Toughest Forces on Earth (2024) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[electronic warble]
[wind whistling]
[electronic warble]
[indistinct chatter]
[Cameron] I'm wondering why the hell
I'm about to jump
into a freezing ice hole.
[tense music playing]
[ice scraping]
- [opening theme playing]
- [blades whirring]
[Ryan] We are three former
special operation soldiers
on a mission to go deep inside
the most elite and secretive
fighting forces in the world.
[gunshots]
[Dean] I'm Dean Stott,
former SBS British special forces.
Times like this, you can hear
your heartbeat in your ears.
[gunshot]
[Cameron] I'm Cameron Fath,
former United States Army Ranger.
- Not bad for a day's work.
- [gun cocks]
[Ryan] And that guy, at home in the swamp,
that's me, former Navy SEAL Ryan Bates.
I'm not gonna lie. I'm kind of a big deal.
And these are
the Toughest Forces on Earth.
- Good to go.
- [gunshot]
[blades whirring]
[electronic warble]
[electronic warble]
[wind whistling]
[bird cawing]
[engine roaring]
[tense music playing]
- Dean, are we lost?
- [Dean] There's no such thing as lost.
There's a word called
"navigationally challenged,"
but never lost.
We're gonna go meet the Airborne Rangers.
Airborne Rangers, huh?
These guys are the experts
in Arctic survival.
The unit we will be training alongside
are the Parachute Rangers,
one of the most elite units
in all of Sweden.
We'll be joining them
on their SERE Arctic survival training.
In Sweden, SERE stands for survival,
evasion, resistance, and extraction.
- [engine roaring]
- [upbeat music playing]
I did Arctic training.
Never on skis, though.
This is my first time.
It's gonna be a new adventure for me,
especially since I've never skied.
I'm just gonna pay attention
and learn from the best.
What is this, uh,
little tuna can that we're in?
[Dean] This is called the Bandvagn.
[electronic warble]
[Dean] The Swedish-built BvS10
is a perfect vehicle
for the Arctic environment.
Its weight is distributed
over four individually-powered tracks,
making it highly mobile
across soft snow and ice.
[upbeat music continues]
[upbeat music ends]
[Cameron] Time to meet the Para Rangers
we'll be spending the next six days with.
[tense music playing]
[Dean] Morning, gents.
- [men] Morning.
- [Dean] How's it going?
- Good. How are you?
- [Cameron] Good.
I'm Dean.
- How's it going? Nice to meet you.
- [Dean] Nice to meet you.
Do you guys got any advice
going into this?
Any, uh, golden rules of thumb
we should live by?
Make sure that before you start moving,
take off your clothes.
You will have a limited number
of base layers that will keep you warm.
If you start sweating through those,
and you stop and they're wet,
that's when things get really rough.
If you sweat, you die.
- Okay.
- That's [laughs]
What sort of temperatures
are we expecting this week?
They could drop down to -30/-40,
if we're unlucky.
- [man 2] Let's get gear on and get out.
- [Cameron] Let's do it.
- [Ryan] Get this off. Yeah.
- [Stefan] Okay. Great.
- [Cameron] Oh, tight.
- [man 2] But it's good. Tight is good.
- [Cameron] Good?
- [man 2] Yes.
It keeps the sweat moving away
from your skin the whole time.
- And then you have the
- [Ryan] Outer layers are looser?
Outer layer is looser. Exactly.
- [Ryan] Okay.
- [men laughing]
[Ryan] Good one.
They're Now they're backwards.
- Oh, they're backwards?
- [Stefan] Yep, they're backwards.
- [Dean] So I have the hole there.
- [Ryan] Easy access.
- [men laughing]
- [Ryan] Is that a tramp stamp?
You have a tramp stamp
on your lower back. I never knew that.
- [Dean] Have you read what it says?
- "Mama tried"?
[laughing] "Mama tried"?
[tense music playing]
[electronic warble]
Welcome to
the Swedish Armed Forces SERE school.
- I am Major Jonas. I'm the commander.
- [electronic warble]
The course starts with a training phase
and ends with an exercise
that we call the final mission.
