Ice Road Truckers (2007) s03e05 Episode Script

And new dangers emerge from The darkness of night.
hitting a moose is just like Hitting a brick wall.
There he goes right now.
Aw, geez.
at the top of the world [horn honks.]
There's a job only a few would Dare.
[horn honks.]
Just when you thought extreme Trucking couldn't get more Dangerous Ice road truckers take on Alaska.
[aerosmith's living on the edge.]
living on the edge these are the truckers who Make their living on thin ice.
living on the edge you can't help yourself you can't help yourself living on the edge you can't help yourself from falling living on the edge yeah yeah it's four weeks into alaska's Brutal ice road season.
Truckers have already faced an Onslaught of breakdowns this sucks.
whiteouts can't see at all.
and rollovers.
this is the worst season that I've been through as far as that Many blows.
The road's just getting really Exciting and dangerous at the Same time.
carlile truckers have hauled More than 500 loads to the oil Fields of prudhoe bay.
But there's still 1,500 more to Go.
Last night, a fierce snowstorm Left dozens of truckers stranded In coldfoot, the halfway point And only truck stop on the ice Road.
Eight inches of fresh powder has Buried the road.
okay, we're getting ready to Head off here.
but ice road trucker jack Jessee is on a mission to go South, even if it means hitting The ice before the snowplows.
so we're gonna shove out, go Out and give it a try this Morning.
he's backhauling an empty Trailer, but there's a heavy Haul waiting for him in Fairbanks with a weighty Paycheck to go with it.
there's about eight inches of Fresh snow on the ground, so We'll be dealing with a lot of One-lane roads.
Gonna be hard to see the edges.
jack's a pro and has driven In conditions far worse than This, but right behind him is Young gun lisa kelly.
you having fun yet? I'm having a blast.
Are you? [chuckles.]
yeah.
she's hauling two stacked Empty trailers and is eager to Get her next big load.
I saw jack this morning at The breakfast table.
I'm like, "jack, which way are You going?" "south.
" "I'm going with you.
" yeah, lisa wanted to follow Me on this on the way home.
And safety in numbers.
Actually, it's a really good Thing.
this is only lisa's second Season on the dalton.
She's already delivered her First heavy haul and made it Through a blinding whiteout over Atigun pass.
I already can't hardly see And I'm barely moving here.
but she's never driven Through snowdrifts like this Where you can't see the edge of The road and could drive off at Any moment.
I wasn't brave to do it by Myself.
Jack's the one in front.
He's our fearless leader.
any new driver, we don't send Them out here to cut their own Throats, you know? We try to give advice when Needed and they try to stick her With experienced drivers.
I just want to go to Fairbanks.
Just want to get to fairbanks.
Fairbanks.
And I'm not guaranteeing I won't Go in the ditch.
[chuckles.]
in the eight years I've been Up here, this is probably so far The worst start of the winter.
So far this winter's been pretty Intense.
right now the snow is what The problem is.
I still just can't see the road Though.
Betweenbetween these two berms Somewhere.
as lisa strains to see the Road, she slows down, and then Loses sight of jack.
I can kind of see jack's Tracks in front of me.
That's it.
Looks like one lane.
after all the effort to team Up, lisa now finds herself all Alone.
Place called slope mountain, Last night's storm nearly proved Fatal.
A truck traveling at 50 miles Per hour with a full load of Drill pipe caught the edge of The road.
The rig flipped over twice and Rolled down the icy embankment.
The driver was thrown 100 feet From the cab into the frozen Tundra.
He managed to drag himself up Onto the road where ice road Trucker richard merrill was the First to spot him.
just glad he had a flashlight In his hand.
'cause it was snowing, it was Dark, you couldn't see nothing.
And when you're coming on a Hill like this, you're not in The left lane.
You're on your side of the road Because you don't know what's Coming at you.
And he was laying right here.
I'd run him over.
I just got him up off the ground And load him up in the truck and Tried to comfort him and get him To pump three.
So I knew he was hurting.
with the nearest hospital More than 400 miles away, Richard drove the injured Trucker to a pipeline service Unit.
From there he was medevaced to Anchorage.
looks pretty violent.
Makes me sick to my stomach.
