Ice Road Truckers (2007) s06e02 Episode Script
Sink or Swim
Tonight on Ice Road Truckers Yeah, it's Alaska, baby.
It's judgment day for the Dalton newcomers.
The south's invading, son.
'Cause he's a fucking prick.
Oh, fuck.
- On the winter roads - Holy fuck.
Rick loses it.
Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going? - And Alex - Why did I think I saw the town? Like, what happened to it? Rolls the dice on Arctic ice.
Anybody got a copy? Up here, you can easily die by yourself.
In Manitoba, Canada Record-high temperatures have turned the winter roads into an unforgiving swamp of slush and thin ice.
That was a good bump.
I love it.
And 200 miles north of Winnipeg Hugh and Rick are in the thick of it.
So rough, my truck pops out of gear.
- This season - Boy, this is stupid.
- Hugh is sharing in Polar's profits - Fuck.
That's how you do it right there.
While Rick is driving as a first-time truck owner.
Yeah-heah! But so far their season's been more crash than cash.
What we're doing this year is a lot more dangerous than any other year.
The roads haven't even hardened.
Like, they haven't even packed up yet.
- And after two brutal days - Holy crap.
Are we here? Got to be getting close.
The end is almost in sight.
Smooth sailing from here on out.
- But up ahead - That's a fucking nightmare.
Holy fuck.
What should be a 300-yard ice crossing This is not ice road trucking anymore.
This is kind of like suicidal trucking.
But with their payday waiting on the other side We ain't got time to sit around here.
Hugh tests the ice with 14,000 pounds of steel.
Okay.
We're just going into the fucking water here.
Okay, I'm across 'er.
Come on over.
With a foot of water covering the crossing Rick's got no way to know if the ice is still solid.
Here we go.
I don't even have ice to run on.
I'm going through a lake.
Hammer down.
Enjoying the ice road truck today, partner? Oh, yeah.
Well, I got to say, that's the first time I've ever run open water at the start of a season.
Put my fucking cowboy hat on.
This is a fucking truck rodeo if I've ever been in one.
Yee-haw! They pack it in there fairly tight to save it from falling over.
Alex Debogorski is loading up for his deadliest mission yet.
Load her to the max.
We're done.
- Yesterday - Giddyup.
Let's go.
He defied the odds, surviving the deadly Dempster Whoa, boy.
To bring emergency supplies to Inuvik.
I think we're ready to go.
But today he's heading even further north to resupply the native village of Tuktoyaktuk.
Sink or swim.
Alex will leave solid ground behind And drive onto the arctic ocean, a place where shifting ice crushes ships and stranded souls can freeze to death.
This is most of the store's supply for the whole year.
The person who owns the store has been waiting for it for a while.
And if he doesn't get the supply before the ice goes out, he's gonna be out of business.
Weighed down with nearly 30,000 pounds of cargo Whoa, baby.
Alex eases onto the ice.
Ice cracking.
Nice and easy.
And every time you go on ice, there's potential for problems.
If the ice breaks, you can end up in the water.
There's something up here.
This is a truck that's-- has sunk through the ice.
And there it sits, froze in.
Can you imagine the panic that the driver had when he went through? Well, that's a reminder to all those people that say that trucks never go through the ice.
No, they never go through.
Well, there you are.
There's another one that never went through.
Up here, you can easily die by yourself.
- 480 miles to the southwest in Alaska - Got her! Carlile's in the middle of a massive project-- to move a 3 1/2 million-pound oil rig to Prudhoe Bay.
And it's brought new faces to the Dalton, hoping to cash in on the extra workload.
- In the office - How'd it go? I mean, we got our first trip out of the way.
Yup.
It's cocky newcomer Darrell Ward.
On the road the Montana log hauler strutted his stuff.
I'm the best fucker out here.
But his attitude raised eyebrows.
I will guarantee you, if you say that too much, it's gonna bite you.
And now his future with Carlile is in the hands of the boss.
Sounds like there were a few challenges out there.
You know, one thing I noticed, you're really-- you're really cocky.
I don't like the-- the arrogance there.
It's a big concern.
Right.
These guys are watching your ass.
They're watching you.
And you're overconfident, they're not gonna like it.
Really it's decision time, Tony.
Well, I felt real comfortable with the way he was driving, so, as far as I'm concerned, he's good, man.
He's ready to go.
Okay, we're gonna let you go here.
We're gonna put you on the road.
Don't get too arrogant or too cocky out there, because that's what gets guys in trouble.
Good luck out there.
Glad to have you aboard.
All right.
Thanks, Lane.
Good job, man.
I smoked it.
Lane seemed very happy to hear what Tony had to say.
All I got was good raves.
Darrell's joining the rig move with a 35,000-pound pump motor on his first solo run.
They turned me loose, so I'm running solo now, which is the way I want it.
If a guy like that comes up here and can't really get over himself Then he'll be back in Montana hauling logs.
While one driver's training is over Another is in over his head.
Yesterday Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum's training run went downhill fast.
- Holy-- - Whoa, watch it, watch it.
Move back to the center.
Ah, you're done driving.
Pull over.
And now it's his turn to face the boss.
Sounds like we had a interesting trip.
It did get pretty ugly.
And the biggest thing that I have a concern with is your attention to what you're doing is pretty easily distracted.
I struggled because I'm not used to the truck.
It's a new truck on me.
You know, I understand you're trying to get used to the truck, but I was kind of waiting for you to improve on your own.
I'm here to take my criticism and learn what I can.
I'm doing this for me and my family so we can have something.