The Swedish Parachute Rangers,
they have a robust winter training,
but I don't know so much
about Dean, Ryan, and Cameron.
Uh, I've been fortunate to go to Norway.
So, I've done my, uh, ski instructor's
and my Arctic warfare.
Okay.
As far as, uh, survival in this type
of environment, very minimal experience.
Okay. Ryan?
We do, uh, a Naval Special Warfare,
uh, winter program up in Alaska,
but in snowshoes, never skis.
[Jonas] Okay,
then we start with ski training.
So you follow Sergeant Major Max,
except for Dean,
you go with me for weapons training.
[Max] Okay. Follow me, guys.
[Jonas] Come here.
[tense music playing]
[engine revving]
[Dean] The Arctic region covers
14 million square kilometers,
one and a half times
the size of the United States.
There's eight countries in the region.
That's why there's potential for trouble.
So it's vital for the Swedish Army
to keep up their Arctic warfare skills.
[wind whistling]
[Jonas] Okay, this is the Ak 5.
[electronic warble]
So, the Swedish adaption,
er, to the cold weather
is that we have a wider trigger guard,
and also the cocking handle is bigger.
So, you can move the cocking handle
and pull the trigger with your gloves on.
[Dean] The white tape provides
extra camouflage for the weapon,
and it stops
your skin freezing to the metal.
[Jonas] When you are in cold weather,
always keep the weapon clear
from ice and snow.
If you get snow in the muzzle,
it could burst when you fire the gun.
[wind whistling]
[Jonas] You see the enemy.
First thing,
you need to get rid of your glove.
Like that.
[Dean] The outer mitten comes off,
but a wide trigger guard means
you can still wear your inner glove
to press the trigger.
[Jonas] Then take the position.
[gunshot]
[Jonas inhales]
[Dean] Now it's my turn.
[tense music playing]
[gunshots]
[tense music ends]
Your first lesson will be
one of the most important.
It will be about skiing.
[Stefan] When the Parachute Rangers,
when they go out there,
it looks very easy and smooth.
They've been skiing since they were kids.
[Max] Ooh. That's good.
[Cameron] Flexibility.
[Max] You're a natural.
[Ryan] What did you do?
[Max] No, the other one.
You're locking yourself in.
- [Ryan] This one?
- [Max] Yeah, the left.
- [Ryan] Move it forward?
- [Max] No, like this.
[Cameron] Be a ballerina, bro.
[Ryan] I'm not flexible, dude.
[all laughing]
[Max] Cameron,
you can, uh, get off your skis.
We will do this drill.
- Holy Jesus Christ.
- [chuckles]
[Max] Okay. Cameron, I want you to follow
the tree line and I will walk beside you.
Okay. All right, I'm ready when you are.
Okay, let's go.
You picked the perfect person.
He's been trained for this.
- Go, Cameron. Hurry up.
- [Stefan laughs]
Come on, dude.
- Man.
- [Max] Speed up a little bit.
- Okay. Hold on, my face is buried.
- [Ryan] He's gotta be sweating.
Hey, don't sweat. If you sweat, you die.
[in Swedish] He's getting nowhere.
[in Swedish]
He's going to have to work for it.
[Cameron in English]
I'm tired, I'm sweating,
and on top of it all,
I've only gone 100 meters.
[Max] So, Cameron,
if you were being ambushed here,
would you like your skis or not?
[Cameron panting] I would absolutely like
some skis right now.
[Cameron pants]
And I'm in a hole. [laughs]
You can just see his head pretty much.
- Yeah.
- [both laugh]
That was a smoker.
Really shows how vital those skis are.
[panting] I'm very very jealous
that you have those on right now.
[wind whistling]
[gunshots]
[Jonas] Good shot.
Yeah, it feels good. You have to You have
to think about every movement and
[spluttering] You're re-teaching yourself
how to how to fire a weapon.
I mean, we're lucky
because no one's shooting back.
- Yeah.
- Different when someone's shoots back.
[tense music playing]
[Ryan] Medic!
[laughing] Man down.
Must look like I fell.
Not being able to stop, um,
then also falling in deep snow
and not be able to get up
I've had ten minutes learning this.
it was pretty rough. Definitely,
uh, didn't look very elite. [chuckles]
I keep falling back down the hill.
