Ice Road Truckers (2007) s06e05 Episode Script
Desperate Measures
Tonight, on Ice Road Truckers Get me the hell out of here.
The Dalton drivers face a path of destruction.
I can barely see the road.
Holy crap! - On the Dempster - And we're off.
Alex is running out of time.
And in Manitoba, Hugh and Rick roll the dice.
When you're hearing ice cracking That's usually when the shit's about to go really wrong.
Oh, no! Fairbanks, Alaska.
Going in here, talking to dispatch, getting a load.
Kind of excited.
Ready to do this.
Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum is back at the Carlile yard.
I'm still here.
I'm here to drive a truck.
Let's go hit the Dalton.
Holy shit! After two botched training runs All right, you're done driving.
Pull over.
I've seen all I need to see.
And nearly destroying part of a - multi-million-dollar oil rig - Damn! Fifth wheel wasn't hooked up right.
Porkchop was put on ice.
I guess I'm to the point where we need to take a little break here.
- But now - It's time to go.
After a stretch on the sidelines, word from the boss, is "report to dispatch.
" I'm up here for my family.
I ain't going back till the job's done.
Hi, man.
Good to see you back.
We got a load of dog food, and it's in the downtown Fairbanks area.
Seriously? It's time sensitive.
It's got to get to the start of the Yukon Quest before the race starts.
Freakin' 18 wheeler, downtown Fairbanks too? No.
Going in a bunny truck.
Seriously? I don't know why we call 'em bunny trucks.
But that's just a box truck.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Porkchop's hope of a Dalton comeback has been reduced to a pile of kibble.
I'm a long-haul driver.
They want me delivering dog food? Seriously? I don't know if this is a joke or a punishment.
Ain't it fun.
I get to hop around town.
I get to drive a little bunny truck, as they call it.
Being Lane's bunny boy.
It's ridiculous.
I guess they ain't got much faith in me.
While Porkchop's career is going nowhere, on the Dalton, things are also at a standstill.
For the past 16 hours, the worst storm in years has been pummeling the haul road, creating a 200-mile path of destruction and shutting everything down.
Just stay in the northbound lane all the way to the top.
Roger 2-4, northbound lane.
Do copy.
In the darkness, DOT crews scramble to clear a path.
Working to free stranded trucks that are blocking the road.
I'm gonna have to drag him.
Okay.
Clock's ticking.
150 miles south of Prudhoe Bay One driver's isn't taking "no" - for an answer - Man, she's blowing hard.
I see a line of trucks up here on the hill, ahead of me, stuck in the snowdrift.
Determined to retain his lead in the load count Darrell Ward is getting back on the road.
Well, here I go again.
Get out here to see if I can get behind DOT.
- Last night - We're gonna drop our trailers here and go back to Slope Mountain camp.
The Montana log hauler was forced to ditch his backhaul.
We're not gonna get through this.
And seek shelter from the storm at a DOT camp.
- Now, as cleanup crews roll out - Well, I'm gonna drop out behind the blade here.
He just went by.
Darrell's plan is to follow the plow, and be one of the first back on the road.
And I'll tell you what, man, that plow's going through here, and it don't take but a couple minutes for it to drift and shut again.
But with the snow still coming down, there is no guarantee he'll make it through.
Man, it's not taking it long, but it's drifting right back again.
I'm nervous.
Real tough to see.
Just another day on the Dalton.
- As dawn breaks - We're waiting to get everybody dug out.
The cleanup is still underway.
Start right about there.
Dig it out though, and dig the front out a little bit, so they can come pull it out.
With so many trucks off the road, even Carlile boss Lane Keator is getting his hands dirty.
Last night we had the drivers coming down the hill here.
Said he lost the last delineator.
And by the time he saw the next one, his front left steer tire dropped off the side here and it sucked him in.
We're just trying to get it clean around the hood here, and then we're gonna pull it up on the road and hopefully get it started and drive it away.
Right here.
Ready? Let's get everybody clear.
Everybody clear! Okay! We're good.
Free of the ditch, another Carlile truck is back in business.
Yeah, back on the road, going north.
We're in good shape.
But 170 miles up the road on Alaska's - barren North Slope - Just woke up here at Toolik, where I spent the night last night.
Austin Wheeler isn't going anywhere.
You couldn't even see my tires this morning.
Yesterday, Austin burst out of the gate on his first solo run.
I ain't gonna lie.
I just feel like a total badass today.
But the Dalton rookie pushed his luck in the storm.
I'm stuck here.
And ended up in the ditch, blocking the road and trapping the drivers behind him.
I got to prove myself up here.
I'm the youngest one up here.
It's very important to me.
As Austin fights to keep his truck from being - consumed by the blowing snow - The blade and blower finally got here.
A DOT crew arrives to reopen this section of the road.
They're trying to move all the drifts out of the way, so we can get traction on the ice.
And it looks like there's, like, ten behind us that are waiting to get through.
So they're trying to pull us back onto the road, and the other trucks can get through.
About time, huh? Really.
Hey.
Let's go.
I don't know if DOT's gonna be able to pull me out.
Ready? Oh, yeah.
Ready.
Hang on.
Despite 30,000 pounds of pulling power Are you moving at all? Yeah, I'm moving.
Just stuck in there good.
The rookie's truck refuses to budge.
Give you another jerk here.
Get me the hell out of here.
- In Alaska - Hang on.
Austin Wheeler is stuck in the ditch As trucks wait for the DOT to get the rookie out of the way and reopen the road.
Turn your wheels to the left.
There you go.
Move.
Move! Come on! Looks like we're finally pulling out.
- After a night stuck in the snow - Hey, I appreciate it.
- Austin is back on the road - Well, it's about time.
But still 130 miles from Prudhoe Bay.
Polar Industries is in trouble.