I bet you he come right out that Window.
That makes me sick.
I can't even Look at it anymore.
even veterans never get used To the deadly forces of this Road.
Southbound on the ice, Lisa kelly is alone pushing Through eight inches of deep Snow.
I think he's up there.
finally, she spots jack's Taillights.
I think so.
Our radios are important because That is our lifeline.
Because we don't get phone Service.
We don't get anything.
And the radios are how the Truckers tell other truckers That the road's good or not good Or somebody's coming and, "somebody spun out.
Don't come over the hill and Kill us.
" okay, I just met the one-way.
Coming back at you.
it's coming north? snowplows are now on the Move, racing to open up the road For truckers headed north.
oh, gosh.
He's hauling.
Look at the trees falling.
That's awesome.
hey, lisa? [horn honks.]
what's up, jack? got a northbound that's Dropping into the koyukuk there.
He just came from the chain-up Area.
So hold up there for him.
all right.
on the ice, northbound trucks Have the right of way.
Southbounders must often pull Over to allow more wide loads to Pass safely.
Lisa strains to find the next Pullout, but the heavy snow Blankets the edge of the road.
I cannot fall off the road Here.
Wait, is this it? she misses it completely.
I don't know how I'm gonna Move over here.
[horn honks.]
as the other truck barrels Toward her, she tries to slow Down.
[horn honks.]
[indistinct radio chatter.]
[tires squealing.]
coming up, an ice road Trucker's nightmare No brakes and slick roads.
I'm trying to stop.
I promise.
okay, ten-four.
Headed southbound, the dalton Ace, jack jessee, leads the The less experienced lisa kelly Through eight inches of fresh Snow.
[horn honks.]
got a northbound that's Dropping into the koyukuk there.
and if that's not dangerous Enough, lisa discovers she has No brakes As an 18-wheeler barrels Straight towards her.
I'm trying to stop.
I promise.
[horn honks.]
she bears down on the brake Pedal with all her weight.
[horn honks.]
Slowly, she starts to Decelerate.
good gosh.
That took everything I had.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know I was at koyukuk 'cause I didn't see the pullout And then I can't stop, so.
not a problem.
hey, robbie, jim's coming on The guardrails at the koyukuk Right now.
jack jessee has seen it all And knows this mistake well.
she actually just forgot to Dry her brakes off.
when driving in fresh powder, Snow and ice accumulate in the Space between the brake pad and The drum, rendering the brakes Useless.
Truckers must pump the brakes Periodically to build up heat And dry them out.
if you never touch your Brakes riding through a lot of Loose snow like this, you will Never have any brakes.
[horn honks.]
good gosh.
just outside of deadhorse, The road has been cleared and Hugh rowland is southbound.
loaded up, heading Southbound.
Heading for coldfoot first and Then on into fairbanks.
on this trip, hugh hauls what May be the smallest load of the Season.
this here is my load.
Three pounds of paperwork.
It says right here, "three Pounds, paperwork.
" [laughs.]
And I got an empty van.
This is all they got to haul Back.
Get paid regardless.
but a bigger load would mean A bigger paycheck.
Hugh's mission is to get back to Fairbanks in a single day to Pick up some real freight.
So far, the polar bear is Holding his own on america's Most dangerous road.
but it's a lot of fun to Drive, I'll tell you that.
No, I ain't a bit scared, no.
he's confident as ever.
[horn honks.]
But still requires the Supervision of haul road veteran Phil kromm.
what are you doing, phil? just motoring along.
How about you? about the same.
You're just going slower Probably.
[chuckles.]
probably so.
ten-four.
Oh, no, phil's a good guy.
We're basically on the same page With everything.
I might be a little bit more Risk-taking than phil, but Phil's been on this road a lot Longer than I have.
hugh's only been here a few Weeks, yet he's already living Up to his reputation.
he's got kind of a pretty Colorful personality.
Maybe Maybe a little wild.
yee-haw! Whoo-hoo! [laughs.]
North slope police officer steve Lee is on the scene to Investigate last night's crash.
this may be where he rolled The first time.
Now the truck rolled and this All this debris right here may Be the Where the first rollover Occurred.
You can tell by looking at the Cab that it's been on the cab.