I know your story, okay? We talked.
I feel for you, but look at it this way.
If you leave here, and I'm not be back here in two days, then I'm not gonna let you go.
Yes, sir.
- Coming up - Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going? - And later - A little stress level going on.
A reality check.
Oh, fuck! - In Fairbanks, Alaska - If you leave here, and I'm not 100% sure that you're gonna be back here in two days, then I'm not gonna let you go.
Yes, sir.
Porkchop's fate rests in the hands of Carlile manager Lane Keator and trainer Phil Kromm.
Overall, I wasn't seeing improvement on technique.
I wouldn't feel comfortable signing my name to an authorization at this point.
What do you think about Tony? If you want to continue, a second opinion is definitely a minimum at what's warranted here.
Okay.
This is what we're gonna do, okay? I'm gonna put you out there with Tony.
You're gonna make one more trip up the road.
And if we can make this work, then we'll make it work.
If we can't make it work We'll give you a ride to the airport.
That's pretty nerve-racking.
Was kind of a little more brutal than I expected.
Hopefully, he comes through this and he gets it figured out.
This is a different game up here.
Not only is his life at stake, so is everybody else's, including mine.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let one safety coordinator decide on my future.
They're gonna give me one more chance, and if I do it, then I do it.
If I don't, then I go home.
- 250 miles north - All right, here you go, man.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Veteran Jack Jessee is mentoring Austin Wheeler, a driver nearly half his age.
Feeling a little anxious to get going? Yeah, tired of waiting around.
Well, we got to wait for everybody else to head out because we're oversized.
Just hanging out till everyone else leaves? Yeah.
Just make sure it's good.
You sure you want to do that? Oh, yeah.
That's years of experience right there.
Last night high winds threatened their oversized rig loads.
Whoa.
But Jack's call to stop at Coldfoot left Austin in a foul mood.
I'm not making any money sitting here.
I had Austin over here chomping at the bit to go, but being first isn't always the best.
This pisses me off.
We started out first yesterday, and now we're last.
Hopefully, we can get going.
Tired of waiting around.
As other drivers clear the yard All Austin can do is watch.
You want to back up here a bit? And we'll be rolling out.
Okay.
We're finally leaving Coldfoot and getting back on the road.
I got my Mountain Dew and my beef jerky, we're on the road again.
Things are looking up.
But up ahead is 4,800-foot Atigun Pass where one mistake could be a driver's last.
Well, considering the weather they had, guaranteed at least one set on this.
There's a big one.
We're gonna have to put iron on? Fuck.
Jack quickly chains up for the climb.
Done deal.
- But the kid - Fuck.
Is running into trouble.
This is bullshit.
Why are my fucking chains broke? Oh, fuck! Probably don't need fucking chains for this hill anyways.
Uh-oh.
Just got a bent link I just need to fix real quick.
Care if I borrow your pliers? I don't have-- somebody took mine in Kenai.
I don't have 'em.
How did you-- how did you bend your link? I don't fucking know.
They're old chains.
You didn't try 'em out beforehand? No, I did.
Must have bent 'em last night or yesterday or something.
Oh.
Just 'cause you have chains on your truck, that doesn't mean they're good to go.
You need to make sure your chains are good for this road.
These are old and worn out.
Those chains are rusty.
Put a little squeeze through.
There we go.
Fixed.
Let's put this stuff up and get going.
After Jack's veteran touch Okay, we are starting to roll from the bottom of the shelf.
The convoy is back in business.
I'm tired of being Jack's little brother.
That's not what I'm here for.
I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have me in this truck if I didn't know what I was doing.
It's a little too early right now to put any kind of grade on what Austin's doing.
He's got so much more to learn.
Hugh and Rick are hoping to cash in on the short season.
We made 'er to Berens River here, and we're trying to find these trailers.
But to make dollar one, they gotta find the loads.
We got the same pinpoint idea of what we always got.
It's in this town somewhere.
Fuck, don't follow me.
We still don't know where we're going.
Hey, is that-- We're not going across that bridge, are we? That's fucking close.
Well-- fuck.
You all right? I don't think I'll make it under that.
Okay, back her up.
We got to get out of here then.
Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going, so I don't have to keep driving around in circles? Just maybe.
I have no idea.
I guess we keep driving around until we find her, eh? That's gotta be them up there.
By God, there's two fucking trailers there, so that's exactly where we're going.
I'll be damned.
They finally track them down.
This one and that one.
But after a year buried in the snow, these trailers aren't going anywhere.
Oh, you're kidding me.
They're stuck.
You're never gonna spin that around.
Never.
For fuck sakes.
Fucking nightmare.
In Fairbanks, Alaska There we go.
Porkchop's getting a rare shot at redemption with trainer Tony Molesky.
A lot of guys don't take the time to crawl under the trailer.
I always do, just to be safe, you know.
St got to meet Porkchop this morning.
Phil had some concerns on his driving, so I'm gonna go ahead and take a second trip with him and give him an evaluation, see if he's got what it takes to make it up and down the road.
Any man can fight, but a man who's got his back against the wall's gonna fight ten times harder to stay alive.
Hopefully, Tony's here to help me succeed.
I'm happy with everything if you are.
Absolutely.
Today, a Porkchop's last chance to prove he belongs on the haul road.
But before he can get it in gear Morning.
Morning.
Eh? Don't look at this as being spanked.
Look at it as this guy's good.
He knows what he's doing.
Lane decided to go ahead and have Porkchop evaluated again by Tony.
And I don't think it's gonna happen.
