Ice Road Truckers (2007) s03e08 Episode Script
Killer Pass
Victim.
And a deadly ice fog Zero visibility.
wow.
at the top of the world [honks horn.]
there's a job only a few Would dare.
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 we're living on the edge you can't help yourself from falling living on the edge yeah, yeah it's two months into the ice Road season.
And the alaska department of Transportation is out in force, Trying to keep the road to the Oil fields open Especially through atigun pass.
well, we're keeping the road Open so the trucks can get back And forth to prudhoe bay.
but now, record snowfall and High winds are making atigun Slicker and more deadly than Ever.
this year has been extreme.
We've had 12 storms which have Run up the bering seacoast.
These last few days we had winds In excess of 70 miles an hour.
It makes it really smooth and Really slippery.
And that's when the trucks Really start having problems With it.
[distant screaming.]
[crashing.]
[beeping.]
straighten 'em up.
Okay, no.
Back a little.
There you go.
Come on in.
first up today in the Carlile yard is heavy haul ace Jack jessee.
He's on special assignment to Load two multi-purpose storage Tanks, each weighing 46,000 Poundsthe equivalent of 15 Average-sized cars.
okay.
Tilt back some.
and the two tanks must be in Deadhorse tonight.
okay.
Come on in.
Hey, hold up right there.
hang on a sec.
Just hold it right there.
jack enlists the help of his Friend and heavy haul expert Carey hall.
a lot of people joking Around, you know.
Calling me "the king of heavy Haul" and stuff.
And "carey hall, heavy haul.
" AndYou know.
I move a lot of big, heavy Stuff.
I've done convoys with carey Before.
I enjoy working with carey.
Sometimes we joke around on the Radio a little bit.
He plays along really good.
You get him, and he'll end up Getting you right back with Something, so It's always fun to run with Carey.
Straighten your wheels up.
The other way.
No, don't stop.
they use two forklifts to Carefully raise the first tank So the flatbed can slide Underneath.
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Slow down.
maintaining the right balance Is critical.
[beeping.]
[creaking.]
oh! Back the other way.
Holy [bleep.]
.
jack's assignment may be over Before it's even begun.
[beeping.]
in the garage, alex is Prepping his truck for the next Run.
go up here.
I need my own tools in case the Truck, uh, hasit, you know, Some minor problems that I, uh That need fixing.
Okay, so I got metric and Standard.
Let's take these two here.
but before he can get a Load good morning.
morning, alex.
How we doing? pretty good, thanks.
he's due for a report card An assessment of his performance So far this season.
they can download the Computer on the truck.
So after so many trips they Download your computer to see How you're driving the truck Whether you're wrecking the Truck or not.
since he's still new to Carlile, his driving is under Close scrutiny.
average driving speedthey Want 38 to 40 miles an hour.
On the haul road I got 39.
9.
So I know that one's good.
if drivers stray over the Speed limit at carlile, they Will be suspended.
the excitement is starting This morning already.
alex gets his load Supplies.
we're gonna take thatsee, That'sthat's a little loose.
even though this is alex's Fourth trip on the ice, he must Still travel with an experienced Haul road driver.
But alex's last instructor left Him on the side of the road.
Today, alex has been assigned Someone new.
I'm following a fellow by the Name of ron.
He's a heavy haul guy, I guess.
but ron is nowhere in sight.
I don't like waiting, no.
I think I'll go in and get Another cup of coffee.
How's it going? good.
How are you? good, thanks.
Alex debogorski's my name.
ron dubbs.
pleased to meet you.
good to meet you.
we're running a little bit Late, so yeahuh, yeah.
Tim was gonna call me this Morning and he never did.
We're gonwe're getting her Going now.
are you a hot-rodder or? no, no.
It'll be a nice, casual trip.
time is money on the ice Roads, and the late start has Already cost alex a few hundred Bucks.
so nally, two hours later, We're ready to go.
Northbound again.
My friend ron, whom I'm Following He told me he was a slow driver, So at least he's not lying, Anyway.
[laughing.]
alex is only one run behind Rival hugh rowland.
And at this rate, he'll never Catch up.
see, now what they should do Is they should put hughie behind These guys.
They should get hughie to run With jack and ron and Just to test hughie's stress Level.
See how patient he is.
ever since they arrived in Alaska she's ready to go.
the two have been in an All-out battle for haul road Dominance.
[honks horn.]
[laughs.]
I gotta keep working on this Virtue of patience.
I'm competitive.
I like to haul more loads than Hughie.
But I keep my eye out for an Opportunity.
If the opportunity presents Itself and, you know, I feel Good and there's a chance to get By himdarn right, I'll get by Him.
Just so I can get him to huff And puff a little more.
[laughs.]
[continues laughing.]
for heavy haulers jack jessee And carey hall, things have Gotten off to a shaky start.
slow down.
jack, get out of the way.
oh! Look out.
their 46,000 pound load just Slipped from the forklift And slammed into the ground.
you know, when this thing Picks, it pushes him.
Okay.
luckily, the $150,000 tank Is undamaged.
But they need a new approach to Loading it.
I'm gonna put that under There so we can get under it Right.
by placing planks of wood Underneath the tank, they can Maintain a better balance with The forklifts.
okay, pick it up.
