Ice Road Truckers (2007) s06e08 Episode Script

Tonight on Ice Road Truckers.
This ain't gonna be pretty.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
With the load count up for grabs Hold on! Drivers push the limit.
We're basically going from one floating chunk of ice over to the other.
- With bigger hauls - Anything can happen out here.
- Deadlier roads - Ain't nobody else ever been where I'm going.
You know, this could happen to anybody out here.
And thinner ice.
The ice is just crack, crack, crack, crack.
Oh, fuck! At the Carlile yard in Fairbanks, Alaska I'm ready to make some money.
Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum is desperate to get on the Dalton.
I'm up here for my family, for the money.
I'm up here so I can buy my wife a house.
I'm up here so I can take my kids on vacation, so I can pay bills.
My back's against the wall, man.
But so far, he hasn't been allowed to drive the road on his own.
What's up Marky Mark? Nothing, what's going on with you, Porkchop? I'm just checking out the funky bunch.
What you got for me today? We have a run to Manley.
Manley? Manley's a new run for Carlile.
Um, pretty tricky road up there in some areas.
You got ice flows over the road.
Snow gets pretty deep.
Just as bad as running up to Prudhoe.
And you're going by yourself.
Hey, thank you, man.
All right, Porkchop, be careful out there.
Porkchop's rolling, baby.
For the first time this season, Porkchop's hitting the road by himself.
Pretty stoked today.
And his mission is taking him to uncharted territory.
You can't stop the Chop, baby.
I'm back on top of my game.
It's a good thing.
I'm ready to do this.
Every road's got to have its first time traveled.
Branching off the Dalton, the road to Manley is over 120 miles of slick corners, exposed peaks, and rugged Alaskan wilderness.
Re-supplying the village will be Porkchop's biggest test this season.
Let's roll this sucker.
Yeah, it's a challenge, but it's a challenge I'm willing to step up and take.
Now is when it's my time to shine.
I've always been the black sheep.
It's my turn to show that I'm a success too.
- Just outside of Fairbanks - This will be the biggest load I've ever pushed.
Another rookie's getting the shot he's been looking for all season.
It's gonna be awesome.
It's gonna be awesome.
I've never carried anything this big up the Dalton, or pushed anything up the Dalton this big.
Anything up the Dalton this big.
Austin Wheeler's still struggling to prove himself on the haul road.
But today, he's finally been given the chance to join a heavy-haul team.
This season, I want to get the respect of other drivers.
That's my number one goal.
And the way to do that is to be able to come up here and take over the Dalton highway as a heavy-haul driver.
The load is a 100-ton modular building that's desperately needed in Prudhoe Bay.
And Carlile's agreed to get it there in just 72 hours.
But with a top speed of 25 miles per hour, they'll need every second.
Ready to ride.
On the team with Austin are Carlile legend Carey Hall and Greg Vance.
But with a load this massive He's in the ditch.
Just getting on the road is a challenge.
So the load kind of went over the ditch as the rear of the trailer came out of the driveway.
Just got to steer the back of the trailer to get it out on the road without dragging through the ditch.
Like a 100-ton RC car, the trailer wheels can be adjusted by remote control.
Got the remote? He's just gonna walk by the trailer and steer it right out-- Steer the back end out on the road for me.
And we'll hook it back up.
Once it gets straightened out, and we'll be on our way.
Thanks, Greg.
Thanks, Austin.
Yeah.
Here we go.
The strict delivery deadline means every delay is a chance the mission could end in failure.
But we got three days of hard driving just to get there.
And with the entire Austin's shot at proving himself as a heavy-hauler is ticking away.
The setbacks kind of suck, but that stuff happens when you work heavy-haul.
Anything can happen out here.
- 450 miles to the east - We're gonna drive 500 miles today.
Alex Debogorski is facing the notorious Dempster, in reverse.
I'm leaving Inuvik, going to Dawson City, good lord willing, and, uh hopefully we don't have any problems.
He's running south with a trailer full of personal shipments and other goods being sent out of the northern communities.
Up, up and away.
