonna send you to Bloodvein.
Gonna need you loaded and out as fast as possible.
And so we need you to hustle.
Narrator: She'll have to reach Bloodvein before the site closes in order to make the delivery deadline and pick up a time-sensitive backhaul.
You up for the challenge? - Yeah, of course.
- Hit the road.
- Let's get you going, in and out.
- Okay.
- Right on.
Good job, Lisa.
- Thank you.
Yep, thanks.
- Thank you.
See ya.
- Thank you, Mark.
I am excited to get back on the road, going to Bloodvein with building supplies.
Narrator: She'll score two loads for Polar if she can make it in time.
- But down the street - I'm glad Yuri's coming over here.
I like him.
Narrator: Hugh's got a test of loyalty for his new recruit.
I told him just to take his truck down there and park it in front of his driveway and see what the hell goes on.
I block Mark, and nothing moves.
Here comes a truck.
Oh, he's not gonna let me out? Hey! Come look at this.
Is he just gonna stop there? Trying to figure out what this blue truck is doing here.
All right, Eddie, grab your camera, please.
Let's go.
Narrator: - Coming up - I have a disgruntled employee here at my building.
Narrator: The face-off turns ugly.
[Sirens blaring.]
Now we'll get the other cats going here.
Narrator: And the King dares to go beyond the winter roads.
You spread 60 tons of weight across thin ice, that's scary.
Narrator: - At Polar Industries - I block Mark, and nothing moves.
Narrator: Former employee Yuri Davidoff has gone to work - for VP Express - Is he just gonna stop there? Narrator: And Hugh sent him to shut down the yard.
Trying to figure out what this blue truck is doing here.
Let's go.
Here comes the circus.
What's up? Mark, I will stay all day.
Move, or I'm calling the police, and you will be arrested.
You want to arrest me? Okay.
Arrest me.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Uh, I have a disgruntled employee who's-- with a security threat here at my building.
What's that? Can you just stay in your truck, please? - You want me to go in the shop? - I just have the RCMP on the line.
- Truck or shop? - Inside the shop, yeah.
Narrator: With Polar shut down [Laughing.]
only VP Express is getting loads on the road.
[Horn honking.]
We're gonna run Mark out of business.
I mean, uh, he's gonna go down, he's gonna get buried, and that's all there is to it.
[Laughter.]
Narrator: As the battle heats up in Winnipeg, 800 miles north a one-of-a-kind trucker prepares for a mission past the end of the road.
I am the King of Obsolete, and there is only one.
And there will be no other.
Narrator: Joey Barnes is the self-proclaimed King of Obsolete.
They say I live at the end of the world.
We have to be very resourceful at the end of the world because we can't rely on everybody else.
I try and make a living with old-style equipment.
[Whirring.]
Well, we're gonna hook up the sleighs and see if we can go get a generator.
Narrator: Today, he's been hired by longtime friend Jerry Umbach to salvage a generator from an abandoned campsite.
We've been talking about getting this generator.
But because of the inaccessibility of it this is about the only way we can pick it up.
Narrator: But to travel where there are no roads, the King relies on equipment from the earliest days of ice road trucking.
The cat trains are a very unique way of transportation.
It was used in the 1940s.
[Engine starting.]
That's our caterpillar tractor.
But in Canada, we call it cats.
Now we'll get the other cat going here.
Jerry's got the big cat.
I got the smaller one.
Jonathan's got a baby cat.
Narrator: Helping the King manhandle the machinery is protege Jonathan Wiebe.
Okay, always leave it in neutral, clutched in, okay? Uh, Jonathan had two minutes' experience on a cat.
He drove it around the yard twice.
So he had to learn.
The reason I came out here was for the adventure because I really wanted the experience.
Narrator: And rounding out the King's crew is his daughter Xena.
All right.
I'll follow behind.
Dad, I'll follow behind.
Narrator: With his team assembled, the King heads out to face the ice beyond the end of the road.
Xena's zooming back and forth on her ski-doo like a mosquito.
She's a communication officer because we don't run radio systems.
'Cause you can't hear a radio 'cause it's loud.
[Loud engine whirring.]
Feels good, once we get rolling.
Narrator: While the King journeys into no-man's-land We're headed for the big ice road up to Tadoule Lake.
So we got a big day ahead of us.
Narrator: VP Express driver Todd Dewey's in charge of a critical haul along with Art Burke and freelancer Derek Vivier.
Art, did your radio finally quit beeping? No, it's right back at it again, buddy.
It's just not quite as bad.
But it's right back at it again.
Every trip, man, there's a fuck-up.
Narrator: Art's feeling the pressure after being given a last-chance ultimatum by the bosses.
[Radio beeping.]
This beep-beep-beeping drive you right up the wall, right? Team beep-beep, eh? And then they got the audacity to call me in the office and tell me that they're not happy.
There's definitely, definitely, definitely something wrong with this fucking picture.
[Beeping.]
Ah, shit! Just crazy.
Hey, Derek, I got something going on with my truck here.
Uh-oh, here we go.
Right off the fucking bat.
Hey, uh my volts are pegged out at over I don't know what's going on.
Uh, sounds to me like you got a ground wire issue.
Probably coming off your batteries, maybe that little white wire broke off.
Narrator: The convoy's forced to stop as Todd's truck loses electrical power.
Well, they're not quite sure.
His alternator or the voltage is going all adrift.
The lights is going off and on on the dash, and all this wonderful stuff that happens if you're working for VP.
[Chuckling.]
Because it's shorting out somewhere.
It's possible it may have jiggled loose from rattling, vibration.
This one's definitely gotta go to this.
That's a positive to positive, here and here.
Okay.
This is negative.
So we could run this negative to this.
Narrator: Getting back on the road means figuring out where the loose wires go.
This negative to that negative.
So this negative-- this positive to this positive.
And this one ain't gonna reach because it's-- ahh! Fuck! [Shouts.]
Narrator: - On the road to Tadoule Lake - We could run - this negative-- Narrator: - The VP Express crew is trying to troubleshoot Todd's rig.