[beeping.]
Okay, you're good.
Yeah, we'll get this thing up, Just give her a little wiggle, And see Make sure she sits there.
all right.
okay? Whoa! We're gonna take it back up a Little bit.
Come on in.
Gonna pick up a little bit.
Nice and easy.
Okay, right there.
while the tank hangs in the Balance They slide a flatbed Underneath And lower the tank successfully.
[beeping.]
But the 16-foot-tall load is At high risk for rolling off the Trailer.
Getting the straps tight is Critical.
we'll do two in the back and Two in the middle, and then two More right here in the front so It doesn't do any wiggling.
the second tank is loaded Without trouble.
But before they hit the road, Jack's got a message for his Driving partner.
jack was standing on the step Right here.
And he's putting this tape on The mirror, and I Saw him, so I just let him do It.
And he thought he got away with It.
So II owe him right now.
II will get him.
I've got these big underwear.
Huge.
I think we're gonna put 'em on The back of the tank.
[radio crackles.]
we ready to go now? I think so.
I'm good.
as the convoy gets under way, Carey is having the last laugh.
I think those are probably The largest pair of underwear I've ever seen before in my Life.
When it comes to practical jokes Out here on the road, you don't Want to mess with big daddy, 'cause he'll get you back.
[laughter.]
up north in deadhorse Lisa kelly is leaving for the Of flatbed trailers.
we're in prudhoe.
It took me 34 off.
And we're heading back to Fairbanks with this deck set Here.
It's so freezing cold in here.
this morning, the alaskan Winter is taking its toll on Lisa and her truck.
oof.
My truck is cold and doesn't Want to work right now.
Everything's just cold on it.
And the trailer.
extreme temperatures cause Fluids in the truck to freeze, Including grease in the steering Column.
I always split all my low-end Gears, 'cause if I don't, it'll Just go bleh.
[chuckles.]
So it's like, "come on, baby, You can do it.
We'll warm up.
" this is lisa's ninth load of The season.
Three of them have been heavy Haulher ultimate goal on this Road.
I'd like to get right back And back out again and get up Here.
I called my dispatch from here And he said, "okay, I'll try to Have something out and ready Just to hook right up to you.
" It should be about 11:00 or Fairbanks.
lisa's eager to keep turning And burning No matter how dangerous the road Gets.
my first ride up here, I was Like, "eh, whatever.
This road ain't that bad.
What's the big deal? I think they just say all this Stuff to scare you.
" And then the more you drive it, The more you see the glows, The hills, trucks off in the Ditch There's two kind of people on The road: The ones that have Been in the ditch and the ones That are gonna go in the ditch.
[chuckles.]
Southbound atigun.
lisa's next challenge The deadly atigun pass.
atigun's not the steepest Grade on the road, but it is The longest.
four long miles of icy Twists and turns.
it's tricky 'cause it's Windy.
There's avalanches 'cause it's A mountain.
We're climbing up and over a Mountain range.
and today's sunshine has made The road especially slick.
yeah, go ahead.
a northbound truck is Slipping on the ice.
what the hell? on the dalton, northbounders Have the right of way.
oh, man.
the driver moves into lisa's Lane to gain traction.
And she is now forced into the Opposite lane I can't see.
I don't want to go in that Ditch.
Her tires just inches from The cliff's edge.
the scaredest I've ever been So far on this road.
[horn blasts.]
the slightest error on the Slick edge of this cliff could Send her straight to the bottom.
[horn blasts.]
The truck passes with just Inches to spare.
you want me to stay in this Lane for the next guy here? oh, you can ask him.
He's coming up the hill behind There.
all righty.
We'll just hang out in this lane Then.
What just happened is that the Traction was better in my lane For the guys climbing the hill.
And I don't need to worry about Traction near as much as the Guys climbing loaded.
And I'm empty coming down.
And there's a little bit more Snow in their lane, so we just Swapped lanes so that they had The good traction going up.
Debogorski and ron dubbs are Nearing coldfoot.
eternal god when I in awesome wonder consider all the world thy hands have made This little bit of scenery kind Of brings out the mind you've Got.
[chuckles.]
as he pushes forward, alex Realizes truckers aren't the Only ones on the road today.
what have we got here? Holy mackerel.
What the heck? alaskan moose can weigh up to Threat to unsuspecting drivers.
wow.
That caught my attention.
[laughs.]
Give a guy a rude awakening.
then sings my soul eternal god to thee how great thou art how great thou art [chuckles.]
[horn blasts.]
up ahead in coldfoot, alex Runs into his rival hugh Rowland.
what the [bleep.]
's going on? guess I'm on my fifth load.
How many are you on? I went by there ten times now Over the pass.
ten times? Five one way and five the other.
that's right.
so I'm catching up to you.
Are you concerned? not a bit.
[laughter.]
they decided that we have two Different types of driving, eh? So they try to match us up to These fellows who are Followingthey drive like we Do.
So they got you with the guys That are fast.
They got me with the guys that Are dying.
[laughter.]
You coming in or what? nope.
we're gonna keep on going? we're this close now.
No use in [bleep.]
stopping now.
oh, yeah.
Well, we'll see you later.
we'll see ya.
hugh's been assigned a lwad That was left in coldfoot during The last storm.