We've had some challenges and struggles on the first couple runs here.
And we've got to iron out these kings and hope the second half of the season goes a lot smoother than this first half has.
- This season - Been so rough that the truck pops out of gear.
Warm temperatures are wreaking havoc on the winter roads Yeah, she's cracking up big-time under me here.
- Making deliveries - You gotta be joking.
Nearly impossible.
Well, hopefully, they're in the right spot.
And with only two loads on the books Hugh's stake in the company's profits isn't looking good.
I committed myself.
We shook hands on the deal, and regardless, if you're gonna be in business, you've got to be prepared.
I mean, you take the good with the bad.
Today, desperate to move high-paying loads, Hugh and Rick are taking on their toughest challenge yet.
First big load.
Hauling full-size cement trucks all the way to Red Sucker Lake.
We got some cement trucks, and we're gonna bring 'em down into Red Sucker Lake, here.
It's gonna be tricky getting these cement trucks into Red Sucker Lake.
I'm not sure what some of the weight restrictions are quite yet.
Used in construction of homes and community buildings, cement trucks are vital to the survival of the village.
Heaviest load of the year.
Hope we don't go through the fucking ice.
At over 20 tons apiece no other drivers have dared to haul these them across the melting roads and thin ice.
These dadgum mix drum trucks are really top heavy.
But with the buyer paying top-dollar to anyone - that'll take on the challenge - That's a rough road in there, so they'll get thrown in the opposite way we're driving, it-- We could be in a mess.
It's now or never.
Let's go.
Good to go.
Kill it.
Right on, man.
Fuck, where's my cowboy hat? Holy fuck.
We start falling into holes and stuff, when we get rocking and rolling, why, it'll just tip the trailer over.
Oh, my fucking God.
Oh, God! Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Under the weight of the cement trucks, the soft winter roads are nearly impassable.
Oh, oh, fuck.
Could be rough.
Fuck, that hurt.
And the ice is still ahead.
Takes a certain breed.
This shit ain't for everybody.
- 1,400 miles to the northwest - Looking forward to my trip here.
Looks like we're gonna be driving in the snow a little bit.
Alex Debogorski is on a mission to resupply the remote communities of Northern Canada.
Okay.
And to keep supplies flowing he's heading south to Dawson City to pick up another load and bring it back to Inuvik.
Tire check.
But the storm that raged on the Dalton is headed east, directly into Alex's path.
Visibility might be questionable.
It's a gray day.
I expect there's gonna be a bit of a white out.
Hopefully the plows are out cleaning the road.
It's a race against the clock to make the 1,000-mile round-trip before the storm shuts down the Dempster.
Okay.
That didn't feel good.
Oh, I got some froze up wheels.
That's what's happened.
But the sub-zero temperatures are already slowing him down.
We'll stick 'em with a hammer.
We'll roll around on the ground, get covered with snow and beat on 'em.
This is one good way to get run over.
If I hit the drum, it vibrates the drum and releases the ice holding the brake pad to the drum.
There.
Okay.
Okay, those are all good.
Alex's brakes are free.
And we're off and running.
But with every lost second, the veteran's chances of making it to Dawson City and back are getting slimmer.
I'm sure the day's gonna throw a handful of other interesting things at me as we go along.
- 450 miles to the west - I'm tired of all these obstructions coming into our way.
I just want to get to Prudhoe and hope the next trip's better.
Austin Wheeler is rolling north as DOT clears the last stretch of blocked road.
- And in the southbound lane - What a fucking mess! Don't sleep in the road! Word of Austin's night in the ditch has reached Darrell Ward.
It's Austin.
Austin went by here.
Just got pulled out of a ditch! Headed up to the top.
Tire chains flopping.
I don't want to be that guy.
- So far - Right on.
Back on the road again.
Darrell's plan to stay ahead of the pack is working.
DOT's doing a good job of getting this road cleared out.
And the Montana log-hauler's already left the worst of the storm behind.
We'll get on through this hopefully sooner than later.
But as he clears the shelf The ambulance is on the way.
Ambulance is on the way? What's that all about? The devastation is far from over.
Looks like we got an accident.
Oh, shit, it's nasty.
- 60 miles to the south - Maybe somebody's on the radio.
We'll see if there's any of that weather up north straightened up or not.
See what happens here.
- After spending the night in Coldfoot - Anybody up out there? And know what the weather's doing up north? What the hell's going on here? Haul road-ace Jack Jessee gets a rude awakening.
Hey, Brandon, what's happening? One of our pilot cars got in a wreck on 205.
A wreck-- What? Yeah.
Real bad wreck.
Aw, shit.
All right, let me get my jacket on, we'll go inside, wake up, and make phone calls.
All right.
We haven't heard anything.
We're waiting to find any south-bounders that can tell us any more information.
Pilot truck versus a big rig.
A great possibility that I just lost my best friend.
Oh, damn it.
This hurts.
- 60 miles north of Coldfoot - Oh, shit, it's nasty.
Darrell Ward's face-to-face with a trucker's nightmare.
See if I can help out.
On the slick road, the out and collided with an oncoming 16-ton big rig.
The driver's already been taken to a medevac location by paramedics.
That's the closest to head-on as you ever want to get.
But the destruction remains.
Just wiped out this whole side here.
The other side's barely even touched.
Yeah.
- At Coldfoot - I do not know who's on-scene.
But if you can, that'd be great.
- Yeah.
So - Everyone is scrambling to get word on the condition of the injured driver.
All right, bye.
So EMT security showed up.
He was unconscious, in shock, suspected neck injury.
They had to get him out to get him warm.
This-- this is not the place you just leave somebody in the vehicle and wait.
Supposedly he had his seatbelt on.
Probably what did save his life.
Let's go ahead and throw this tire up on that trailer.