This negative to that negative.
So this negative-- this positive to this positive.
This one ain't gonna reach because it's-- ahh! Whoo! [Shouts.]
We're rinsing off.
Narrator: An exploding battery [Battery explodes.]
- No! Fuck, the battery! - Aah! Narrator: showered Derek and Todd with highly corrosive battery acid.
I told you it's a bad battery.
That's why I could smell the fucking battery.
Need more water? Narrator: If left untreated, the sulfuric acid could cause permanent skin damage and blindness.
But the closest place to get treatment is Lynn Lake, 80 miles in the wrong direction.
We're taking out one battery.
We're just gonna run a series with three batteries and get the fucking thing back started.
And we're just gonna do what we can do.
Narrator: A convoy backtracks down the winter road - with Todd's truck one battery down - It ain't no joke.
It ain't a piddly little game.
I mean, it's definitely nuts up here.
Narrator: And freelance driver Derek Vivier's health in jeopardy.
I mean, my whole body is starting to convulse.
I think I got a fair bit in my throat, because my throat is starting to swell up.
It feels bad but, um I'm just trying to be optimistic at this point.
[Clears throat.]
Literally, the left side of my head just feels like it's on fire.
Todd's batteries are gonna die pretty soon.
I don't know what's gonna happen there, man.
Kind of in a rush to get poor, um, Derek to the hospital because the acid-- he can't get it out of his skin, eh? Burned his face all to hell.
That stuff is burning him as we speak.
[Radio beeping.]
We're jinxed.
Narrator: Back in Winnipeg [Sirens blaring.]
That's a VP truck? Narrator: Hugh sent his new recruit to shut down Polar Industries.
Uh-oh.
Wonder what's going on there.
Oh, fuck, and he's got the cops behind him.
[Giggling.]
[Laughs.]
You guys, I'll cancel everything right now.
Put it down.
So what's going on? I make the decision to change company.
Well, you can't block the gate.
You gotta move.
There.
[Scoffs.]
We got the truck outta the way.
The cops came by, escorted him off the property.
Where are those two cowards? Sending Yuri over here to do their dirty work.
You know what, Hugh? Karma's a bitch.
You got yours coming to you soon.
You watch.
[Horn honking.]
Narrator: - Polar may be back in business - Try not to get into it.
Just do my job.
Narrator: but thanks to Hugh, Lisa Kelly's running out of time.
The trip can take up to eight hours, but she's only got six before Mark's promise to the village is broken.
Away I go to Bloodvein a little later than I would've liked to, but we had a holdup with whatever drama was going on today that I don't care about.
We're not here to play.
My job is to drive this truck and get the freight to the villages in the certain time period that we have.
Narrator: And with the clock ticking, it might be too late.
Get this Bloodvein run done.
[Horn blaring.]
Narrator: - 670 miles north - Here's the paperwork for that load.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Sure.
Take care.
Narrator: Polar teammate Alex Debogorski is also starting an urgent mission [Horn honking.]
Hauling the final load of a $100,000 contract.
I'm actually riding off into the sunset.
You go, "Look, oh, is the sun going down? Oh, it must be time to go to work for me!" [Laughing.]
Narrator: He's headed to the town of Shamattawa, and he's only got until morning to make the delivery.
Okay.
Narrator: But after a season of handling every challenge - thrown at him - We're off like a hurdle of turtles.
Narrator: The 40-year veteran brushes off the pressure.
Look at the howling wolves over there.
[Howling.]
[Barking.]
[Howling.]
We used to make the coyotes talk back to us.
At night, have nothing to do on the farms.
You go get the coyotes excited.
Or the "coyotees" or whatever you call 'em.
Coyotes, "coyootes.
" [Imitating coyotes.]
[Sirens blaring.]
[Barking.]
Oh.
I guess I must have made somebody unhappy.
I'm getting pulled over by the police.
One more circus for me today, I guess.
I don't know what I did wrong.
Way too much fun this morning.
I really don't have time for all this.
You've gotta be kidding me.
Good morning, sir.
- You didn't hear my siren? - I didn't hear the siren, sir.
- You didn't hear my siren? - No, I didn't.
You ever look in your mirrors? You were speeding on the bridge.
That's the reason why you're getting stopped, okay? It's a 50 zone and you're traveling at 70 - kilometers an hour across the bridge.
- Yes, sir.
You're gonna get a ticket for speeding, okay? Slow it down.
Goodness grief.
I mean, that's a really bad ticket.
[Horn honks.]
Narrator: - Now Alex is falling behind - It's already 3:00.
Narrator: and time is running out.
Are we gonna be too late to unload? Gonna look like a royal ass, showing up there late.
So I got some time to make up.
Narrator: - Coming up - Holy mackerel! Narrator: Alex feels the heat [Air escaping.]
- Oh, jeez! - Oh! Narrator: And the King puts Oh! Narrator: - In the town of Lynn Lake - She never ends, buddy.
Narrator: The VP Express convoy made it to the hospital after a battery explosion [Battery explodes.]
Aah! Narrator: Left two drivers injured and one truck in no shape for the winter road.
The acid got all over his face and his clothes and his pants and everything else.
Now it's burning him.
He can't get it off.
Narrator: At the medical center, Art waits for word on Derek's condition.
My plan is I'm gonna wait here at the hospital, make sure he's okay, and see what's going on.
And then when this is all straightened out, he's doing good, then we'll talk to Todd.
A battery blowing up in somebody's face like that, it could have killed us.
Gotta be the alternator.
I don't know what else it could be.
Narrator: After getting checked out at the hospital, Todd's in the clear.
But he barely made it to town on three batteries and the problem is worse than he thought.
You know, I've gone through the batteries.
I've gone through all the wiring to the alternator.
The batteries are hooked up and linked the proper way, and, uh There's no-- it's-- obviously the alternator fried out.
And when the alternator fried out, it was shorting out.
Kept 100%.
Obviously it got one battery so freakin' hot that it blew up.
[Sirens blaring.]
It's just a big halt.