Here we go.
And what's usually the last challenge of the trip is the first up today.
I'm approaching the Mackenzie River ice crossing.
They've lowered the speed limits.
Generally, when they lower the speed limits, it's because there's a problem with the ice.
So maybe the ice is getting thinner weaker to some degree.
Fragile ice is no place for a 48,000-pound rig.
I'm just gonna take a walk down there, take a look.
See what it feels like under my foot.
Looks fine.
There's no overflow.
So nothing's sunk through it.
Far as I'm concerned, it's safe.
So I'm gonna go across.
On the river the key to survival is a slow and steady pace.
If I go too fast for the ice, then I damage the ice.
The damage for myself, getting the trailer going first, or I can go into the drink.
What's that? It's cracking.
- Coming up - Just something's got me sick.
Hugh's desperate gamble.
We're driving right into a blizzard.
And the deadly Dalton claims another victim.
It's something that happens up here, and it's really something you've got to think about.
In the middle of the frozen Mackenzie River What's that? Can't be too careful.
The ice has Alex ready to jump.
The veteran rides with an open door, ready to leap to safety at a moment's notice.
Whoa! And those few seconds can be the difference between life and sudden death.
Near the end of the crossing Alex finally takes a seat.
We got 'er.
We made it.
We're gonna live another day.
And we're gonna go make time.
I got this little time-making machine in my back pocket, and we're just gonna crank it up, crank it out.
in Winnipeg, Canada Hugh Rowland and Rick Yemm's season has hit rock bottom.
Hey, man.
How's it going? Not bad, and you? Mm, I'm a little bit better, but not quite-- Not quite on the ball yet.
Rick's been sidelined by an infection he caught from his mouse-infested truck.
We gotta make sure nobody goes in there.
And there's a chance he may have the deadly hantavirus.
No, they don't know what the fuck it is, huh, yet.
They said if it's not incubated by five days, then it's just something's got me sick, right, so Well, at least they figured out it was something in the truck.
Yep.
Well, I'm gonna head out there right away and-- So, they're probably wondering-- I stopped to see what-- See what you were up to, see-- They'll probably be asking how you're doing, so I thought I'd better pop over.
I'm still alive.
See what's up.
Yep.
All right, man.
I'll talk to you after a bit.
Okay.
Okay.
When I first heard the news that he was sick, and he had this horrible virus from the truck, I felt pretty bad for him.
But regardless, I'm still driving and still trying to run the show, and trying to make everything work, make-- make ends meet here.
See if Mark can handle the fucking office while our guy's gone.
This season, Hugh's sharing in company profits, but so far the brutal winter hasn't left much profit on the books.
I'll take this one up real quick.
All he can do is hook up to another load and keep the freight moving.
Well, I got, uh, a load of septic tanks.
Nice quick trip, I'm just gonna take her up to Bloodvein, and that's as far as it's gotta go, so Day trip, I'll be back tonight.
It'll be good.
The run to Bloodvein may be short, but to get there, Hugh will face the recently opened Lake Winnipeg ice crossing.
Over 9,000 square miles, and 118 feet deep, Lake Winnipeg is the Earth, and Hugh will be crossing against an oncoming Arctic storm.
We, uh, just got out of dodge, there, and we're driving right into a blizzard.
The wind's coming up.
She's getting to be a real fucking day out here.
- 2,000 miles to the northwest - We got a load of sheetrock out here.
All right, cool.
That'll work.
See you later.
Darrell Ward is one trip away from leading the load count.
And with biggest competitor Jack Jessee missing, he's out to be the new haul road ace.
Jack disappeared.
You know, with Jack being gone, that gives me the advantage to get in the lead.
I'm not gonna pass up an advantage like that, you know? Advantage like that, you know? Jack's gone, man.
I'm gonna hammer down.
We'll get 'er on the road.
But taking the lead in the load count isn't only about being the best.
Picture of Reno.
Senior in high school, you know.
So I'm gonna put his picture up.
You know, I came up here to do this for Reno.