Ready? On the remote road, there's no equipment to deal with the scattered wreck, so Darrell takes the lead.
Yeah, I'm gonna go hook up to that pickup and drag that pickup out of the ditch and down to the pull out.
That'll work.
What it is, is what it is.
This is the kind of shit that happens out here.
This is not like somebody I don't know.
We know everybody up here.
Everybody knows everybody.
You know, in all reality, I mean, we're a big family.
I think everybody reacts up here just like it's their own brother or sister.
You take care of your people up here.
It's what we do.
We always know, in the back of our mind, this stuff can happen.
We're always safe about it.
But when things go good for a long enough time, you get a little lax on it, and it just doesn't really set in until You know, till it happens.
And, uh, it's enough to shake you up.
- Miles away in downtown Fairbanks - It's ridiculous.
Porkchop's far from the haul road, unloading dog food at the Yukon Quest sled dog race.
I've had it up to here.
Stuck in the Carlile doghouse, Porkchop takes the chance to blow off some steam.
You mind if I meet the dogs? Yeah, no, so you can say hi to them.
They're all friendly.
They'll probably jump up on you.
Hey, well, that's what I'm all about.
They like as much love as they can get, so they'll be into it.
So which one's your lead dog? This is Madonna.
She's pretty chill.
She's one of my main leaders.
Yeah, you like that, don't you? Huh? Yeah? I mean, they're my family, 'cause I take care of them, they take care of me.
We get down the trail together.
Good luck.
Thank you.
All right.
It'll be a good trip.
Three, two, one.
Go.
With the short run completed, there's plenty of - time to watch the start of the race - All right! Whoo-hoo! All right, Kyla! Do it, girl! Well, here I am, driving up the damn Dalton in a damn truck in a day.
She's out here for 11 days going the same amount of miles.
No heat sleeping out here in the snow with her dogs.
It's kind of motivational.
Today's trip is another load for the South Carolina native, but it's a long way from the Dalton.
I look at it this way.
If this is what I got to do to get back on track with Lane, so be it.
Whether it's an 80,000-pound load or a 5,000-pound load, I'm here to do a job.
That's what I'm here to do.
- 2,000 miles to the southeast - Yee-haw! Hugh and Rick are on a desperate mission to haul cement mixers to the remote village of Red Sucker Lake.
Thing's now top-heavy.
These fucking cement mixers are flopping around like an old rag doll here.
Whoops! Fuck.
It's fucking bumpy.
So far they've done what no one else dared-- Hauling the heavy trucks a hundred miles up the melting winter roads.
Fucking road, she's pretty rough.
She's slicker than snot on a chicken's lip too.
But now, they're hitting the ice.
Here's, uh, the ice road sign here.
It's really, really thin ice.
- So you gotta come down on this real slow.
- All season, Hugh and Rick have faced the warm winter's thin ice.
But today they're crossing with a load ten times heavier than anything else they've hauled.
Maximum weight here is 37.
5 tons.
So we are right pushing the edge right now.
With so much weight focused in a single spot, if the ice gives way, the truck will sink immediately, leaving no chance of escape.
It's really, really thin ice.
So you got to come down on this really slow.
Oh, yeah, she's just popping and cracking.
Fucking unreal.
Yeah, we're moving the cracks here now.
She's just fucking popping out.
That was pretty serious.
The Polar Bear makes it across.
By the skin of my fucking ass again, I made it.
And now, after one cement truck has ravaged the ice She is not very thick, so be cool.
It's Rick's turn.
So when you're bringing your weight on, if you don't slow down, you'll blow the ice out right in front of you.
You're hearing ice cracking and shit That's usually when the shit is about to go really wrong, and it's your last day behind the shifter.
In the middle of a frozen Manitoba lake When you're hearing ice cracking and shit That's usually when the shit is about to go really wrong.
Rick Yemm is crawling across thin ice with a 20-ton cement truck.
Whoa.
You never know.
Ice is unpredictable.
- Finally - I made it again, I lived.
Rick joins Hugh on solid ground.
I like to get the job done instead of talking about it.
Yeah, sure.
But the battle to reach Red Sucker Lake is far from over.
- On the Dempster - Lots of wind.
It's laying down some snow.
- Alex is 120 miles south of Inuvik - Snow's coming.
And bracing a gathering storm as he heads south to pick up another load for the village.
I've got trouble with my windshield wipers.
The snow sticks to 'em at this temperature-- freezes on 'em-- and doesn't clean the windows.
Just giving me a little harder time in seeing the road.
But up ahead Alex's mission hits a major roadblock.
Bad news.
Yukon side is poor visibility and high winds.
I guess it's blocked over there? Yes.
So you're gonna have to head back to Inuvik, I guess.
So when do you figure it's gonna be open again? You don't know? Maybe a couple of days.
Okay, we're going back.
I'm heading back to Inuvik.
With the road officially closed, Alex has no choice but to turn back and head north with his empty trailer.
It frustrates me.
And this trip will end without a delivery.
I'm disappointed that they didn't open that gate, turn their back, and let us through.
This is nothing compared to those guys-- When we'd drive in-- On the Dalton.
Nothing, this is nothing! Just drove it for nothing.
Wore off a bunch of tires, burned a bunch of fuel for nothing.
I'm not happy.
Not happy about today.
- 450 miles to the west - Miserable trip.
Triple stack of trailers is the roughest thing I've ever drove.
It's killing me! Darrell Ward's nearing the end of an exhausting trip.
It's been a two-day trip when it should have been a one-day trip, with the blow up north.
And I'm just ready to get out of this truck and roll on to Fairbanks.
Despite the delays, the Dalton newcomer's been fighting to keep his lead on the other drivers.
Hopefully things are looking up.
- But as the lights of the city appear on the horizon - Oh, boy.
He's called into the scales.