Everybody's fucked.
Everybody's not making any fucking money.
Everybody's pissed off.
Everybody's frustrated.
Just fucking another fucking wonderful day on the fucking ice road.
- Hey! You made her, buddy.
- That was interesting.
- How'd you make out? - Got some burn cream.
- I got a chemical burn, a good I had to go for a chemical shower.
I'm fucked.
Very lucky, he says.
- Hey, buddy, you were lucky.
- Yeah, no doubt.
Narrator: While Derek's recovery is good news, Todd's truck and the convoy are down for the count.
Every trip, buddy, eh? - 680 miles south - I'm on the winter road headed toward Bloodvein with this load of construction supplies, building materials.
Narrator: Lisa Kelly's on a mission to deliver a load of scaffolding and pick up a time-sensitive backhaul before the site closes.
Feel like I'm making pretty good time.
So just trying to get there and get it done.
We have very limited time.
So this is kinda the-- it is-- it is actually like a mad rush to get this stuff where it's gotta go.
Gotta stay on it today.
Narrator: She's made up time after being delayed by Hugh.
And if there are no more delays, she'll deliver without a minute to spare.
What the heck? I see a big danger sign.
I don't know what it says yet though.
Oh, "blasting area.
" Oh, crap.
Just pulled up and got stopped by a flag person.
I'm not sure what's going on, why we're stopped or anything.
I'm gonna go see what's going on here.
- Hi! - Hi.
Am I gonna be able to get through and get outta here? Well, we just did a blast here.
We got rock all over the road.
- All right? - Thank you.
Okay.
Narrator: Maintenance on the road can only be done when the swamp land is frozen solid.
And blasting is the only way crews can break through the rocky ice.
Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while.
They gotta move the rock before we can go through.
This is bull.
Here comes the loader.
Maybe they're just polishing off the rest of the rock, so we can go through.
Looks like we can go now.
Looks like it's all cleared here.
So hopefully we can get on through.
Thank you! Every single thing that's delaying us is setting me back.
Blasting zones and truck drivers blocking highways and people getting arrested, and They're counting on me to get there, and they're counting on me to get this done.
Narrator: She made it through the blast zone.
But as she closes in on the off-load site Well, there's a truck coming.
The crew's already heading home for the day.
Yeah, I gotta jump out real quick.
Our trailer you were supposed to grab, it's all loaded, strapped down, ready to go.
Oh, awesome! Cool.
Happy he stopped right there.
Which is cool, 'cause if I would've just kept driving, I would've never known that.
So now I know what I've got.
Narrator: Lisa's just in time to make the delivery and pick up her backhaul.
We gotta get this out of Bloodvein, and we gotta get it to Winnipeg.
Gotta keep it moving, get it back.
No such thing as an easy day.
Narrator: 700 miles north - in the Canadian wilderness - The cats are a passe way of freighting.
It's an obsolete way.
That's why I'm into 'em.
Narrator: Joey Barnes, the King of Obsolete, is on a quest to salvage a generator from an abandoned campsite.
They can't afford to build all these roads for a transport truck to haul in.
The cat train is the way to go.
Narrator: In the 1940s, before the birth of ice road trucking, cat trains were used to haul freight in the north.
I tell everybody I should've been born in the '40s when cat trains were popular.
In the '40s, they were simpler times.
And people were honest.
You worked hard, you got your paycheck.
Narrator: To reach the camp, the King will have to cross a mile-wide lake.
He has to trust his instincts to lead the 60-ton cat train across the unmonitored ice.
As the cat train crosses the lake, each vehicle adds more pressure to the ice and pushing it too far can be fatal.
Cats or the sleighs go out on the ice, and you're taking a risk.
No way of checking every inch of the ice.
You could fall through.
That's why none of my cats have canopies, because you fall through the ice, you've got one chance to come up.
Oh! Narrator: In northern Manitoba hours from civilization the King's leading his 60-ton cat train across untested ice.
He's been hired by friend Jerry Umbach to recover a generator from a campsite where there are no roads.
Oh! The cat train's a unique way of transportating.
These skis are 9 feet long.
You spread 60 tons of weight across how many feet, when you got thin ice? That's scary.
Narrator: Across the lake, the King stops the cat train at the edge of the ice.
You know, you were breaking through the ice up there, weren't you? - Oh, I'm not too concerned.
- Do you know that? You weren't concerned 'cause you were ahead.
- That's right, you're the one.
- It's us guys coming behind.
Yeah.
And if you seen the water, that's okay.
- Yeah, splashing through water.
- That's okay.
It's going home we're gonna have trouble.
Narrator: And now, all they have to do is recover the generator.
Yeah, this is-- this is the camp here.
We're finally here, so now we gotta get Jerry up to where the generator is.
He's 71, born in 1941.
He'll drive the famous black cat, made in 1941.
The senior citizen has to drive.
I get to hang on.
Well, we arrived here at the camp.
- She's free.
- Yeah.
We're now picking up the generator.
- We said we'd do this job, and we will.
- We got the engine.
It's a pretty cool little engine.
And now we gotta try to bully this thing out of here.
Whoops! Yeah.
Narrator: They wrestle the generator free and secure it to the cat train.
We're gonna be late for supper, the rate we're going here.
We've never been late for supper, have we, Jerry? That's right.
Okay.
All right, let's go.
Back to the Kingdom.
No, I do it for the customers, you know, for the guys.
And the thing is, it's the same rate if I worked 8 hours a day or if I worked, you know, 14 or 15 hours.
You get one chance to make money, and you get it done.
Narrator: The generator has been recovered, and the King and his crew start the journey back to the Kingdom.
But I chose to live up here.
I chose to move up here.
I chose to stay up here.
I chose to raise my daughter up here.
That's what I've chose.
I'm gonna keep doing this till I'm in a pine box pushing up daisies.
Narrator: 300 miles southeast [Horn honks.]
I just keep driving till I gotta stop.
Narrator: Alex Debogorski's racing to deliver the final load in Polar's contract with the village of Shamattawa.
The road's going reasonably well.