I seen a complete lack of ability, natural ability, to drive a truck.
Not everybody can just do one ride-along and then go right into it.
Yeah.
That's a fact.
It's all good, man.
All right.
With Phil in the rearview mirror It's Tony's turn to put Porkchop to the test.
It's obvious to me that you know where you're at on the road here.
You know, I'm not seeing any problems at all.
That was a really good start.
All clear up to the north.
That's a big 10-4, buddy.
Keep it between the ditches and don't mess with the witches, son.
Hey, watch out for that dead caribou right there on the left.
Look like a lot lizard trolling for pickles in the parking lot.
A lot what? South's invading, son.
We're gonna take it over, and we're gonna show them how we do it Southern style.
Okay.
Uh a lot of our guys don't understand the radio language that you have.
In order to get proper information from these drivers and get the respect that you're looking for, you're gonna have to adapt your radio language.
The real truck drivers that are down south are the truck drivers who can speak in that tongue I just spoke in.
Dude, that's, like, foreign language to us.
Our radio lingo is short and sweet, for the most part.
Stick with the program and be straight and to the point.
In order to be successful up here on this road, you're gonna have to get through me.
So you need to prove that you belong here and that you can get the job done.
I like it when I'm the underdog.
I like it when my back's against the wall.
Yeah, well, your back's definitely against the wall right here, because it's not just my trust you have to earn, it's everybody else out here on the road.
I figure I'll be pulling into Prudhoe about 2:30 A.
M.
, go grab myself a backhaul and run her back to Fairbanks.
Montana legend Darrell Ward is pulling his first solo load up the Dalton.
I'm just the new guy on the totem pole.
So far, he's made good time.
Coming up on Gobbler's Knob.
But up the road, conditions are changing fast.
A little ice fog in the air.
Kind of knocking the visibility down a little bit.
I'm gonna blow right through it.
The windows are starting to ice up in here.
A little stress level going on.
About 45 below, my steering starts to react a little different.
Oh, fuck! Fuck! Damn, I come around that corner a little faster than I thought, man.
Wow, that got a little Western there, man.
Come down on my brakes, my trailer slid out from underneath me.
Yeah, I'm sure glad that Tony didn't see that happen on my first solo run.
I don't think he'd be too happy seeing something like that.
I don't like close calls.
- 430 miles to the east - Watch yourself.
Here we go.
Whoa.
Alex Debogorski is driving on the Arctic Ocean Look at the hole, how the ice goes down there.
With a year's worth of supplies for the thousand residents of Tuktoyaktuk.
It went from being a little riverboat to an ocean-going vessel.
I'm like Columbus with wheels.
For now, the ice is holding.
It's sure getting gray over here.
- But up ahead - We got a pretty good wind coming from the left side here, 'cause we got all our-- all our snow is getting blown east.
Notice how it's getting whiter and whiter.
We're driving into a whiteout.
Arctic whiteouts have claimed the lives of countless men.
- But with no shelter on the ice - The snow turns into the sky.
The sky and the ice become one.
Alex has no choice but to head into the storm.
Maybe say a little prayer.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Thank you, dear God, for all your blessings and help.
Look after my family.
Please have mercy on all those that are less fortunate than I.
Amen.
Okay, here's Tuktoyaktuk.
What happened to it? Well, why did I think I saw the town? Radio check.
Anybody got a copy? You got a copy? Anybody got a copy? Radio check.
Anybody gonna copy? Somewhere on the Arctic Ocean Alex Debogorski is driving blind with a critical load of supplies.
Feels like we drove into a box of cotton batten.
Can't see a thing right now.
So I don't know where I am.
I'm hoping we're still south of Tuktoyaktuk.
Unsure of his location, Alex can only keep driving You got a copy? And hope to make contact.
Anybody got a copy? Anybody got a copy? Hey, you copy? Yes, sir, go ahead for Alex.
Just follow that road and you'll see me off in the distance shortly after.
Very good, sir, thank you.
That's the guys we're bringing the stuff to.
I'm arriving in Tuk.
I'm not lost in the Arctic Ocean.
Disaster has been averted again.
Now we just have to find our way to the store.
And there it is.
Hey.
Alex? Mr.
Pokyak.
- Yeah.
Mr.
Debogorski - Good to see you.
We have some muktuk, cooked muktuk, compliments of Tuktoyaktuk.
Muktuk, what exactly is it? It's whale.
Well, I thank you very much.
I really appreciate it.
You're very welcome, and you have a safe trip home.
And God bless you and your family.
Thank you.
Every load is important this time of year because it's gonna-- you know, the one or two loads that come in for a particular business could last them the whole 11, 12 months until next year.
With the delivery to Tuktoyaktuk complete Hi, guys, what's happening? Alex chalks up his second load of the season.
We bring food, we bring groceries, we bring everything.
Sometimes we bring whole houses.
Whoa! As normal, they tell us this is going on down south, we get up here, it's totally fucking different.
Hugh and Rick have found a loader to help dig out their stuck trailers.
The trailers are snowed in.
We had to get a loader.
He's gonna plow the road out, turn the trailers around so we can get 'em the fuck out of here.
But it's another typical thing.
You think it's gonna be an run, it's a 12-hour run or a 14-hour run.
Hugh's the first to claim his payload.
Hell, yeah! I ain't stopping, that's for fucking sure.
Keep on it, man.
Keep on it.
Hugh's hooked up, he's out on the road.
I'm just waiting for this trailer to get spun around, and I'm gonna try and get out on the road.
By fucking golly, here comes mine.