It broke off the exhaust.
when the massive cab came to A violent halt It ejected the driver across The tundra.
this is where he went down in The snow.
This is where he ended up.
And I'd say it's probably about Let's go up and look inside.
Well, here's his other shoe.
Something here.
Let's see.
Oh, a bible.
I guess those are good things to Carry with you.
fortunately, the trucker Missed a high-pressure gas line By mere inches.
he's lucky, you know? If he'd have rolled and it would Have dug up thethe pipeline Here, we could have had a Natural gas explosion.
And the guy that was driving Most likely would not be around.
When they move this thing out, We're gonna have to be awful Careful.
Coldfoot I could use a nice neck Massage right now.
alex debogorski is just Getting started on the day.
I had a good night's sleep, So I'm heading for prudhoe bay Now and do most of our driving In the daytime.
he's still headed north to Complete his second trip.
Yesterday, a broken trailer Spring put him half a run behind Hugh in the dash for the cash.
well, I've alwaysI've Always got a few more loads than Alex.
He, uh, he gets out there pretty Hard, but I know he's starting To slow down here a little bit.
[chuckles.]
alex is hauling a stacked Load of drill pipe bound for the Oil fields.
He's traveling with dalton Veteran jack mccann, who carries A fleet of pickup trucks.
alex, you got a copy back There? All right, by golly.
they convoy towards the Shelf, a treacherous incline cut Into the mountainside.
One wrong move here and it's Several hundred feet to the Bottom.
we're just approaching The shelf and I think we're Gonna be chaining up because They had the fresh snow.
The night before they had Somebody blocking the road Because they spun out.
tire chains on this stretch Are essential.
so we're gonna have the Chaining experience.
We're gonna be on the chain Gang.
A good time will be had by all.
[air brake releases.]
it's a new experience for Alex, since chains are not used On the canadian ice roads.
pretty hard to do that When you're huffing and puffing.
All right.
We're just gonna roll this ahead And see if we can hook them up.
How's that look? Does that look okay over there? Next I'll be embarrassing myself And my chaining capabilities Here.
This is supposed to be the easy One.
[grunts.]
How's that look, jack? that looks good.
is the other one okay too? yeah, I got it.
Okay.
alex begins the great ascent.
well, we're northbound up the Shelf, which is the last Challenge before atigun pass.
Stay over on my side of the road Just in case I spin out and then If I do, then there'll be room For everybody to drive up and Down and laugh at me.
[laughs.]
the goal: Pick the right gear That will get him to the top, Because downshifting in the Middle could end in disaster.
I can't remember what gear I Need to go up on this one.
I guess we're gonna find out Really quick.
alex hits a gear that's too High And doesn't give him enough Traction.
He quickly downshifts.
just get down this hole here And stay here.
but mistakenly drops two Whole gears.
that was not my plan there.
the truck slows to a Frightening crawl.
And then comes to a complete Stop.
This is the last place an ice Road trucker wants to be.
Getting started again on this Hill could send alex sliding Backwards down the mountainside.
oh, lord, lord.
What did I get myself in for? Alex debogorski missed a gear And is now stopped dead in his Tracks on the icy slope known as The shelf.
Getting going again means Fighting the force of gravity.
One slip on the ice could send Alex sliding backwards to the Bottom.
He eases into first gear.
The tires hold.
He pushes into second.
going in a pretty low gear Here.
I'm in second gear, so I'm Putting a lot of power to the Road, which is, you know, not Real good if it's really Slippery, 'cause that will make It slip too.
as alex creeps along, the Road narrows.
The cliffs become more steep.
over there, 500 to 1,000 feet Down.
So what makes it treacherous is If a guy spins out, the concern Issounds like it's going Backwards down these hills and A lot of trucks have been lost By going backwards down the hill And then over the guardrail.
If a person goes over that edge, Lose their truck and lose the Driver too.
his tires barely gripping the Ice, alex rounds the top of the Shelf.
look at that.
We made it to the top.
but he still has 75 miles of Treacherous terrain to go.
I ended up having to start Over.
I get to start over on the shelf Now.
Add that to the list.
Jack and lisa are racing back to Get their next loads.
And the northbound traffic is Out in force trying to make up For lost time.
big one's coming up fast.