Do what we gotta do.
I got 140 kilometers left.
I think I'm making pretty good speed.
I feel like I'm going faster than I was last time in here.
I should be in Shamattawa in the morning.
Narrator: Every load must be delivered by morning to claim the $100,000 payday.
So Alex is driving through the night.
[Beeping.]
Well, I don't know why that "check engine" light's on.
I'm concerned that maybe I'm a little low on oil, but I'm scared to shut the truck down out here in case it doesn't start.
Well, if it's just fuel, it might clear up.
If it's a mechanical problem, it's gonna fail.
And then I guess we're gonna put my winter gear on and wait for spring.
But the engine's running rough.
It's starting to run really crappy.
I got a problem.
So I was looking back there, and I just didn't like the color of the smoke.
It's just making really-- there's a gray-- gray smoke hanging there in the air.
The plan is to stop, have a look at it.
Narrator: Hundreds of miles from help, Alex can't leave anything to chance.
Well, I'm gonna jump out there, freeze my rear end.
Take a quick look underneath, see if we got any oil leaks, look at the load.
I absolutely can't see nothing, so-- Looks nice and dry under there.
You smell that? What the hell? Smell that electrical smell again.
It's getting awful strong in here.
Holy fuck! Holy mackerel! Get out of the truck.
Oh! We're starting to get into the rough of it now.
Narrator: - Next time - Aah! Narrator: - on Ice Road Truckers - Oh, you fucking licker! Narrator: VP Express reaches the breaking point I got told by the bosses.
The cement truck is good to go.
You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic and turn wrenches and try to get fucking fired up.
This is bullshit.
Narrator: - While Team Polar - Where the hell are we? Narrator: is heading in the wrong direction.
Holy fuck! Ooh! Narrator: And the King of Obsolete breaks through.
Doesn't look all that friendly.
Ah, it doesn't look good.
Whoa! Fuck!
Aah! Male narrator: Tonight [Sirens blaring.]
on Ice Road Truckers Oh, fuck, and he's got the cops behind him.
Narrator: Hugh shuts down the competition.
Uh, I have a disgruntled employee who is a security threat here at my building.
- What the heck? Narrator: - And Polar season - Holy fuck! - Oh, my God.
Narrator: - goes up in flames.
- Holy mackerel.
- Get out of the truck.
- Oh, my God! Narrator: And up north I am the King of Obsolete, and there will be no other.
Narrator: The trucker who dares to go beyond the winter roads.
If you spread 60 tons of weight across thin ice You could fall through.
Oh! [Blues rock.]
Narrator: The war for the winter roads is almost halfway over.
[Horn blaring.]
Rodeo! Narrator: VP Express owners Hugh Rowland - Hang on.
- and Vlad "The Mad Russian" Plestkot are struggling to keep up with Polar Industries.
[Horn blaring.]
They're losing contracts to rival Mark Kohaykewych.
Polar Industries.
There's another couple loads for us.
Shamattawa? Thank you.
Narrator: Driver Art Burke's future is in doubt Half our company's up there because of Art.
You must be fucking kidding me, man.
Did you pull the pin? Yes, of course I pulled the pin.
Yeah, I think we're gonna have to let him go.
I'm not making any money.
I would much rather be home.
Maybe I should've went to Polar.
Narrator: And Hugh and Vlad are scrambling to get their company back on track.
Yeah, okay.
Thank you, thank you.
Bye.
- Hey, man.
- Hey, Hugh.
How's it going, man? Pretty good.
I just got back from that Polywest deal.
Oh, and? [Laughing.]
- We got, like, 25 loads, 27 loads.
- Oh, I was afraid of that.
I just got a few more loads.
- Um, Tadoule Lake.
- Tadoule.
Yes.
That's all the way up there.
Yeah.
Fuck.
Narrator: Landing contracts for more loads is good news but only if they can pull it off.
So-- so we got Wasagamack.
That's, uh, rolling.
Now you picked up 25 more loads, you said? How you gonna do that, man? I think I'll just stay on the Wasagamack.
And then why don't we send the new guys Todd and, uh Todd and Art? Todd and Art up to Tadoule? Oh.
But the problem I have is with Art, you know? Well, I think we gotta do what we gotta do for one run anyway.
Yeah, I guess.
I mean, we'll be short of trucks anyway, so-- If he fucks up, we'll just let him go when they get back.
Narrator: - With their fleet of drivers stretched thin - G'day, g'day.
There he is.
Hey, Fart.
How you doing, buddy? Good, you? Narrator: Hugh and Vlad will have to keep Art around for now.
So far, we haven't been too happy-- too impressed about your services here.
Well, my-- a lot of the stuff wasn't my fault, eh? One of those things that we're not too impressed by is you don't listen.
Sometimes, you just gotta shut up.
Well, I do that sometimes.
But sometimes too, I find, when I go to give my point-- Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.
Okay, I'm listening.
Okay.
I-- the way I operate is, in my-- See, I get a time-out when I go to say my piece.
This is what I don't understand.
I don't really care how do you operate.
Okay.
- You gotta kind of get used to our way of operation.
- Okay, and I'm getting there.
All right.
What did we do here? We invited you over here to do a certain job.
Right on.
Unfortunately, the certain job hasn't been done yet.
You don't know how to put chains, you don't know how to strap down, you don't know how to drive or how to find a place.
But we're gonna give you another chance.
Well, you're bobtailing up to Tadoule Lake.
Okay.
Then you're gonna bring a van back.
Can you read this? "Last chance.
" And that's what you're getting on this trip.
All right.
This-- last chance.
Do your job, you're gonna be fine.
Cool.
- If you don't do your job - Cool.
I'm gonna ask you to leave.
- Cool.
Deal.
- Simple, yeah? - Shake my hand on it.
- Right on, buddy.
Shake it regular way.
Just like this.
[Hugh laughing.]
I'm not your buddy.
I'm not your friend.
Okay.
I'm not gangster or anything like that, I'm a businessman.
Cool.
This is the way we shake hands.
- All right.
- Right? Perfect.
