Ice Road Truckers (2007) s06e14 Episode Script
Chopping Block
Tonight on Ice Road Truckers All right, I'm ready to roll.
Busting hump, man.
Working these long hours.
The battle for the load count lead puts every driver in the line of fire.
Maybe they need to come down to the Lower 48 and learn how to drive a real truck.
Oh, shit! - They'll have to dig deep - I need to get loads, man.
It's all about loads right now.
- Or give up - Ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
And be lucky just to survive.
My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Far north of the Arctic Circle At the end of the Dempster highway Alex Debogorski's in early for his next assignment.
Morning, Mike.
Hey, good morning, Alex.
I guess you're looking for a load? Yes, sir.
Do I ever have a nice one for you.
Very good.
What is it? I have a load, uh, going to Whitehorse.
It's got about 5,000 kilos of different gases, so it's a dangerous load.
So you wanna be careful and not take any chances.
Because if some of these get damaged, there might not be enough pieces of you to put in a body bag.
As you can see, I put two skids on that side.
It's just to keep it from sliding from side to side.
Alex is heading south with a volatile mixture of compressed gases used in welding and construction projects.
Everything is in cages, and it's all strapped in.
Gonna tighten this one up a little bit? Sure.
There.
Because it's compressed gas, there's a valve in there, and if you knock off that valve, this thing would be like a torpedo.
I got 5,000 kgs of mixed gases-- Acetylene, helium, oxygen.
Well, hell, some of them burn.
Some of them, you mix them, they'll blow up, and some will just make you quack like a duck.
He has to haul the deadly load through recently reopened Hurricane Alley where high winds can easily blow a big rig off the road.
Going through the pass has been a problem this season because of the weather being so unstable, and I'm gonna do it one more time with probably the most dangerous load I've had this season.
Anything could happen today.
While Alex battles mother nature - 400 miles away in Alaska - Oh, fuck! Two of the Dalton's top truckers are battling each other.
Wanna get this thing moving and lead the pack.
I'm here first, I get the fucking load.
- Haul road ace Jack Jessee - Sweet as my mama's pecan pie.
And Rocky Mountain log hauler Darrell Ward I am the best there is.
Like a fucking freight train.
Well, fuck, you get a load.
Are locked at the top of the leaderboard.
They've got just ten days left in the season, and only one can be king of the haul road.
It's time somebody puts ol' Jack in his place.
I've been number one.
I am number one.
And I'm gonna stay number one.
Let's get outta here.
at the Carlile yard.
Get hooked up, and I'm gone.
Darrell Ward's got the jump on Jack.
They sure as hell don't give you much room in here to work your landing gear.
It's a good thing I've been hitting the gym.
Not just any man can pull that shit off.
The Montana legend is hauling a reefer van of food for the oil fields.
I'm gonna be running all night long to get this load up to Prudhoe Bay.
You know, it's gotta be maintained to 42 degrees.
Every load counts, even a load of groceries.
We're coming down to the wire.
It's the end of the ice road season, you know.
I don't see why there's any reason I can't beat Jack.
I'm pretty stiff competition.
You know, I came up here to do this for Reno.
You know, his comfort is very important to me.
I miss him a lot.
Anything I do, I do for him.
All right, I'm ready to roll.
Off on another journey.
While Darrell chases the load count lead Carlile's newest heavy hauler is on a mission of his own.
Doing good.
I got a good rest.
Ready to head on up the road.
Austin Wheeler's only one load off the top spot after a string of successful heavy hauls.
The end of the season's coming up.
Pressure's on.
There's still a lot of loads to get up the road, so I'm gonna try and get as many loads up the road as we can before the ice melts.
We'll put flags on the corner of the trailer.
Austin's hauling a massive I love doing heavy haul.
Hauling equipment like this is my favorite type of trucking to do.
That's a really nice one.
It looks pretty brand-new.
There's not a scratch on the bucket or nothing, so we wanna try to take care of it when we get it up to Prudhoe Bay.
We got a very small window of time to get this up north, so we'll get it there as fast as we can.
Despite the challenging load, Austin's got to deliver it in a single day to keep his chance of winning the load count alive.
All right, let's get out of here.
While other drivers scramble to get ahead Let's run in and see what they got.
Jack's working at his own pace.
Hopefully, it's quick.
I need to get loads, man.
It's all about loads right now.
The ace is late to the yard, but he's leading the load count.
I see some pipe in the yard.
I hope I don't get pipe.
I know it's gotta go, but I don't like pipe.
Pipe is one of the least desired loads on the haul road.
The rigid pipes make for a rough ride that can damage trucks and drivers if they don't take it slow.
Morning, Mark.
Jack, what's going on? Um, I wanna go to Prudhoe.
Good for you.
What do you got? I got a load of pipe.
Don't want it.
So you wanna make it difficult.
Well, I mean, I had to bobtail back this last trip.
I was hoping for something a little better than pipe.
You're not the only guy that had to bobtail back.
No, but I'm probably one of the more senior guys that had to bobtail back.
Well, you might be one of the more senior guys that had to bobtail back, but I got good news for you, Jack.
What's that? You don't have to bobtail out of here.
Least I ain't bobtailing like Mark said.
But if pipe's all they got, pipe's what I'll take.
Even though the load will slow him down it's the one he's got to haul to keep the load count lead.
Gotta check all these straps.
Pipe is very dangerous if it's not done right.
Well, everything looks good.
Checked for leaks, lights, brakes, rear.
We're outta here.
- Back in the office - I told you in the beginning his learning curve was gonna be a lot longer.
We've made that investment in a driver, and yet we're still which is twice as long as anybody else, and we still don't feel like we can cut him loose.
The boss is getting the rundown on Porkchop from - Phil Kromm - I'm gonna be sneaky.
What are you doing? After the veteran trainer spent last trip watching over the troubled rookie.
Bottom line is sometimes he's driving way too fast and other times he's dragging his ass.
You know, we got a lot left to do in a short amount of time to finish the season, and I don't know if he's gonna be worth, you know, keeping in a truck that somebody else could be pulling more loads with.
It gets to a point where, you know, a guy's out there for long enough if he's not getting it, then he may not get it.
Okay.
All right? See you in a couple days.
All right, later.
Thanks, Phil.
It's my decision to make sure that we get all these loads booked, and that we get it done, you know, as efficiently as we can.
And safely.
And, so I got a tough decision to make today.
Well, let's see what they got for me.
Weather's getting a little bit on the warm side, so it's gonna take a little bit longer today.