How's it going? Not bad.
How are you doing tonight? Not too bad.
When was your last inspection? I haven't had one.
Why don't you grab your truck and trailer registration, your license, your med card.
Shut the lights off.
Turn the truck off.
Were you wearing your seatbelt when you pulled up today? I was.
I just now unhooked it to get out.
You got flares or triangles in the vehicle? Let me dig 'em out from underneath the sleeper.
I got a bunch of shit in there.
When was the last time you checked 'em? It's been a couple weeks ago.
Couple weeks ago? Yeah.
Okay, you know you're supposed to check that stuff every day, right? - Need to find a better way to secure this, 'cause - Yeah.
It coming off there like that, that's not a good deal.
There was an accident up on the road today and I ended up helping 'em.
- Well, when you get back in the truck - Still got the headlights on.
You need to make sure that everything's secured down.
Just bring in your registration, and your license, and your med card with you.
Yep, I 'll do that.
I hate DOT, you know? This is bullshit.
Darrell Ward.
Is that your name? Yep.
You're supposed to put in miles driven today.
- Oh, okay.
Well, I didn't-- - They're not in there.
You've got some violations today.
Failure to pre-trip your emergency equipment.
Miles not totaled in your logbook.
And the load securement for that of your drawn deck.
This state has a zero tolerance policy on the load securement thing, so, um, I'm gonna have to issue you a $300 ticket for load securement.
He's a fucker.
- After three long days - What pisses me off is it took him, you know, for-fucking-ever.
Darrell's hard-earned lead is in jeopardy and his wallet's $300 lighter.
I know I have to pre-trip every day.
But I don't have to look at my fucking triangles every day, when I know they're underneath the fucking bed.
I know they're there.
I put 'em there.
I've never fucking had a problem with that ever, anywhere.
Fuck you.
My shit is always tucked in.
And that's what pisses me off more than anything.
If that wreck hadn't have been there, I wouldn't have got a ticket.
That fucking wreck cost me 300 bucks.
another driver is also falling behind.
This has been a pretty crappy winter.
Jack Jessee is two days into a trip that normally takes less than one.
Trucks are in a ditch.
Accidents happening.
Most winters aren't this way.
- Last night - Oh, fuck.
A broken wheels and bad weather held him up in Coldfoot.
And now he's limping to Prudhoe Bay two wheels down.
If it ain't blowing, it's snow drifting.
Yeah, there's supposed to be a big drift right up-- Right up here at the top of the hill.
Blowing snow from last night's storm is forming deep drifts in the road making the path ahead nearly invisible.
I gotta keep my speed up, because I don't have the weight to plow through it.
I need momentum to get through this one.
It's a fine line you got to deal with-- Enough speed to get through it, but not enough speed that it's gonna take you off the road.
Your wheels rise up, and you're more or less hydroplaning on the snow.
You can turn your wheel left, right, and nothing's gonna happen.
And that's how a snowdrift can actually throw you into the ditch.
Ka-bloomp-- Sucks you right in.
It's blowing it right on the ground, like the top six inches.
Got all this snow across it.
It's really hard to see the road.
Snow blowing on it, snow drift over the top of it.
Not sure where the edge of the road really is.
Think you're right in the middle of the road and drive right off the edge.
Jack picks up speed and hits the drifts head-on.
Come on.
Barely even see the road.
Oh, fuck.
- Just south of Prudhoe Bay - Crap, where the-- Jack Jessee is blasting his way through three-foot snowdrifts.
God.
This is the worst stretch of road we've had so far.
Already handicapped with a busted trailer Getting through is taking everything the veteran's got left.
When you start getting into the snowdrifts, they can shut anybody down.
No! Bogged down, Jack gives it all he's got.
Whoa! Come on, you can do this.
You can do this.
With temperatures more than 30 below, this is the last place Jack wants to be stuck.
There you go.
Get right out of that snowdrift.
All right, there we go.
Whew! Yeah.
Oh, so much for an easy night.
After two grueling days, Jack finally reaches Prudhoe Bay.
Well, let's see how everything fared back here.
What a heartache you gave me.
I am glad to be done with you, I tell you that.
From decimated tires to blinding snowdrifts and a near fatal accident the veteran's seen it all on this run.
There we go.
here, this has been one of my more nightmare trips, I would say.
You know, I've seen a lot been through a lot.
This one's been rough.
- Across the yard - Lots of things went wrong last night.
It sucked, but Well, what do we got here? After a long trip that included a night in - the ditch, Austin's reached Prudhoe Bay - What I thought was gonna turn into a one-day easy trip turned into something epic that I've never experienced.
And it fucking blew.
But it's Darrell that holds onto the lead for now.
- 1,800 miles to the southeast - Is everything still on there? Yeah, she's on there.
Hugh and Rick are just Oh, fuck.
With their massive cement trucks.
What the fuck.
All day, they've been battered by the weight of their loads on the soft road, struggling to make it through in one piece.
Well, this is the roughest road they've got.
But driving in the dark is a whole other challenge.
You can, uh, only see so far ahead of you at night.
I mean, you can't see around the curves like you can in the daytime-- You're gonna see what's coming up if there's something.
So the element of surprise is a big fucking hole right in front of you.
Oh-ho-ho.
You can end up in a ditch awful easy.
That's a rough corner ain't it, that one? Holy fuck.
Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck.
She's all over the place here.
Ah, I knew that was gonna be a bad one.
Whoa! Next time on Ice Road Truckers Why can't I just have an easy season? Roughriders of the winter roads What the fuck? Are on the run from the law.
Are you kidding me? - The Dalton rookies - In the end, I'm gonna be on top.
Stake their claim.
Can I go now? This is heavy hauling right here.
And when things go wrong Take it easy-- No, no, no! Look out.
Easy, easy.