Cool.
Very good, thank you.
All right.
I came down here to make some money, and that's the plan.
I didn't come down here to be the fucking patsy for this fucking hole.
Now I'm gonna go have a good day for myself.
And fuck it all.
Fuck it all.
Narrator: While Art's job at VP Express hangs by a thread Hey, guys.
There he is now.
Hey.
Narrator: Ice road rookie Todd Dewey is the company's rising star.
So we've decided the place we're gonna send you is Tadoule Lake.
Okay.
- Um, it's a tough road, and - It's rough.
on top of it, we need a baby-sitter.
And it's gonna be you, baby-sitting Art.
Okay.
But we're really happy with what you've been doing for us, seriously.
Good.
Good deal.
Narrator: Todd's charged with leading a convoy to recover equipment from Tadoule Lake a remote community with a road so unforgiving it's even shut down the boss.
That's it.
This is gonna be a long long freakin' experience right here, bud.
You got copy? Can you hear me? Cool.
Narrator: Todd will have to get Art and freelance driver Derek Vivier to the most northern town on the winter roads.
Yeah, this, uh-- this trip's gonna be the first, uh, real big, big, big, big big challenge.
This is a huge ice road.
You know, we're talking a total of about 1,300 miles just to get there.
Two of the trucks are bobtailing.
I'm pushing up the rear.
I got-- I got a trailer.
You know, the bosses kinda sat me down and said, "Hey, Art don't know how to drive.
He's not doing very well.
We need you to baby-sit him.
We need you to take him up there.
We need you to push him.
You know, that way, if he gets in a situation, you know, you'll be there to help him out.
" And hopefully everything goes well.
This is the first convoy I've been on without Hugh or Vlad.
[Laughing.]
Hey.
I like that.
The roads are getting bad.
It's all turned to ice, buddy.
What's going on? [Beeping.]
The fuck is that all about? It just beeps, beeps, beeps.
Beeps, beeps, beeps.
That's been going on now steady.
So far, so good.
I haven't lost my mind yet, but we're-- it's only early in the day.
Narrator: A glitch in the radio torments Art, but he can't turn it off, or he'll lose contact with the convoy.
It does kinda drive you up the wall.
Listen to it.
Like a kid that won't stop crying.
You just wanna choke it, eh? Well, if it's not yours.
[Laughing.]
Yeah, my VHF is arsing up in here, man.
It just beeps, beeps, beeps steady.
I like Art.
I know Art's got a big heart, you know, and he's trying real hard up here.
He's putting everything he's got into it to, uh-- you know, he's trying to make the bosses happy, and it's just not working.
But when things consistently keep happening, then you stop looking at the truck, and you start looking at the driver.
That's the way it works.
[Radio beeping.]
Never a dull moment in here.
[Beeping stops.]
And the beeping stopped.
So we're cool.
I'm happy.
Eh? Fucking shit happens.
[Beeping continues.]
Isn't this fun? Narrator: - Back at Polar - Yeah.
No, I'm sorry it has to be that way.
All right, bye-bye.
Hey, Ryan.
Yeah.
Looks like Yuri's gone.
Narrator: Mark gets word that an employee switched sides Gonna be heading over to VP, it looks like.
So scratch him off the board.
Okay.
Narrator: Former driver Yuri Davidoff quit to work for rival VP Express.
It's typical Hugh business practices.
I mean, he knows I've got the best of the best.
He knows I got the loads.
He knows I've got everything here.
He's going after my customers, going after drivers, going after my loads, going after my routes.
I mean, Hugh Rowland, think for yourself for once.
Quit riding my coattails.
I explain Mark, I not happy with job.
Well, at least you know.
At least you know what's going on over there.
Mark doesn't care about his drivers, so it's his own fault.
I'm gonna bury Mark, and that's what's gonna happen.
I'm gonna bury Polar Industries this year.
Narrator: Yuri was slated to haul a rush load, and now the job is hours behind schedule.
Mark, you wanted to see me? Hey, Lisa, how are you? Good, how are you? [Laughs.]
Narrator: So Mark's counting on Lisa Kelly to finish the haul in record time.
You've been doing a hell of a job, so I want to throw another challenge at you.
We're gonna send you to Bloodvein.
Gonna need you loaded and out as fast as possible.
And so we need you to hustle.
Narrator: She'll have to reach Bloodvein before the site closes in order to make the delivery deadline and pick up a time-sensitive backhaul.
You up for the challenge? - Yeah, of course.
- Hit the road.
- Let's get you going, in and out.
- Okay.
- Right on.
Good job, Lisa.
- Thank you.
Yep, thanks.
- Thank you.
See ya.
- Thank you, Mark.
I am excited to get back on the road, going to Bloodvein with building supplies.
Narrator: She'll score two loads for Polar if she can make it in time.
- But down the street - I'm glad Yuri's coming over here.
I like him.
Narrator: Hugh's got a test of loyalty for his new recruit.
I told him just to take his truck down there and park it in front of his driveway and see what the hell goes on.
I block Mark, and nothing moves.
Here comes a truck.
Oh, he's not gonna let me out? Hey! Come look at this.
Is he just gonna stop there? Trying to figure out what this blue truck is doing here.
All right, Eddie, grab your camera, please.
Let's go.
Narrator: - Coming up - I have a disgruntled employee here at my building.
Narrator: The face-off turns ugly.
[Sirens blaring.]
Now we'll get the other cats going here.
Narrator: And the King dares to go beyond the winter roads.
You spread 60 tons of weight across thin ice, that's scary.
Narrator: - At Polar Industries - I block Mark, and nothing moves.
Narrator: Former employee Yuri Davidoff has gone to work - for VP Express - Is he just gonna stop there? Narrator: And Hugh sent him to shut down the yard.
Trying to figure out what this blue truck is doing here.
Let's go.
Here comes the circus.
What's up? Mark, I will stay all day.
Move, or I'm calling the police, and you will be arrested.
You want to arrest me? Okay.
Arrest me.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Uh, I have a disgruntled employee who's-- with a security threat here at my building.
