Ice Road Truckers (2007) s09e08 Episode Script

Narrator: Now Darrell: I have to get out of here.
Narrator: on Ice Road Truckers I totally cannot move.
Everything is all going to hell.
Narrator: The roads go from bad (Loud clanging) to complete mayhem.
Joey: No way! Alex: This could be the end.
Narrator: As the trails slip away Alex: Whoa! Narrator: and the drivers hold on for dear life.
Alex: Hold on! Narrator: The winter roads are melting, dissolving in warming temperatures, sending Polar and a rival team of upstarts into a mad dash.
Ah! Oh my God! Narrator: Delivering loads as the window of opportunity quickly closes.
(Splashing) Mark: Everything is turning to mud, swamp.
Roads are melting away.
You know, we got loads we gotta get out, and this is gonna get tough on these guys, and it's gonna get tough on our equipment.
Narrator: Trails are shutting down weeks earlier than expected.
The muddy ones that are still open are swallowing trucks like quicksand.
- (Tires spinning) Alex: - Whoa.
Narrator: And thawing ice crossings are becoming death traps.
Art: No! No! No! No! No! (Water bubbling) Narrator: Now on the path out of Deer Lake Lisa: Literally taking all of my concentration and everything I have to keep it on this road.
Narrator: Lisa Kelly's in the fight of her career trying not to get stuck on the long trail back to Winnipeg.
(Truck honks) It's just like driving through molasses.
Narrator: But the road is rapidly disintegrating under her wheels.
- Oh! - (Loud clanging) Lisa: This front tire just sunk right in, lifted my back tire off.
(Engine idling) I'm so done.
I'm soaked, tired, cranky.
He can push me out of here.
Basically he's my last hope.
Narrator: As Lisa waits for help, over 50 miles back Darrell: This road's in terrible shape.
Everything you touch you gets you wet out there right now.
I got to get out of here.
Narrator: Her only hope is also struggling on a torn up trail.
- (Loud clanging) - Whoa! Fuck me! I totally cannot move.
Well, what the fuck am I gonna do about this shit? (Warning beeps) This is totally fucking stuck on flat ground.
I don't know what I'm on, but I'm on something.
Oh.
I don't know why this thing won't just go forward.
I've got chains on it and everything else.
(Engine idling) Totally fucking stuck on flat ground.
Narrator: With Darrell and Lisa both stranded, and a melting road on the verge of being closed, they run the risk of having to abandon their vehicles, shutting the door on their season and their company.
(Engine idling) Darrell: I don't have too many options.
What a night this is turning out to be.
Somehow or another I've gotta get moving.
Can't sit here, so, I'm gonna see if I can winch myself out of here.
We gotta make this truck move one way or another.
My plan is to get unstuck.
I don't know, I'm trying anything I can.
Only thing I've got is some straps and a tree.
Narrator: Darrell's plan, use a wheel and a strap as a winch device, wrapping the strap around a tree to try and break his rig free.
I guess we're gonna go for it and see what we can get.
(Beeping, engine hums) (Creaking) (Revving, tires spinning) Oh, come on.
(Tires spinning) I'm moving, making progress.
That's how we do it, right there.
Narrator: Darrell's back in business.
I'm on the road again.
I got out of the hole I was in, and I'm gonna keep on going.
I have to get out of here.
This road is fucked.
It is soft, you don't know where you're going to fall in.
It's gonna be a long night.
Narrator: 50 miles from his stranded partner, Darrell drives through the night.
But as dawn breaks, the warm sun beats down on the path once again.
- (Loud clanging) - Oh! Oh! Oh man.
Unbelievable.
(Engine hums, chains clink) There is a truck in the road.
That looks like Lisa.
Narrator: Up ahead Lisa: I'm tired, and I hurt.
Narrator: Lisa is just waking after spending a night stuck in the road.
Lisa: I would love to get out of this road, eat breakfast, and wake up.
(Engine idling) (Loud clang) That'll wake your shit up.
Lisa: Help me, Darrell.
It's terrible.
Darrell: Oh, I hear ya.
How bad are you stuck? Lisa: My front end hit a hole and my back end came up, so my drive tire is just freewheeling in the air.