You know, his-- his comfort is very important to me, you know? I miss him a lot, and, uh-- Anything I do, I do for him.
- A few miles up the road - Okay, Austin, I'm on there.
All right, here we come.
Austin Wheeler is trying to prove himself as part of a three-man heavy-haul team.
What do you got for RPM right now? Uh, 1,600, fifth direct.
Okay, we're gonna roll that way.
Way.
They gotta get the within 72 hours, but they spent the morning just getting on the road, and they haven't even made it to the Dalton.
It takes a good team to do this.
Just, all being smooth, all talking on the radio.
We all want to be at the same RPM, same speed, all pushing at the same flow up the hill.
The load's so heavy it takes two trucks to push the lead truck up any incline.
What gear are you in? Fifth direct.
You and I matched even.
You and I matched even.
Okay.
And these early hills are a trial run to see if Austin's got the hang of it.
Hey, Carey.
Yeah.
I've got a bad brake can.
It's leaking.
Oh, that's not good.
Stop up the road here somewhere.
Yeah, we need to run up to this parking lot.
The brakes are failing on Greg's push-truck, and the convoy hits their second delay of the day.
Can you call and tell the shop we need a brake can for Greg's truck? You need a brake can? Yeah.
We were doing pretty good until this, uh, brake can came up, but, um, we need Greg.
It's really hard to say what time we'll get to Coldfoot.
Depends, but I'm guessing probably late tonight, and I'm not really happy about it.
There's over 480 miles to go, and the clock's ticking.
Austin's chance to prove himself may already be over.
- Coming up - The ice just crack, crack, crack, crack.
The Polar Bear feels the pressure.
Holy fuck! - Only 18 miles outside of Fairbanks - Gotta wait here until the mechanics come to fix the brake can on Greg's truck.
Austin Wheeler's shot at heavy-haul glory is at a standstill.
Just waiting for the mechanic to show up before we can take off again.
Hopefully it won't be too long.
Can't really afford it, but it is what it is.
Things happen.
Things go wrong, and they break, you know? The team's chance to deliver before the deadline expires is slipping away.
We've lost a lot of time today, though, that's for sure.
Finally, the mechanic arrives, to swap out a piece of the brake system.
Oh, here we go.
This brake can is no good.
It was leaking air.
The mechanic makes quick work of the problem.
Good to go! We should be good to go after that.
No more breakdowns.
But they've barely started the journey, and they're already running out of time.
Probably lost seven or eight hours so far.
It's not the greatest of times.
Probably be pushing through the dark tonight.
- 60 miles to the north - It's kind of nice.
I'm finally on my freakin' own.
Porkchop is in the middle of his last shot at proving he belongs on the haul road.
I finally get my own load, I'm doin' my own thing.
I'm excited.
On the bad side, I gotta leave the dog, but on the good side, ain't nobody else ever been where I'm going.
He's headed to the Alaskan village of Manley on his first solo run out of town.
This is the road less traveled.
And the trip is taking him into unfamiliar territory.
I'm whatever it takes to get this load to these people out here.
They're depending on me right now.
Over 120 miles long, the rarely traveled access road wasn't built with big rigs in mind.
It's a washboard road where it is cleared, it's rougher than a night in jail.
This ain't gonna be pretty.
Can't even see the bottom down there.
One side, you got about a you got a mountain.
Which side do you want to go off of? Whoa, we are right on the edge.
Well, I'm just trying to pay attention.
Definitely gotta be brave, that's for damn sure.
- Alone in the Alaskan wilderness - It's slicker than crisco on a cookie sheet.
One mistake could be fatal.
Hold on, we gotta slow down.
Oh, fuck! Hold on, hold on, hold on.
That was tricky.
That was close.
Lots of curves up here.
This ain't no joke, that's for sure.
- 2,100 miles to the southeast - This one's going to Bloodvein, this load.
Hugh Rowland is Polar Industries' last man standing.
You can't see.
The snow dust kicks up, and your visibility is 100% gone as soon as you go by, so it's just a big guessing game.