But while he waits to hook up The trailer, alex gets a head Start.
yeah, I run into hugh there, And he's just completed his Fifth load, and I'm just Starting my fifth load, so he's Basically one load ahead of me Now.
He's still traveling with phil, And they didn't even bother Getting out of their trucks.
I enjoy b.
S.
-Ing with everybody And telling stories, but the Trouble is it really cuts into My driving time, so if I stay In the truck, you know, and Just continue, haul another Load, catch up to hughie, and, You know, I do likeI really Like the opportunity to pass him Because I know how much it Bothers him.
He does not like getting passed.
at mile 74 of the ice road we're gonna run into the Roller coaster.
heavy haulers jack jessee and Carey hall are approaching the Roller coaster.
A death-defying set of hills, It requires top speeds to clear Them.
my truck only goes 55 miles An hour.
So that's what I'm gonna hit it At at the bottom.
All I'm concerned is carey Doesn't run me over back there.
His truck'll actually hit the Bottom a little faster than Mine.
I got to make sure that I get About the same amount of speed That he does, and, that way, I Won't catch him going up the Other side.
my truck's now pulling him.
But if he's got more momentum At the bottom than I do, that Could really give you some Problems.
jack clears the top of the Roller coaster.
But on the way down carey starts Gaining on him.
come on.
Pick it up, jack.
Come on, jack.
Pick it up a little bit.
[horn beeps.]
ugh.
jack tries to pick up speed.
damn it, jack, get out of The way.
at a critical moment, jack Finds the right gear and starts To pull away from carey.
there we go.
[sighs.]
I know whywhat's holding Him back.
It's that extra over-sized Pair of underwear he got on the Back of his load.
Jack.
yeah.
really? Yeah, we can stop right over Here and check it out.
Everything's looking good.
Do you want a sandwich? Nothing loosened up.
a little wide? [laughs.]
Yeah.
[laughs.]
Sure thing.
[horn honks.]
It's alex's turn to face the Deadly atigun pass.
atigun pass, that's the Biggest challenge.
It's the number one challenge, As far as I'm concerned, on the Trip here.
Getting over the darn thing.
There's always potential for a Problem.
Gonna have to concentrate a Littlea little more.
If you're gonna do any shifting, It better make the shift.
What worries one about this part Is if weis losing traction And sliding down a hill.
The pucker factor goes up When we're going over.
suddenly another truck tries To pass on a dangerous corner.
holy mackerel.
This guylook at this guy.
He's passing me.
This isthis is how you [bleep.]
Things up, you come in at the Switchback and passing.
yeah.
What were you [bleep.]
.
He's way heavier than I am.
He's going to [bleep.]
me up.
Damn.
alex moves over, His wheels just inches from the Edge.
I have no [bleep.]
idea what the Hell's the matter with him.
He's got a really heavy load.
I mean, any brains, you can see I'm light.
[horn blasts.]
Lucky I'm in the right gear here That I can kind of idle back.
I actually think I can probably Climb the hill faster than him.
the truck in front is now a Dangerous hazard.
If it stops suddenly or spins Out, alex has nowhere to go.
maybe he figures I don't know What I'm doing or I don't know What he thinks.
He's super duck.
I'm sure he feels a little Foolish because he figures he's Gonna just roar by and just Disappear into the sunset.
And it's all he can do to stay Ahead of me now.
Not bad.
I'm pushing this tanker up the Hill now.
I don't know who these guys are, I'm new here, so, I mean, I'm NotI'm happy.
It's fine.
I can handle it right here.
It's foolish.
Total foolishness.
[horn honks.]
It's now hugh rowland and Phil krom's turn to make the Dangerous ascent.
I've been trying to get a Hold of alex.
uh, well, it doesn't sound Like we'll catch up to him.
hugh is one load ahead of Alex in the dash for cash, but On this run he's getting left In the dust.
yeah, she's strapped down Pretty good.
Yeah, there ain't much on here.
There's only 12,000 pounds on Here.
pulling over to chain up will Put hugh even further behind his Rival.
I just gotI just got pipe Fittings.
I only got 12,000 pounds on.
I'm just gonna help Phil billy chain up.
hugh is carrying a load so Light, he doesn't think he needs Chains.
[bleep.]
.
yeah, no, I'm good.
I only got 12,000 pounds on.
Yeah.
I think it's too lightwe Got several in front of us.
I mean, that'sI'm not even Slipping around.
That's the best way to go.
give me a pretty good head Start before you start up.
what hugh doesn't know is That today the pass is extremely Slick.
A few hundred feet up ahead, A tanker traveling with no Chains suddenly lost traction And crashed into the guardrail.
Now the wreck is blocking the Road.
[beep.]
yep, go ahead.
so I'll catch up to you here In a minute.
did they say what, uh They couldn't get the truck off TheI heard something about they can't get it off the Guardrail.
It's stuck on it.
They're steel posts driven into The ground.
They're not wooden-post Guardrails.
oh.
Well, that [bleep.]
sucks, Doesn't it? [dramatic music.]
at 4,000 feet All traffic has come to a Standstill, costing them all Precious time and money And possibly ending hugh's lead In the dash for the cash.
on the treacherous atigun Pass Severely slick conditions have Caused an oil tanker with no Chains to spin out and crash Into the guardrail.