One driver will leave it all behind.
I don't know if I can handle much more.
I'm out of here, man.
The Dalton drivers face a path of destruction.
I can barely see the road.
Holy crap! - On the Dempster - And we're off.
Alex is running out of time.
And in Manitoba, Hugh and Rick roll the dice.
When you're hearing ice cracking That's usually when the shit's about to go really wrong.
Oh, no! Fairbanks, Alaska.
Going in here, talking to dispatch, getting a load.
Kind of excited.
Ready to do this.
Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum is back at the Carlile yard.
I'm still here.
I'm here to drive a truck.
Let's go hit the Dalton.
Holy shit! After two botched training runs All right, you're done driving.
Pull over.
I've seen all I need to see.
And nearly destroying part of a - multi-million-dollar oil rig - Damn! Fifth wheel wasn't hooked up right.
Porkchop was put on ice.
I guess I'm to the point where we need to take a little break here.
- But now - It's time to go.
After a stretch on the sidelines, word from the boss, is "report to dispatch.
" I'm up here for my family.
I ain't going back till the job's done.
Hi, man.
Good to see you back.
We got a load of dog food, and it's in the downtown Fairbanks area.
Seriously? It's time sensitive.
It's got to get to the start of the Yukon Quest before the race starts.
Freakin' 18 wheeler, downtown Fairbanks too? No.
Going in a bunny truck.
Seriously? I don't know why we call 'em bunny trucks.
But that's just a box truck.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Porkchop's hope of a Dalton comeback has been reduced to a pile of kibble.
I'm a long-haul driver.
They want me delivering dog food? Seriously? I don't know if this is a joke or a punishment.
Ain't it fun.
I get to hop around town.
I get to drive a little bunny truck, as they call it.
Being Lane's bunny boy.
It's ridiculous.
I guess they ain't got much faith in me.
While Porkchop's career is going nowhere, on the Dalton, things are also at a standstill.
For the past 16 hours, the worst storm in years has been pummeling the haul road, creating a 200-mile path of destruction and shutting everything down.
Just stay in the northbound lane all the way to the top.
Roger 2-4, northbound lane.
Do copy.
In the darkness, DOT crews scramble to clear a path.
Working to free stranded trucks that are blocking the road.
I'm gonna have to drag him.
Okay.
Clock's ticking.
150 miles south of Prudhoe Bay One driver's isn't taking "no" - for an answer - Man, she's blowing hard.
I see a line of trucks up here on the hill, ahead of me, stuck in the snowdrift.
Determined to retain his lead in the load count Darrell Ward is getting back on the road.
Well, here I go again.
Get out here to see if I can get behind DOT.
- Last night - We're gonna drop our trailers here and go back to Slope Mountain camp.
The Montana log hauler was forced to ditch his backhaul.
We're not gonna get through this.
And seek shelter from the storm at a DOT camp.
- Now, as cleanup crews roll out - Well, I'm gonna drop out behind the blade here.
He just went by.
Darrell's plan is to follow the plow, and be one of the first back on the road.
And I'll tell you what, man, that plow's going through here, and it don't take but a couple minutes for it to drift and shut again.
But with the snow still coming down, there is no guarantee he'll make it through.
Man, it's not taking it long, but it's drifting right back again.
I'm nervous.
Real tough to see.
Just another day on the Dalton.
- As dawn breaks - We're waiting to get everybody dug out.
The cleanup is still underway.
Start right about there.
Dig it out though, and dig the front out a little bit, so they can come pull it out.
With so many trucks off the road, even Carlile boss Lane Keator is getting his hands dirty.
Last night we had the drivers coming down the hill here.
Said he lost the last delineator.
And by the time he saw the next one, his front left steer tire dropped off the side here and it sucked him in.
We're just trying to get it clean around the hood here, and then we're gonna pull it up on the road and hopefully get it started and drive it away.
Right here.
Ready? Let's get everybody clear.
Everybody clear! Okay! We're good.
Free of the ditch, another Carlile truck is back in business.
Yeah, back on the road, going north.
We're in good shape.
But 170 miles up the road on Alaska's - barren North Slope - Just woke up here at Toolik, where I spent the night last night.
Austin Wheeler isn't going anywhere.
You couldn't even see my tires this morning.
Yesterday, Austin burst out of the gate on his first solo run.
I ain't gonna lie.
I just feel like a total badass today.
But the Dalton rookie pushed his luck in the storm.
I'm stuck here.
And ended up in the ditch, blocking the road and trapping the drivers behind him.
I got to prove myself up here.
I'm the youngest one up here.
It's very important to me.
As Austin fights to keep his truck from being - consumed by the blowing snow - The blade and blower finally got here.
A DOT crew arrives to reopen this section of the road.
They're trying to move all the drifts out of the way, so we can get traction on the ice.
And it looks like there's, like, ten behind us that are waiting to get through.
So they're trying to pull us back onto the road, and the other trucks can get through.
About time, huh? Really.
Hey.
Let's go.
I don't know if DOT's gonna be able to pull me out.
Ready? Oh, yeah.
Ready.
Hang on.
Despite 30,000 pounds of pulling power Are you moving at all? Yeah, I'm moving.
Just stuck in there good.
The rookie's truck refuses to budge.
Give you another jerk here.
Get me the hell out of here.
- In Alaska - Hang on.
Austin Wheeler is stuck in the ditch As trucks wait for the DOT to get the rookie out of the way and reopen the road.
Turn your wheels to the left.
There you go.
Move.
Move! Come on! Looks like we're finally pulling out.
- After a night stuck in the snow - Hey, I appreciate it.
- Austin is back on the road - Well, it's about time.
But still 130 miles from Prudhoe Bay.
Polar Industries is in trouble.
We've had some challenges and struggles on the first couple runs here.