Whew! I hope it's a good load.
What's going on today, Mark? Oh, not much.
Just another happy day.
I hear you, man.
How are you? Ready for this last push on the haul road.
- Get it over with, so - You need to go see Lane before I can get you-- get you a load out of here.
All right.
Back to the principal's office.
What'd I do this time? Come on in and sit down.
- Coming up - Whoa, boy! Alex returns to Hurricane Alley.
- And later - Ah, damn it! Austin pushes it to the limit.
At Carlile's Fairbanks terminal Hey, come on in.
What's up, boss man? Have a seat.
All righty.
Porkchop's been called to the boss's office.
Where do you feel like you're at out there? Road's different every day.
I can do whatever you need me to do.
I told you I come up here to work.
That's what I'm here for.
Well ahem.
I've been having some conversations with some guys, and obviously you and I have talked several times too, so There's a con-- a strong contingent of drivers, peers out there, that, uh, you're not, uh, coming along like you should.
We've been doing it for several weeks now, and it doesn't seem to me like the opinions are changing.
And, uh, there's-- there's always a learning curve.
We understand that.
We go above and beyond to make sure that we give everybody the opportunity, but I have to learn to-- when it's time to cut our losses and cut our risk.
I guess what I'm thinking, Porkchop, is that I'd like to, uh, separate today.
And, uh, we'll get you sent back home, uh, to mom and the kids.
Obviously, the skill set that you have fits down there, and that's great.
Um, it just doesn't seem to be working here.
Oh, hey, I made a good run at it.
You did make a hell of a run at it.
All right, man.
All right.
Thank you, sir.
Ahem.
Thanks, Porkchop.
Have a good one.
All right.
Ahh.
Ah, he just said I wasn't doing my job right, didn't learn the road quick enough.
Maybe they need to come down to the lower 48 and learn how to drive a real truck.
Then they can come up here and say they're truck drivers.
You know? Fuck'em.
I'm not sorry to see him go.
There was too much inconsistency, and when it comes down to it, we're still running a business here.
It's not a charity.
And Porkchop just wasn't getting it done.
My biggest problem since I've been up here was, I guess, Lane and Phil in collaboration.
Well, you know what? It's amazing how clean-cut Lane is, 'cause you'd figure with a man like that being up my ass the whole time, he'd have a little bit of shit on him.
To be honest with you, I'm going home with my head held high.
I got a good conscience.
I did my job.
I did it to the best of my abilities.
Same thing I teach my kids.
If you know you did your best, don't let anybody else tell you different.
Porkchop's exit leaves an opening on the Carlile roster, and with dozens of loads still to haul before the end of the season, there's no more time for rookies.
We're up against it now.
If it means letting somebody go to bring somebody else in that can haul those extra loads and get that done, somebody that's got some experience, then that's the decision we gotta make to get this done.
So Lane's called in a closer.
All these new guys are caught up in about being the best.
I've already been there.
I am the best.
Ray Veilleux has already conquered the haul road.
Two years ago, he hit the Dalton as a rookie without a penny to his name.
It's all business now.
No more-- no more messing around.
And when it was all over, he was the load count king.
How's that for rookie shit, huh? Back.
I'm back.
You ready to go back to work? I'm ready to work.
Good, good.
Calling from the bench, man.
Perfect.
I'm here for you.
I'll get it done.
All right, man.
All right.
Glad to have you back.
Awesome.
Thanks, Ray.
After two years working close to home in the Lower 48, the offer to help close out the season was too good to pass up.
I was back at home, got a phone call from Lane.
I got on the first flight, and here I am.
I'm coming up here with one goal, and that's to move as many loads as I can before the end of the season.
I'm hooking up the air lines, my lights.
We're pinned in pretty good.
I tugged against the trailer.
Ray's hauling a critical for an oil rig project in Prudhoe Bay.
My season starts today.
I don't have a whole lot of time, but I'm gonna haul a lot of loads.
Feels pretty good.
I just gotta get in the swing of things, pick it back up.
There's no way anybody would really want to pass this up.
If somebody asks you to go run the haul road, you jump all over it.
This is awesome.
Rick Yemm, Hugh Rowland, and Vlad Pleskot barrel through the rugged winter roads.
No one fucking listens.
I will not travel these roads alone.
And things aren't going well between Rick and the Polar Bear.
Yeah, when he's happy, he's a rock star, and when he's not happy, he's sitting there stewing, he's mad.
He's just a fucker.
Last run, Hugh left Rick behind to get a jump on his delivery.
That's what happens when you sleep in till the sunshine burns a hole in your ass.
You get behind.
Well, if it's solo trucking, I'm just gonna go-- I'm just gonna go back, 'cause that's not what I signed up for.
Now Rick's still fuming as he heads to the village of Pauingassi with a load of cement bags.
I'll fuck off, go by myself.
And he's putting the hammer down for a little payback.
I'll just toodle my way up there.
I can drive in the bush by myself perfectly fine.
See, when I'm hotheaded, I can't fucking think.
Whoa! Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck.
What? Man, did I fuck it up here? Fuck, lost a bag.
My very back bag.
None of these were really put on all that great.
I tightened 'em as much as I could, but that's all I could do.
The lost bag of cement weighs over 3,000 pounds.
Rick's gotta find a way to get it back on the truck.
Nothing I can do about it.
I can't pick on of these up by hand, so Nothing I can do about it.
Or not.
I knew better.
Should've been double-strapped.
That's ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
It's a fucking giant bag.
If it was little bags, I'd go back and pick 'em up, but I can't fucking pick up a giant bag.
Shit happens.
I'm southbound on the Dempster highway, going to Whitehorse with a load of dangerous goods.
Alex Debogorski's headed south with a potentially explosive haul.
I am hauling a mixed load with a bunch of cylinders of different compressed gases.
Its very cold today.
Its minus 40.
And depending where-- High spot, low spot, where you are, it'll be colder than that.
That's without the wind.
You add wind to that, depends how much wind, you can go to a hundred below pretty quickly.
Just getting into the Richardson Mountains, southbound.
I think next we're gonna go through The Gorge here shortly.
If there is a wind, it'll be blowing there.
I have every intentions of driving through it, one way or the other.
Wind, snow, hell, or high water, I'm going from here to Whitehorse.
But just as he reaches Hurricane Alley Be careful going down the hill there.
There's a truck off on the side and equipment working down there.
I copy you.
The 70-mile-an-hour winds have already claimed one truck.
Trouble ahead.