[horns honking.]
you want to move over at all? Guess not.
with increased speed comes an Increased risk of going into the Ditch.
two kinds of drivers on the Road.
Ones that have been in a ditch And the ones that are gonna go In a ditch.
But the funny part is that the Ones that actually say that have Usually already been in the Ditch.
Um, I can say that.
as word of the road's most Recent crash spreads along the Dalton, it's a grim reminder of Just how many lives have been Lost.
right here's where john died.
He was heading north and just Got close.
Just kind of rolled over.
Wasn't a pretty sight though.
Kind of messed the guys up that Showed up on the scene first.
more than 35 steel white Crosses honor the dead on the Side of the haul road.
none of thisnone of this Freight we're moving is worth Anybody's life.
A big rig went off the road and Flipped over twice.
Recovery specialist ben Krakowski races to the scene to Retrieve the truck and its load Retrieve the truck and its load of drill pipe.
The 42 pieces of pipe are worth Half a million dollars.
Ben has to work quickly to Prevent a log jam of trucks from Backing up on the ice.
oh, the pressure's on me.
You don't want to keep them guys Tied up.
You do what you got to do, but You do it kind of quick so they Can get going.
You open it up as much as you Can so they can get through.
his plan: Pull the cab out First, then recover the pipe.
He begins by hooking two Heavy-duty steel cables to the Front of the truck.
these inner brackets inside Here are bolted directly to the Frame.
So we got something solid we can Really pull on.
'cause we're gonna do some heavy Pulling here.
the cables are connected to Two high-powered wenches on the Tow truck.
Slowly, the cab inches up the Snow bank.
okay! So we got the tractor up on a Roller.
We'll bring the trailer up out Of there.
Boy, there is a pile of snow Down here, isn't there? yeah, there is.
ben and his team attach two Cables to the underside of the Trailer.
don't get no grease on my [bleep.]
damn [bleep.]
now.
getting on my gloves.
that's okay.
The landing gear, just watch it In case it digs in.
It should slide over the top.
Yeah, just stand somewhere and Holler if it don't look right.
they manage to drag the Trailer to the top of the Incline oh, crap.
but they can't get enough Leverage to drag it onto the Road.
Ben now has to improvise, and he Has no time to waste.
get that loader.
Just tie it up across this way Here and all he's gonna do is Hold on to that front end.
okay.
he uses a loader to help Stabilize the trailer.
Then he repositions the tow Truck to pull from the back end.
okay, here we go.
finally, the trailer makes it Back on the road.
right now we're gonna start Hooking on some pipe and start Dragging that up out of there.
See how that all goes.
with the last of the drill Pipe cleared, the dalton reopens For business.
I know all these guys that Are driving up there and I hate To see them wreck their trucks.
But if the traffic keeps going Like it is and they don't slow Down, I will be busy.
Is the area known as the bluffs, A windy expanse of barren tundra Stretching from the brooks range To the arctic ocean.
Hugh rowland is southbound doing Battle to stay on the road.
it's got wind on it.
Shine the grade up.
You can skate on it today.
and with hugh's cab shackled To an empty van, he's getting Tossed all over the road.
it's way better to have a Load in your van or a load on The back of your truck than Having an empty van.
It just slides all over the Ace, so you got to keep on Your toes.
there's quite a bit more snow In the road.
Beenbeen breezy all night.
So most of the drifts are clear Across the road, you know? Got to drive through them.
we got snow all over.
In snow dust, you can't see.
suddenly, the winds churn up The snow into a blinding Whiteout.
I know we can't stop on the Ice here.
She's prettypretty slick.
Hugh rowland is southbound.
Blowing snow makes the road Nearly impossible to see.
whoo-hoo.
That wind got cold right there.
Keep our wits about her today.
fortunately, he's got 23 Years of experience driving on Ice.
I don't use my brakes on the Ice.
Pretty much stick to the gears.
on the ice, brakes can cause A deadly skid.
and if something happens, the Truck breaks loose, you're Already out of control.
gearing down reduces the Truck's speed, but still keeps Power to the drive axels.
gear down and gear up.
Away you go.
as hugh approaches the steep Mountains of the brooks range, He leaves the destructive winds Behind.
load's doing okay.