And we've got to iron out these kings and hope the second half of the season goes a lot smoother than this first half has.
- This season - Been so rough that the truck pops out of gear.
Warm temperatures are wreaking havoc on the winter roads Yeah, she's cracking up big-time under me here.
- Making deliveries - You gotta be joking.
Nearly impossible.
Well, hopefully, they're in the right spot.
And with only two loads on the books Hugh's stake in the company's profits isn't looking good.
I committed myself.
We shook hands on the deal, and regardless, if you're gonna be in business, you've got to be prepared.
I mean, you take the good with the bad.
Today, desperate to move high-paying loads, Hugh and Rick are taking on their toughest challenge yet.
First big load.
Hauling full-size cement trucks all the way to Red Sucker Lake.
We got some cement trucks, and we're gonna bring 'em down into Red Sucker Lake, here.
It's gonna be tricky getting these cement trucks into Red Sucker Lake.
I'm not sure what some of the weight restrictions are quite yet.
Used in construction of homes and community buildings, cement trucks are vital to the survival of the village.
Heaviest load of the year.
Hope we don't go through the fucking ice.
At over 20 tons apiece no other drivers have dared to haul these them across the melting roads and thin ice.
These dadgum mix drum trucks are really top heavy.
But with the buyer paying top-dollar to anyone - that'll take on the challenge - That's a rough road in there, so they'll get thrown in the opposite way we're driving, it-- We could be in a mess.
It's now or never.
Let's go.
Good to go.
Kill it.
Right on, man.
Fuck, where's my cowboy hat? Holy fuck.
We start falling into holes and stuff, when we get rocking and rolling, why, it'll just tip the trailer over.
Oh, my fucking God.
Oh, God! Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Under the weight of the cement trucks, the soft winter roads are nearly impassable.
Oh, oh, fuck.
Could be rough.
Fuck, that hurt.
And the ice is still ahead.
Takes a certain breed.
This shit ain't for everybody.
- 1,400 miles to the northwest - Looking forward to my trip here.
Looks like we're gonna be driving in the snow a little bit.
Alex Debogorski is on a mission to resupply the remote communities of Northern Canada.
Okay.
And to keep supplies flowing he's heading south to Dawson City to pick up another load and bring it back to Inuvik.
Tire check.
But the storm that raged on the Dalton is headed east, directly into Alex's path.
Visibility might be questionable.
It's a gray day.
I expect there's gonna be a bit of a white out.
Hopefully the plows are out cleaning the road.
It's a race against the clock to make the 1,000-mile round-trip before the storm shuts down the Dempster.
Okay.
That didn't feel good.
Oh, I got some froze up wheels.
That's what's happened.
But the sub-zero temperatures are already slowing him down.
We'll stick 'em with a hammer.
We'll roll around on the ground, get covered with snow and beat on 'em.
This is one good way to get run over.
If I hit the drum, it vibrates the drum and releases the ice holding the brake pad to the drum.
There.
Okay.
Okay, those are all good.
Alex's brakes are free.
And we're off and running.
But with every lost second, the veteran's chances of making it to Dawson City and back are getting slimmer.
I'm sure the day's gonna throw a handful of other interesting things at me as we go along.
- 450 miles to the west - I'm tired of all these obstructions coming into our way.
I just want to get to Prudhoe and hope the next trip's better.
Austin Wheeler is rolling north as DOT clears the last stretch of blocked road.
- And in the southbound lane - What a fucking mess! Don't sleep in the road! Word of Austin's night in the ditch has reached Darrell Ward.
It's Austin.
Austin went by here.
Just got pulled out of a ditch! Headed up to the top.
Tire chains flopping.
I don't want to be that guy.
- So far - Right on.
Back on the road again.
Darrell's plan to stay ahead of the pack is working.
DOT's doing a good job of getting this road cleared out.
And the Montana log-hauler's already left the worst of the storm behind.
We'll get on through this hopefully sooner than later.
But as he clears the shelf The ambulance is on the way.
Ambulance is on the way? What's that all about? The devastation is far from over.
Looks like we got an accident.
Oh, shit, it's nasty.
- 60 miles to the south - Maybe somebody's on the radio.
We'll see if there's any of that weather up north straightened up or not.
See what happens here.
- After spending the night in Coldfoot - Anybody up out there? And know what the weather's doing up north? What the hell's going on here? Haul road-ace Jack Jessee gets a rude awakening.
Hey, Brandon, what's happening? One of our pilot cars got in a wreck on 205.
A wreck-- What? Yeah.
Real bad wreck.
Aw, shit.
All right, let me get my jacket on, we'll go inside, wake up, and make phone calls.
All right.
We haven't heard anything.
We're waiting to find any south-bounders that can tell us any more information.
Pilot truck versus a big rig.
A great possibility that I just lost my best friend.
Oh, damn it.
This hurts.
- 60 miles north of Coldfoot - Oh, shit, it's nasty.
Darrell Ward's face-to-face with a trucker's nightmare.
See if I can help out.
On the slick road, the out and collided with an oncoming 16-ton big rig.
The driver's already been taken to a medevac location by paramedics.
That's the closest to head-on as you ever want to get.
But the destruction remains.
Just wiped out this whole side here.
The other side's barely even touched.
Yeah.
- At Coldfoot - I do not know who's on-scene.
But if you can, that'd be great.
- Yeah.
So - Everyone is scrambling to get word on the condition of the injured driver.
All right, bye.
So EMT security showed up.
He was unconscious, in shock, suspected neck injury.
They had to get him out to get him warm.
This-- this is not the place you just leave somebody in the vehicle and wait.
Supposedly he had his seatbelt on.
Probably what did save his life.
Let's go ahead and throw this tire up on that trailer.
Ready? On the remote road, there's no equipment to deal with the scattered wreck, so Darrell takes the lead.