After two hours, the road Finally reopens.
I'm good to go, hey, phil? hugh and phil can start Moving north again to deadhorse.
he beat her up pretty bad Down there.
yeah, and lucky to be alive.
Quite a little windstorm last Night.
About 2 inches of snow and a Windstorm, soIt kinda made a Mess of things.
as hugh inches up the pass, The road conditions are much Worse than he expected.
At the bottom of the pass, he Decided not to chain up.
now he's spinning out.
[bleep.]
.
She's pretty [bleep.]
slippery.
Uh-oh.
Come on, get up there.
Just [bleep.]
all over the place.
Anybody that says this ain't an Ice road, they're full of [bleep.]
.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I just come up over the pass Here.
I spun most of the way to the [laughing.]
top.
That was my call with no chains.
But I made her.
[honking horn.]
after a long day on the road, Alex and convoy partner ron Dobbs reach the outskirts of Deadhorse.
about 500 miles later, this Is it.
I almost finished my fifth trip.
If I was drivin' it by myself, You know, I'd probably drive A little quicker.
Well, here we are, prudhoe bay.
A successful trip.
as soon as alex drops his Load, he and ron are assigned Backhauls to coldfoot.
flatbeds usually along this Row over here and vans are Usually along this row.
Just find out which one's yours And get heading south.
that's good, great.
And now we're southbound with A load.
back on the road, alex is Well ahead of hugh and on track To match his six loads.
I guess we'll see.
before the discovery of oil In 1968, prudhoe bay emerged As the center for another Natural resource Whales.
From the mid-19th century, local Natives established a vast Commercial whaling industry Here.
if you want to look at it, Really, there have been two oil Rushes to the north slope.
The first was for oil from the Whales, and the second was oil From the ground.
Whale oil in the early days, A large part of it is for Corsets and foryou know, Because this was before Plasticbut it was also used For lighting.
And this is all before Petroleum.
and the miles are just gonna Go away, slow but sure.
after a series of delays, Hugh and phil are next to pull Into prudhoe bay.
hugh wants to turn and burn To stay ahead of alex.
And alex is so [bleep.]
far Behind, he thinks he's ahead.
[laughing.]
[clunk.]
he's unloaded and reloaded In record time.
But lead driver phil isn't so Anxious to get going.
you getting antsy or what? nope.
you're sitting there with Your seatbelt on just feeling Safe? I just put it on.
well, I wonder how far those Guys are behind us.
well, it depends if they got Away.
I gotta do some things now well, you gotta do what you Gotta do, man.
That's all there is to it.
okay.
I'll be right out.
all right.
hugh must wait until phil is Ready to go.
For now, the polar bear is at a Standstill.
[bleep.]
damn it! as the sun sets Lisa begins her final stretch Down the dalton.
She's still got 190 miles to go To reach fairbanks.
we'll be getting into Fairbanks aboutMidnight.
And I'm gonna have a load ready And waiting for me when I get There.
We'll see how tired I am.
I'm gonna be tired.
but one of the road's worst Trouble spots is up ahead The beaver slide.
For south bounders, it's 2 miles Straight uphill.
my biggest problem with the Beaver slidea lot of people Have been spinning on it and Slicking up the road so the next Guy comes up behind him and Spins on his spin marks.
Whoa halfway up, she begins to Spin.
really slippery.
Holy crap.
Feel that? It's slipping.
Holy crap.
lisa gears down And slowly, she inches her way To the top.
that was kind of slippery in The cab there.
Did you feel that? Just trying to get to the top, It was like after 500 miles and 15 hours On the road, lisa reaches Fairbanks.
lisa, you on there? yes, sir.
where you be at? pulling in to the fox scales Right now.
I'm exhausted tired.
I just wanna like stop.
But not yet.
I'd like to get two more in this Week, so I'm gonna go to bed And turn around and go back Tomorrow, do it all over again.
Heavy haulers jack jessee and Carey hall are gunning for Deadhorse.
it is late, man.
they've already been at it For ten grueling hours, and they Must deliver their loads Tonight.
Regulations allow them to drive For 16 hours without a break.
Jack's convinced he can make the Last 80 miles in two hours.
But first, he's gotta beat Fatigue.
Going on! up ahead, the weather begins To change.
ice fogs form when extremely Cold air suddenly hits a warm Front.
Tiny ice particles crystallize Into a layer so thick it's Sometimes called the white Death.
[horn honking.]
The fog grows thicker by the Minute.
Visibility drops to just 6 feet.
wow.
after 15 long hours Jack and carey push through to The finish line.
the giant tanks have survived The 500-mile journey up the Dalton and are delivered on Time.
two months into alaska's ice Road season, heavy haul ace Jack jessee is still leading the Pack, having hauled more than Twice as many loads as the Rookies.
But the night isn't over yet.
Rookie tim freeman and george Spears are southbound, just 100 Miles from fairbanks And running straight into a Blinding whiteout.
yeah.
How we doing? yeah.
the winds are gusting at 50 Miles per hour.
Visibility is near zero.
But they have no choice but to Push through.
you know how she looks here, Carey.
[wind rushing.]
oh, boy.
Just a horrendous storm.
It's hard to see the road until You get up here toward the Guardrail.