Go Going up and I keep falling back.
So, trying to figure it out.
You will improve.
Actually, you have to improve,
otherwise the final mission
will be really hard for you
when you are walking out there
on skis in the deep snow.
All right. [sighs]
On the job training.
[tense music playing]
[Cameron] Max definitely showed
why he is an instructor here.
The way he was gliding
on those skis was it was crazy.
[Ryan] I'm trying to catch Max.
He's quick.
[chuckles]
And there she goes. [laughs]
[wind whistling]
[Ryan] I look cool, right?
- Right?
- [Cameron] Amazing.
Thanks. Thanks, guys. [chuckles]
Hey, good day on the range today.
- Yeah, what were you shooting?
- It was an Ak 5 with aim point.
Did you do it with skis on?
[spluttering] Yeah, with skis,
different firing positions from skis.
Like, we were obviously just trying
to get through the day by not falling.
- Yeah. We didn't even have weapons.
- I know, right?
Couple times when I fell, I was like,
"What would I do
if I was trying to shoot and move?"
- Yeah.
- We definitely need more training.
- More time on skis, definitely.
- Yeah, more time.
And then me and Ryan
might take a Swedish ballet class.
[all laugh]
- [wind whistling]
- [tense music playing]
[electronic warble]
[Ryan] Just packing up, getting ready
for this long, grueling day in the cold.
You have your bottles,
and then you have here.
- That's your snow cover.
- Yeah. Okay.
- Full vest.
- Okay.
- Weapon.
- Yeah.
- And your backpack. We're gonna go skiing.
- [Ryan] Okay. Okay.
- [Erik] Uh, change of clothes.
- [Ryan] Yep.
- [Erik] A change of socks. Extra gloves.
- [Ryan] Okay.
Another day in the Arctic.
What is the temperature out today, boys?
It was -22 this night.
- Are you serious?
- [Stefan] Yes.
[Ryan] You look serious.
I'm always serious.
[Ryan laughs]
[tense music playing]
[electronic warble]
Fire is your best friend.
It could give you heat.
Uh, you can have it
for melting snow to water.
[Ryan] The reason why you want
to melt snow before consuming it
is if you eat fresh snow,
it'll bring down your core temperature,
and you have to burn precious calories
to warm yourself back up.
So, today we're going to show you
a technique on how you could melt snow
into drinking water.
We call it a marshmallow.
You, uh, put a piece
of compacted snow onto a stick
and let it close to the fire.
Close enough for it to drip
down into your cup.
To make a fire is a basic survival skill.
You need three components.
Oxygen, fuel, and some heat.
A fire steel is
a good fire starter, reliable,
because it's not sensitive to water.
Take some birchbark to start with.
Like that.
Max, are you angling
this smoke to me on purpose?
- [Max] Yeah.
- Why is that?
The smoke always turns to the biggest
- [Ryan] What?
- bum.
- [Cameron] Say it.
- [all laugh]
And this will be a competition,
and the first team
who has a cup filled with water
is the winning team. Okay, so off you go.
- Let's go.
- Okay.
[Ryan] They're splitting this up
into two different teams.
Eagle 1 and Eagle 2.
Eagle 1 will be Dean,
because he's got a big ego.
He likes to talk a lot,
so they put him by himself.
And then me and Cameron,
which are the modest Americans,
Eagle 2, which is a little bit cooler.
[tense music playing]
[Ryan] Step 1, dig a hole,
so you can protect your fire
from the elements and retain heat.
Step 2, collect wood.
We've got some kindling, which we'll need
for the initial lighting of the fire.
You're gonna need
a lot more of this, actually,
uh, and then just some twigs.
[Cameron exhales]
[Ryan] Step 3, light the fire.
[Cameron] We're in business!
Cameron. Really good, Cameron.
We got our fire started.
We are whooping their asses.
[Dean] I could start the fire now.
[spluttering] The mistake is to
rush and start the fire early,
and then you've run out of actual fuel.
[fire crackling]
[Max] Find a good spot
for the marshmallow.