Yeah, I'm gonna go hook up to that pickup and drag that pickup out of the ditch and down to the pull out.
That'll work.
What it is, is what it is.
This is the kind of shit that happens out here.
This is not like somebody I don't know.
We know everybody up here.
Everybody knows everybody.
You know, in all reality, I mean, we're a big family.
I think everybody reacts up here just like it's their own brother or sister.
You take care of your people up here.
It's what we do.
We always know, in the back of our mind, this stuff can happen.
We're always safe about it.
But when things go good for a long enough time, you get a little lax on it, and it just doesn't really set in until You know, till it happens.
And, uh, it's enough to shake you up.
- Miles away in downtown Fairbanks - It's ridiculous.
Porkchop's far from the haul road, unloading dog food at the Yukon Quest sled dog race.
I've had it up to here.
Stuck in the Carlile doghouse, Porkchop takes the chance to blow off some steam.
You mind if I meet the dogs? Yeah, no, so you can say hi to them.
They're all friendly.
They'll probably jump up on you.
Hey, well, that's what I'm all about.
They like as much love as they can get, so they'll be into it.
So which one's your lead dog? This is Madonna.
She's pretty chill.
She's one of my main leaders.
Yeah, you like that, don't you? Huh? Yeah? I mean, they're my family, 'cause I take care of them, they take care of me.
We get down the trail together.
Good luck.
Thank you.
All right.
It'll be a good trip.
Three, two, one.
Go.
With the short run completed, there's plenty of - time to watch the start of the race - All right! Whoo-hoo! All right, Kyla! Do it, girl! Well, here I am, driving up the damn Dalton in a damn truck in a day.
She's out here for 11 days going the same amount of miles.
No heat sleeping out here in the snow with her dogs.
It's kind of motivational.
Today's trip is another load for the South Carolina native, but it's a long way from the Dalton.
I look at it this way.
If this is what I got to do to get back on track with Lane, so be it.
Whether it's an 80,000-pound load or a 5,000-pound load, I'm here to do a job.
That's what I'm here to do.
- 2,000 miles to the southeast - Yee-haw! Hugh and Rick are on a desperate mission to haul cement mixers to the remote village of Red Sucker Lake.
Thing's now top-heavy.
These fucking cement mixers are flopping around like an old rag doll here.
Whoops! Fuck.
It's fucking bumpy.
So far they've done what no one else dared-- Hauling the heavy trucks a hundred miles up the melting winter roads.
Fucking road, she's pretty rough.
She's slicker than snot on a chicken's lip too.
But now, they're hitting the ice.
Here's, uh, the ice road sign here.
It's really, really thin ice.
- So you gotta come down on this real slow.
- All season, Hugh and Rick have faced the warm winter's thin ice.
But today they're crossing with a load ten times heavier than anything else they've hauled.
Maximum weight here is 37.
5 tons.
So we are right pushing the edge right now.
With so much weight focused in a single spot, if the ice gives way, the truck will sink immediately, leaving no chance of escape.
It's really, really thin ice.
So you got to come down on this really slow.
Oh, yeah, she's just popping and cracking.
Fucking unreal.
Yeah, we're moving the cracks here now.
She's just fucking popping out.
That was pretty serious.
The Polar Bear makes it across.
By the skin of my fucking ass again, I made it.
And now, after one cement truck has ravaged the ice She is not very thick, so be cool.
It's Rick's turn.
So when you're bringing your weight on, if you don't slow down, you'll blow the ice out right in front of you.
You're hearing ice cracking and shit That's usually when the shit is about to go really wrong, and it's your last day behind the shifter.
In the middle of a frozen Manitoba lake When you're hearing ice cracking and shit That's usually when the shit is about to go really wrong.
Rick Yemm is crawling across thin ice with a 20-ton cement truck.
Whoa.
You never know.
Ice is unpredictable.
- Finally - I made it again, I lived.
Rick joins Hugh on solid ground.
I like to get the job done instead of talking about it.
Yeah, sure.
But the battle to reach Red Sucker Lake is far from over.
- On the Dempster - Lots of wind.
It's laying down some snow.
- Alex is 120 miles south of Inuvik - Snow's coming.
And bracing a gathering storm as he heads south to pick up another load for the village.
I've got trouble with my windshield wipers.
The snow sticks to 'em at this temperature-- freezes on 'em-- and doesn't clean the windows.
Just giving me a little harder time in seeing the road.
But up ahead Alex's mission hits a major roadblock.
Bad news.
Yukon side is poor visibility and high winds.
I guess it's blocked over there? Yes.
So you're gonna have to head back to Inuvik, I guess.
So when do you figure it's gonna be open again? You don't know? Maybe a couple of days.
Okay, we're going back.
I'm heading back to Inuvik.
With the road officially closed, Alex has no choice but to turn back and head north with his empty trailer.
It frustrates me.
And this trip will end without a delivery.
I'm disappointed that they didn't open that gate, turn their back, and let us through.
This is nothing compared to those guys-- When we'd drive in-- On the Dalton.
Nothing, this is nothing! Just drove it for nothing.
Wore off a bunch of tires, burned a bunch of fuel for nothing.
I'm not happy.
Not happy about today.
- 450 miles to the west - Miserable trip.
Triple stack of trailers is the roughest thing I've ever drove.
It's killing me! Darrell Ward's nearing the end of an exhausting trip.
It's been a two-day trip when it should have been a one-day trip, with the blow up north.
And I'm just ready to get out of this truck and roll on to Fairbanks.
Despite the delays, the Dalton newcomer's been fighting to keep his lead on the other drivers.
Hopefully things are looking up.
- But as the lights of the city appear on the horizon - Oh, boy.
He's called into the scales.
How's it going? Not bad.
How are you doing tonight? Not too bad.