We're in business.
Now I just gotta wait for Rick to get hooked onto his.
He's right there, trying her right now.
Oh, are you kidding me? - Rick's in position - Fuck! But he's having trouble pulling it together.
Come on.
For fuck sakes.
In the soft fucking here.
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have a fucking show getting this thing out.
Why? What's happening? Fucking stuck.
Just take it easy.
You got this.
You're doing good.
You got it.
You got it.
By golly, I got her.
After days battling the brutal conditions Rick's finally underway.
Oh, no! Almost.
Are you fucking kidding me? Again? You can pull me out.
I don't mind.
Come on.
Somebody give that loader guy a bottle of whisky.
You got that right.
Anything else? No, I think we're good.
Eh very challenging trailer pickup to do here.
You're not gonna get anything easy with the trucking out here.
We're just looking at the lights of Prudhoe here.
It's actually a very welcome sight.
Jack Jessee and Austin Wheeler have reached Alaska's North Slope with the first pieces of the oil rig.
We both just got a big one on the load count.
Now we should be dropping this load off finally, so we can turn around and try to make it back to Coldfoot tonight.
- After two long days behind Jack - Thank God.
Austin's eager to get out from under the veteran's shadow.
How you doing? Good, sir.
We had a guy break down.
Okay.
So we're gonna have you take the beavertail down, try to get the truck.
The good news is Austin's got a paying load.
I think Jack's gonna go along and just kind of help you out there.
The bad news Jack's still being sent to supervise.
It's all been worked out.
Tell me that's not fucked up.
I'm just-- I don't want to do this anymore.
I didn't think it was gonna be like this.
It's gonna take us forever.
This should be the last time I convoy with Jack, I hope.
Hey, let's get out of here before we freeze solid.
This is kinda what Austin does down in Kenai with his winch truck.
But this ain't Kenai.
He's about to learn a valuable lesson here, I think.
Porkchop's in the hot seat.
And the south Carolina native's future rests with trainer Tony Molesky.
Where are you at? In eighth right now? Yeah.
Okay.
Just go right into sixth.
- Despite early praise - It's obvious to me that you know where you're at on the road here.
Porkchop's bad habits are coming back to bite him.
That's pretty harsh.
Damn, dude.
You're scratching gears.
What the hell? Porkchop, you're kind of hanging out on a limb right now.
Dude, you can't afford to have a mistake.
Just pull into Coldfoot.
Take it nice and slow.
Yes, sir.
Just rolled in here with Porkchop to Coldfoot.
I had to bust his chops a little bit on a couple of points.
I wasn't shifting right for him.
That ain't brownie points.
That's plane ticket points.
There's no room for error here.
What up? - While Porkchop refuels - How bad was he? Phil Kromm checks in on his former student.
I knew I handed him off to you for a reason.
The truck was making some pretty weird noises.
Oh, yeah.
It wasn't cool.
I had to get on him pretty hard.
He ain't gonna have a gear left.
That's definitely one of the things we talked about.
Yeah, he's used to a different driving style and a whole different atmosphere.
Well, and that was the reason for my assessment, is I don't want to just turn the guy out that's gonna have major problems.
We just need to make sure that he's not gonna hurt himself or anybody else, whether he makes it or not.
Right.
Yup.
Well, this ain't I-5, that's for sure.
We're just gonna have to see, see if he can hack it.
Yeah.
You get one chance to screw up one time out here.
Yeah.
Either he's gonna make it or he's not, you know.
- While one rookie struggles - Cold out here! Darrell Ward's already made it to Prudhoe Bay.
Yeah, it's Alaska, baby! It's about 50 below zero out here! You know, I'm on the clock and killing time, so I'll go as far as I can till I run out of hours, then I'll have to shut her down.
And the log hauler's 31 years of experience are keeping him tied for the lead.
- 250 miles to the south - I just woke up in Coldfoot.
Got geared up so I can put this other truck on my scissor neck lowboy here.
After driving overnight Austin Wheeler's in Coldfoot recovering a broken-down truck, while Jack Jessee Better sit over here where I can watch Austin.
Supervises.
He can do it by himself.
It's a one-man job.
What's wrong is the ace of the haul road is sitting in there eating breakfast while I'm out here doing this myself.
Let's see what his experience shows.
It'd just be nice to have another person out here.
Fucking Jack Jessee.
I need fucking Jack's help.
This is pissing me off.
Fuck.
He's a fucking prick! You know, it's his truck, his cable, his winch.
I think he just needs to get the job done.
Before he can safely haul the disabled truck I need him to help me steer this on the trailer.
Austin has to center it on the trailer.
That's rookie shit.
Jack doesn't care.
He's cocky, yeah, because he's the haul road ace.
Pissed off 'cause I didn't help him.
Probably doesn't even want to talk to me.
You know, he's got to learn to do this on his own.
'Cause, you know, we're not always gonna be here to help him, and this is gonna be part of his job, being out by yourself, doing this stuff.
Well, he's a douche bag for sitting in Coldfoot while I loaded up the truck by myself.
When you're out on your own and you're making those decisions by yourself in the middle of nowhere, some of those decisions are life and death.
Jack's fucking full of himself, and there's a lot of people that don't like him.
A lot.
Me included now.
This will be my last convoy.
I'm not doing it anymore.
Next time on Ice Road Truckers Hammered down, boy As the rig move deadline approaches Son of a bitch.
Reach the breaking point.
I think that it is bullshit that I have to be Jack's little brother all the time.
Canada's winter roads shut down the veterans.