It ain't fell on the floor and Got all dirty yet.
[chuckles.]
And the trailer's tagging along Behind, so we're doing good.
but he still has 300 miles of Extreme terrain to go.
Still trailing hugh is alex Debogorski.
He's only just now pulling into Deadhorse, completing his third Trip up the ice.
I guess if you look at the Map and then go the northernmost Part of alaska and you'll find Right there on the seashore Prudhoe bay, and that's where we Are.
alex's plan is to turn and Burn to catch up with hugh.
that's fantastic.
but when he arrives at the Carlile yard, he discovers a big Problem.
Alex can't catch a break.
Yesterday, he had a broken Trailer spring.
Now this.
my left front outside tire is Flat.
Came off the beam.
Must have just happened because It's not full of snow.
That thing looks pretty fresh.
Maybe you guys will be able to Save it.
See if one of these guys had one Of them things that blows the Air in there, you know what I Mean? alex must wait for a repair, Putting him even further behind In the dash for the cash.
it was another delay.
I didn't want it, but that's What I got.
Don't always get what you want.
[chuckles.]
I think they wrote a song about That once.
[laughs.]
deadhorse, alaska sits at The northern end of the dalton.
The discovery of the prudhoe bay Oil field in 1968 put deadhorse On the map, and it now serves as A company town, housing oil Field workers.
It has a general store, a post Office, and even an airport.
But alcohol is forbidden, Leading to the unofficial town Motto, "all that far and still No bar.
" Turns out the name deadhorse is Not as literal as it seems.
it's got nothing to do with The horses actually being dead Up there on the ice on that end, Because there weren't any horses Up there.
But by the time you got there, You might as well have been a Dead horse.
So, I mean, I guess it's the Perfect name to be at the end of The dalton highway, that's for Sure.
Hugh rowland is southbound Charging through every challenge On this road.
[horn honks.]
oh, the road challenges me Every day, coming up and down Them hills and around the Corners.
[horn honks.]
Yeah, if you aren't afraid of The ditch then you'd be [bleep.]
Dead.
[laughs.]
I guess that's the challenge.
now, a new obstacle.
ooh! Seen that one.
arctic speed bumps known as Frost heaves.
a frost heave is permafrost In the earth.
And it moves in the spring and In the winter.
alaska's extreme sub-zero Temperatures cause the earth to Buckle under the ice, making the Road even more dangerous.
a frost heave will make a Bump or a dip in the road.
That's whatthat's what it Does.
It's either bumps or dips.
One of the two.
Well, your truck gets to Bucking And it's not a comfortable Feeling.
[laughs.]
Probably buck you right out of The seat just like being in a Rodeo.
Whoo-hoo! Oh, hell.
Oh, boy, she's frosted right in Here.
Looks like a [bleep.]
country Fair.
Roller coaster ride.
Yee-haw! after driving through Snowdrifts all day, jack jessee And lisa kelly finally approach Fairbanks.
you're good for five, lisa.
Keep on trucking.
ten-four.
this was a tough backhaul, But a good run for an ice road Trucker.
but I do this particular job Because I love it.
I like jobs that you can be Proud of when you're done.
they pull into the carlile Yard.
[air brake releases.]
But there's no rest for jack.
He's ready to turn and burn with Another load.
do more trips, you get more Cash.
I'm out there for myself to make Money for me and my family.
That's what I'm out there for.
lisa is taking a few hours Off in her home away from home.
welcome to my truck.
[chuckles.]
Geez, it's where I live most of The time now.
This thing's packed.
Wonderful craftsman tools.
I got tons of wrenches.
Our screwdriver for spreading Prongs on the light thing.
And then I got these ratcheting Crescent wrenches or whatever They are.
Ratcheting wrenches.
And here's all my clamps and Stuff and air hose fittings.
I'm an oversize.
[chuckles.]
So now for the inside.
Come on in.
My house is back here.
surprisingly, the sleeper cab Has room for most of the Necessary comforts.
I got my refrigerator here.
I have all my clothes in my gear Bag right here.
They're all organized.
Got a couple movies.
Not very many.
And my little dvd player when And if I ever have time.
Then I got my food.