What's that? Can you just stay in your truck, please? - You want me to go in the shop? - I just have the RCMP on the line.
- Truck or shop? - Inside the shop, yeah.
Narrator: With Polar shut down [Laughing.]
only VP Express is getting loads on the road.
[Horn honking.]
We're gonna run Mark out of business.
I mean, uh, he's gonna go down, he's gonna get buried, and that's all there is to it.
[Laughter.]
Narrator: As the battle heats up in Winnipeg, 800 miles north a one-of-a-kind trucker prepares for a mission past the end of the road.
I am the King of Obsolete, and there is only one.
And there will be no other.
Narrator: Joey Barnes is the self-proclaimed King of Obsolete.
They say I live at the end of the world.
We have to be very resourceful at the end of the world because we can't rely on everybody else.
I try and make a living with old-style equipment.
[Whirring.]
Well, we're gonna hook up the sleighs and see if we can go get a generator.
Narrator: Today, he's been hired by longtime friend Jerry Umbach to salvage a generator from an abandoned campsite.
We've been talking about getting this generator.
But because of the inaccessibility of it this is about the only way we can pick it up.
Narrator: But to travel where there are no roads, the King relies on equipment from the earliest days of ice road trucking.
The cat trains are a very unique way of transportation.
It was used in the 1940s.
[Engine starting.]
That's our caterpillar tractor.
But in Canada, we call it cats.
Now we'll get the other cat going here.
Jerry's got the big cat.
I got the smaller one.
Jonathan's got a baby cat.
Narrator: Helping the King manhandle the machinery is protege Jonathan Wiebe.
Okay, always leave it in neutral, clutched in, okay? Uh, Jonathan had two minutes' experience on a cat.
He drove it around the yard twice.
So he had to learn.
The reason I came out here was for the adventure because I really wanted the experience.
Narrator: And rounding out the King's crew is his daughter Xena.
All right.
I'll follow behind.
Dad, I'll follow behind.
Narrator: With his team assembled, the King heads out to face the ice beyond the end of the road.
Xena's zooming back and forth on her ski-doo like a mosquito.
She's a communication officer because we don't run radio systems.
'Cause you can't hear a radio 'cause it's loud.
[Loud engine whirring.]
Feels good, once we get rolling.
Narrator: While the King journeys into no-man's-land We're headed for the big ice road up to Tadoule Lake.
So we got a big day ahead of us.
Narrator: VP Express driver Todd Dewey's in charge of a critical haul along with Art Burke and freelancer Derek Vivier.
Art, did your radio finally quit beeping? No, it's right back at it again, buddy.
It's just not quite as bad.
But it's right back at it again.
Every trip, man, there's a fuck-up.
Narrator: Art's feeling the pressure after being given a last-chance ultimatum by the bosses.
[Radio beeping.]
This beep-beep-beeping drive you right up the wall, right? Team beep-beep, eh? And then they got the audacity to call me in the office and tell me that they're not happy.
There's definitely, definitely, definitely something wrong with this fucking picture.
[Beeping.]
Ah, shit! Just crazy.
Hey, Derek, I got something going on with my truck here.
Uh-oh, here we go.
Right off the fucking bat.
Hey, uh my volts are pegged out at over I don't know what's going on.
Uh, sounds to me like you got a ground wire issue.
Probably coming off your batteries, maybe that little white wire broke off.
Narrator: The convoy's forced to stop as Todd's truck loses electrical power.
Well, they're not quite sure.
His alternator or the voltage is going all adrift.
The lights is going off and on on the dash, and all this wonderful stuff that happens if you're working for VP.
[Chuckling.]
Because it's shorting out somewhere.
It's possible it may have jiggled loose from rattling, vibration.
This one's definitely gotta go to this.
That's a positive to positive, here and here.
Okay.
This is negative.
So we could run this negative to this.
Narrator: Getting back on the road means figuring out where the loose wires go.
This negative to that negative.
So this negative-- this positive to this positive.
And this one ain't gonna reach because it's-- ahh! Fuck! [Shouts.]
Narrator: - On the road to Tadoule Lake - We could run - this negative-- Narrator: - The VP Express crew is trying to troubleshoot Todd's rig.
This negative to that negative.
So this negative-- this positive to this positive.
This one ain't gonna reach because it's-- ahh! Whoo! [Shouts.]
We're rinsing off.
Narrator: An exploding battery [Battery explodes.]
- No! Fuck, the battery! - Aah! Narrator: showered Derek and Todd with highly corrosive battery acid.
I told you it's a bad battery.
That's why I could smell the fucking battery.
Need more water? Narrator: If left untreated, the sulfuric acid could cause permanent skin damage and blindness.
But the closest place to get treatment is Lynn Lake, 80 miles in the wrong direction.
We're taking out one battery.
We're just gonna run a series with three batteries and get the fucking thing back started.
And we're just gonna do what we can do.
Narrator: A convoy backtracks down the winter road - with Todd's truck one battery down - It ain't no joke.
It ain't a piddly little game.
I mean, it's definitely nuts up here.
Narrator: And freelance driver Derek Vivier's health in jeopardy.
I mean, my whole body is starting to convulse.
I think I got a fair bit in my throat, because my throat is starting to swell up.
It feels bad but, um I'm just trying to be optimistic at this point.
[Clears throat.]
Literally, the left side of my head just feels like it's on fire.
Todd's batteries are gonna die pretty soon.
I don't know what's gonna happen there, man.
Kind of in a rush to get poor, um, Derek to the hospital because the acid-- he can't get it out of his skin, eh? Burned his face all to hell.
That stuff is burning him as we speak.
[Radio beeping.]
We're jinxed.
Narrator: Back in Winnipeg [Sirens blaring.]
That's a VP truck? Narrator: Hugh sent his new recruit to shut down Polar Industries.
Uh-oh.
Wonder what's going on there.
Oh, fuck, and he's got the cops behind him.
[Giggling.]
[Laughs.]
You guys, I'll cancel everything right now.
Put it down.