[horn blares.]
Oh, my god!
And a deadly ice fog Zero visibility.
wow.
at the top of the world [honks horn.]
there's a job only a few Would dare.
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 we're living on the edge you can't help yourself from falling living on the edge yeah, yeah it's two months into the ice Road season.
And the alaska department of Transportation is out in force, Trying to keep the road to the Oil fields open Especially through atigun pass.
well, we're keeping the road Open so the trucks can get back And forth to prudhoe bay.
but now, record snowfall and High winds are making atigun Slicker and more deadly than Ever.
this year has been extreme.
We've had 12 storms which have Run up the bering seacoast.
These last few days we had winds In excess of 70 miles an hour.
It makes it really smooth and Really slippery.
And that's when the trucks Really start having problems With it.
[distant screaming.]
[crashing.]
[beeping.]
straighten 'em up.
Okay, no.
Back a little.
There you go.
Come on in.
first up today in the Carlile yard is heavy haul ace Jack jessee.
He's on special assignment to Load two multi-purpose storage Tanks, each weighing 46,000 Poundsthe equivalent of 15 Average-sized cars.
okay.
Tilt back some.
and the two tanks must be in Deadhorse tonight.
okay.
Come on in.
Hey, hold up right there.
hang on a sec.
Just hold it right there.
jack enlists the help of his Friend and heavy haul expert Carey hall.
a lot of people joking Around, you know.
Calling me "the king of heavy Haul" and stuff.
And "carey hall, heavy haul.
" AndYou know.
I move a lot of big, heavy Stuff.
I've done convoys with carey Before.
I enjoy working with carey.
Sometimes we joke around on the Radio a little bit.
He plays along really good.
You get him, and he'll end up Getting you right back with Something, so It's always fun to run with Carey.
Straighten your wheels up.
The other way.
No, don't stop.
they use two forklifts to Carefully raise the first tank So the flatbed can slide Underneath.
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Slow down.
maintaining the right balance Is critical.
[beeping.]
[creaking.]
oh! Back the other way.
Holy [bleep.]
.
jack's assignment may be over Before it's even begun.
[beeping.]
in the garage, alex is Prepping his truck for the next Run.
go up here.
I need my own tools in case the Truck, uh, hasit, you know, Some minor problems that I, uh That need fixing.
Okay, so I got metric and Standard.
Let's take these two here.
but before he can get a Load good morning.
morning, alex.
How we doing? pretty good, thanks.
he's due for a report card An assessment of his performance So far this season.
they can download the Computer on the truck.
So after so many trips they Download your computer to see How you're driving the truck Whether you're wrecking the Truck or not.
since he's still new to Carlile, his driving is under Close scrutiny.
average driving speedthey Want 38 to 40 miles an hour.
On the haul road I got 39.
9.
So I know that one's good.
if drivers stray over the Speed limit at carlile, they Will be suspended.
the excitement is starting This morning already.
alex gets his load Supplies.
we're gonna take thatsee, That'sthat's a little loose.
even though this is alex's Fourth trip on the ice, he must Still travel with an experienced Haul road driver.
But alex's last instructor left Him on the side of the road.
Today, alex has been assigned Someone new.
I'm following a fellow by the Name of ron.
He's a heavy haul guy, I guess.
but ron is nowhere in sight.
I don't like waiting, no.
I think I'll go in and get Another cup of coffee.
How's it going? good.
How are you? good, thanks.
Alex debogorski's my name.
ron dubbs.
pleased to meet you.
good to meet you.
we're running a little bit Late, so yeahuh, yeah.
Tim was gonna call me this Morning and he never did.
We're gonwe're getting her Going now.
are you a hot-rodder or? no, no.
It'll be a nice, casual trip.
time is money on the ice Roads, and the late start has Already cost alex a few hundred Bucks.
so nally, two hours later, We're ready to go.
Northbound again.
My friend ron, whom I'm Following He told me he was a slow driver, So at least he's not lying, Anyway.
[laughing.]
alex is only one run behind Rival hugh rowland.
And at this rate, he'll never Catch up.
see, now what they should do Is they should put hughie behind These guys.
They should get hughie to run With jack and ron and Just to test hughie's stress Level.
See how patient he is.
ever since they arrived in Alaska she's ready to go.
the two have been in an All-out battle for haul road Dominance.
[honks horn.]
[laughs.]
I gotta keep working on this Virtue of patience.
I'm competitive.
I like to haul more loads than Hughie.
But I keep my eye out for an Opportunity.
If the opportunity presents Itself and, you know, I feel Good and there's a chance to get By himdarn right, I'll get by Him.
Just so I can get him to huff And puff a little more.
[laughs.]
[continues laughing.]
for heavy haulers jack jessee And carey hall, things have Gotten off to a shaky start.
slow down.
jack, get out of the way.
oh! Look out.
their 46,000 pound load just Slipped from the forklift And slammed into the ground.
you know, when this thing Picks, it pushes him.
Okay.
luckily, the $150,000 tank Is undamaged.
But they need a new approach to Loading it.
I'm gonna put that under There so we can get under it Right.
by placing planks of wood Underneath the tank, they can Maintain a better balance with The forklifts.
okay, pick it up.
[beeping.]
Okay, you're good.
