Ice Road Truckers (2007) s03e06 Episode Script
Arctic Ice
And the upstart gets the run of Her life.
we are on the ocean right Now.
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 ice road truckers are five Weeks into a season of cold Fury.
Through one of the harshest Alaskan winters on record, Carlile transportation has Delivered more than 625 of the Arctic oil fields.
And so far they've avoided the Road's most feared danger.
In the fairbanks yard of carlile Trucking Hugh "the polar bear" rowland is First in line at dispatch.
hey, boss.
How are you? Good.
actually, I've got a load Sitting right out there on the Counter for you.
right here? yeah, I think phil's gonna be Here shortly.
He'll run up with you.
okay, so I can go hook on? you betcha.
okay, man.
Thanks.
hugh hooks up with his fifth Load of the season.
But as a new driver, he can't Roll out without his escort phil Kromm.
phil's not here and I'm Loaded and ready to go and if I Keep [bleep.]
around, alex will Catch up to me.
He's [bleep.]
.
We [bleep.]
around much longer, He'll be back.
hugh and his rival alex Debogorski have competed for Decades.
alex is a wild man at the End of the year.
Record setter.
[chuckles.]
this season, hugh has managed To get ahead by two loads.
polar bear's got the right of Way.
Here we go.
while alex has been plagued By mechanical trouble.
we've had numerous delays This trip.
This is just another one.
but today he's the very next Driver to walk into dispatch.
got you a load of pipe.
'cause, you know, you're getting Good at that and consistency is What we're all about here.
You're riding with jack.
great.
Thank you very much.
have a good one.
for alex, being able to haul Pipe is money in the bank.
Pipe is in demand for everything From drilling oil to repairing The 800-mile long pipeline.
I'm just tightening up some Of the straps.
but it can also be the Deadliest of loads.
A pipe that's not secured can Suddenly become a torpedo.
if it's loose and that truck Stops real quick, it'll come Ahead and cut the top off the Truck and Then somebody's got to go Through the trouble of having a Funeral.
across the yard, phil kromm Finally arrives.
As carlile's safety supervisor, He was delayed at an accident Scene.
His own.
yeah, I backed into one of These trucks there.
Bent, bumped her up.
So I got to go do the report And [laughs.]
certain things I got to do, Especially as the safety man, You know? [laughs.]
well, here's my mistake.
Today, earlier, trying to back Around this truck blindside.
Looked like in my mirror that I Had enough room.
Obviously, I didn't.
It's $1,000 mistake and plus, I Get to probably hear about this For the next 10 years.
the safety officer now gets The novel experience of writing Himself up.
okay, "description of Problem.
" Head in ass.
Hmm, "solution.
" Get out and walk around if You're not sure about the Available space.
"corrective action.
" Kick driver right square in The nuts.
look out.
Are you serious about phil? [chuckles.]
kind of funny Though, him being the safety Instructor and everything.
while hugh waits for phil, Alex's convoy leader jack mccann Is ready to go.
let's get on the road.
yes, sir.
get making some of that big Alaskan money.
that's right.
Some of the good american money.
[laughter.]
alex pulls out of the yard, Getting a jump on his rival.
hughey's still back in town Because the fellow he's going With Getting their pee tested, I Guess.
Or tasted, I'm not sure which.
[laughs.]
every accident triggers an Automatic urine test for drugs And alcohol.
all right, it's on the Counter.
all right, thanks, phil.
yep.
even if the test comes up Clean, the penalties can be Severe.
be up to and including Termination.
You know, anytime things like This happen, we take it very Seriously.
two hours later, hugh and Phil finally get the okay to Leave.
I'm glad it was [bleep.]
crash Up there that did it and not me.
He's the instructor, the safety Guy, so He won't live that down till I Go home.
No.
[chuckles.]
hugh is 60 miles behind his Archrival.
But he's back in the chase.
me and al's always had a Friendly little rivalry every Year up there.
Was just a little [bleep.]
game We played, but I always lied to Him.
He always thought he was closer To me than he was.
If I had 20 loads, I'd tell him I had 15.
That would keep his [bleep.]
Spirits up and he'd think he was Running real hard with me.
[horn honks.]
back in the carlile yard Lisa kelly is also strapping Down pipe.
got to go all the way around With it.
these giant 80-foot sections Connect the oil rigs directly to The alaskan pipeline.
this is the longest I've ever Hauled.
she's also booked for her Longest run yet on the ice road Of the arctic ocean.
I have to get this tied down And get out of town.
this trip is a giant step Towards her goal of becoming one Of the elite.
A heavy-haul driver.
I know she wants the Challenge.
She's willing to take that Challenge and I think she'd like To be the first heavy-haul woman That we've got here at carlile.
but just when she needs extra Time to load up right She doesn't get it.
said I'm up against the clock Today.
'cause I got to get out by 4:00, Which I don't think is gonna Happen.
every rush hour, the streets Of fairbanks are off-limits to Wide loads.
Lisa's only got 12 minutes to Beat the curfew or else she'll Have to wait until nightfall to Depart.
[truck beeps.]
[grunts.]
her trailer wheels won't Budge, locked in place by frozen Brakes.
it won't move! lisa tries a cold-weather Shortcut to thaw out her brake Lines.
pouring methanol on the Lines.
That's the easy solution is that They're frozen.
but the quick fix doesn't Free the wheels.
[grunts.]
We tried.
the last resort.
Getting under the truck I like being on the ground Anyway.
[chucks.]
and hammering away at the ice And snow that's built up on the Rims.
there's, like, ice all over These.
[hammering.]
Oh, crappy.
two minutes left to get out Of the yard.
If she hasn't fixed her truck, She'll lose 1/2 a day's driving, Worth about $1,000 with a load This critical.