[Cameron] Uh, yeah.
[tense music intensifies]
[Dean] Just angling the knife,
getting it at the right angle.
- [Max] There we go.
- [Dean] Then we get the right spark.
[Max] Yeah. Perfect, Stefan. Nice.
Everything's ready.
Not the marshmallow I normally expect,
but hopefully it'll taste better.
- We got the fire going.
- Yeah.
It was easy to get going
right off the bat. Easy start.
Uh, but now just trying to get it large
is what we're having issues with.
I think you need to, uh,
get the smaller twigs going,
so you get the heat up
before you add any more sticks.
[Cameron] We were the first ones
to get our fire going.
- [Elisabeth] Go.
- [Ryan] Blow.
[Cameron] But now,
Dean seems to be taking the lead.
I'm not usually the type of guy
to make excuses,
but Dean's team is
made up of all Parachute Rangers
and I have Ryan.
[groans, laughs]
Goddamn.
[Max] Now, you see it start dripping.
Just, uh, watch out
you don't melt the the cup here.
[man] We got a winner!
[Stefan] Eagle 1! Eagle 1.
Good cup.
- [Ryan] We lost?
- Yeah.
What happened? What did we do?
[Elisabeth] They made a good effort.
I don't think they understood
how much oxygen the fire really needs.
So the hole was a bit too small.
So they always had to blow on the fire
because it didn't get enough oxygen,
so it just died straight away.
[Dean] Cameron, Ryan.
Do you want a drink, guys?
They're ignoring me.
Pretty pissed, man.
We'll enjoy this drink,
then give them a hand.
We've taken the early lead.
We just need to maintain it.
[tense music playing]
[electronic warble]
[wind whistling]
[electronic warble]
[Cameron] Today, we have to prepare
for the toughest piece of training
we're gonna do here in Sweden,
the dreaded ice hole.
Got all my my warmies.
[Cameron sniffles]
I think I'm coming down
with something. So, I think, uh
I think an ice bath
might be exactly what I need right now.
[tense music playing]
[Dean] To get to the ice hole,
we need to drive the snowmobile.
Whose bright idea was that?
[engine revving, stopping]
- [Cameron] Oh no.
- [Ryan laughs]
- [Dean] You get that on camera?
- [Cameron] .
So, I can't stop hearing
how Dean won the fire competition,
but when it comes to snowmobiles,
the guy drives
like an 85-year-old that can't see.
I guess I'm going first. [laughs]
Let's go, Dean!
You ready?
[engine revving]
[tense music intensifies]
A lot of people think as you get stuck,
you let off the throttle,
but you gotta power through.
[engine revving]
- [man 1] Don't stop! Go!
- [man 2] Go!
[Cameron] Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes,
many of which
are frozen throughout winter.
During an evasion,
you might have to cross, uh, ice,
and if you're unlucky,
you can end up in the water.
This next training will raise your,
uh, chance of survival by 80%.
That's why we do this.
[ice cracking]
[Cameron]
Falling in can cause hyperventilation.
Even if you escape that,
it only takes a couple of minutes
before hypothermia sets in.
So you need to know
how to stay calm and get out.
First up, I want you to,
uh, change into overalls,
hat, thin gloves, training shoes.
[Ryan] Let's go.
We want you to use
the ends of your ski poles as ice picks.
And we want you to drag yourself
out of the water.
Dean, you're gonna be first.
[Dean] It's been 20 years
since I did the ice hole drill.
It's all about controlling your breathing,
not panicking,
and remaining composed.
Yes. Good.
Place your foot in the skis.
[Dean] Water conducts heat away
from the body 25 times faster than air.
So, it's crucial you get out
as quick as possible.
[water splashing]
[tense music playing]
[Elisabeth] Good.
Nice.
[Dean] Sharp reminder
how how cold it actually is.
In theory, it sounds easy
[man coughs]
but it doesn't matter how many times
you've done that it still feels bad.
This is a natural hot spring, right?
- It's a natural hot spring?
- [man] Yeah. It's really hot.
[ice scraping]
[water splashing]
[Ryan] Uh, I'm freezing.
My balls are up in my stomach.