Yeah, we'll get this thing up, Just give her a little wiggle, And see Make sure she sits there.
all right.
okay? Whoa! We're gonna take it back up a Little bit.
Come on in.
Gonna pick up a little bit.
Nice and easy.
Okay, right there.
while the tank hangs in the Balance They slide a flatbed Underneath And lower the tank successfully.
[beeping.]
But the 16-foot-tall load is At high risk for rolling off the Trailer.
Getting the straps tight is Critical.
we'll do two in the back and Two in the middle, and then two More right here in the front so It doesn't do any wiggling.
the second tank is loaded Without trouble.
But before they hit the road, Jack's got a message for his Driving partner.
jack was standing on the step Right here.
And he's putting this tape on The mirror, and I Saw him, so I just let him do It.
And he thought he got away with It.
So II owe him right now.
II will get him.
I've got these big underwear.
Huge.
I think we're gonna put 'em on The back of the tank.
[radio crackles.]
we ready to go now? I think so.
I'm good.
as the convoy gets under way, Carey is having the last laugh.
I think those are probably The largest pair of underwear I've ever seen before in my Life.
When it comes to practical jokes Out here on the road, you don't Want to mess with big daddy, 'cause he'll get you back.
[laughter.]
up north in deadhorse Lisa kelly is leaving for the Of flatbed trailers.
we're in prudhoe.
It took me 34 off.
And we're heading back to Fairbanks with this deck set Here.
It's so freezing cold in here.
this morning, the alaskan Winter is taking its toll on Lisa and her truck.
oof.
My truck is cold and doesn't Want to work right now.
Everything's just cold on it.
And the trailer.
extreme temperatures cause Fluids in the truck to freeze, Including grease in the steering Column.
I always split all my low-end Gears, 'cause if I don't, it'll Just go bleh.
[chuckles.]
So it's like, "come on, baby, You can do it.
We'll warm up.
" this is lisa's ninth load of The season.
Three of them have been heavy Haulher ultimate goal on this Road.
I'd like to get right back And back out again and get up Here.
I called my dispatch from here And he said, "okay, I'll try to Have something out and ready Just to hook right up to you.
" It should be about 11:00 or Fairbanks.
lisa's eager to keep turning And burning No matter how dangerous the road Gets.
my first ride up here, I was Like, "eh, whatever.
This road ain't that bad.
What's the big deal? I think they just say all this Stuff to scare you.
" And then the more you drive it, The more you see the glows, The hills, trucks off in the Ditch There's two kind of people on The road: The ones that have Been in the ditch and the ones That are gonna go in the ditch.
[chuckles.]
Southbound atigun.
lisa's next challenge The deadly atigun pass.
atigun's not the steepest Grade on the road, but it is The longest.
four long miles of icy Twists and turns.
it's tricky 'cause it's Windy.
There's avalanches 'cause it's A mountain.
We're climbing up and over a Mountain range.
and today's sunshine has made The road especially slick.
yeah, go ahead.
a northbound truck is Slipping on the ice.
what the hell? on the dalton, northbounders Have the right of way.
oh, man.
the driver moves into lisa's Lane to gain traction.
And she is now forced into the Opposite lane I can't see.
I don't want to go in that Ditch.
Her tires just inches from The cliff's edge.
the scaredest I've ever been So far on this road.
[horn blasts.]
the slightest error on the Slick edge of this cliff could Send her straight to the bottom.
[horn blasts.]
The truck passes with just Inches to spare.
you want me to stay in this Lane for the next guy here? oh, you can ask him.
He's coming up the hill behind There.
all righty.
We'll just hang out in this lane Then.
What just happened is that the Traction was better in my lane For the guys climbing the hill.
And I don't need to worry about Traction near as much as the Guys climbing loaded.
And I'm empty coming down.
And there's a little bit more Snow in their lane, so we just Swapped lanes so that they had The good traction going up.
Debogorski and ron dubbs are Nearing coldfoot.
eternal god when I in awesome wonder consider all the world thy hands have made This little bit of scenery kind Of brings out the mind you've Got.
[chuckles.]
as he pushes forward, alex Realizes truckers aren't the Only ones on the road today.
what have we got here? Holy mackerel.
What the heck? alaskan moose can weigh up to Threat to unsuspecting drivers.
wow.
That caught my attention.
[laughs.]
Give a guy a rude awakening.
then sings my soul eternal god to thee how great thou art how great thou art [chuckles.]
[horn blasts.]
up ahead in coldfoot, alex Runs into his rival hugh Rowland.
what the [bleep.]
's going on? guess I'm on my fifth load.
How many are you on? I went by there ten times now Over the pass.
ten times? Five one way and five the other.
that's right.
so I'm catching up to you.
Are you concerned? not a bit.
[laughter.]
they decided that we have two Different types of driving, eh? So they try to match us up to These fellows who are Followingthey drive like we Do.
So they got you with the guys That are fast.
They got me with the guys that Are dying.
[laughter.]
You coming in or what? nope.
we're gonna keep on going? we're this close now.
No use in [bleep.]
stopping now.
oh, yeah.
Well, we'll see you later.
we'll see ya.
hugh's been assigned a lwad That was left in coldfoot during The last storm.