There it is.
He was coming through a blow and got too close to the edge.
It was over-plowed, and over he went.
That's a reminder that anything can happen at any time.
The driver of this rig made it out alive, but for Alex, it could be much worse.
The trailer catches wind like a sail, making the truck nearly impossible to control.
If Alex doesn't keep a steady hand, the results could be fatal.
What's all these sliding marks here? Have mercy on all of us, Lord.
Whoa, boy.
Boy, is it ever giving her here? Feel it pushing the truck sideways.
The steering wheel just turns itself with that wind.
Whoa! My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Holy mackerel! On Canada's Dempster highway, in the middle - of Hurricane Alley - Whoa, boy.
Boy, is it ever giving her here? Feel it pushing the truck sideways.
Alex Debogorski is fighting 70 mile-an-hour winds The steering wheel just turns itself with that wind.
To keep his load of dangerous goods on the road.
Whoa! My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Whoa, baby, whoa.
I've got the trailer crosswise and everything here.
Come on, you son of a gun.
That was a big mess, that's all I know.
- 15 miles south - Okay, here we-- here we go.
The winds die down As Alex reaches the end of Hurricane Alley.
The worst thing that could have happened is I could have blown this trailer to smithereens.
My wife would be looking for a new husband.
- 2,000 miles to the southeast - That's ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
Rick Yemm has left the convoy and some of his cargo behind.
There's nothing I can do about it.
It's a fucking giant bag.
Ten miles back They are pretty proud of our delivery rate and the service we provide.
If you cannot-- if you cannot provide the service, we could lose the business.
It looks like somebody lost a bag.
Convoy partner Vlad Pleskot rolls up on the abandoned cement bag.
Better check it out.
Damn it.
For fucks sake, what'd you do behind the wheel? Fuck.
He was just flying like crazy, and that's what happens.
Good job, fucking Joe.
- And for the Polar Bear - It kind of throws a fucking door into our good timing here.
That's profit sitting on the side of the road.
Yeah, it's probably gonna be a little bit of a bitch.
Well, this can cost me a lot of money.
I mean-- I don't know what we're gonna do with that.
Fuck.
Shit happens.
It's not like we're driving down the fucking Dalton.
We'd probably never lose a load and if you do, you're just a dumbass.
Well, it's even here too.
I knew better.
And now it's up to Hugh to find a way to clean Rick's mess up.
What he'll have to do is just back this trailer up to the bag and just hook on with the chains, lift that bag back up onto the trailer and just tie it down.
Just back up a little bit.
There you go.
And we're only gonna get one shot at it, and if it don't work, we're fucked.
Luckily, this delivery includes a loader.
It's their only shot at lifting the 3,000-pound bag.
Put it down first.
Hook right on the edge.
Okay, back it up.
Easy, easy.
Okay.
Good.
You'll have to thank fucking Joe for that one.
Go ahead.
You can probably get one more in there.
A little bit.
There you go.
I just don't like his attitude, you know? I mean, you're the driver.
You're paid for pick-- picking up the load, you're paid for bringing the load to the customer, you're paid for delivering the load.
If you can't do it, what the heck are you doing up here? I'll buy you a beer.
How does that sound? That's about all the sympathy I got for you.
It's really hard to care at this point in the season too.
- 2,100 miles to the northwest - You gotta want this.
You really gotta want this kind of a job.
Ray Veilleux is 100 miles up the Dalton with his first load of the season.
You gotta want living on the edge.
You're always living on the edge, doing this.
It just gets in your blood.
I worked hard two years ago, showed 'em I could do it.
You know, they trusted me with the loads.
I got it done.
So I'd have to say, hard work does pay off.
I'm back.
Aw, shit.
I'm out of power.
Shit.
I'll try to limp it up to the top of the hill here.
Now we're screwed.
We blew something.
I just gotta find out what we blew.
There it is.
Yeah, I blew something in the turbo.
Now we're pumping the oil through the turbo into the exhaust.
Then it gets all hot, and you blow out a big old exhaust smoke cloud.
So we're done.
We're finished.
A busted turbo means Ray's truck isn't going anywhere.
The whole situation really sucks.
But even worse, it means he's stranded at 28 below.
I'm down and out on the side of the road, broke down, so we'll just sit here and wait.
- 100 miles to the north - This load is-- it's a reefer trailer.
It's just another load to the load count.
All for the load count.
Darrell Ward's leading the pack, already halfway up the road.
Makes me happy that they give me these hot loads, you know? I know if they're giving me the hot loads, they know I'm gonna get 'em delivered there on time.
Get 'er done.
The rocky Mountain log hauler is pushing past Coldfoot to get back on top of the leaderboard.
I've been doing this for a long time.
You know, sometimes a guy burns out and just gets, you know, mad.
I've had enough of it for a while, and it takes a change to get you out of that rut, you know? I mean, I was in a rut for quite a few years there, with the marriage and the logging, the timber industry, the housing market, you know, everything going to shit on me.
And got Reno, you know, graduating from high school, about to fly the coop.
Come up here, and kind of got myself out of that rut, feeling pretty good about what I'm doing again and looking forward to a new-- new lifestyle and change.
I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
I'm thinking about staying here with Carlile.
You know, we'll go from there, see where my life goes.
As night falls Been busting hump, man.
Busting it hard, working these long hours, day after day after day.
Jack Jessee's load of pipe is just as brutal as he expected.
I really don't like hauling pipe.
Basically, it usually rides like crap up here.
Trailers are designed to bend and bow in the middle, and that's part of your suspension that's added on.
When you load pipe up, it's like throwing a huge brick onto it, and it makes that trailer rigid.
Now your only suspension is the truck bouncing up and down, so everything's always bouncing up and down.
It's just rough.
It constantly beats on you, it beats on you, and beats on you.
You're just getting thrown around, bounced around, slung forward and backwards, left and right.
You know, then you-- you tend to get more fatigued faster.
Feeling the effects of the rugged ride, Jack approaches one of the trickiest turns on the Dalton that's marked the end of the road for dozens of drivers.
The load is just beating me up.
Ooh.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Jack Jessee is eight hours into a rough ride as he hits a turn with a name that says it all.
Ooh.
Whoa.
That alley is just way too close for my comfort level.
Time to pull over and take a nap somewhere.
I'm just too worn out.
This pipe's just beating me up too much.
I'm gonna shut it down here, get a good night's rest, and deal with it in the morning.
It's been a long season.