So what's going on? I make the decision to change company.
Well, you can't block the gate.
You gotta move.
There.
[Scoffs.]
We got the truck outta the way.
The cops came by, escorted him off the property.
Where are those two cowards? Sending Yuri over here to do their dirty work.
You know what, Hugh? Karma's a bitch.
You got yours coming to you soon.
You watch.
[Horn honking.]
Narrator: - Polar may be back in business - Try not to get into it.
Just do my job.
Narrator: but thanks to Hugh, Lisa Kelly's running out of time.
The trip can take up to eight hours, but she's only got six before Mark's promise to the village is broken.
Away I go to Bloodvein a little later than I would've liked to, but we had a holdup with whatever drama was going on today that I don't care about.
We're not here to play.
My job is to drive this truck and get the freight to the villages in the certain time period that we have.
Narrator: And with the clock ticking, it might be too late.
Get this Bloodvein run done.
[Horn blaring.]
Narrator: - 670 miles north - Here's the paperwork for that load.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Sure.
Take care.
Narrator: Polar teammate Alex Debogorski is also starting an urgent mission [Horn honking.]
Hauling the final load of a $100,000 contract.
I'm actually riding off into the sunset.
You go, "Look, oh, is the sun going down? Oh, it must be time to go to work for me!" [Laughing.]
Narrator: He's headed to the town of Shamattawa, and he's only got until morning to make the delivery.
Okay.
Narrator: But after a season of handling every challenge - thrown at him - We're off like a hurdle of turtles.
Narrator: The 40-year veteran brushes off the pressure.
Look at the howling wolves over there.
[Howling.]
[Barking.]
[Howling.]
We used to make the coyotes talk back to us.
At night, have nothing to do on the farms.
You go get the coyotes excited.
Or the "coyotees" or whatever you call 'em.
Coyotes, "coyootes.
" [Imitating coyotes.]
[Sirens blaring.]
[Barking.]
Oh.
I guess I must have made somebody unhappy.
I'm getting pulled over by the police.
One more circus for me today, I guess.
I don't know what I did wrong.
Way too much fun this morning.
I really don't have time for all this.
You've gotta be kidding me.
Good morning, sir.
- You didn't hear my siren? - I didn't hear the siren, sir.
- You didn't hear my siren? - No, I didn't.
You ever look in your mirrors? You were speeding on the bridge.
That's the reason why you're getting stopped, okay? It's a 50 zone and you're traveling at 70 - kilometers an hour across the bridge.
- Yes, sir.
You're gonna get a ticket for speeding, okay? Slow it down.
Goodness grief.
I mean, that's a really bad ticket.
[Horn honks.]
Narrator: - Now Alex is falling behind - It's already 3:00.
Narrator: and time is running out.
Are we gonna be too late to unload? Gonna look like a royal ass, showing up there late.
So I got some time to make up.
Narrator: - Coming up - Holy mackerel! Narrator: Alex feels the heat [Air escaping.]
- Oh, jeez! - Oh! Narrator: And the King puts Oh! Narrator: - In the town of Lynn Lake - She never ends, buddy.
Narrator: The VP Express convoy made it to the hospital after a battery explosion [Battery explodes.]
Aah! Narrator: Left two drivers injured and one truck in no shape for the winter road.
The acid got all over his face and his clothes and his pants and everything else.
Now it's burning him.
He can't get it off.
Narrator: At the medical center, Art waits for word on Derek's condition.
My plan is I'm gonna wait here at the hospital, make sure he's okay, and see what's going on.
And then when this is all straightened out, he's doing good, then we'll talk to Todd.
A battery blowing up in somebody's face like that, it could have killed us.
Gotta be the alternator.
I don't know what else it could be.
Narrator: After getting checked out at the hospital, Todd's in the clear.
But he barely made it to town on three batteries and the problem is worse than he thought.
You know, I've gone through the batteries.
I've gone through all the wiring to the alternator.
The batteries are hooked up and linked the proper way, and, uh There's no-- it's-- obviously the alternator fried out.
And when the alternator fried out, it was shorting out.
Kept 100%.
Obviously it got one battery so freakin' hot that it blew up.
[Sirens blaring.]
It's just a big halt.
Everybody's fucked.
Everybody's not making any fucking money.
Everybody's pissed off.
Everybody's frustrated.
Just fucking another fucking wonderful day on the fucking ice road.
- Hey! You made her, buddy.
- That was interesting.
- How'd you make out? - Got some burn cream.
- I got a chemical burn, a good I had to go for a chemical shower.
I'm fucked.
Very lucky, he says.
- Hey, buddy, you were lucky.
- Yeah, no doubt.
Narrator: While Derek's recovery is good news, Todd's truck and the convoy are down for the count.
Every trip, buddy, eh? - 680 miles south - I'm on the winter road headed toward Bloodvein with this load of construction supplies, building materials.
Narrator: Lisa Kelly's on a mission to deliver a load of scaffolding and pick up a time-sensitive backhaul before the site closes.
Feel like I'm making pretty good time.
So just trying to get there and get it done.
We have very limited time.
So this is kinda the-- it is-- it is actually like a mad rush to get this stuff where it's gotta go.
Gotta stay on it today.
Narrator: She's made up time after being delayed by Hugh.
And if there are no more delays, she'll deliver without a minute to spare.
What the heck? I see a big danger sign.
I don't know what it says yet though.
Oh, "blasting area.
" Oh, crap.
Just pulled up and got stopped by a flag person.
I'm not sure what's going on, why we're stopped or anything.
I'm gonna go see what's going on here.
- Hi! - Hi.
Am I gonna be able to get through and get outta here? Well, we just did a blast here.
We got rock all over the road.
- All right? - Thank you.
Okay.
Narrator: Maintenance on the road can only be done when the swamp land is frozen solid.
And blasting is the only way crews can break through the rocky ice.
Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while.
They gotta move the rock before we can go through.
This is bull.
Here comes the loader.
Maybe they're just polishing off the rest of the rock, so we can go through.
Looks like we can go now.
Looks like it's all cleared here.