With seconds to spare, lisa's on The move.
bend me over and spank me.
[chuckles.]
Crack that whip.
Holy crap.
This thing is long.
Our problem is gonna be corners.
it's tough enough to make the am I gonna make this? soon she'll be on the extreme Ice-covered curves of the haul Road.
And then Ocean ice.
gonna be fun to haul.
Dalton, rookie driver tim Freeman and mechanic jared lane Are on a recovery mission.
there it is right there, Jared.
it sure looks cold.
Poor old girl.
on just his third run of the Season, tim broke down for a Second time.
this sucks! I know it.
jared, this is what we got Going on.
[bleep.]
tensioner pulley's Junk.
the tensioner on the fan belt Failed and the engine Overheated, even at 40 below Zero.
okay, we got the new Tensioner pulley on now.
Putting the belt back on.
See if she'll fire up.
[engine turning and starts.]
Good deal! Ready to roll.
but just as they fix one Problem, tim finds another.
He's been the victim of highway Robbery.
some [bleep.]
weed stole the Tire chains off my truck.
Full set of three wheelers gone Too and a full set of singles.
Somebody helped themselves.
in his run of bad luck, tim's Hit rock bottom.
Now he has to run barefoot Without chains down the steep Hills to fairbanks.
it's a pretty steep, slick Hill.
This truck's cold.
Differential's are stiff, so It's gonna be a fight all the Way back to town and I'm gonna Stay right behind him.
running the dalton is Dangerous business with the best Of equipment.
For a rookie driver with no Chains, the passage ahead is one Of white-knuckle fear.
[bleep.]
this road is rougher Than a son of a [bleep.]
jerking Me all over the place.
Rookie tim freeman is Barefooting back to town Rolling on the ice with no Chains.
Truckers choose barefooting when Driving conditions are perfect.
But tim has no choice.
some [bleep.]
weed stole the Tire chains off my truck.
now he's sliding all over the Ice.
see, this is a [bleep.]
hill Here, 'cause it's jerking me all Over the place.
Holy [bleep.]
.
tim feathers the throttle to Regain traction just before Going over the edge.
you don't want to spin out on Any hills.
You just want to make it back to Town safe.
tim races back to fairbanks To catch up with his running Mate and mentor george spears.
George is loaded up and Scheduled to leave in just four Hours.
But when tim returns to the Garage, they discover an Electrical problem with the Starter.
[engine stalling.]
The truck has to be fixed by the Time george is set to leave Or else tim will have to wait Two more days for george's Return.
[engine stalling.]
he came here to work and he's In a position where he needs to Work and anytime that his Truck's broke down, it's been Tough on him.
how much fuel's left in it? there's fuel in it.
we want to get him back on The road and get him some money.
[engine stalls.]
if the truck doesn't start Running again soon, tim could be Out of the game.
Debogorski is running with jack, you got a copy.
they approach a grim landmark Named "chuckie's corner.
" jack, what's the scoop on That chuckie's corner there? What happened to chuckie? well, gee, that happened back In probably 1981.
And it killed him.
by all reports, the driver Was hauling a load of pipe when He rolled.
One piece shook loose and killed Him instantly.
The many crosses on the road Honor the dead and warn the Living that this is north America's most dangerous road.
there's a lot more people Died on this ice road here, the Dalton highway, than on the Combined ice roads of northern Canada.
alex clears chuckie's corner.
But eight miles up the road lies His nemesis Mackey hill.
I'm really excited.
Mackey hill and me have had a Couple of run-ins already.
mackey is a gear-crushing Top.
I missed a couple shifts on This hill the very first trip And then have to stop and start All over again in first gear.
Son of a [bleep.]
.
Seemed that I had a traffic jam Behind me 'cause everybody and Their dog passed me.
I figure as along as people are Laughing at me, they don't have To laugh at somebody else.
[chuckles.]
now at the base of the Slippery hill, alex tries to Avoid striking out for a third Time.
you make too rough a shift And put too much torque to the Tires They spin once, then right off, You're done.
You don't get two chances.
one by one He hits the correct sequence of Gears.
His 46,000-pound rig barely Clinging to the ice And finally rounding the top of Mackey.
Alex is one more hill closer to Proving himself to alaskan Truckers.
there's a few of them that Are grumpy about hughey and I Being here.
They're not happy to see Canada's national treasures on This road with them.
Two of canada's national Treasures.
[laughs.]
Other notorious canadian.
Hugh "the polar bear" rowland.
I mean, I been treated real Good here by everybody.
But I know [bleep.]
well behind Their backs they're saying, "them [bleep.]
canadians.
" [laughs.]
"they don't know how to drive This road, them [bleep.]
Canadians.
" I'll guarantee you.
what about the polar bear? [laughs.]
[laughs.]
[horn honks.]
the coldfoot truck stop lies Circle.
After spending the night at this Remote outpost and grabbing a Hot meal Alex debogorski gears up for the Run to deadhorse.
yeah, I'm just doing a Pre-trip.
Looking underneath the truck to See if there's any oil dripping.
Check the tires.
Had a flat tire last trip when We got to prudhoe.
Check the lights.
Oh, goodness grief.
Look at that.
We got another flat tire, it Looks like.
Got the tread gone.
That one will have to be Replaced.
There's nothing left of it.
the tire's not only flat.
The entire tread layer, or cap, Has peeled off.
must have happened the last on his last run, alex had a Flat in deadhorse.
But here in coldfoot, there's no Shop and spares are hard to come By.
does carlile have any spare Tires here? uh, missed one last week.
a trucker did? Well, we ain't got none here Then.
no, sir.
getting a new tire to Coldfoot could take days and in The time alex has already lost, His rival hugh rowland has Passed him by.
oh, hugh's gone ahead.