But while he waits to hook up The trailer, alex gets a head Start.
yeah, I run into hugh there, And he's just completed his Fifth load, and I'm just Starting my fifth load, so he's Basically one load ahead of me Now.
He's still traveling with phil, And they didn't even bother Getting out of their trucks.
I enjoy b.
S.
-Ing with everybody And telling stories, but the Trouble is it really cuts into My driving time, so if I stay In the truck, you know, and Just continue, haul another Load, catch up to hughie, and, You know, I do likeI really Like the opportunity to pass him Because I know how much it Bothers him.
He does not like getting passed.
at mile 74 of the ice road we're gonna run into the Roller coaster.
heavy haulers jack jessee and Carey hall are approaching the Roller coaster.
A death-defying set of hills, It requires top speeds to clear Them.
my truck only goes 55 miles An hour.
So that's what I'm gonna hit it At at the bottom.
All I'm concerned is carey Doesn't run me over back there.
His truck'll actually hit the Bottom a little faster than Mine.
I got to make sure that I get About the same amount of speed That he does, and, that way, I Won't catch him going up the Other side.
my truck's now pulling him.
But if he's got more momentum At the bottom than I do, that Could really give you some Problems.
jack clears the top of the Roller coaster.
But on the way down carey starts Gaining on him.
come on.
Pick it up, jack.
Come on, jack.
Pick it up a little bit.
[horn beeps.]
ugh.
jack tries to pick up speed.
damn it, jack, get out of The way.
at a critical moment, jack Finds the right gear and starts To pull away from carey.
there we go.
[sighs.]
I know whywhat's holding Him back.
It's that extra over-sized Pair of underwear he got on the Back of his load.
Jack.
yeah.
really? Yeah, we can stop right over Here and check it out.
Everything's looking good.
Do you want a sandwich? Nothing loosened up.
a little wide? [laughs.]
Yeah.
[laughs.]
Sure thing.
[horn honks.]
It's alex's turn to face the Deadly atigun pass.
atigun pass, that's the Biggest challenge.
It's the number one challenge, As far as I'm concerned, on the Trip here.
Getting over the darn thing.
There's always potential for a Problem.
Gonna have to concentrate a Littlea little more.
If you're gonna do any shifting, It better make the shift.
What worries one about this part Is if weis losing traction And sliding down a hill.
The pucker factor goes up When we're going over.
suddenly another truck tries To pass on a dangerous corner.
holy mackerel.
This guylook at this guy.
He's passing me.
This isthis is how you [bleep.]
Things up, you come in at the Switchback and passing.
yeah.
What were you [bleep.]
.
He's way heavier than I am.
He's going to [bleep.]
me up.
Damn.
alex moves over, His wheels just inches from the Edge.
I have no [bleep.]
idea what the Hell's the matter with him.
He's got a really heavy load.
I mean, any brains, you can see I'm light.
[horn blasts.]
Lucky I'm in the right gear here That I can kind of idle back.
I actually think I can probably Climb the hill faster than him.
the truck in front is now a Dangerous hazard.
If it stops suddenly or spins Out, alex has nowhere to go.
maybe he figures I don't know What I'm doing or I don't know What he thinks.
He's super duck.
I'm sure he feels a little Foolish because he figures he's Gonna just roar by and just Disappear into the sunset.
And it's all he can do to stay Ahead of me now.
Not bad.
I'm pushing this tanker up the Hill now.
I don't know who these guys are, I'm new here, so, I mean, I'm NotI'm happy.
It's fine.
I can handle it right here.
It's foolish.
Total foolishness.
[horn honks.]
It's now hugh rowland and Phil krom's turn to make the Dangerous ascent.
I've been trying to get a Hold of alex.
uh, well, it doesn't sound Like we'll catch up to him.
hugh is one load ahead of Alex in the dash for cash, but On this run he's getting left In the dust.
yeah, she's strapped down Pretty good.
Yeah, there ain't much on here.
There's only 12,000 pounds on Here.
pulling over to chain up will Put hugh even further behind his Rival.
I just gotI just got pipe Fittings.
I only got 12,000 pounds on.
I'm just gonna help Phil billy chain up.
hugh is carrying a load so Light, he doesn't think he needs Chains.
[bleep.]
.
yeah, no, I'm good.
I only got 12,000 pounds on.
Yeah.
I think it's too lightwe Got several in front of us.
I mean, that'sI'm not even Slipping around.
That's the best way to go.
give me a pretty good head Start before you start up.
what hugh doesn't know is That today the pass is extremely Slick.
A few hundred feet up ahead, A tanker traveling with no Chains suddenly lost traction And crashed into the guardrail.
Now the wreck is blocking the Road.
[beep.]
yep, go ahead.
so I'll catch up to you here In a minute.
did they say what, uh They couldn't get the truck off TheI heard something about they can't get it off the Guardrail.
It's stuck on it.
They're steel posts driven into The ground.
They're not wooden-post Guardrails.
oh.
Well, that [bleep.]
sucks, Doesn't it? [dramatic music.]
at 4,000 feet All traffic has come to a Standstill, costing them all Precious time and money And possibly ending hugh's lead In the dash for the cash.
on the treacherous atigun Pass Severely slick conditions have Caused an oil tanker with no Chains to spin out and crash Into the guardrail.