With the season in chaos and Rick Yemm on the sick list, Hugh is buckling down and going at it alone.
First camp's, uh-- First kick at the cat to go across Lake Winnipeg.
I've never been across there before.
Plus I get another road under my belt, so that's a good deal.
But this trip has him crossing Lake Winnipeg, one of the largest lakes in the world.
Let's get 'er done.
She just opened, so she's gonna be, uh pretty new ice here.
Get down onto the lake here.
First time you come on there, 'cause the ice just crack, crack, crack, crack.
You can hear it cracking.
Getting on the ice is just the beginning.
Yeah, and there's a big pressure Ridge.
That's why it wasn't open up there on, uh, on Lake Winnipeg there.
It's about four feet wide.
So this is where it gets kind of hairy here is, uh, going across these pressure ridges.
At the center of the lake is a seam where two massive sheets of ice collide, pushing against each other with enough force to open up a four-foot-wide gap.
Comin' up to this pressure ridge here, she's definitely gotten higher and higher.
You can see it all the way across the lake.
It goes right from one end of the lake to the other.
Pressure forms the ice, and it's actually open water in there.
So it-- We're basically going from one floating chunk of ice over to the other.
Crossing the pressure ridge is a tightrope walk over a 118-foot drop to the bottom of a frigid lake.
We haven't got much room through here, it's a-- Truck is just gonna fit here so Oh, fuck! - Coming up - As a kid, I always wanted to be a hero.
Alex is blindsided.
Whoa! - In Manitoba, Canada - We're gonna go up and over this right now.
Hugh Rowland's in the middle of Lake Winnipeg.
Oh, fuck! - He's gotta keep the trailer straight - Hang on.
And move steadily from one sheet of ice to the other.
Wow.
But we made it.
He's passed the pressure ridge, but he's not out of the water yet.
So now we're on another piece of floating ice over here, so we'll carry on across the lake here.
We're just coming off this lake and, uh, still here.
Still ain't been swimming.
Off the ice, Hugh reaches the village.
Looks like Bloodvein is gonna get their septic tanks today.
And for the first time in weeks, the Polar Bear racks up a delivery.
Drop her off, we'll, uh, bobtail her back to Winnipeg, so Another quick cash grab here.
Dash for the cash.
Made it.
Another trip in.
Here we are, over the border.
"Yukon, larger than life.
" Alex is running south on the Dempster, taking advantage of a rare break in the weather.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a hero.
A few Superman comics I could afford, I thought it would be great to be Superman and save all these poor people from the bad guys.
I've-- Through life, I've had the opportunity a few times to be a hero.
I've also had the opportunity a few times to be a royal fucker, and I took that too.
I got some-- Whoa! A big chunk of snow came off the bridge, and hit us in the roof.
If that was, uh, frozen, it could have come right through, and I could be wearing it.
A big chunk of ice.
Gonna keep an eye on the road here.
We still got a long way to go.
- 370 miles to the west - Time to roll.
Darrell's making good time on his run to replace Jack Jessee as the haul road ace.
I don't know why Jack's gone, but he is.
That's more loads for me.
More loads for the load count.
And he will not be able to catch up.
I made me some time right here.
They got the road blocked.
I think somebody's crossed up on the road up there.
But nothing's easy on the Dalton.
Gonna have to hold up.
Another delay of Darrell's game.
A bulker truck is jack-knifed across the road, blocking all traffic.
Oh, there's-- there's one of my fellow truckers.
I'm gonna walk up there and see what he has to say.
Looks like a hair ball situation here, huh? Yeah, that wasn't pretty, boy.
He's lucky he got it sideways, or he would've ended up in the bushes.
The driver of the jack-knifed truck has already been taken back to town.
Lucky dude, lucky dude.
Yup.
Lucky it turned out the way it did.
Looks like he's got the blade here blocking off the road.
Here blocking off the road.
There goes Jarvis, getting ready to go.
To go.
I wonder if Jarvis saw it.
I bet he did.
What's happening, Jarvis? Man, looks like a close call.
It was a close call.
It was indeed.
Come up here a little bit.