I guess everything's going fine For him.
[chuckles.]
the only other option is to Leave now, flat tire or not.
let's go.
Hopefully we don't wreck the Other tire.
If one tire's flat, then all the Weight's on the other tire and If the other tire's doing too Much work, then it'll fail.
Hugh is rolling up the brooks Range towards atigun pass in a Convoy with phil kromm.
yeah, old phil billy, he's a Bit of a loose cannon.
Like I said he likes to bend Bumpers.
[chuckles.]
I figured you missed that one.
[chuckles.]
yeah.
somebody you travel with and Bull[bleep.]
on the radio and Tell stories to each other and Our lies get bigger and bigger.
Put some miles on, that's the Main thing.
Making some cash.
after 30 years of driving Canadian ice roads, hugh is Starting to pull his weight in America.
I've drove quite a few of the Ice roads now and different Roads and I like this one.
Like, I think this is a great Road, so if everybody's proud of This road, so that's a good Deal.
Look, I got real bragging rights Now.
I mean, I been on this road, Them roads.
I mean, not too many guys can Say that.
I'm pretty proud of that myself.
now the road tilts up to the Roof of the arctic.
Northernmost winter road in the World.
With zigzagging turns and sheer Drops It's just claimed another Victim.
yeah.
I hope I don't spin out and Crash and burn.
That'd look pretty [bleep.]
silly After all the razzing I been Doing to phil-billy there about His bending the bumper.
Ten-four.
with even the locals spinning Out on the ice Hugh shows some real driving Skill And makes a clean pass over the Summit.
one more trip over the pass.
No casualties.
George spears and tim freeman Are sweating a deadline of 12:00 Noon as mechanics troubleshoot Yet another problem with tim's Truck.
[engine stalls.]
it's not firing.
there's something to do with The computer on that truck that Is not letting it start Properly.
Deadline.
I took this on and I want to Finish it.
[engine stalls.]
I don't want him to miss out on This trip.
If I can take him with me, I Will, and if not, it's hasta la Vista, buddy.
I can't help you.
[engine stalling.]
How long's it gonna be? I don't know.
another 30 minutes pass as Jared lane narrows the problem To a computer sensor.
But time is almost up.
[engine stalls.]
try it again.
[engine turns.]
[engine starts.]
after a couple hours of Screwing around over there, they Figured out it was the engine Speed sensor.
[chuckles.]
We are ready, george.
Right behind you.
at the stroke of noon, the Wheels are finally rolling.
Tim's run of bad luck might have Broken another rookie.
But he still believes that his Fate lies on the dalton.
I don't really see anything That's gonna be more challenging Than the haul road to prudhoe Bay.
And I haven't come across a job That's more rewarding.
My goal is just to get in a Truck, get comfortable, memorize This road, make as many trips as I can until it's time to retire, Man.
I mean, I'm here for good.
northbound on two miles.
Timmy, give me a holler when you Get up on top there.
Let me know how you're doing.
all right, george.
That's one wheel so far.
all righty.
tim hits the ice for the Fourth time, but he still has a Long way to go to prove himself To george.
every time he catches me Doing something I'm not supposed To do or something like that, You know "timmy!" he says.
he's a good driver and all That, but, you know, I've got 30 Years up here.
He's got three trips.
just when tim starts to get Comfortable on this run oh, [bleep.]
.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
tim just slid off the hill Back there behind us a little Bit.
He's trying to go too slow, you Know? If you go too slow, it's just Like going too fast.
Not good.
Can cause you to slide too.
on every big hill on the Dalton, gear selection is Critical.
Go too fast and the tires can't Grab a hold of the ice.
Too slow and the engine lugs, Causing the wheels to drag and Often resulting in a dangerous Slide.
all right, let's pick it back Up here a little bit.
We got to climb up eight mile.
Tim? tim follows george's lead and Picks up speed.
His wheels stop spinning.
how we making her, timmy? just fine.
You know, you might be wiping a Little sweat off your brow from The last mile behind you, but You still got to stay in tune And in focus to what's happening In front of you.
Doing one last load check before Heading into the high mountains.
tight on both sides.
I'm really, like, out to kick Butt and get this thing up there Safely and efficiently and Without problems, so that They'll give me more.
her next big ascent: The narrow passage cut into the Mountainside called "the shelf.
" The scene of many bad accidents.
oh, so far this year's been Crazy for wrecks because we've Had a truck flipped over at the Top of the shelf.
Car carrier just plowed in the Ditch at the top of the shelf a Couple days after.
That's just the wrecks that I've Seen.
And they say it's not if you go In the ditch up here, it's when.
lisa clears the shelf.
Now up to atigun pass.
I'm at the bottom.
About ready to go up.
Hey, is it clear up there so I Can get to the top? it will be clear time you get Here.
okay.
with 80 feet of trailer Behind and solid ice below Every turn is an adventure.
corners are really Interesting to get around the Corner, 'cause you're so long.
I don't want it to slide around, 'cause pipe could kill me.
Or anybody else because it Slides easily, because it's kind Of torpedo shaped and so it Likes to act like one.
Somebody once told me that if You take a trailer and you tip It upside down, nothing should Fall off.
That's how it should be Strapped.
lisa clears the pass safely.
But tomorrow she'll be driving On a frozen ocean.
it's the farthest point north That you can get by road And now I'm gonna go even Farther.
yep, yep, yep.
alex debogorski is attempting To climb atigun pass with a bald And deflated tire.
my flat tire is still flat And hasn't fixed itself yet.
Probably stressed the guys out That are behind me.
Look here.
He's going by.