And one trucker is not gonna make it.
Holy smokes!
It's judgment day for the Dalton newcomers.
The south's invading, son.
'Cause he's a fucking prick.
Oh, fuck.
- On the winter roads - Holy fuck.
Rick loses it.
Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going? - And Alex - Why did I think I saw the town? Like, what happened to it? Rolls the dice on Arctic ice.
Anybody got a copy? Up here, you can easily die by yourself.
In Manitoba, Canada Record-high temperatures have turned the winter roads into an unforgiving swamp of slush and thin ice.
That was a good bump.
I love it.
And 200 miles north of Winnipeg Hugh and Rick are in the thick of it.
So rough, my truck pops out of gear.
- This season - Boy, this is stupid.
- Hugh is sharing in Polar's profits - Fuck.
That's how you do it right there.
While Rick is driving as a first-time truck owner.
Yeah-heah! But so far their season's been more crash than cash.
What we're doing this year is a lot more dangerous than any other year.
The roads haven't even hardened.
Like, they haven't even packed up yet.
- And after two brutal days - Holy crap.
Are we here? Got to be getting close.
The end is almost in sight.
Smooth sailing from here on out.
- But up ahead - That's a fucking nightmare.
Holy fuck.
What should be a 300-yard ice crossing This is not ice road trucking anymore.
This is kind of like suicidal trucking.
But with their payday waiting on the other side We ain't got time to sit around here.
Hugh tests the ice with 14,000 pounds of steel.
Okay.
We're just going into the fucking water here.
Okay, I'm across 'er.
Come on over.
With a foot of water covering the crossing Rick's got no way to know if the ice is still solid.
Here we go.
I don't even have ice to run on.
I'm going through a lake.
Hammer down.
Enjoying the ice road truck today, partner? Oh, yeah.
Well, I got to say, that's the first time I've ever run open water at the start of a season.
Put my fucking cowboy hat on.
This is a fucking truck rodeo if I've ever been in one.
Yee-haw! They pack it in there fairly tight to save it from falling over.
Alex Debogorski is loading up for his deadliest mission yet.
Load her to the max.
We're done.
- Yesterday - Giddyup.
Let's go.
He defied the odds, surviving the deadly Dempster Whoa, boy.
To bring emergency supplies to Inuvik.
I think we're ready to go.
But today he's heading even further north to resupply the native village of Tuktoyaktuk.
Sink or swim.
Alex will leave solid ground behind And drive onto the arctic ocean, a place where shifting ice crushes ships and stranded souls can freeze to death.
This is most of the store's supply for the whole year.
The person who owns the store has been waiting for it for a while.
And if he doesn't get the supply before the ice goes out, he's gonna be out of business.
Weighed down with nearly 30,000 pounds of cargo Whoa, baby.
Alex eases onto the ice.
Ice cracking.
Nice and easy.
And every time you go on ice, there's potential for problems.
If the ice breaks, you can end up in the water.
There's something up here.
This is a truck that's-- has sunk through the ice.
And there it sits, froze in.
Can you imagine the panic that the driver had when he went through? Well, that's a reminder to all those people that say that trucks never go through the ice.
No, they never go through.
Well, there you are.
There's another one that never went through.
Up here, you can easily die by yourself.
- 480 miles to the southwest in Alaska - Got her! Carlile's in the middle of a massive project-- to move a 3 1/2 million-pound oil rig to Prudhoe Bay.
And it's brought new faces to the Dalton, hoping to cash in on the extra workload.
- In the office - How'd it go? I mean, we got our first trip out of the way.
Yup.
It's cocky newcomer Darrell Ward.
On the road the Montana log hauler strutted his stuff.
I'm the best fucker out here.
But his attitude raised eyebrows.
I will guarantee you, if you say that too much, it's gonna bite you.
And now his future with Carlile is in the hands of the boss.
Sounds like there were a few challenges out there.
You know, one thing I noticed, you're really-- you're really cocky.
I don't like the-- the arrogance there.
It's a big concern.
Right.
These guys are watching your ass.
They're watching you.
And you're overconfident, they're not gonna like it.
Really it's decision time, Tony.
Well, I felt real comfortable with the way he was driving, so, as far as I'm concerned, he's good, man.
He's ready to go.
Okay, we're gonna let you go here.
We're gonna put you on the road.
Don't get too arrogant or too cocky out there, because that's what gets guys in trouble.
Good luck out there.
Glad to have you aboard.
All right.
Thanks, Lane.
Good job, man.
I smoked it.
Lane seemed very happy to hear what Tony had to say.
All I got was good raves.
Darrell's joining the rig move with a 35,000-pound pump motor on his first solo run.
They turned me loose, so I'm running solo now, which is the way I want it.
If a guy like that comes up here and can't really get over himself Then he'll be back in Montana hauling logs.
While one driver's training is over Another is in over his head.
Yesterday Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum's training run went downhill fast.
- Holy-- - Whoa, watch it, watch it.
Move back to the center.
Ah, you're done driving.
Pull over.
And now it's his turn to face the boss.
Sounds like we had a interesting trip.
It did get pretty ugly.
And the biggest thing that I have a concern with is your attention to what you're doing is pretty easily distracted.
I struggled because I'm not used to the truck.
It's a new truck on me.
You know, I understand you're trying to get used to the truck, but I was kind of waiting for you to improve on your own.
I'm here to take my criticism and learn what I can.
I'm doing this for me and my family so we can have something.
I know your story, okay? We talked.
I feel for you, but look at it this way.