Jarvis Walton just missed becoming part of the wreck.
He just got too far out there on the edge, out there on the shoulder.
That's all snow.
It was impossible for him to correct it.
Heading north, the bulker lost control and Jack-knifed across the road.
If Jarvis would have arrived a few seconds earlier, he wouldn't be standing here now.
Everything just unfolded, happened so slow and so quickly.
Just unbelievable, you know? Out here on the Dalton highway, things can happen like that.
You just gotta be ready to react.
That's a scary deal right there.
That kills people.
Until the wreck can be cleared, Darrell will have to put his load count on hold.
You can never hope enough that you're not involved in one of those accidents, you know? Well, there's not much more I can do sitting right there, so-- Manley is the road less traveled.
Porkchop's in the middle of a make-or-break trip.
This ain't no joke, that's for sure.
You gotta be on the edge of your seat up here.
You can't just sit back and enjoy your ride.
You've got to be ready.
He's fighting to prove himself on his first solo run, and the 120-mile road to the village of Manley is testing everything he's got.
The Dalton is tough, but this is Manley.
It's a dangerous environment all the way around.
Every second you're on this road is a second you might not make it back.
I want to make it back to my wife and kids.
- Finally, near the end of the road - Coming up on a 13 and 6 bridge.
I got about a half-inch of clearance.
A narrow bridge is the last obstacle between Porkchop and the village.
A mistake here will undo everything he struggled to accomplish.
Oh, boy.
Oh, my God.
Nothing to it.
Porkchop pulls in to Manley.
Hello! Is that thing full just for us? Yes, ma'am.
And completes his first solo delivery in the Alaskan wilderness.
I want everybody to remember one thing.
You can't stop the Chop.
Thank you, Porkchop.
Yeah, thanks, Porkchop.
You're welcome, Perry.
Been the most productive day yet since I've been up here.
- Coming up - Thought I'd show back up and go back to work.
The ace is back.
Do you want my seat? I had to sit in yours while you were gone.
- 120 miles north of Fairbanks - Everything in my mind works like clockwork.
Everything out here on this road works like disaster.
Darrell's plan to take the lead in the load count is on hold while crews clear a jack-knifed truck from the road.
Delays, delays, delays.
I'm only gonna make it to Coldfoot tonight.
- I'm gonna turn this in-- - Hello? We all clear back there? I'm gonna turn this into a three-day trip.
Looks like we're moving.
Coming up on that accident makes you think.
You know, this could happen to anybody out here.
Makes you think about your kids.
Makes me think about Reno a lot.
For Darrell, leading the load count is his shot at providing a better life for his son.
You know, you're missing your children and your spouse, or whatever, and-- You know? Then one day you go home and it ain't even there anymore.
But being the best comes at a price.
That's part of the life of a trucker, and I don't want to see Reno end up in that same boat, you know? I want him to have something better than what I had.
Everybody wants that for their children.
I want Reno to go off to school and get a good education, and I don't want to see him struggle at all.
I'll struggle to make sure he doesn't have to.
Give him the life that I wanted.
Keep on truckin'.
- 30 miles to the south - It's been a long day so far.
I don't think we're gonna make it to Coldfoot like we originally planned.
Austin's out to prove he belongs on the Dalton heavy-haul team by pushing a All the delays this morning and today have definitely, uh-- We've lost time over them.
But a day of delays has the trip behind schedule.
I really wanted to minimize my time having to drive in the dark with this load, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Keep moving.
They're driving into the night to make up time.
Looking good now.
Okay, Austin, I'm on here.
All right, I'm coming.
And things are finally looking up.
What is that sound? Damn it.
The engine is not running smoothly, like it should.
Straining under the starting to quit.
Man, I cannot believe this is happening right now.
My truck's cutting out.
I'm gonna go up to the 100-mile pullout up here and stop and check it out.
Okay.
I've already lost a lot of hours on this haul due to broke-down trucks.
Without all three trucks, the heavy-haul mission is in jeopardy.
It's almost like this trip wasn't meant to be, you know? One thing after another.