All I can think about
is getting out and getting warm.
[Elisabeth] Good.
Ice picks.
Good.
Good.
- [Jonas, Elisabeth] Good work.
- [Max] Well done.
[tense music playing]
[Cameron] I'm wondering why the hell
I'm about to jump
into a freezing ice hole.
The water is frickin' cold,
causing me to start sinking
and panic starting to set in.
All I want to do
is get the hell out of this water,
but I can't until I get my goddamn skis.
[Elisabeth] Yeah, it's behind you.
[Max] Go on.
[tense music continues]
[tense music ends]
[Cameron panting]
[Elisabeth] Good.
[Cameron] Feels like pins and needles
are all over my hands.
I didn't know how bad it was gonna be,
but it's pretty freaking bad.
[Max] Shaking heavily.
He, uh, can't use his hands,
and his feet are very, very cold.
He's getting close to hypothermia.
[Cameron] I went into this
not feeling good.
- [coughs]
- [Max] Yeah.
So, it just shows you how much
of an impact the cold really has.
- [Max] Yeah.
- 'Cause everybody else is walking fine.
Dean, Ryan, and Cameron,
they handled the shock by the cold water,
yeah, in a good way.
Cameron, he struggled a little bit.
The first time is always the hardest one.
So, Cameron, he completed that now.
[Cameron] The ice hole is one
of the hardest things I've ever had to do
- [ice scraping]
- [water splashing]
but to the Para Rangers,
it's nothing more than a dip in the pool.
[water splashing]
[wind whistling]
[tense music playing]
[electronic warble]
[Cameron] After the ice hole, I've woken
up today feeling absolutely terrible.
- [coughing]
- If I don't take the day off,
I'm not gonna be of any use
on the final mission.
So, I'm gonna get some rest.
[tense music continues]
[electronic warble]
[Ryan] In sub-zero temperatures,
your body has to work so much harder
to keep itself warm.
So, you have to eat
double the calories to keep going.
I'm too old for this shit. [chuckles]
When you're in a mission,
you bring food and gear for that mission,
but if you get caught
in an evasion situation,
you're staying more than one, two days
past when you're supposed to leave,
you'll have to start searching,
whether that be hunting,
fishing, or gathering food.
And, honestly, in the Arctic,
is one of the hardest environments
to find these things.
[tense music ends]
[Jonas] So, if a soldier gets isolated
and is really starving,
fishing is a really good way
to get protein and energy.
I would like you to make two fishing rods
per team, Eagle 1 and Eagle 2.
[tense music playing]
[Jonas] You get scissors,
steel wire, fishing line,
a whole lot of things
you get in the woods.
[Ryan] Okay? Yeah.
[Dean] When digging a hole on a lake
here in the Arctic Circle,
there is no right or wrong place.
The lake is full of fish.
You basically want to try
and break through the ice
and get your hook in.
[Ryan grunting]
[Ryan] So, right now,
we've chopped through the outer shell,
and water came up,
and there's another layer of ice below it.
So, it's a
So now we're getting wet
in the Arctic again. [chuckles]
This is a locking line
and is going to get wedged into this "Y"
on the branch,
and so when the fish takes the bait,
it's obviously gonna struggle and pull.
But what it's gonna do
is just wedge itself completely in here.
All right, let's catch some fish, boys.
So, Stefan is now covering the hole,
uh, protecting it.
I always stick a piece of spruce
in the top so I know where it is.
[wind whistling]
Okay, guys, if you don't have fishing gear
you need to find other solutions.
That way.
[tense music playing]
[fire crackling]
The thing that I'm gonna show you today
might be the only thing edible
that you can find.
This furry stuff is called lichen.
[Ryan] If you have zero food
in the Arctic,
lichen contains vital minerals
and nutrients to survive.
It also contains antibacterial properties
that can treat wounds
if you're far from a hospital.
Are you ready to taste
some of my lichen soup?
- Yes.
- Let's do it.
- I'm a trained chef. I hope you like it.
- [Ryan] All right.
[Elisabeth] I want to see
clean containers after this.
Looks like soggy seaweed.
I think it resembles something that you,
uh, take out of the shower drain.