Got it all organized too.
Watching my calories.
I don't want no trucker Physique.
That's about the extent of it, I Think.
This is my house on wheels.
So works for me.
Huckles.]
at the end of the road in Deadhorse [machine whirring.]
Alex debogorski's truck is in The shop.
got a flat tire.
It came right off the rim.
And tire man, he's gonna see if He can find the hole and fix it.
Well, we've had numerous delays This trip.
This is just another one.
carlile uses severe service Duty tires for driving on the Ice.
On average, they only last six Months.
And at 400 bucks apiece, it's Worth the time to patch them.
all right, I'm gonna dunk the Tire to find the leak.
a pretty good hole actually.
It's funny it made it this far.
the mechanic mends the hole With a filler plug and Reinforced rubber patch.
[air hissing.]
great, thank you very much.
thank you.
you have a good day.
good to go, alex heads for His load.
He's backhauling an empty van Trailer.
they want vans back in Fairbanks.
and in the freezing cold that Prudhoe bay is famous for ooh! Holy mackerel.
That's something snappy on the Face.
he heads south for another Crack at the dalton And to catch up with the Competition.
[sighs.]
Goodness grief.
What next? We're waiting with bated breath To see what the next situation Is going to be.
[chuckles.]
as night falls and the Northern lights begin to Dance so here's the deal.
We're on a little bit of a Crunch to get this thing going.
That's why we had to leave Tonight.
jack jessee preps for his Next run.
A colossal pipe rack 17 feet Tall, 16 feet wide.
It's used to connect the oil Wells to the trans-alaskan Pipeline.
well, the challenge for this Load is that, you know, it's so High up that you got to go Slower so it doesn't just flop It over on its side.
Everything look good back there, Mark? yeah, so far, so good.
tonight's first challenge: To get out of fairbanks without Knocking down traffic lights.
so I know I'm lower than the Stoplights, but I still have to Go really slow so I can keep the Bouncing down.
That way I don't actually bounce Up and actually hit a stoplight.
Mark, can you get on the right Side of me and make sure that Right side's gonna clear this Fine? Okay.
Right side clear? right side's clear.
light after light, jack Crawls his way out of town.
it's clear.
just getting out of town can Be its own special challenge.
We got that one licked already.
The pavement drops off and the Ice road begins.
As jack heads further into the Alaskan wilderness, another Hazard of the haul road emerges.
a couple trucks had said Earlier today that a lot of Moose out this evening, so.
At nighttime they're really hard To see.
The black and the brown on them.
They're really hard to see at Night until they jump out right In front of you.
And hitting a moose is just like Hitting a brick wall, you know? It's just gonna tear your truck All to pieces.
Going down that hill after 48 Now.
Heads up for the moose there.
up ahead, jack's pilot car Spots a dead one in the middle Of the road.
yeah, we just drove by the Dead moose.
It was more or less blocking the Southbound lane there.
jack asks the driver to do Some damage control.
see if you can See if you can do something with It.
an alaskan moose can weigh Up to 1,500 pounds.
Pulling this animal off the road Could save a trucker's life.
I've lived in alaska for It's the first time I've ever Tied off to a moose and tried to Get it off the road.
Guess there's a first for Everything, ain't there? I'm sure somebody going into Town when their cell phones Start working will They'll call somebody to come Out and salvage it there.
Wewe don't let that kind of Meat go to waste.
up the road, there's another Moose sighting.
okeydokey.
Moose, right side.
this time, it's on the move.
Jack scans the side of the road.
Slamming into a 1,500-pound Animal could end both their Lives.
uh, hope I did see it.
suddenly, without any Warning there he goes right now.
The pilot car really saved my Skin on this one.
Well, I mean, if I had hit that Moose, for one, I would have Killed the moose and that woulda Been a bad thing.
But it would have killed the Truck too.
That's one of the many hazards Of the dalton highway.
after a month of trucking, Jack jessee is in the lead with Eight loads.
And even with a late start, alex Debogorski has overcome many Challenges to complete his first Run on american ice.
I'm not done conquering the Road.
Conquering the dalton highway is An ongoing process.
You know, but there are girls Driving on it, so I think maybe I'll be able to.
[laughs.]