Well, he's in a rush.
Yeah, must be a fire truck.
Does he look like a fire truck? [laughs.]
as he hits the steep Downgrade on the other side of The pass, the lack of traction Becomes a much more dangerous Hazard.
boy, is that slippery right There.
Whoo.
Just go down the hills faster.
alex tries to control his Speed with a jake brake Which uses engine compression to Slow the truck.
I tend to try to use as much Jake as I can so I don't have to Use much brakes.
because any braking can cause The damaged tire to spin out and Send him off the road.
we're trying to take it easy.
So we don't want to wreck the Other tire.
Hopefully I don't have to do any Heroics today.
nursing the flat tire and Feathering the jake brake Alex clears the pass.
The canadian is holding his own On this road.
But he's still behind his rival Hugh rowland.
alex.
Hugh rowland.
why, is that's the way he Been talking? Gonna have to get a bar of soap Maybe.
[laughs.]
Is lisa kelly Rolling towards the biggest Moment of her career.
Her longest run on the ice road Of the arctic ocean.
it is a beautiful morning Out, especially when you're Surrounded by mountains like we Are right now and the sun is Coming over the ones behind you.
when there's a break from the Brutal winds that prevail on the North slope, a trucker makes Good time.
'cause it's flat and straight And you can open her up a Little.
Like, whoo! suddenly she gets a glimpse Of the original way of hauling Freight on the slope.
oh, those are those tundra Crawlers.
That's so cool.
before the dalton opened in Freight across the tundra was on Overland trains.
They supplied the dew line, or Distant early warning stations, That were built to alert the U.
S.
To incoming soviet Missiles.
in the early years, it was The letourneau snow train.
This giant machine with these Huge wheels crawling across the Tundra.
the snow train rode on Seven-foot tall tires, hauled up To 150 tons, and could operate In 68 degrees below zero.
While the overland trains of the '50s and '60s took days to cross The north slope, in good Weather, lisa takes just five Hours to reach the end of the Dalton.
just getting into deadhorse Here.
Ten-four.
but the load hasn't reached Its final destination.
Tomorrow she will risk it all on The ice of the arctic ocean.
The weather begins to change for Tim and george.
The winds are gusting at 30 Miles per hour and they hear That up ahead it's even worse.
Next up, the downhill stretch That tim's been dreading the Whole trip.
the beaver slide.
It's as slippery as a ski slope And two miles long.
Tim's brakes lock up And send him skidding across the Ice.
Tim carefully gears down And regains control of his rig.
whew! [horn honks.]
tim and george barrel ahead To coldfoot where they learn That the weather has closed down Atigun pass.
if it quits blowing tonight, It'll be till noon before they Get the pass opened.
Gonna be another campout in Coldfoot.
Woo-hoo.
in far northern alaska The competition comes down to Its final moments.
the boys from nascar make 200 Laps to go 500 miles and we only Have to make one lap to go 500 Miles.
alex debogorski has run all The way up the brooks range and Across the north slope with a Huge handicap.
yeah, we got a flat tire Here.
Been trying to nurse into Prudhoe.
now it's all but certain He'll make it to the finish Line.
sweetness.
but alex was forced to run Slower and that's the difference In the race with his archrival.
that was a good run this Morning.
Made some good time.
Hugh rowland running with phil Kromm.
phil-billy had the hammer Down there a couple times.
It was good.
When she's time to Pitter-patter, we get at her.
And when she's time to [bleep.]
Lollygag, we'll lollygag.
after starting two hours Later than alex, hugh pulls into Deadhorse one step ahead.
He wins this round of bragging Rights as he delivers his fifth Load of the season.
yeah! Number five.
So we're here.
he's two loads up on alex, Who's only now seeing his Destination on the horizon.
so we're coming to prudhoe Bay.
It's overcast.
It's pretty gray out.
Well, after three trips, it's Starting to look familiar.
but 60 miles even further to The northwest is lisa kelly.
Ahead The open ice.
and we're about 60 miles North of deadhorse.
Me and this wonderful 80-foot Pipe, we've been through a lot Together.
[chuckles.]
So we've been on pavement, Gravel, snow.
We've been all over the place.
[horn honks.]
Now we're about to experience Ice.
Ocean ice.
to get on the ocean ice road, She first has to clear a oh, my gosh.
This corner is intense.
Well, other people have done it.
I can do it, right? now she leaves the land Behind.
I'm on the ocean ice.
Kind of feel the waves.
the wave-like motion is the Weight of the truck making the Ice sag And stretch.
we are on the ocean right Now.
So intense, dude.
lisa keeps her speed to ten Miles an hour.
Any faster and she can damage The ice or even break through.
She creeps towards the oil Field.
we are on the ocean right Now.
Yeah, it's kind of surprising to Me to see all this stuff sitting Here on this ice.
I bet there's some intense Weight out here.
So I don't know how far this Thing's frozen.
finally, lisa pulls into the Finish line.
here's alaska.
We're right here above it.
[chuckles.]
We drove out above alaska.
Now we're just unstrapping this.
She's being stubborn.
[grunts.]
Crimp.
I'm on the ice.
I'm happy to be here.
I'll be happier to leave.
[chuckles.]
handing over her load to the Crane crew, her job is done.
just tell me when you need me Out of the way.
need you out the way.
all right.
thank you.
at the end of week five, jack Jessee tops all drivers with Eight loads.
Hugh leads the canadians with Five.
And lisa kelly's flawless run Over the ice puts her one step Closer to becoming a heavy-haul Driver.
Plus, she's done what only a Handful of truckers can claim.
Steered a big rig across the Ocean.
I have this checklist.
This is my bucket list.
I'm gonna be able to put, "ice Road trucking," right on the Top.