[Ryan] That's what it is,
like hair clumps.
- [Elisabeth] It's not too bad, right?
- [man] No.
[Ryan] What are you talking about?
This is terrible.
[laughing] It's not too bad!
Buddy system, here. Go on.
Oh. More. Go on. Yeah.
No. [coughs]
Ryan, in nature,
there's no time to be picky.
You have to eat whatever you can find.
[upbeat music playing]
All right, boys. Time of truth.
Oh, it's heavier!
[men cheering]
- Hey, Dean!
- Yeah.
- We got our fish before you.
- Oh really?
Look at this, buddy. Look.
No.
I guess, uh,
I guess we beat you this time, huh?
Why don't you start one of those big fires
you're so good at so we can cook this up?
Come back over.
We'll teach you how to make one.
- [somber music playing]
- [wind whistling]
- [sniffles]
- Cameron, how are you feeling?
[clears throat] In all honesty, Elisabeth,
I'm not doing too hot right now.
Just headaches and body aches,
and, you know.
So, the instructors have come together
and discussed the situation,
and I hate to be the bearer of bad news,
but we have decided
that you will not be joining Eagle 2
for the final mission.
I mean, I get it.
I mean, it's not good news at all
since, you know,
I want to be out there with the guys.
Of course, yeah.
But, I mean, it is what it is.
I completely get it, you know.
- All right.
- Thanks, Elisabeth.
Take care and hope
to see you back out there soon.
- Okay. Yeah, sounds good. Thank you.
- All right?
[Cameron]
Honestly, it's a terrible feeling.
Uh, I came out here
to experience, you know,
why the Arctic is so tough.
I think I found out
earlier than I should have,
but, uh,
if I decided to push myself out there,
which I'd really like to,
I could end up much, much worse.
[somber music ends]
[wind whistling]
[electronic warble]
The final exercise is
everything we've learned this week
with Max and Elisabeth,
so I'm keen to impress them
and let them know I've taken on board
everything they've taught me.
[Ryan] The thing
I'm a little bit nervous about is
shooting and moving in skis.
I've never done it before.
I just learned how to ski four days ago.
[chuckles] And now we've got over 50,
60 pounds on our back. Maybe more.
I don't feel completely 100%.
[wind whistling]
[Max] Now you're going out
on the final mission.
You have to practice
all skills and techniques
that we've been through this course.
You will experience hunger
and, uh, fatigue.
There will be no instructors
helping you out if you struggle.
You have to take care of yourself
and your team.
Good luck.
Proceed.
Our mission is
to conduct a reconnaissance.
[tense music playing]
As soon as we cross this bridge,
we're in enemy territory.
We're gonna take down a radio mast.
[engines revving]
[Elisabeth] During this final mission,
the first thing the students
are going to do is evade a hunter force.
[tense music continues]
[Max] The reason we put the hunter force
is to, uh, force them into enemy contact,
and force them to start an evasion.
They are behind enemy lines,
and they are isolated.
[Ryan] Oh yeah.
[Stefan] Right now we are camouflaging up
our snowmobiles,
make sure you can't see them.
We're gonna put on our skis.
We're patrolling
about ten kilometers right now.
[tense music continues]
[wind whistling]
The Ski-Doos are quite loud,
so we've had to drop them off early.
We don't want to give away our position.
[exhales]
[Ryan] It's tough
but keeping up with the pack.
That's all I can ask for. I've not fallen.
Skiing a little better today.
[tense music ends]
[Dean] Now and then we'll have
a listening stop.
It's called a soak period
and just gives us an opportunity
to listen to the environment
and hear any unnatural sounds
that we wouldn't expect in this region.
And that'd be an early telltale sign
that there is potentially
an enemy in the area.
[wind whistling]
[dog barking]
[dog barking]
[dog continues barking]
[tense music playing]
[dog panting, barking]
[Ryan] The key to a great ambush
is overwhelming firepower.
Taking out your enemy
before they know what hits them.
[dog barking]
[Ryan] Contact front!
[gunshots]
Cease fire!
[all] Cease fire!
Watch and shoot! Watch and shoot!
[men] Watch and shoot!