Despite starting the day with the load count lead, the ace makes the call to shut down in Coldfoot before the exhausting trip takes him out.
Time for bed.
I'm beat.
I'm not even going inside.
Just going to bed.
- While Jack calls it a night - The lights of Prudhoe Bay Again! Another load for the load count.
Darrell's finishing his haul.
We got her here on time.
Arctic express.
And the delivery has him back on top of the load count.
Right on, mission accomplished! Ice roads are coming to an end here pretty quick.
So I'd just as soon get back out there and get a few more loads in.
Get as much as I can.
I don't have that much time left.
It's all part of the job! It's what you gotta do when it's this cold, you know? Let's go get some more loads.
Make the load count.
All right, I'm outta here.
We're about 3 1/2 hours late gettin' here today.
Definitely was not record time.
It's fucking 7:45.
We got fucked up again on this trip.
Hugh and Vlad have made it to Pauingassi Last bag, ready to go.
But Rick's way ahead and already unloaded.
And I'm rolling.
Whoo-hoo! Where'd he go? He's pulling out.
Thanks to Hugh and Vlad, every cement bag has made it to the delivery site.
I guess, you know, even if we had some problems on the road, we still got it delivered, and that's what counts, right? Well, I think I'm ready.
So Rick's just got out of dodge there.
Now he's stepping on her a little bit, yeah.
But Rick, he don't want to do anything anymore, he just-- He doesn't want to do this, he doesn't want to do that.
Fuck it.
He doesn't want to do it.
Fuck him.
So can't blame anybody but himself.
'Cause he wants to drive like I do, but he doesn't want to spend the time hookin' her up.
That's why he loses his loads.
Back for fucking Winnipeg one more time.
- 2,100 miles to the northwest - We're marching to the top.
Slowly but surely.
Austin Wheeler's reached Atigun Pass with his oversized loader.
Yeah, usually for a lot of people this is kind of a trouble spot for them to get up and over, but the pass hasn't really been an issue for me this season.
Hey, Austin, you on this one? Yeah, go ahead.
Bad spot, man.
I burned out coming up there.
As Austin hits the incline, another Carlile driver is already in trouble.
Went to downshift, and it locked in between gears.
Hooked to a heavy trailer, the other truck stalled out in the middle of the road.
You back down the hill as far as you need to, and, uh, I'll push you up there.
All right.
One of our Carlile guys is stuck on Atigun Pass and is just having a rough time.
So I'm gonna throw a set of chains on and help him out.
Okay, Bart, I got chains on, so I'm ready whenever you are.
All right.
Pushing a truck up Atigun Pass is a tricky maneuver.
Austin's gotta sync his speed with the other driver and connect without slamming into the truck.
Okay, I'm rolling, so you start rolling and I'll catch you.
Yes, sir.
All right, here I come.
A little off, and they'll both end up at the bottom of the mountain.
All right, I'm almost to you.
I'm almost there.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Aw, damn it! - On Atigun Pass - Okay, I'm rolling, so you start rolling and I'll catch you.
All right, here I come.
Austin Wheeler is attempting a veteran move All right, I'm almost to you.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Helping a fellow driver get to the top of the mountain.
Aw, damn it! Uh-oh.
I felt that.
You wanna try that again? Nah, just hold this speed, Bart.
We don't wanna fuck anything up here.
Now that Austin's connected to the other truck, he's at the mercy of the other driver.
Bart, try to stay away from that guardrail, bro.
All right.
Whenever you're push-trucking, the front truck that you're pushing is the steer truck, so if he gets too close to the guardrail, it's the caterpillar effect.
I follow right next to him, my trailer falls in the guardrail.
My trailer's gonna hit the guardrail if you don't stay out of it.
One wrong move here could send them both into the rail and over the edge of the pass.
Keep on goin'.
Couple hundred more yards.
We are chewing up the fucking road.
All right.
Finally, they reach the top.
Appreciate it, Austin.
Even if it wasn't a Carlile truck, I'd still stop and help this guy.
'Cause if I needed help in the middle of the hill, I'd hope somebody would stop to help me too.
We got to the top.
I'm gonna hop out, take my chains off, and make sure Bart's okay.
I appreciate your help.
No problem, anything to help anybody out.
Have a safe trip up there.
Yeah, I will.
There's a camaraderie among truckers up here.
I hope someday I'll be able to return the favor to Austin.
You know, maybe next time it'll be me helping him.
Northbound, ten wide, comin' down the pass.
We'll get back on our way to Prudhoe now and, uh, there we go, down the pass.
After a season struggling to prove he belongs - on the Dalton - It worked out good.
I was definitely glad I could help somebody out.
Austin's finally earning the respect of other drivers.
I've rescued trucks, I've pulled trucks out of the ditch.
I've-- I've pulled heavy loads up the road.
I've done a lot of things to gain the respect of, you know, other drivers and people at Carlile.
It feels good to finish the season strong, for sure.
Gonna unhitch this load.
Let's get the fuck outta here.
- Over in the Yukon - Comin' up on Whitehorse.
It's been a long day.
Alex is also at the end of his trip, delivering the dangerous load of combustible gases.
You know, we had a rough ride in two spots on the Dempster.
Probably chipped a little paint off the tanks.
But things turned out good and we made it through.
Okay, I'm gonna head downtown and get a room.
And a good time will be had by all.
Alex pulls into a tie for second place.
And Austin and Darrell share the top spot While Ray Veilleux is left stranded.
- He's stuck in a broken-down truck at 31 below - Sucks.
With temperatures dropping in the dead of the night.
Ray's broke down here.
I imagine he's pretty cold by now.
Carlile trainer Phil Kromm is the first to arrive.
Hi, Ray.
Hey! Are you cold yet? Oh, I'm cold.
Yeah, yeah.
It's cold in there.
So I'm done.
Yeah, yeah, it's done.
So much for loads.
Ray's out of the cold, but his first trip was a bust.
And now he's gotta prove he still has what it takes to drive the Dalton.
Well, it sucks that the truck breaks down, but that's the way it is.
Shit happens.
Definitely Next time on Ice Road Truckers I don't really feel like swimming in this water.
The season hits the home stretch This is when the ice roads are most dangerous.
Something's wrong with my truck.
But a final push Get me as many loads as you can Goes too far That guy is gonna be going out soon.
If I screwed up, it could be bad news.
On the Dempster Hold it.
Hold it.
Whoo.
Hurricane Alley's not done yet Come on And it's the end of the line for Hugh and Rick.
I can tell the ice is very, very soft.