Put a big old fat red checkmark Right next to it.
we are on the ocean right Now.
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 ice road truckers are five Weeks into a season of cold Fury.
Through one of the harshest Alaskan winters on record, Carlile transportation has Delivered more than 625 of the Arctic oil fields.
And so far they've avoided the Road's most feared danger.
In the fairbanks yard of carlile Trucking Hugh "the polar bear" rowland is First in line at dispatch.
hey, boss.
How are you? Good.
actually, I've got a load Sitting right out there on the Counter for you.
right here? yeah, I think phil's gonna be Here shortly.
He'll run up with you.
okay, so I can go hook on? you betcha.
okay, man.
Thanks.
hugh hooks up with his fifth Load of the season.
But as a new driver, he can't Roll out without his escort phil Kromm.
phil's not here and I'm Loaded and ready to go and if I Keep [bleep.]
around, alex will Catch up to me.
He's [bleep.]
.
We [bleep.]
around much longer, He'll be back.
hugh and his rival alex Debogorski have competed for Decades.
alex is a wild man at the End of the year.
Record setter.
[chuckles.]
this season, hugh has managed To get ahead by two loads.
polar bear's got the right of Way.
Here we go.
while alex has been plagued By mechanical trouble.
we've had numerous delays This trip.
This is just another one.
but today he's the very next Driver to walk into dispatch.
got you a load of pipe.
'cause, you know, you're getting Good at that and consistency is What we're all about here.
You're riding with jack.
great.
Thank you very much.
have a good one.
for alex, being able to haul Pipe is money in the bank.
Pipe is in demand for everything From drilling oil to repairing The 800-mile long pipeline.
I'm just tightening up some Of the straps.
but it can also be the Deadliest of loads.
A pipe that's not secured can Suddenly become a torpedo.
if it's loose and that truck Stops real quick, it'll come Ahead and cut the top off the Truck and Then somebody's got to go Through the trouble of having a Funeral.
across the yard, phil kromm Finally arrives.
As carlile's safety supervisor, He was delayed at an accident Scene.
His own.
yeah, I backed into one of These trucks there.
Bent, bumped her up.
So I got to go do the report And [laughs.]
certain things I got to do, Especially as the safety man, You know? [laughs.]
well, here's my mistake.
Today, earlier, trying to back Around this truck blindside.
Looked like in my mirror that I Had enough room.
Obviously, I didn't.
It's $1,000 mistake and plus, I Get to probably hear about this For the next 10 years.
the safety officer now gets The novel experience of writing Himself up.
okay, "description of Problem.
" Head in ass.
Hmm, "solution.
" Get out and walk around if You're not sure about the Available space.
"corrective action.
" Kick driver right square in The nuts.
look out.
Are you serious about phil? [chuckles.]
kind of funny Though, him being the safety Instructor and everything.
while hugh waits for phil, Alex's convoy leader jack mccann Is ready to go.
let's get on the road.
yes, sir.
get making some of that big Alaskan money.
that's right.
Some of the good american money.
[laughter.]
alex pulls out of the yard, Getting a jump on his rival.
hughey's still back in town Because the fellow he's going With Getting their pee tested, I Guess.
Or tasted, I'm not sure which.
[laughs.]
every accident triggers an Automatic urine test for drugs And alcohol.
all right, it's on the Counter.
all right, thanks, phil.
yep.
even if the test comes up Clean, the penalties can be Severe.
be up to and including Termination.
You know, anytime things like This happen, we take it very Seriously.
two hours later, hugh and Phil finally get the okay to Leave.
I'm glad it was [bleep.]
crash Up there that did it and not me.
He's the instructor, the safety Guy, so He won't live that down till I Go home.
No.
[chuckles.]
hugh is 60 miles behind his Archrival.
But he's back in the chase.
me and al's always had a Friendly little rivalry every Year up there.
Was just a little [bleep.]
game We played, but I always lied to Him.
He always thought he was closer To me than he was.
If I had 20 loads, I'd tell him I had 15.
That would keep his [bleep.]
Spirits up and he'd think he was Running real hard with me.
[horn honks.]
back in the carlile yard Lisa kelly is also strapping Down pipe.
got to go all the way around With it.
these giant 80-foot sections Connect the oil rigs directly to The alaskan pipeline.
this is the longest I've ever Hauled.
she's also booked for her Longest run yet on the ice road Of the arctic ocean.
I have to get this tied down And get out of town.
this trip is a giant step Towards her goal of becoming one Of the elite.
A heavy-haul driver.
I know she wants the Challenge.
She's willing to take that Challenge and I think she'd like To be the first heavy-haul woman That we've got here at carlile.
but just when she needs extra Time to load up right She doesn't get it.
said I'm up against the clock Today.
'cause I got to get out by 4:00, Which I don't think is gonna Happen.
every rush hour, the streets Of fairbanks are off-limits to Wide loads.
Lisa's only got 12 minutes to Beat the curfew or else she'll Have to wait until nightfall to Depart.
[truck beeps.]
[grunts.]
her trailer wheels won't Budge, locked in place by frozen Brakes.
it won't move! lisa tries a cold-weather Shortcut to thaw out her brake Lines.
pouring methanol on the Lines.
That's the easy solution is that They're frozen.
but the quick fix doesn't Free the wheels.
[grunts.]
We tried.
the last resort.
Getting under the truck I like being on the ground Anyway.
[chucks.]
and hammering away at the ice And snow that's built up on the Rims.
there's, like, ice all over These.
[hammering.]
Oh, crappy.
two minutes left to get out Of the yard.
If she hasn't fixed her truck, She'll lose 1/2 a day's driving, Worth about $1,000 with a load This critical.