Might have to drop this load up here and go back to town.
Two steps forward and three steps backwards.
With the convoy stopped, Austin's Dalton heavy-haul debut is looking like a bust.
Eh, knocking like it might be an injector going out.
That means it's gotta go to the shop if it's got an injector going out.
I got some bad news, and I got some bad news.
What's wrong? Got something missing there real bad.
Think it might be an injector going out or something.
All right, drop it.
I'm hooking up to it.
Let's go, Greg.
That ain't gonna work either.
Despite the rookie's eagerness, there's no way the veteran's handing over the load to the first-timer.
It means the haul is shut down.
I thought that the breakdown train was over, but it's not over yet, so I gotta drop the load and go back to town, the shop.
Hopefully it's a quick fix in the morning.
Their deadline is now just two days away, and they've only made it 100 miles.
Well, we're sitting here at 100 mile.
Carey's truck broke down.
Sucks this happened.
It's been a really long day.
I feel like they should let me pull this load.
I know I can do it.
Yeah, I don't have a lot of experience in it, but I still know I can do it.
It's just my age and inexperience, but you gotta give people a chance to do that kind of stuff to prove to the bosses that you can do it.
Instead of proving himself as a heavy-hauler, Austin's big chance is going down as a heavy-haul failure.
It's just been a really bad day.
I'm just ready to go to bed, forget about it.
Yeah, I'm coming into Dawson, just like a wild sled dog here.
Alex is at the end of his run after spending the day driving the entire Dempster highway.
Fairly long day.
Basically have the whole Dempster in one day, today.
I'm at the end of my trip.
Put on a good 500 miles today.
With Jack gone, Austin and Darrell sit tied for the lead, and Porkchop's only two loads behind.
But back in Fairbanks, Alaska, the game's about to change.
Yeah, you know, a couple of days ago I-I left here in a really bad mood, you know? Showed up to get a load, and they didn't have a load for me.
It just set with me wrong, so hopefully, I still got a job.
And all I really want is to just get on the haul road.
Oh, got a moment? What's going on? Not much, just thought I'd show back up and go back to work, and get another load.
Do you want my seat? I had to sit in yours while you were gone.
- When Jack walked out - Jack's not here, so I'm gonna take the load today.
Lane was forced to fill in for the ace.
We're gonna make good work of this.
Sometimes it's good for you and Harry to get back up there.
See what we have to deal with again.
Refresh your memories.
Uh, probably be in your best interest if, you know, we made that decision when we were gonna go up there, not you.
You know, I mean-- You left-- You left me with a pretty tough spot, Jack.
Well, you know, I mean, I've been a company man for quite a few years now.
You know, it's just-- All these new guys, and all the issues we've got going up on the road up there this year, just-- I don't know.
Maybe it all piled up and fell all at once.
Well, you've been here a long time, but, uh, this is not one - of your brighter moments, so-- - The way it all went down-- - kind of how it went down, so-- - I'd like to think that, you know, you have enough respect for me that it wouldn't happen again.
We're up against the wire, and, uh, we've still got more than half the loads left, so we got our work cut out for us.
Ready to go back to work then? I am.
Up again.
Thanks.
Glad you have you back, Jack.
I want him to feel the pain a little bit.
He stormed out, and, uh-- You know, now he's gonna-- Hopefully he regrets that and thinks about it before he does it next time.
It's about time things started working right around here.
Finally got a decent load.
We're gonna get this job done.
Loaded up, I'm ready to roll, and go to Prudhoe.
Those other rookies better watch out 'cause I'm back.
Next time, on Ice Road Truckers.
Fire! As the season hits the halfway point Get the hell out of the way, here comes the Chop.
Whoa, crap! The competition heats up as the ace returns to the haul road.
Holy fuck! This is really dangerous.
- Hugh risks it all - And he's never even been on the fucking ice before.
To save his season.
This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy.
- And Alex faces off-- - You go over that cliff, you're dead.
With the Yukon's deadliest road.
Jesus, I trust in you, save us from the fires in hell.