I didn't even *
Busting hump, man.
Working these long hours.
The battle for the load count lead puts every driver in the line of fire.
Maybe they need to come down to the Lower 48 and learn how to drive a real truck.
Oh, shit! - They'll have to dig deep - I need to get loads, man.
It's all about loads right now.
- Or give up - Ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
And be lucky just to survive.
My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Far north of the Arctic Circle At the end of the Dempster highway Alex Debogorski's in early for his next assignment.
Morning, Mike.
Hey, good morning, Alex.
I guess you're looking for a load? Yes, sir.
Do I ever have a nice one for you.
Very good.
What is it? I have a load, uh, going to Whitehorse.
It's got about 5,000 kilos of different gases, so it's a dangerous load.
So you wanna be careful and not take any chances.
Because if some of these get damaged, there might not be enough pieces of you to put in a body bag.
As you can see, I put two skids on that side.
It's just to keep it from sliding from side to side.
Alex is heading south with a volatile mixture of compressed gases used in welding and construction projects.
Everything is in cages, and it's all strapped in.
Gonna tighten this one up a little bit? Sure.
There.
Because it's compressed gas, there's a valve in there, and if you knock off that valve, this thing would be like a torpedo.
I got 5,000 kgs of mixed gases-- Acetylene, helium, oxygen.
Well, hell, some of them burn.
Some of them, you mix them, they'll blow up, and some will just make you quack like a duck.
He has to haul the deadly load through recently reopened Hurricane Alley where high winds can easily blow a big rig off the road.
Going through the pass has been a problem this season because of the weather being so unstable, and I'm gonna do it one more time with probably the most dangerous load I've had this season.
Anything could happen today.
While Alex battles mother nature - 400 miles away in Alaska - Oh, fuck! Two of the Dalton's top truckers are battling each other.
Wanna get this thing moving and lead the pack.
I'm here first, I get the fucking load.
- Haul road ace Jack Jessee - Sweet as my mama's pecan pie.
And Rocky Mountain log hauler Darrell Ward I am the best there is.
Like a fucking freight train.
Well, fuck, you get a load.
Are locked at the top of the leaderboard.
They've got just ten days left in the season, and only one can be king of the haul road.
It's time somebody puts ol' Jack in his place.
I've been number one.
I am number one.
And I'm gonna stay number one.
Let's get outta here.
at the Carlile yard.
Get hooked up, and I'm gone.
Darrell Ward's got the jump on Jack.
They sure as hell don't give you much room in here to work your landing gear.
It's a good thing I've been hitting the gym.
Not just any man can pull that shit off.
The Montana legend is hauling a reefer van of food for the oil fields.
I'm gonna be running all night long to get this load up to Prudhoe Bay.
You know, it's gotta be maintained to 42 degrees.
Every load counts, even a load of groceries.
We're coming down to the wire.
It's the end of the ice road season, you know.
I don't see why there's any reason I can't beat Jack.
I'm pretty stiff competition.
You know, I came up here to do this for Reno.
You know, his comfort is very important to me.
I miss him a lot.
Anything I do, I do for him.
All right, I'm ready to roll.
Off on another journey.
While Darrell chases the load count lead Carlile's newest heavy hauler is on a mission of his own.
Doing good.
I got a good rest.
Ready to head on up the road.
Austin Wheeler's only one load off the top spot after a string of successful heavy hauls.
The end of the season's coming up.
Pressure's on.
There's still a lot of loads to get up the road, so I'm gonna try and get as many loads up the road as we can before the ice melts.
We'll put flags on the corner of the trailer.
Austin's hauling a massive I love doing heavy haul.
Hauling equipment like this is my favorite type of trucking to do.
That's a really nice one.
It looks pretty brand-new.
There's not a scratch on the bucket or nothing, so we wanna try to take care of it when we get it up to Prudhoe Bay.
We got a very small window of time to get this up north, so we'll get it there as fast as we can.
Despite the challenging load, Austin's got to deliver it in a single day to keep his chance of winning the load count alive.
All right, let's get out of here.
While other drivers scramble to get ahead Let's run in and see what they got.
Jack's working at his own pace.
Hopefully, it's quick.
I need to get loads, man.
It's all about loads right now.
The ace is late to the yard, but he's leading the load count.
I see some pipe in the yard.
I hope I don't get pipe.
I know it's gotta go, but I don't like pipe.
Pipe is one of the least desired loads on the haul road.
The rigid pipes make for a rough ride that can damage trucks and drivers if they don't take it slow.
Morning, Mark.
Jack, what's going on? Um, I wanna go to Prudhoe.
Good for you.
What do you got? I got a load of pipe.
Don't want it.
So you wanna make it difficult.
Well, I mean, I had to bobtail back this last trip.
I was hoping for something a little better than pipe.
You're not the only guy that had to bobtail back.
No, but I'm probably one of the more senior guys that had to bobtail back.
Well, you might be one of the more senior guys that had to bobtail back, but I got good news for you, Jack.
What's that? You don't have to bobtail out of here.
Least I ain't bobtailing like Mark said.
But if pipe's all they got, pipe's what I'll take.
Even though the load will slow him down it's the one he's got to haul to keep the load count lead.
Gotta check all these straps.
Pipe is very dangerous if it's not done right.
Well, everything looks good.
Checked for leaks, lights, brakes, rear.
We're outta here.
- Back in the office - I told you in the beginning his learning curve was gonna be a lot longer.
We've made that investment in a driver, and yet we're still which is twice as long as anybody else, and we still don't feel like we can cut him loose.
The boss is getting the rundown on Porkchop from - Phil Kromm - I'm gonna be sneaky.
What are you doing? After the veteran trainer spent last trip watching over the troubled rookie.
Bottom line is sometimes he's driving way too fast and other times he's dragging his ass.
You know, we got a lot left to do in a short amount of time to finish the season, and I don't know if he's gonna be worth, you know, keeping in a truck that somebody else could be pulling more loads with.
It gets to a point where, you know, a guy's out there for long enough if he's not getting it, then he may not get it.
Okay.
All right? See you in a couple days.
All right, later.
Thanks, Phil.
It's my decision to make sure that we get all these loads booked, and that we get it done, you know, as efficiently as we can.
And safely.
And, so I got a tough decision to make today.
Well, let's see what they got for me.
Weather's getting a little bit on the warm side, so it's gonna take a little bit longer today.
Whew! I hope it's a good load.
What's going on today, Mark? Oh, not much.
Just another happy day.
I hear you, man.