With seconds to spare, lisa's on The move.
bend me over and spank me.
[chuckles.]
Crack that whip.
Holy crap.
This thing is long.
Our problem is gonna be corners.
it's tough enough to make the am I gonna make this? soon she'll be on the extreme Ice-covered curves of the haul Road.
And then Ocean ice.
gonna be fun to haul.
Dalton, rookie driver tim Freeman and mechanic jared lane Are on a recovery mission.
there it is right there, Jared.
it sure looks cold.
Poor old girl.
on just his third run of the Season, tim broke down for a Second time.
this sucks! I know it.
jared, this is what we got Going on.
[bleep.]
tensioner pulley's Junk.
the tensioner on the fan belt Failed and the engine Overheated, even at 40 below Zero.
okay, we got the new Tensioner pulley on now.
Putting the belt back on.
See if she'll fire up.
[engine turning and starts.]
Good deal! Ready to roll.
but just as they fix one Problem, tim finds another.
He's been the victim of highway Robbery.
some [bleep.]
weed stole the Tire chains off my truck.
Full set of three wheelers gone Too and a full set of singles.
Somebody helped themselves.
in his run of bad luck, tim's Hit rock bottom.
Now he has to run barefoot Without chains down the steep Hills to fairbanks.
it's a pretty steep, slick Hill.
This truck's cold.
Differential's are stiff, so It's gonna be a fight all the Way back to town and I'm gonna Stay right behind him.
running the dalton is Dangerous business with the best Of equipment.
For a rookie driver with no Chains, the passage ahead is one Of white-knuckle fear.
[bleep.]
this road is rougher Than a son of a [bleep.]
jerking Me all over the place.
Rookie tim freeman is Barefooting back to town Rolling on the ice with no Chains.
Truckers choose barefooting when Driving conditions are perfect.
But tim has no choice.
some [bleep.]
weed stole the Tire chains off my truck.
now he's sliding all over the Ice.
see, this is a [bleep.]
hill Here, 'cause it's jerking me all Over the place.
Holy [bleep.]
.
tim feathers the throttle to Regain traction just before Going over the edge.
you don't want to spin out on Any hills.
You just want to make it back to Town safe.
tim races back to fairbanks To catch up with his running Mate and mentor george spears.
George is loaded up and Scheduled to leave in just four Hours.
But when tim returns to the Garage, they discover an Electrical problem with the Starter.
[engine stalling.]
The truck has to be fixed by the Time george is set to leave Or else tim will have to wait Two more days for george's Return.
[engine stalling.]
he came here to work and he's In a position where he needs to Work and anytime that his Truck's broke down, it's been Tough on him.
how much fuel's left in it? there's fuel in it.
we want to get him back on The road and get him some money.
[engine stalls.]
if the truck doesn't start Running again soon, tim could be Out of the game.
Debogorski is running with jack, you got a copy.
they approach a grim landmark Named "chuckie's corner.
" jack, what's the scoop on That chuckie's corner there? What happened to chuckie? well, gee, that happened back In probably 1981.
And it killed him.
by all reports, the driver Was hauling a load of pipe when He rolled.
One piece shook loose and killed Him instantly.
The many crosses on the road Honor the dead and warn the Living that this is north America's most dangerous road.
there's a lot more people Died on this ice road here, the Dalton highway, than on the Combined ice roads of northern Canada.
alex clears chuckie's corner.
But eight miles up the road lies His nemesis Mackey hill.
I'm really excited.
Mackey hill and me have had a Couple of run-ins already.
mackey is a gear-crushing Top.
I missed a couple shifts on This hill the very first trip And then have to stop and start All over again in first gear.
Son of a [bleep.]
.
Seemed that I had a traffic jam Behind me 'cause everybody and Their dog passed me.
I figure as along as people are Laughing at me, they don't have To laugh at somebody else.
[chuckles.]
now at the base of the Slippery hill, alex tries to Avoid striking out for a third Time.
you make too rough a shift And put too much torque to the Tires They spin once, then right off, You're done.
You don't get two chances.
one by one He hits the correct sequence of Gears.
His 46,000-pound rig barely Clinging to the ice And finally rounding the top of Mackey.
Alex is one more hill closer to Proving himself to alaskan Truckers.
there's a few of them that Are grumpy about hughey and I Being here.
They're not happy to see Canada's national treasures on This road with them.
Two of canada's national Treasures.
[laughs.]
Other notorious canadian.
Hugh "the polar bear" rowland.
I mean, I been treated real Good here by everybody.
But I know [bleep.]
well behind Their backs they're saying, "them [bleep.]
canadians.
" [laughs.]
"they don't know how to drive This road, them [bleep.]
Canadians.
" I'll guarantee you.
what about the polar bear? [laughs.]
[laughs.]
[horn honks.]
the coldfoot truck stop lies Circle.
After spending the night at this Remote outpost and grabbing a Hot meal Alex debogorski gears up for the Run to deadhorse.
yeah, I'm just doing a Pre-trip.
Looking underneath the truck to See if there's any oil dripping.
Check the tires.
Had a flat tire last trip when We got to prudhoe.
Check the lights.
Oh, goodness grief.
Look at that.
We got another flat tire, it Looks like.
Got the tread gone.
That one will have to be Replaced.
There's nothing left of it.
the tire's not only flat.
The entire tread layer, or cap, Has peeled off.
must have happened the last on his last run, alex had a Flat in deadhorse.
But here in coldfoot, there's no Shop and spares are hard to come By.
does carlile have any spare Tires here? uh, missed one last week.
a trucker did? Well, we ain't got none here Then.
no, sir.
getting a new tire to Coldfoot could take days and in The time alex has already lost, His rival hugh rowland has Passed him by.
oh, hugh's gone ahead.