After two hours, the road Finally reopens.
I'm good to go, hey, phil? hugh and phil can start Moving north again to deadhorse.
he beat her up pretty bad Down there.
yeah, and lucky to be alive.
Quite a little windstorm last Night.
About 2 inches of snow and a Windstorm, soIt kinda made a Mess of things.
as hugh inches up the pass, The road conditions are much Worse than he expected.
At the bottom of the pass, he Decided not to chain up.
now he's spinning out.
[bleep.]
.
She's pretty [bleep.]
slippery.
Uh-oh.
Come on, get up there.
Just [bleep.]
all over the place.
Anybody that says this ain't an Ice road, they're full of [bleep.]
.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I just come up over the pass Here.
I spun most of the way to the [laughing.]
top.
That was my call with no chains.
But I made her.
[honking horn.]
after a long day on the road, Alex and convoy partner ron Dobbs reach the outskirts of Deadhorse.
about 500 miles later, this Is it.
I almost finished my fifth trip.
If I was drivin' it by myself, You know, I'd probably drive A little quicker.
Well, here we are, prudhoe bay.
A successful trip.
as soon as alex drops his Load, he and ron are assigned Backhauls to coldfoot.
flatbeds usually along this Row over here and vans are Usually along this row.
Just find out which one's yours And get heading south.
that's good, great.
And now we're southbound with A load.
back on the road, alex is Well ahead of hugh and on track To match his six loads.
I guess we'll see.
before the discovery of oil In 1968, prudhoe bay emerged As the center for another Natural resource Whales.
From the mid-19th century, local Natives established a vast Commercial whaling industry Here.
if you want to look at it, Really, there have been two oil Rushes to the north slope.
The first was for oil from the Whales, and the second was oil From the ground.
Whale oil in the early days, A large part of it is for Corsets and foryou know, Because this was before Plasticbut it was also used For lighting.
And this is all before Petroleum.
and the miles are just gonna Go away, slow but sure.
after a series of delays, Hugh and phil are next to pull Into prudhoe bay.
hugh wants to turn and burn To stay ahead of alex.
And alex is so [bleep.]
far Behind, he thinks he's ahead.
[laughing.]
[clunk.]
he's unloaded and reloaded In record time.
But lead driver phil isn't so Anxious to get going.
you getting antsy or what? nope.
you're sitting there with Your seatbelt on just feeling Safe? I just put it on.
well, I wonder how far those Guys are behind us.
well, it depends if they got Away.
I gotta do some things now well, you gotta do what you Gotta do, man.
That's all there is to it.
okay.
I'll be right out.
all right.
hugh must wait until phil is Ready to go.
For now, the polar bear is at a Standstill.
[bleep.]
damn it! as the sun sets Lisa begins her final stretch Down the dalton.
She's still got 190 miles to go To reach fairbanks.
we'll be getting into Fairbanks aboutMidnight.
And I'm gonna have a load ready And waiting for me when I get There.
We'll see how tired I am.
I'm gonna be tired.
but one of the road's worst Trouble spots is up ahead The beaver slide.
For south bounders, it's 2 miles Straight uphill.
my biggest problem with the Beaver slidea lot of people Have been spinning on it and Slicking up the road so the next Guy comes up behind him and Spins on his spin marks.
Whoa halfway up, she begins to Spin.
really slippery.
Holy crap.
Feel that? It's slipping.
Holy crap.
lisa gears down And slowly, she inches her way To the top.
that was kind of slippery in The cab there.
Did you feel that? Just trying to get to the top, It was like after 500 miles and 15 hours On the road, lisa reaches Fairbanks.
lisa, you on there? yes, sir.
where you be at? pulling in to the fox scales Right now.
I'm exhausted tired.
I just wanna like stop.
But not yet.
I'd like to get two more in this Week, so I'm gonna go to bed And turn around and go back Tomorrow, do it all over again.
Heavy haulers jack jessee and Carey hall are gunning for Deadhorse.
it is late, man.
they've already been at it For ten grueling hours, and they Must deliver their loads Tonight.
Regulations allow them to drive For 16 hours without a break.
Jack's convinced he can make the Last 80 miles in two hours.
But first, he's gotta beat Fatigue.
Going on! up ahead, the weather begins To change.
ice fogs form when extremely Cold air suddenly hits a warm Front.
Tiny ice particles crystallize Into a layer so thick it's Sometimes called the white Death.
[horn honking.]
The fog grows thicker by the Minute.
Visibility drops to just 6 feet.
wow.
after 15 long hours Jack and carey push through to The finish line.
the giant tanks have survived The 500-mile journey up the Dalton and are delivered on Time.
two months into alaska's ice Road season, heavy haul ace Jack jessee is still leading the Pack, having hauled more than Twice as many loads as the Rookies.
But the night isn't over yet.
Rookie tim freeman and george Spears are southbound, just 100 Miles from fairbanks And running straight into a Blinding whiteout.
yeah.
How we doing? yeah.
the winds are gusting at 50 Miles per hour.
Visibility is near zero.
But they have no choice but to Push through.
you know how she looks here, Carey.
[wind rushing.]
oh, boy.
Just a horrendous storm.
It's hard to see the road until You get up here toward the Guardrail.
[horn blares.]
Oh, my god!