How are you? Ready for this last push on the haul road.
- Get it over with, so - You need to go see Lane before I can get you-- get you a load out of here.
All right.
Back to the principal's office.
What'd I do this time? Come on in and sit down.
- Coming up - Whoa, boy! Alex returns to Hurricane Alley.
- And later - Ah, damn it! Austin pushes it to the limit.
At Carlile's Fairbanks terminal Hey, come on in.
What's up, boss man? Have a seat.
All righty.
Porkchop's been called to the boss's office.
Where do you feel like you're at out there? Road's different every day.
I can do whatever you need me to do.
I told you I come up here to work.
That's what I'm here for.
Well ahem.
I've been having some conversations with some guys, and obviously you and I have talked several times too, so There's a con-- a strong contingent of drivers, peers out there, that, uh, you're not, uh, coming along like you should.
We've been doing it for several weeks now, and it doesn't seem to me like the opinions are changing.
And, uh, there's-- there's always a learning curve.
We understand that.
We go above and beyond to make sure that we give everybody the opportunity, but I have to learn to-- when it's time to cut our losses and cut our risk.
I guess what I'm thinking, Porkchop, is that I'd like to, uh, separate today.
And, uh, we'll get you sent back home, uh, to mom and the kids.
Obviously, the skill set that you have fits down there, and that's great.
Um, it just doesn't seem to be working here.
Oh, hey, I made a good run at it.
You did make a hell of a run at it.
All right, man.
All right.
Thank you, sir.
Ahem.
Thanks, Porkchop.
Have a good one.
All right.
Ahh.
Ah, he just said I wasn't doing my job right, didn't learn the road quick enough.
Maybe they need to come down to the lower 48 and learn how to drive a real truck.
Then they can come up here and say they're truck drivers.
You know? Fuck'em.
I'm not sorry to see him go.
There was too much inconsistency, and when it comes down to it, we're still running a business here.
It's not a charity.
And Porkchop just wasn't getting it done.
My biggest problem since I've been up here was, I guess, Lane and Phil in collaboration.
Well, you know what? It's amazing how clean-cut Lane is, 'cause you'd figure with a man like that being up my ass the whole time, he'd have a little bit of shit on him.
To be honest with you, I'm going home with my head held high.
I got a good conscience.
I did my job.
I did it to the best of my abilities.
Same thing I teach my kids.
If you know you did your best, don't let anybody else tell you different.
Porkchop's exit leaves an opening on the Carlile roster, and with dozens of loads still to haul before the end of the season, there's no more time for rookies.
We're up against it now.
If it means letting somebody go to bring somebody else in that can haul those extra loads and get that done, somebody that's got some experience, then that's the decision we gotta make to get this done.
So Lane's called in a closer.
All these new guys are caught up in about being the best.
I've already been there.
I am the best.
Ray Veilleux has already conquered the haul road.
Two years ago, he hit the Dalton as a rookie without a penny to his name.
It's all business now.
No more-- no more messing around.
And when it was all over, he was the load count king.
How's that for rookie shit, huh? Back.
I'm back.
You ready to go back to work? I'm ready to work.
Good, good.
Calling from the bench, man.
Perfect.
I'm here for you.
I'll get it done.
All right, man.
All right.
Glad to have you back.
Awesome.
Thanks, Ray.
After two years working close to home in the Lower 48, the offer to help close out the season was too good to pass up.
I was back at home, got a phone call from Lane.
I got on the first flight, and here I am.
I'm coming up here with one goal, and that's to move as many loads as I can before the end of the season.
I'm hooking up the air lines, my lights.
We're pinned in pretty good.
I tugged against the trailer.
Ray's hauling a critical for an oil rig project in Prudhoe Bay.
My season starts today.
I don't have a whole lot of time, but I'm gonna haul a lot of loads.
Feels pretty good.
I just gotta get in the swing of things, pick it back up.
There's no way anybody would really want to pass this up.
If somebody asks you to go run the haul road, you jump all over it.
This is awesome.
Rick Yemm, Hugh Rowland, and Vlad Pleskot barrel through the rugged winter roads.
No one fucking listens.
I will not travel these roads alone.
And things aren't going well between Rick and the Polar Bear.
Yeah, when he's happy, he's a rock star, and when he's not happy, he's sitting there stewing, he's mad.
He's just a fucker.
Last run, Hugh left Rick behind to get a jump on his delivery.
That's what happens when you sleep in till the sunshine burns a hole in your ass.
You get behind.
Well, if it's solo trucking, I'm just gonna go-- I'm just gonna go back, 'cause that's not what I signed up for.
Now Rick's still fuming as he heads to the village of Pauingassi with a load of cement bags.
I'll fuck off, go by myself.
And he's putting the hammer down for a little payback.
I'll just toodle my way up there.
I can drive in the bush by myself perfectly fine.
See, when I'm hotheaded, I can't fucking think.
Whoa! Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck.
What? Man, did I fuck it up here? Fuck, lost a bag.
My very back bag.
None of these were really put on all that great.
I tightened 'em as much as I could, but that's all I could do.
The lost bag of cement weighs over 3,000 pounds.
Rick's gotta find a way to get it back on the truck.
Nothing I can do about it.
I can't pick on of these up by hand, so Nothing I can do about it.
Or not.
I knew better.
Should've been double-strapped.
That's ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
It's a fucking giant bag.
If it was little bags, I'd go back and pick 'em up, but I can't fucking pick up a giant bag.
Shit happens.
I'm southbound on the Dempster highway, going to Whitehorse with a load of dangerous goods.
Alex Debogorski's headed south with a potentially explosive haul.
I am hauling a mixed load with a bunch of cylinders of different compressed gases.
Its very cold today.
Its minus 40.
And depending where-- High spot, low spot, where you are, it'll be colder than that.
That's without the wind.
You add wind to that, depends how much wind, you can go to a hundred below pretty quickly.
Just getting into the Richardson Mountains, southbound.
I think next we're gonna go through The Gorge here shortly.
If there is a wind, it'll be blowing there.
I have every intentions of driving through it, one way or the other.
Wind, snow, hell, or high water, I'm going from here to Whitehorse.
But just as he reaches Hurricane Alley Be careful going down the hill there.
There's a truck off on the side and equipment working down there.
I copy you.
The 70-mile-an-hour winds have already claimed one truck.
Trouble ahead.
There it is.
He was coming through a blow and got too close to the edge.
It was over-plowed, and over he went.
That's a reminder that anything can happen at any time.