I guess everything's going fine For him.
[chuckles.]
the only other option is to Leave now, flat tire or not.
let's go.
Hopefully we don't wreck the Other tire.
If one tire's flat, then all the Weight's on the other tire and If the other tire's doing too Much work, then it'll fail.
Hugh is rolling up the brooks Range towards atigun pass in a Convoy with phil kromm.
yeah, old phil billy, he's a Bit of a loose cannon.
Like I said he likes to bend Bumpers.
[chuckles.]
I figured you missed that one.
[chuckles.]
yeah.
somebody you travel with and Bull[bleep.]
on the radio and Tell stories to each other and Our lies get bigger and bigger.
Put some miles on, that's the Main thing.
Making some cash.
after 30 years of driving Canadian ice roads, hugh is Starting to pull his weight in America.
I've drove quite a few of the Ice roads now and different Roads and I like this one.
Like, I think this is a great Road, so if everybody's proud of This road, so that's a good Deal.
Look, I got real bragging rights Now.
I mean, I been on this road, Them roads.
I mean, not too many guys can Say that.
I'm pretty proud of that myself.
now the road tilts up to the Roof of the arctic.
Northernmost winter road in the World.
With zigzagging turns and sheer Drops It's just claimed another Victim.
yeah.
I hope I don't spin out and Crash and burn.
That'd look pretty [bleep.]
silly After all the razzing I been Doing to phil-billy there about His bending the bumper.
Ten-four.
with even the locals spinning Out on the ice Hugh shows some real driving Skill And makes a clean pass over the Summit.
one more trip over the pass.
No casualties.
George spears and tim freeman Are sweating a deadline of 12:00 Noon as mechanics troubleshoot Yet another problem with tim's Truck.
[engine stalls.]
it's not firing.
there's something to do with The computer on that truck that Is not letting it start Properly.
Deadline.
I took this on and I want to Finish it.
[engine stalls.]
I don't want him to miss out on This trip.
If I can take him with me, I Will, and if not, it's hasta la Vista, buddy.
I can't help you.
[engine stalling.]
How long's it gonna be? I don't know.
another 30 minutes pass as Jared lane narrows the problem To a computer sensor.
But time is almost up.
[engine stalls.]
try it again.
[engine turns.]
[engine starts.]
after a couple hours of Screwing around over there, they Figured out it was the engine Speed sensor.
[chuckles.]
We are ready, george.
Right behind you.
at the stroke of noon, the Wheels are finally rolling.
Tim's run of bad luck might have Broken another rookie.
But he still believes that his Fate lies on the dalton.
I don't really see anything That's gonna be more challenging Than the haul road to prudhoe Bay.
And I haven't come across a job That's more rewarding.
My goal is just to get in a Truck, get comfortable, memorize This road, make as many trips as I can until it's time to retire, Man.
I mean, I'm here for good.
northbound on two miles.
Timmy, give me a holler when you Get up on top there.
Let me know how you're doing.
all right, george.
That's one wheel so far.
all righty.
tim hits the ice for the Fourth time, but he still has a Long way to go to prove himself To george.
every time he catches me Doing something I'm not supposed To do or something like that, You know "timmy!" he says.
he's a good driver and all That, but, you know, I've got 30 Years up here.
He's got three trips.
just when tim starts to get Comfortable on this run oh, [bleep.]
.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
tim just slid off the hill Back there behind us a little Bit.
He's trying to go too slow, you Know? If you go too slow, it's just Like going too fast.
Not good.
Can cause you to slide too.
on every big hill on the Dalton, gear selection is Critical.
Go too fast and the tires can't Grab a hold of the ice.
Too slow and the engine lugs, Causing the wheels to drag and Often resulting in a dangerous Slide.
all right, let's pick it back Up here a little bit.
We got to climb up eight mile.
Tim? tim follows george's lead and Picks up speed.
His wheels stop spinning.
how we making her, timmy? just fine.
You know, you might be wiping a Little sweat off your brow from The last mile behind you, but You still got to stay in tune And in focus to what's happening In front of you.
Doing one last load check before Heading into the high mountains.
tight on both sides.
I'm really, like, out to kick Butt and get this thing up there Safely and efficiently and Without problems, so that They'll give me more.
her next big ascent: The narrow passage cut into the Mountainside called "the shelf.
" The scene of many bad accidents.
oh, so far this year's been Crazy for wrecks because we've Had a truck flipped over at the Top of the shelf.
Car carrier just plowed in the Ditch at the top of the shelf a Couple days after.
That's just the wrecks that I've Seen.
And they say it's not if you go In the ditch up here, it's when.
lisa clears the shelf.
Now up to atigun pass.
I'm at the bottom.
About ready to go up.
Hey, is it clear up there so I Can get to the top? it will be clear time you get Here.
okay.
with 80 feet of trailer Behind and solid ice below Every turn is an adventure.
corners are really Interesting to get around the Corner, 'cause you're so long.
I don't want it to slide around, 'cause pipe could kill me.
Or anybody else because it Slides easily, because it's kind Of torpedo shaped and so it Likes to act like one.
Somebody once told me that if You take a trailer and you tip It upside down, nothing should Fall off.
That's how it should be Strapped.
lisa clears the pass safely.
But tomorrow she'll be driving On a frozen ocean.
it's the farthest point north That you can get by road And now I'm gonna go even Farther.
yep, yep, yep.
alex debogorski is attempting To climb atigun pass with a bald And deflated tire.
my flat tire is still flat And hasn't fixed itself yet.
Probably stressed the guys out That are behind me.
Look here.
He's going by.
Well, he's in a rush.
Yeah, must be a fire truck.