[tense music intensifies]
[Dean] So, we ambushed the enemy.
Massive weight of fire down
to neutralize them.
Unfortunately,
our original mission
has now been compromised.
We can't risk that that information,
or even the sound of the ambush,
has given away our position.
So, we're now gonna have to
[exhales]escape and evade.
[tense music continues]
[Dean] Friendly aircraft will be
monitoring and patrolling this area.
So, our aim is to attract attention
as quickly as possible and get extracted.
In case we have an airplane, or anything
coming across, that are able to see us
[Ryan] Yeah.
- we can communicate by fire.
- [Ryan] Okay.
So, you are the fire starter,
so prepare for that.
Okay.
[metal scraping]
[Ryan] Those fire skills.
You see that, boys?
Exercise, exercise, exercise.
This is Eagle 1.
[Dean] In this environment, the batteries
for the communication equipment
drains a lot quicker,
so the Parachute Rangers keep them warm
by carrying them close to their bodies.
Any airplane
any airplane near Spruce Mountain?
[Dean] We started grabbing branches
to form a large V sign,
so any aircraft flying above
will be able to identify that feature.
[ranger] This is Eagle 1. Over.
[electronic warble]
[Dean] The Swedish-made Gripen jet
is perfect for Arctic warfare.
The front wings increase the lift
and maneuverability,
great for landing on short runways
like frozen lakes and snow-covered roads.
[tense music intensifies]
[pilot] Eagle 1.
Do you have your signal fire?
[ranger] Yes. Over.
[engines roaring]
[laughs] That's awesome.
[pilot talking indistinctly]
I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of a big deal.
Just to let you know.
They wouldn't have seen it
if it wasn't for this.
[engines roaring]
So, they will now go back,
report where they saw us,
and they will hopefully
start ramping up an extraction for us.
Worst-case scenario that they may not be
coming for a day or two, or even longer.
[tense music playing]
[Ryan] I'm going to be pulling out
my shovel now, and I'm gonna shovel snow
for the next couple of hours
and make a quinzhee, which is a home.
The aim is basically to build
a two-meter high mound of compact snow.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ryan] Now Erik's kind of stomping it
down, to make the snow compact.
[Ryan] Before we dig out
the inside of the shelter,
we need to make sure
the walls will be strong enough.
Packed snow is an excellent insulator
but liable to collapse.
So, the Para Rangers use sticks to ensure
the thickness of the walls
and roof are just right.
[Dean] These are sticks
of about 30 centimeters.
When we're digging in, as soon as you see
the sticks poking through,
you know there's 30 centimeters.
[Ryan] By the time
you dig into the quinzhee,
get your bedding ready, all that stuff,
it's a solid five, six hours
of building that thing to make it happen.
[wind whistling]
[Dean] We're starting to feel
the hunger now, so, um, tonight
we're gonna put some snares out
and hopefully catch something.
All right, guys. [pants]
I built a couple snares over here.
We're gonna try to trap a ptarmigan.
[Ryan] I grew up hunting
every bird you can think of,
from grouse to ducks to geese,
and actually learned
a little about trapping.
All right, what we do here
is to take all the birch limbs
and we make a fence so the ptarmigan,
which is a small grouse,
- can't get through.
- [Dean sniffles]
[Ryan] What they'll do is they'll come up,
go through this hole.
[Dean] Yeah.
When he feels the snare around his neck,
he'll try to fly,
and since [mimics wire closing]
pulls around his neck, kills it.
[Western music playing]
[Dean] Time is, uh, nearly nine o'clock.
That's me inside the quinzhee shelter.
Um, I'm the first one in, um,
easier if you do one person at a time.
'Cause it's quite tight in here,
and you don't want people banging around
and knocking some of the ice off the roof.
[Ryan] Para Rangers have
a cool little trick
to stay safe under the snow.
[Dean] So, we have a candle
in the quinzhee shelter.
What it is is an indicator to let us know
that there's actually oxygen
flowing through the quinzhee.
So should the candle go out,
it's an indicator there may be no oxygen
coming through the snow hole.
[Ryan] I'm kind of freaking out.
It's a little tight.