If you leave here, and I'm not be back here in two days, then I'm not gonna let you go.
Yes, sir.
- Coming up - Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going? - And later - A little stress level going on.
A reality check.
Oh, fuck! - In Fairbanks, Alaska - If you leave here, and I'm not 100% sure that you're gonna be back here in two days, then I'm not gonna let you go.
Yes, sir.
Porkchop's fate rests in the hands of Carlile manager Lane Keator and trainer Phil Kromm.
Overall, I wasn't seeing improvement on technique.
I wouldn't feel comfortable signing my name to an authorization at this point.
What do you think about Tony? If you want to continue, a second opinion is definitely a minimum at what's warranted here.
Okay.
This is what we're gonna do, okay? I'm gonna put you out there with Tony.
You're gonna make one more trip up the road.
And if we can make this work, then we'll make it work.
If we can't make it work We'll give you a ride to the airport.
That's pretty nerve-racking.
Was kind of a little more brutal than I expected.
Hopefully, he comes through this and he gets it figured out.
This is a different game up here.
Not only is his life at stake, so is everybody else's, including mine.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let one safety coordinator decide on my future.
They're gonna give me one more chance, and if I do it, then I do it.
If I don't, then I go home.
- 250 miles north - All right, here you go, man.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Veteran Jack Jessee is mentoring Austin Wheeler, a driver nearly half his age.
Feeling a little anxious to get going? Yeah, tired of waiting around.
Well, we got to wait for everybody else to head out because we're oversized.
Just hanging out till everyone else leaves? Yeah.
Just make sure it's good.
You sure you want to do that? Oh, yeah.
That's years of experience right there.
Last night high winds threatened their oversized rig loads.
Whoa.
But Jack's call to stop at Coldfoot left Austin in a foul mood.
I'm not making any money sitting here.
I had Austin over here chomping at the bit to go, but being first isn't always the best.
This pisses me off.
We started out first yesterday, and now we're last.
Hopefully, we can get going.
Tired of waiting around.
As other drivers clear the yard All Austin can do is watch.
You want to back up here a bit? And we'll be rolling out.
Okay.
We're finally leaving Coldfoot and getting back on the road.
I got my Mountain Dew and my beef jerky, we're on the road again.
Things are looking up.
But up ahead is 4,800-foot Atigun Pass where one mistake could be a driver's last.
Well, considering the weather they had, guaranteed at least one set on this.
There's a big one.
We're gonna have to put iron on? Fuck.
Jack quickly chains up for the climb.
Done deal.
- But the kid - Fuck.
Is running into trouble.
This is bullshit.
Why are my fucking chains broke? Oh, fuck! Probably don't need fucking chains for this hill anyways.
Uh-oh.
Just got a bent link I just need to fix real quick.
Care if I borrow your pliers? I don't have-- somebody took mine in Kenai.
I don't have 'em.
How did you-- how did you bend your link? I don't fucking know.
They're old chains.
You didn't try 'em out beforehand? No, I did.
Must have bent 'em last night or yesterday or something.
Oh.
Just 'cause you have chains on your truck, that doesn't mean they're good to go.
You need to make sure your chains are good for this road.
These are old and worn out.
Those chains are rusty.
Put a little squeeze through.
There we go.
Fixed.
Let's put this stuff up and get going.
After Jack's veteran touch Okay, we are starting to roll from the bottom of the shelf.
The convoy is back in business.
I'm tired of being Jack's little brother.
That's not what I'm here for.
I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have me in this truck if I didn't know what I was doing.
It's a little too early right now to put any kind of grade on what Austin's doing.
He's got so much more to learn.
Hugh and Rick are hoping to cash in on the short season.
We made 'er to Berens River here, and we're trying to find these trailers.
But to make dollar one, they gotta find the loads.
We got the same pinpoint idea of what we always got.
It's in this town somewhere.
Fuck, don't follow me.
We still don't know where we're going.
Hey, is that-- We're not going across that bridge, are we? That's fucking close.
Well-- fuck.
You all right? I don't think I'll make it under that.
Okay, back her up.
We got to get out of here then.
Can someone explain where in the fuck I'm going, so I don't have to keep driving around in circles? Just maybe.
I have no idea.
I guess we keep driving around until we find her, eh? That's gotta be them up there.
By God, there's two fucking trailers there, so that's exactly where we're going.
I'll be damned.
They finally track them down.
This one and that one.
But after a year buried in the snow, these trailers aren't going anywhere.
Oh, you're kidding me.
They're stuck.
You're never gonna spin that around.
Never.
For fuck sakes.
Fucking nightmare.
In Fairbanks, Alaska There we go.
Porkchop's getting a rare shot at redemption with trainer Tony Molesky.
A lot of guys don't take the time to crawl under the trailer.
I always do, just to be safe, you know.
St got to meet Porkchop this morning.
Phil had some concerns on his driving, so I'm gonna go ahead and take a second trip with him and give him an evaluation, see if he's got what it takes to make it up and down the road.
Any man can fight, but a man who's got his back against the wall's gonna fight ten times harder to stay alive.
Hopefully, Tony's here to help me succeed.
I'm happy with everything if you are.
Absolutely.
Today, a Porkchop's last chance to prove he belongs on the haul road.
But before he can get it in gear Morning.
Morning.
Eh? Don't look at this as being spanked.
Look at it as this guy's good.
He knows what he's doing.
Lane decided to go ahead and have Porkchop evaluated again by Tony.
And I don't think it's gonna happen.
I seen a complete lack of ability, natural ability, to drive a truck.