Does he look like a fire truck? [laughs.]
as he hits the steep Downgrade on the other side of The pass, the lack of traction Becomes a much more dangerous Hazard.
boy, is that slippery right There.
Whoo.
Just go down the hills faster.
alex tries to control his Speed with a jake brake Which uses engine compression to Slow the truck.
I tend to try to use as much Jake as I can so I don't have to Use much brakes.
because any braking can cause The damaged tire to spin out and Send him off the road.
we're trying to take it easy.
So we don't want to wreck the Other tire.
Hopefully I don't have to do any Heroics today.
nursing the flat tire and Feathering the jake brake Alex clears the pass.
The canadian is holding his own On this road.
But he's still behind his rival Hugh rowland.
alex.
Hugh rowland.
why, is that's the way he Been talking? Gonna have to get a bar of soap Maybe.
[laughs.]
Is lisa kelly Rolling towards the biggest Moment of her career.
Her longest run on the ice road Of the arctic ocean.
it is a beautiful morning Out, especially when you're Surrounded by mountains like we Are right now and the sun is Coming over the ones behind you.
when there's a break from the Brutal winds that prevail on the North slope, a trucker makes Good time.
'cause it's flat and straight And you can open her up a Little.
Like, whoo! suddenly she gets a glimpse Of the original way of hauling Freight on the slope.
oh, those are those tundra Crawlers.
That's so cool.
before the dalton opened in Freight across the tundra was on Overland trains.
They supplied the dew line, or Distant early warning stations, That were built to alert the U.
S.
To incoming soviet Missiles.
in the early years, it was The letourneau snow train.
This giant machine with these Huge wheels crawling across the Tundra.
the snow train rode on Seven-foot tall tires, hauled up To 150 tons, and could operate In 68 degrees below zero.
While the overland trains of the '50s and '60s took days to cross The north slope, in good Weather, lisa takes just five Hours to reach the end of the Dalton.
just getting into deadhorse Here.
Ten-four.
but the load hasn't reached Its final destination.
Tomorrow she will risk it all on The ice of the arctic ocean.
The weather begins to change for Tim and george.
The winds are gusting at 30 Miles per hour and they hear That up ahead it's even worse.
Next up, the downhill stretch That tim's been dreading the Whole trip.
the beaver slide.
It's as slippery as a ski slope And two miles long.
Tim's brakes lock up And send him skidding across the Ice.
Tim carefully gears down And regains control of his rig.
whew! [horn honks.]
tim and george barrel ahead To coldfoot where they learn That the weather has closed down Atigun pass.
if it quits blowing tonight, It'll be till noon before they Get the pass opened.
Gonna be another campout in Coldfoot.
Woo-hoo.
in far northern alaska The competition comes down to Its final moments.
the boys from nascar make 200 Laps to go 500 miles and we only Have to make one lap to go 500 Miles.
alex debogorski has run all The way up the brooks range and Across the north slope with a Huge handicap.
yeah, we got a flat tire Here.
Been trying to nurse into Prudhoe.
now it's all but certain He'll make it to the finish Line.
sweetness.
but alex was forced to run Slower and that's the difference In the race with his archrival.
that was a good run this Morning.
Made some good time.
Hugh rowland running with phil Kromm.
phil-billy had the hammer Down there a couple times.
It was good.
When she's time to Pitter-patter, we get at her.
And when she's time to [bleep.]
Lollygag, we'll lollygag.
after starting two hours Later than alex, hugh pulls into Deadhorse one step ahead.
He wins this round of bragging Rights as he delivers his fifth Load of the season.
yeah! Number five.
So we're here.
he's two loads up on alex, Who's only now seeing his Destination on the horizon.
so we're coming to prudhoe Bay.
It's overcast.
It's pretty gray out.
Well, after three trips, it's Starting to look familiar.
but 60 miles even further to The northwest is lisa kelly.
Ahead The open ice.
and we're about 60 miles North of deadhorse.
Me and this wonderful 80-foot Pipe, we've been through a lot Together.
[chuckles.]
So we've been on pavement, Gravel, snow.
We've been all over the place.
[horn honks.]
Now we're about to experience Ice.
Ocean ice.
to get on the ocean ice road, She first has to clear a oh, my gosh.
This corner is intense.
Well, other people have done it.
I can do it, right? now she leaves the land Behind.
I'm on the ocean ice.
Kind of feel the waves.
the wave-like motion is the Weight of the truck making the Ice sag And stretch.
we are on the ocean right Now.
So intense, dude.
lisa keeps her speed to ten Miles an hour.
Any faster and she can damage The ice or even break through.
She creeps towards the oil Field.
we are on the ocean right Now.
Yeah, it's kind of surprising to Me to see all this stuff sitting Here on this ice.
I bet there's some intense Weight out here.
So I don't know how far this Thing's frozen.
finally, lisa pulls into the Finish line.
here's alaska.
We're right here above it.
[chuckles.]
We drove out above alaska.
Now we're just unstrapping this.
She's being stubborn.
[grunts.]
Crimp.
I'm on the ice.
I'm happy to be here.
I'll be happier to leave.
[chuckles.]
handing over her load to the Crane crew, her job is done.
just tell me when you need me Out of the way.
need you out the way.
all right.
thank you.
at the end of week five, jack Jessee tops all drivers with Eight loads.
Hugh leads the canadians with Five.
And lisa kelly's flawless run Over the ice puts her one step Closer to becoming a heavy-haul Driver.
Plus, she's done what only a Handful of truckers can claim.
Steered a big rig across the Ocean.
I have this checklist.
This is my bucket list.
I'm gonna be able to put, "ice Road trucking," right on the Top.
Put a big old fat red checkmark Right next to it.