Somebody farted.
It smells disgusting in here
[Dean, Ryan laugh]
but we're gonna somehow pull this off.
[Ryan inhales, exhales]
[Ryan] If you don't hear us tomorrow,
remember we're at the bottom
of the pile of the snow.
Come get us. [chuckles]
The shovels are outside,
dig us out. [laughs]
[bird cawing]
- [tense music playing]
- [electronic warble]
[Ryan] Look at that.
Well job, Ryan.
Thank you.
Little sucker. I'm starving.
So, yeah, we teach you how we do here
in Sweden with the ptarmigans.
In a survival situation,
you really want to eat
everything you can from the bird.
[Ryan] So, if we had to
and we were in kind of a quick situation,
could we eat it raw?
Yeah, if you really have to.
But, uh, it's safer to boil it first.
It gives us the shits?
It would suck
if we got the shits out here.
- [Dean] Cooked? Is it?
- [ranger] It's ready. Ask the chef.
You guys hungry? Let me just get in there.
Oh, yeah. There we go. Yep.
- [Dean] How is it?
- Pretty tasty, buddy.
- [Dean] Yeah?
- Yeah.
- [Ryan] Tastes like duck.
- Yeah.
[Ryan] Yeah. [chuckles] Swedish duck.
- The best chef is the hunger.
- [Ryan chuckles]
- [electronic warble]
- [wind whistling]
Establish comms.
White Fox, this is Eagle 1.
[blades whirring]
[ranger] Bravo, Echo, Romeo.
[Dean] Probably one of the most
dangerous parts of the extraction
is the helicopter coming in.
[Ryan pants, sniffles]
The enemy may throw smoke out
and pretend to be yourself.
So, we throw a colored smoke out
and ask the pilot
what color smoke he sees.
White Fox, we've put up smoke.
Confirm color of the smoke.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[pilot] Orange smoke confirmed.
[Ryan] Chopper inbound!
[tense music continues]
[upbeat music playing]
- All right.
- [Dean] Hey, Cameron.
What's up, fellas?
- [Dean] Good. How are you?
- Looking good.
- Feeling better? Nice.
- [Cameron] Yeah, man. Feeling good.
What's going on?
How you doing?
Alex, what's going on, buddy?
- How's it going?
- What's up, man? Missed you out there.
How you doing? You guys have a good time?
Yeah. It was good.
Definitely good training.
[Cameron] I'm jealous, man.
- [Dean] How are you feeling?
- Much better.
Uh, but if I didn't rest, I'd definitely
be screwed out there for you guys.
Glad you're back. I'm sure
you wanna get inside, get dry.
I got something for you.
- [Ryan] Really?
- [Cameron] Yes.
- Ah, Cameron.
- Absolutely. Yeah.
You think I'm gonna sit and do nothing
while you guys have all the fun?
[wind whistling]
[upbeat music playing]
I tell you what, boys,
this is well-deserved.
That was a hard week.
I've been to the Arctic before,
but that was a shock to the system for me.
I've never skied before,
so that day before yesterday
when we had that long trek,
it took it out of me, man.
My biggest takeaway was,
uh, they're so freaking tough.
Yeah. I think my proudest moment was, uh,
when we were on the helo and lifted off.
- Yeah.
- Just seeing the faces of the guys.
Knowing that we'd actually all got out.
[Ryan] Especially after we'd got
that snowstorm coming into it.
I look back at Dean.
He's just, like, trying to look at me.
It was just like
It was, like, just ice
- [Cameron] Just getting pelted, huh?
- [laughs] Yeah.
All right. Do you wanna raise a glass?
- To the Swedes!
- [Dean, Ryan] Yep.
- All right. Thank you, Sweden.
- [Dean] All right.
- Skål!
- [Ryan] Skål.
[upbeat music ends]
Next time
I've been in most environments before.
I think this is the most difficult.
[Cameron] Holy moly!
This is one of the craziest things
I've ever been a part of.
[Cameron] Go, go, go!
Let's go, boys! Let's go!
[tense music playing]
[man cheers]
Great explosion! I think they put
a little something extra with that C-4.
[tense music playing]
[tense music ends]