So hopefully we can get on through.
Thank you! Every single thing that's delaying us is setting me back.
Blasting zones and truck drivers blocking highways and people getting arrested, and They're counting on me to get there, and they're counting on me to get this done.
Narrator: She made it through the blast zone.
But as she closes in on the off-load site Well, there's a truck coming.
The crew's already heading home for the day.
Yeah, I gotta jump out real quick.
Our trailer you were supposed to grab, it's all loaded, strapped down, ready to go.
Oh, awesome! Cool.
Happy he stopped right there.
Which is cool, 'cause if I would've just kept driving, I would've never known that.
So now I know what I've got.
Narrator: Lisa's just in time to make the delivery and pick up her backhaul.
We gotta get this out of Bloodvein, and we gotta get it to Winnipeg.
Gotta keep it moving, get it back.
No such thing as an easy day.
Narrator: 700 miles north - in the Canadian wilderness - The cats are a passe way of freighting.
It's an obsolete way.
That's why I'm into 'em.
Narrator: Joey Barnes, the King of Obsolete, is on a quest to salvage a generator from an abandoned campsite.
They can't afford to build all these roads for a transport truck to haul in.
The cat train is the way to go.
Narrator: In the 1940s, before the birth of ice road trucking, cat trains were used to haul freight in the north.
I tell everybody I should've been born in the '40s when cat trains were popular.
In the '40s, they were simpler times.
And people were honest.
You worked hard, you got your paycheck.
Narrator: To reach the camp, the King will have to cross a mile-wide lake.
He has to trust his instincts to lead the 60-ton cat train across the unmonitored ice.
As the cat train crosses the lake, each vehicle adds more pressure to the ice and pushing it too far can be fatal.
Cats or the sleighs go out on the ice, and you're taking a risk.
No way of checking every inch of the ice.
You could fall through.
That's why none of my cats have canopies, because you fall through the ice, you've got one chance to come up.
Oh! Narrator: In northern Manitoba hours from civilization the King's leading his 60-ton cat train across untested ice.
He's been hired by friend Jerry Umbach to recover a generator from a campsite where there are no roads.
Oh! The cat train's a unique way of transportating.
These skis are 9 feet long.
You spread 60 tons of weight across how many feet, when you got thin ice? That's scary.
Narrator: Across the lake, the King stops the cat train at the edge of the ice.
You know, you were breaking through the ice up there, weren't you? - Oh, I'm not too concerned.
- Do you know that? You weren't concerned 'cause you were ahead.
- That's right, you're the one.
- It's us guys coming behind.
Yeah.
And if you seen the water, that's okay.
- Yeah, splashing through water.
- That's okay.
It's going home we're gonna have trouble.
Narrator: And now, all they have to do is recover the generator.
Yeah, this is-- this is the camp here.
We're finally here, so now we gotta get Jerry up to where the generator is.
He's 71, born in 1941.
He'll drive the famous black cat, made in 1941.
The senior citizen has to drive.
I get to hang on.
Well, we arrived here at the camp.
- She's free.
- Yeah.
We're now picking up the generator.
- We said we'd do this job, and we will.
- We got the engine.
It's a pretty cool little engine.
And now we gotta try to bully this thing out of here.
Whoops! Yeah.
Narrator: They wrestle the generator free and secure it to the cat train.
We're gonna be late for supper, the rate we're going here.
We've never been late for supper, have we, Jerry? That's right.
Okay.
All right, let's go.
Back to the Kingdom.
No, I do it for the customers, you know, for the guys.
And the thing is, it's the same rate if I worked 8 hours a day or if I worked, you know, 14 or 15 hours.
You get one chance to make money, and you get it done.
Narrator: The generator has been recovered, and the King and his crew start the journey back to the Kingdom.
But I chose to live up here.
I chose to move up here.
I chose to stay up here.
I chose to raise my daughter up here.
That's what I've chose.
I'm gonna keep doing this till I'm in a pine box pushing up daisies.
Narrator: 300 miles southeast [Horn honks.]
I just keep driving till I gotta stop.
Narrator: Alex Debogorski's racing to deliver the final load in Polar's contract with the village of Shamattawa.
The road's going reasonably well.
Do what we gotta do.
I got 140 kilometers left.
I think I'm making pretty good speed.
I feel like I'm going faster than I was last time in here.
I should be in Shamattawa in the morning.
Narrator: Every load must be delivered by morning to claim the $100,000 payday.
So Alex is driving through the night.
[Beeping.]
Well, I don't know why that "check engine" light's on.
I'm concerned that maybe I'm a little low on oil, but I'm scared to shut the truck down out here in case it doesn't start.
Well, if it's just fuel, it might clear up.
If it's a mechanical problem, it's gonna fail.
And then I guess we're gonna put my winter gear on and wait for spring.
But the engine's running rough.
It's starting to run really crappy.
I got a problem.
So I was looking back there, and I just didn't like the color of the smoke.
It's just making really-- there's a gray-- gray smoke hanging there in the air.
The plan is to stop, have a look at it.
Narrator: Hundreds of miles from help, Alex can't leave anything to chance.
Well, I'm gonna jump out there, freeze my rear end.
Take a quick look underneath, see if we got any oil leaks, look at the load.
I absolutely can't see nothing, so-- Looks nice and dry under there.
You smell that? What the hell? Smell that electrical smell again.
It's getting awful strong in here.
Holy fuck! Holy mackerel! Get out of the truck.
Oh! We're starting to get into the rough of it now.
Narrator: - Next time - Aah! Narrator: - on Ice Road Truckers - Oh, you fucking licker! Narrator: VP Express reaches the breaking point I got told by the bosses.
The cement truck is good to go.
You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic and turn wrenches and try to get fucking fired up.
This is bullshit.
Narrator: - While Team Polar - Where the hell are we? Narrator: is heading in the wrong direction.
Holy fuck! Ooh! Narrator: And the King of Obsolete breaks through.
Doesn't look all that friendly.
Ah, it doesn't look good.
Whoa! Fuck!