When was your last inspection? I haven't had one.
Why don't you grab your truck and trailer registration, your license, your med card.
Shut the lights off.
Turn the truck off.
Were you wearing your seatbelt when you pulled up today? I was.
I just now unhooked it to get out.
You got flares or triangles in the vehicle? Let me dig 'em out from underneath the sleeper.
I got a bunch of shit in there.
When was the last time you checked 'em? It's been a couple weeks ago.
Couple weeks ago? Yeah.
Okay, you know you're supposed to check that stuff every day, right? - Need to find a better way to secure this, 'cause - Yeah.
It coming off there like that, that's not a good deal.
There was an accident up on the road today and I ended up helping 'em.
- Well, when you get back in the truck - Still got the headlights on.
You need to make sure that everything's secured down.
Just bring in your registration, and your license, and your med card with you.
Yep, I 'll do that.
I hate DOT, you know? This is bullshit.
Darrell Ward.
Is that your name? Yep.
You're supposed to put in miles driven today.
- Oh, okay.
Well, I didn't-- - They're not in there.
You've got some violations today.
Failure to pre-trip your emergency equipment.
Miles not totaled in your logbook.
And the load securement for that of your drawn deck.
This state has a zero tolerance policy on the load securement thing, so, um, I'm gonna have to issue you a $300 ticket for load securement.
He's a fucker.
- After three long days - What pisses me off is it took him, you know, for-fucking-ever.
Darrell's hard-earned lead is in jeopardy and his wallet's $300 lighter.
I know I have to pre-trip every day.
But I don't have to look at my fucking triangles every day, when I know they're underneath the fucking bed.
I know they're there.
I put 'em there.
I've never fucking had a problem with that ever, anywhere.
Fuck you.
My shit is always tucked in.
And that's what pisses me off more than anything.
If that wreck hadn't have been there, I wouldn't have got a ticket.
That fucking wreck cost me 300 bucks.
another driver is also falling behind.
This has been a pretty crappy winter.
Jack Jessee is two days into a trip that normally takes less than one.
Trucks are in a ditch.
Accidents happening.
Most winters aren't this way.
- Last night - Oh, fuck.
A broken wheels and bad weather held him up in Coldfoot.
And now he's limping to Prudhoe Bay two wheels down.
If it ain't blowing, it's snow drifting.
Yeah, there's supposed to be a big drift right up-- Right up here at the top of the hill.
Blowing snow from last night's storm is forming deep drifts in the road making the path ahead nearly invisible.
I gotta keep my speed up, because I don't have the weight to plow through it.
I need momentum to get through this one.
It's a fine line you got to deal with-- Enough speed to get through it, but not enough speed that it's gonna take you off the road.
Your wheels rise up, and you're more or less hydroplaning on the snow.
You can turn your wheel left, right, and nothing's gonna happen.
And that's how a snowdrift can actually throw you into the ditch.
Ka-bloomp-- Sucks you right in.
It's blowing it right on the ground, like the top six inches.
Got all this snow across it.
It's really hard to see the road.
Snow blowing on it, snow drift over the top of it.
Not sure where the edge of the road really is.
Think you're right in the middle of the road and drive right off the edge.
Jack picks up speed and hits the drifts head-on.
Come on.
Barely even see the road.
Oh, fuck.
- Just south of Prudhoe Bay - Crap, where the-- Jack Jessee is blasting his way through three-foot snowdrifts.
God.
This is the worst stretch of road we've had so far.
Already handicapped with a busted trailer Getting through is taking everything the veteran's got left.
When you start getting into the snowdrifts, they can shut anybody down.
No! Bogged down, Jack gives it all he's got.
Whoa! Come on, you can do this.
You can do this.
With temperatures more than 30 below, this is the last place Jack wants to be stuck.
There you go.
Get right out of that snowdrift.
All right, there we go.
Whew! Yeah.
Oh, so much for an easy night.
After two grueling days, Jack finally reaches Prudhoe Bay.
Well, let's see how everything fared back here.
What a heartache you gave me.
I am glad to be done with you, I tell you that.
From decimated tires to blinding snowdrifts and a near fatal accident the veteran's seen it all on this run.
There we go.
here, this has been one of my more nightmare trips, I would say.
You know, I've seen a lot been through a lot.
This one's been rough.
- Across the yard - Lots of things went wrong last night.
It sucked, but Well, what do we got here? After a long trip that included a night in - the ditch, Austin's reached Prudhoe Bay - What I thought was gonna turn into a one-day easy trip turned into something epic that I've never experienced.
And it fucking blew.
But it's Darrell that holds onto the lead for now.
- 1,800 miles to the southeast - Is everything still on there? Yeah, she's on there.
Hugh and Rick are just Oh, fuck.
With their massive cement trucks.
What the fuck.
All day, they've been battered by the weight of their loads on the soft road, struggling to make it through in one piece.
Well, this is the roughest road they've got.
But driving in the dark is a whole other challenge.
You can, uh, only see so far ahead of you at night.
I mean, you can't see around the curves like you can in the daytime-- You're gonna see what's coming up if there's something.
So the element of surprise is a big fucking hole right in front of you.
Oh-ho-ho.
You can end up in a ditch awful easy.
That's a rough corner ain't it, that one? Holy fuck.
Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck.
She's all over the place here.
Ah, I knew that was gonna be a bad one.
Whoa! Next time on Ice Road Truckers Why can't I just have an easy season? Roughriders of the winter roads What the fuck? Are on the run from the law.
Are you kidding me? - The Dalton rookies - In the end, I'm gonna be on top.
Stake their claim.
Can I go now? This is heavy hauling right here.
And when things go wrong Take it easy-- No, no, no! Look out.
Easy, easy.
One driver will leave it all behind.
I don't know if I can handle much more.
I'm out of here, man.