The driver of this rig made it out alive, but for Alex, it could be much worse.
The trailer catches wind like a sail, making the truck nearly impossible to control.
If Alex doesn't keep a steady hand, the results could be fatal.
What's all these sliding marks here? Have mercy on all of us, Lord.
Whoa, boy.
Boy, is it ever giving her here? Feel it pushing the truck sideways.
The steering wheel just turns itself with that wind.
Whoa! My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Holy mackerel! On Canada's Dempster highway, in the middle - of Hurricane Alley - Whoa, boy.
Boy, is it ever giving her here? Feel it pushing the truck sideways.
Alex Debogorski is fighting 70 mile-an-hour winds The steering wheel just turns itself with that wind.
To keep his load of dangerous goods on the road.
Whoa! My dangerous goods are shaking all over.
Whoa, baby, whoa.
I've got the trailer crosswise and everything here.
Come on, you son of a gun.
That was a big mess, that's all I know.
- 15 miles south - Okay, here we-- here we go.
The winds die down As Alex reaches the end of Hurricane Alley.
The worst thing that could have happened is I could have blown this trailer to smithereens.
My wife would be looking for a new husband.
- 2,000 miles to the southeast - That's ten years I've been doing this.
That's the first time I've lost anything off my load.
Rick Yemm has left the convoy and some of his cargo behind.
There's nothing I can do about it.
It's a fucking giant bag.
Ten miles back They are pretty proud of our delivery rate and the service we provide.
If you cannot-- if you cannot provide the service, we could lose the business.
It looks like somebody lost a bag.
Convoy partner Vlad Pleskot rolls up on the abandoned cement bag.
Better check it out.
Damn it.
For fucks sake, what'd you do behind the wheel? Fuck.
He was just flying like crazy, and that's what happens.
Good job, fucking Joe.
- And for the Polar Bear - It kind of throws a fucking door into our good timing here.
That's profit sitting on the side of the road.
Yeah, it's probably gonna be a little bit of a bitch.
Well, this can cost me a lot of money.
I mean-- I don't know what we're gonna do with that.
Fuck.
Shit happens.
It's not like we're driving down the fucking Dalton.
We'd probably never lose a load and if you do, you're just a dumbass.
Well, it's even here too.
I knew better.
And now it's up to Hugh to find a way to clean Rick's mess up.
What he'll have to do is just back this trailer up to the bag and just hook on with the chains, lift that bag back up onto the trailer and just tie it down.
Just back up a little bit.
There you go.
And we're only gonna get one shot at it, and if it don't work, we're fucked.
Luckily, this delivery includes a loader.
It's their only shot at lifting the 3,000-pound bag.
Put it down first.
Hook right on the edge.
Okay, back it up.
Easy, easy.
Okay.
Good.
You'll have to thank fucking Joe for that one.
Go ahead.
You can probably get one more in there.
A little bit.
There you go.
I just don't like his attitude, you know? I mean, you're the driver.
You're paid for pick-- picking up the load, you're paid for bringing the load to the customer, you're paid for delivering the load.
If you can't do it, what the heck are you doing up here? I'll buy you a beer.
How does that sound? That's about all the sympathy I got for you.
It's really hard to care at this point in the season too.
- 2,100 miles to the northwest - You gotta want this.
You really gotta want this kind of a job.
Ray Veilleux is 100 miles up the Dalton with his first load of the season.
You gotta want living on the edge.
You're always living on the edge, doing this.
It just gets in your blood.
I worked hard two years ago, showed 'em I could do it.
You know, they trusted me with the loads.
I got it done.
So I'd have to say, hard work does pay off.
I'm back.
Aw, shit.
I'm out of power.
Shit.
I'll try to limp it up to the top of the hill here.
Now we're screwed.
We blew something.
I just gotta find out what we blew.
There it is.
Yeah, I blew something in the turbo.
Now we're pumping the oil through the turbo into the exhaust.
Then it gets all hot, and you blow out a big old exhaust smoke cloud.
So we're done.
We're finished.
A busted turbo means Ray's truck isn't going anywhere.
The whole situation really sucks.
But even worse, it means he's stranded at 28 below.
I'm down and out on the side of the road, broke down, so we'll just sit here and wait.
- 100 miles to the north - This load is-- it's a reefer trailer.
It's just another load to the load count.
All for the load count.
Darrell Ward's leading the pack, already halfway up the road.
Makes me happy that they give me these hot loads, you know? I know if they're giving me the hot loads, they know I'm gonna get 'em delivered there on time.
Get 'er done.
The rocky Mountain log hauler is pushing past Coldfoot to get back on top of the leaderboard.
I've been doing this for a long time.
You know, sometimes a guy burns out and just gets, you know, mad.
I've had enough of it for a while, and it takes a change to get you out of that rut, you know? I mean, I was in a rut for quite a few years there, with the marriage and the logging, the timber industry, the housing market, you know, everything going to shit on me.
And got Reno, you know, graduating from high school, about to fly the coop.
Come up here, and kind of got myself out of that rut, feeling pretty good about what I'm doing again and looking forward to a new-- new lifestyle and change.
I'm enjoying what I'm doing.
I'm thinking about staying here with Carlile.
You know, we'll go from there, see where my life goes.
As night falls Been busting hump, man.
Busting it hard, working these long hours, day after day after day.
Jack Jessee's load of pipe is just as brutal as he expected.
I really don't like hauling pipe.
Basically, it usually rides like crap up here.
Trailers are designed to bend and bow in the middle, and that's part of your suspension that's added on.
When you load pipe up, it's like throwing a huge brick onto it, and it makes that trailer rigid.
Now your only suspension is the truck bouncing up and down, so everything's always bouncing up and down.
It's just rough.
It constantly beats on you, it beats on you, and beats on you.
You're just getting thrown around, bounced around, slung forward and backwards, left and right.
You know, then you-- you tend to get more fatigued faster.
Feeling the effects of the rugged ride, Jack approaches one of the trickiest turns on the Dalton that's marked the end of the road for dozens of drivers.
The load is just beating me up.
Ooh.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Jack Jessee is eight hours into a rough ride as he hits a turn with a name that says it all.
Ooh.
Whoa.
That alley is just way too close for my comfort level.
Time to pull over and take a nap somewhere.
I'm just too worn out.
This pipe's just beating me up too much.
I'm gonna shut it down here, get a good night's rest, and deal with it in the morning.
It's been a long season.
Despite starting the day with the load count lead, the ace makes the call to shut down in Coldfoot before the exhausting trip takes him out.