Not everybody can just do one ride-along and then go right into it.
Yeah.
That's a fact.
It's all good, man.
All right.
With Phil in the rearview mirror It's Tony's turn to put Porkchop to the test.
It's obvious to me that you know where you're at on the road here.
You know, I'm not seeing any problems at all.
That was a really good start.
All clear up to the north.
That's a big 10-4, buddy.
Keep it between the ditches and don't mess with the witches, son.
Hey, watch out for that dead caribou right there on the left.
Look like a lot lizard trolling for pickles in the parking lot.
A lot what? South's invading, son.
We're gonna take it over, and we're gonna show them how we do it Southern style.
Okay.
Uh a lot of our guys don't understand the radio language that you have.
In order to get proper information from these drivers and get the respect that you're looking for, you're gonna have to adapt your radio language.
The real truck drivers that are down south are the truck drivers who can speak in that tongue I just spoke in.
Dude, that's, like, foreign language to us.
Our radio lingo is short and sweet, for the most part.
Stick with the program and be straight and to the point.
In order to be successful up here on this road, you're gonna have to get through me.
So you need to prove that you belong here and that you can get the job done.
I like it when I'm the underdog.
I like it when my back's against the wall.
Yeah, well, your back's definitely against the wall right here, because it's not just my trust you have to earn, it's everybody else out here on the road.
I figure I'll be pulling into Prudhoe about 2:30 A.
M.
, go grab myself a backhaul and run her back to Fairbanks.
Montana legend Darrell Ward is pulling his first solo load up the Dalton.
I'm just the new guy on the totem pole.
So far, he's made good time.
Coming up on Gobbler's Knob.
But up the road, conditions are changing fast.
A little ice fog in the air.
Kind of knocking the visibility down a little bit.
I'm gonna blow right through it.
The windows are starting to ice up in here.
A little stress level going on.
About 45 below, my steering starts to react a little different.
Oh, fuck! Fuck! Damn, I come around that corner a little faster than I thought, man.
Wow, that got a little Western there, man.
Come down on my brakes, my trailer slid out from underneath me.
Yeah, I'm sure glad that Tony didn't see that happen on my first solo run.
I don't think he'd be too happy seeing something like that.
I don't like close calls.
- 430 miles to the east - Watch yourself.
Here we go.
Whoa.
Alex Debogorski is driving on the Arctic Ocean Look at the hole, how the ice goes down there.
With a year's worth of supplies for the thousand residents of Tuktoyaktuk.
It went from being a little riverboat to an ocean-going vessel.
I'm like Columbus with wheels.
For now, the ice is holding.
It's sure getting gray over here.
- But up ahead - We got a pretty good wind coming from the left side here, 'cause we got all our-- all our snow is getting blown east.
Notice how it's getting whiter and whiter.
We're driving into a whiteout.
Arctic whiteouts have claimed the lives of countless men.
- But with no shelter on the ice - The snow turns into the sky.
The sky and the ice become one.
Alex has no choice but to head into the storm.
Maybe say a little prayer.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Thank you, dear God, for all your blessings and help.
Look after my family.
Please have mercy on all those that are less fortunate than I.
Amen.
Okay, here's Tuktoyaktuk.
What happened to it? Well, why did I think I saw the town? Radio check.
Anybody got a copy? You got a copy? Anybody got a copy? Radio check.
Anybody gonna copy? Somewhere on the Arctic Ocean Alex Debogorski is driving blind with a critical load of supplies.
Feels like we drove into a box of cotton batten.
Can't see a thing right now.
So I don't know where I am.
I'm hoping we're still south of Tuktoyaktuk.
Unsure of his location, Alex can only keep driving You got a copy? And hope to make contact.
Anybody got a copy? Anybody got a copy? Hey, you copy? Yes, sir, go ahead for Alex.
Just follow that road and you'll see me off in the distance shortly after.
Very good, sir, thank you.
That's the guys we're bringing the stuff to.
I'm arriving in Tuk.
I'm not lost in the Arctic Ocean.
Disaster has been averted again.
Now we just have to find our way to the store.
And there it is.
Hey.
Alex? Mr.
Pokyak.
- Yeah.
Mr.
Debogorski - Good to see you.
We have some muktuk, cooked muktuk, compliments of Tuktoyaktuk.
Muktuk, what exactly is it? It's whale.
Well, I thank you very much.
I really appreciate it.
You're very welcome, and you have a safe trip home.
And God bless you and your family.
Thank you.
Every load is important this time of year because it's gonna-- you know, the one or two loads that come in for a particular business could last them the whole 11, 12 months until next year.
With the delivery to Tuktoyaktuk complete Hi, guys, what's happening? Alex chalks up his second load of the season.
We bring food, we bring groceries, we bring everything.
Sometimes we bring whole houses.
Whoa! As normal, they tell us this is going on down south, we get up here, it's totally fucking different.
Hugh and Rick have found a loader to help dig out their stuck trailers.
The trailers are snowed in.
We had to get a loader.
He's gonna plow the road out, turn the trailers around so we can get 'em the fuck out of here.
But it's another typical thing.
You think it's gonna be an run, it's a 12-hour run or a 14-hour run.
Hugh's the first to claim his payload.
Hell, yeah! I ain't stopping, that's for fucking sure.
Keep on it, man.
Keep on it.
Hugh's hooked up, he's out on the road.
I'm just waiting for this trailer to get spun around, and I'm gonna try and get out on the road.
By fucking golly, here comes mine.
We're in business.
Now I just gotta wait for Rick to get hooked onto his.