Time for bed.
I'm beat.
I'm not even going inside.
Just going to bed.
- While Jack calls it a night - The lights of Prudhoe Bay Again! Another load for the load count.
Darrell's finishing his haul.
We got her here on time.
Arctic express.
And the delivery has him back on top of the load count.
Right on, mission accomplished! Ice roads are coming to an end here pretty quick.
So I'd just as soon get back out there and get a few more loads in.
Get as much as I can.
I don't have that much time left.
It's all part of the job! It's what you gotta do when it's this cold, you know? Let's go get some more loads.
Make the load count.
All right, I'm outta here.
We're about 3 1/2 hours late gettin' here today.
Definitely was not record time.
It's fucking 7:45.
We got fucked up again on this trip.
Hugh and Vlad have made it to Pauingassi Last bag, ready to go.
But Rick's way ahead and already unloaded.
And I'm rolling.
Whoo-hoo! Where'd he go? He's pulling out.
Thanks to Hugh and Vlad, every cement bag has made it to the delivery site.
I guess, you know, even if we had some problems on the road, we still got it delivered, and that's what counts, right? Well, I think I'm ready.
So Rick's just got out of dodge there.
Now he's stepping on her a little bit, yeah.
But Rick, he don't want to do anything anymore, he just-- He doesn't want to do this, he doesn't want to do that.
Fuck it.
He doesn't want to do it.
Fuck him.
So can't blame anybody but himself.
'Cause he wants to drive like I do, but he doesn't want to spend the time hookin' her up.
That's why he loses his loads.
Back for fucking Winnipeg one more time.
- 2,100 miles to the northwest - We're marching to the top.
Slowly but surely.
Austin Wheeler's reached Atigun Pass with his oversized loader.
Yeah, usually for a lot of people this is kind of a trouble spot for them to get up and over, but the pass hasn't really been an issue for me this season.
Hey, Austin, you on this one? Yeah, go ahead.
Bad spot, man.
I burned out coming up there.
As Austin hits the incline, another Carlile driver is already in trouble.
Went to downshift, and it locked in between gears.
Hooked to a heavy trailer, the other truck stalled out in the middle of the road.
You back down the hill as far as you need to, and, uh, I'll push you up there.
All right.
One of our Carlile guys is stuck on Atigun Pass and is just having a rough time.
So I'm gonna throw a set of chains on and help him out.
Okay, Bart, I got chains on, so I'm ready whenever you are.
All right.
Pushing a truck up Atigun Pass is a tricky maneuver.
Austin's gotta sync his speed with the other driver and connect without slamming into the truck.
Okay, I'm rolling, so you start rolling and I'll catch you.
Yes, sir.
All right, here I come.
A little off, and they'll both end up at the bottom of the mountain.
All right, I'm almost to you.
I'm almost there.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Aw, damn it! - On Atigun Pass - Okay, I'm rolling, so you start rolling and I'll catch you.
All right, here I come.
Austin Wheeler is attempting a veteran move All right, I'm almost to you.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Helping a fellow driver get to the top of the mountain.
Aw, damn it! Uh-oh.
I felt that.
You wanna try that again? Nah, just hold this speed, Bart.
We don't wanna fuck anything up here.
Now that Austin's connected to the other truck, he's at the mercy of the other driver.
Bart, try to stay away from that guardrail, bro.
All right.
Whenever you're push-trucking, the front truck that you're pushing is the steer truck, so if he gets too close to the guardrail, it's the caterpillar effect.
I follow right next to him, my trailer falls in the guardrail.
My trailer's gonna hit the guardrail if you don't stay out of it.
One wrong move here could send them both into the rail and over the edge of the pass.
Keep on goin'.
Couple hundred more yards.
We are chewing up the fucking road.
All right.
Finally, they reach the top.
Appreciate it, Austin.
Even if it wasn't a Carlile truck, I'd still stop and help this guy.
'Cause if I needed help in the middle of the hill, I'd hope somebody would stop to help me too.
We got to the top.
I'm gonna hop out, take my chains off, and make sure Bart's okay.
I appreciate your help.
No problem, anything to help anybody out.
Have a safe trip up there.
Yeah, I will.
There's a camaraderie among truckers up here.
I hope someday I'll be able to return the favor to Austin.
You know, maybe next time it'll be me helping him.
Northbound, ten wide, comin' down the pass.
We'll get back on our way to Prudhoe now and, uh, there we go, down the pass.
After a season struggling to prove he belongs - on the Dalton - It worked out good.
I was definitely glad I could help somebody out.
Austin's finally earning the respect of other drivers.
I've rescued trucks, I've pulled trucks out of the ditch.
I've-- I've pulled heavy loads up the road.
I've done a lot of things to gain the respect of, you know, other drivers and people at Carlile.
It feels good to finish the season strong, for sure.
Gonna unhitch this load.
Let's get the fuck outta here.
- Over in the Yukon - Comin' up on Whitehorse.
It's been a long day.
Alex is also at the end of his trip, delivering the dangerous load of combustible gases.
You know, we had a rough ride in two spots on the Dempster.
Probably chipped a little paint off the tanks.
But things turned out good and we made it through.
Okay, I'm gonna head downtown and get a room.
And a good time will be had by all.
Alex pulls into a tie for second place.
And Austin and Darrell share the top spot While Ray Veilleux is left stranded.
- He's stuck in a broken-down truck at 31 below - Sucks.
With temperatures dropping in the dead of the night.
Ray's broke down here.
I imagine he's pretty cold by now.
Carlile trainer Phil Kromm is the first to arrive.
Hi, Ray.
Hey! Are you cold yet? Oh, I'm cold.
Yeah, yeah.
It's cold in there.
So I'm done.
Yeah, yeah, it's done.
So much for loads.
Ray's out of the cold, but his first trip was a bust.
And now he's gotta prove he still has what it takes to drive the Dalton.
Well, it sucks that the truck breaks down, but that's the way it is.
Shit happens.
Definitely Next time on Ice Road Truckers I don't really feel like swimming in this water.
The season hits the home stretch This is when the ice roads are most dangerous.
Something's wrong with my truck.
But a final push Get me as many loads as you can Goes too far That guy is gonna be going out soon.
If I screwed up, it could be bad news.
On the Dempster Hold it.
Hold it.
Whoo.
Hurricane Alley's not done yet Come on And it's the end of the line for Hugh and Rick.
I can tell the ice is very, very soft.
I didn't even *