He's right there, trying her right now.
Oh, are you kidding me? - Rick's in position - Fuck! But he's having trouble pulling it together.
Come on.
For fuck sakes.
In the soft fucking here.
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have a fucking show getting this thing out.
Why? What's happening? Fucking stuck.
Just take it easy.
You got this.
You're doing good.
You got it.
You got it.
By golly, I got her.
After days battling the brutal conditions Rick's finally underway.
Oh, no! Almost.
Are you fucking kidding me? Again? You can pull me out.
I don't mind.
Come on.
Somebody give that loader guy a bottle of whisky.
You got that right.
Anything else? No, I think we're good.
Eh very challenging trailer pickup to do here.
You're not gonna get anything easy with the trucking out here.
We're just looking at the lights of Prudhoe here.
It's actually a very welcome sight.
Jack Jessee and Austin Wheeler have reached Alaska's North Slope with the first pieces of the oil rig.
We both just got a big one on the load count.
Now we should be dropping this load off finally, so we can turn around and try to make it back to Coldfoot tonight.
- After two long days behind Jack - Thank God.
Austin's eager to get out from under the veteran's shadow.
How you doing? Good, sir.
We had a guy break down.
Okay.
So we're gonna have you take the beavertail down, try to get the truck.
The good news is Austin's got a paying load.
I think Jack's gonna go along and just kind of help you out there.
The bad news Jack's still being sent to supervise.
It's all been worked out.
Tell me that's not fucked up.
I'm just-- I don't want to do this anymore.
I didn't think it was gonna be like this.
It's gonna take us forever.
This should be the last time I convoy with Jack, I hope.
Hey, let's get out of here before we freeze solid.
This is kinda what Austin does down in Kenai with his winch truck.
But this ain't Kenai.
He's about to learn a valuable lesson here, I think.
Porkchop's in the hot seat.
And the south Carolina native's future rests with trainer Tony Molesky.
Where are you at? In eighth right now? Yeah.
Okay.
Just go right into sixth.
- Despite early praise - It's obvious to me that you know where you're at on the road here.
Porkchop's bad habits are coming back to bite him.
That's pretty harsh.
Damn, dude.
You're scratching gears.
What the hell? Porkchop, you're kind of hanging out on a limb right now.
Dude, you can't afford to have a mistake.
Just pull into Coldfoot.
Take it nice and slow.
Yes, sir.
Just rolled in here with Porkchop to Coldfoot.
I had to bust his chops a little bit on a couple of points.
I wasn't shifting right for him.
That ain't brownie points.
That's plane ticket points.
There's no room for error here.
What up? - While Porkchop refuels - How bad was he? Phil Kromm checks in on his former student.
I knew I handed him off to you for a reason.
The truck was making some pretty weird noises.
Oh, yeah.
It wasn't cool.
I had to get on him pretty hard.
He ain't gonna have a gear left.
That's definitely one of the things we talked about.
Yeah, he's used to a different driving style and a whole different atmosphere.
Well, and that was the reason for my assessment, is I don't want to just turn the guy out that's gonna have major problems.
We just need to make sure that he's not gonna hurt himself or anybody else, whether he makes it or not.
Right.
Yup.
Well, this ain't I-5, that's for sure.
We're just gonna have to see, see if he can hack it.
Yeah.
You get one chance to screw up one time out here.
Yeah.
Either he's gonna make it or he's not, you know.
- While one rookie struggles - Cold out here! Darrell Ward's already made it to Prudhoe Bay.
Yeah, it's Alaska, baby! It's about 50 below zero out here! You know, I'm on the clock and killing time, so I'll go as far as I can till I run out of hours, then I'll have to shut her down.
And the log hauler's 31 years of experience are keeping him tied for the lead.
- 250 miles to the south - I just woke up in Coldfoot.
Got geared up so I can put this other truck on my scissor neck lowboy here.
After driving overnight Austin Wheeler's in Coldfoot recovering a broken-down truck, while Jack Jessee Better sit over here where I can watch Austin.
Supervises.
He can do it by himself.
It's a one-man job.
What's wrong is the ace of the haul road is sitting in there eating breakfast while I'm out here doing this myself.
Let's see what his experience shows.
It'd just be nice to have another person out here.
Fucking Jack Jessee.
I need fucking Jack's help.
This is pissing me off.
Fuck.
He's a fucking prick! You know, it's his truck, his cable, his winch.
I think he just needs to get the job done.
Before he can safely haul the disabled truck I need him to help me steer this on the trailer.
Austin has to center it on the trailer.
That's rookie shit.
Jack doesn't care.
He's cocky, yeah, because he's the haul road ace.
Pissed off 'cause I didn't help him.
Probably doesn't even want to talk to me.
You know, he's got to learn to do this on his own.
'Cause, you know, we're not always gonna be here to help him, and this is gonna be part of his job, being out by yourself, doing this stuff.
Well, he's a douche bag for sitting in Coldfoot while I loaded up the truck by myself.
When you're out on your own and you're making those decisions by yourself in the middle of nowhere, some of those decisions are life and death.
Jack's fucking full of himself, and there's a lot of people that don't like him.
A lot.
Me included now.
This will be my last convoy.
I'm not doing it anymore.
Next time on Ice Road Truckers Hammered down, boy As the rig move deadline approaches Son of a bitch.
Reach the breaking point.
I think that it is bullshit that I have to be Jack's little brother all the time.
Canada's winter roads shut down the veterans.
And one trucker is not gonna make it.
Holy smokes!