Darrell: Oh yeah, I had one of those situations in the middle of the night also.
Okay, well I'm gonna go on and try and back up.
I've been fighting it everywhere, Lisa.
You ain't the only one.
My half fenders are tore up, my chains are tore to shit.
Yeah, this has been a nightmare.
I'm so glad you're here, though.
Darrell: If I don't get you out of here, we're going to have to get airlifted out.
Narrator: With a chain in place Darrell will attempt to pull Lisa out of the grips of the thawing muskeg.
Tell me when your tires are rolling.
I'm already in reverse, and my tires are spinning now.
(Chains clink) Darrell: Ha ha! Right on, buddy! (Sighs) Darrell: That's how we do it.
At least we don't need the helicopter to fly us out of here.
(Lisa laughs) I just want to get out of here so bad, so bad I can taste it.
Narrator: Both trucks are free.
I don't even understand how I'm going to by that.
Narrator: But now they've got to conquer the steep hummock that already stopped Lisa once before.
We'll take a run for it and see if we can't get across it.
Jump that thing, Lisa, you got a ramp already there.
Let's see you do an old backflip with that semi.
Still backflip, come on.
(Truck engine roars) (Loud clanging) (Loud clang) Oh my gosh, I made it.
Let's see if Darrell makes it.
I'm gonna try to hit the fucking sixty.
(Truck engine revving) (Loud clanging) Ha ha ha! You took out the snowbank with your bumper.
Darrell: Rock 'n roll, Darrell, let's get out of here.
Narrator: The team is back on the road, but they still got 80 miles of melted chaos ahead of them.
There is nobody else dumb enough to be in here.
Ha ha! If you told me to come back out here, I'd tell you no way.
Yeah.
Lisa: So we've got each other, we'll make it.
Darrell: That's right.
Alex: Oh, it's slick.
Narrator: Coming up.
Alex: Whoa! Hold on! Narrator: Deep in thawing bush country (Truck honks) - (Loud clanging) - Fucking shit! Narrator: Polar's wild card's hammering down to the remote town of Brochet.
Art: Everything is wonderful.
I'm just so happy here I could just shit.
Narrator: On Art's last trip Art: No! No! No! No! No! No! No! We're going through the ice here, you got that? Narrator: he barely survived a rapidly melting ice crossing.
We're back on land again, b'y.
Narrator: Today You can't go into the game thinking you're not gonna make it, what's the fucking sense of that? You just do it.
Narrator: he's pressing his luck on the slick trail.
Everything is all melted to hell, it's all mud.
A lot of people come up here, they don't realize how bad and rough these roads are and then the stuff falls off your fucking truck, eh.
Especially with this.
Narrator: And he's hauling a giant super B, a double trailer capable of hauling maximum weight.
Art: Haven't had a super B for a while now, and I'm just hoping nothing crazy happens because I don't know what the road is like in here.
- (Loud clanging) - Hang on.
(Laughs) Narrator: But this late in the season, double trailers aren't permitted on the final stretch to Brochet, so Art will need to recruit another driver to take half of the haul.
We can't take this, it's too heavy, so I'm thinking to stop in at Joey's and pawn off part of it on him, eh.
Narrator: Joey Barnes is the self proclaimed King of Obsolete.
I am the King of Obsolete, and there is only one, and there will be no other.
Narrator: A local driver, who prides himself on his vintage equipment, and his ability to go where other drivers can't.
Joey: Basically I live at the end of the world.
You have to be very resourceful at the end of the world because we can't rely on anybody else.
Narrator: Last season Art: Well, now we're on our way, b'y.
Narrator: Art and the King teamed up on a run to Brochet.
There's nobody else drives this old, especially on winter roads.
Half of the truckers were dead.
Art: We're pulling up to the Kingdom.
Narrator: So the King could be the perfect convoy partner to haul the other half.
Art: This is the gates to the Kingdom.
Joey: Long time, no see, Art! Art: It's been awhile, buddy.
Nice day, b'y, if it weren't so fucking cold.
I tell ya that.
Your 'stache is freezing fucking solid, b'y.
Oh yeah, you like that? The ladies love it, too.
They've got all kinds of stuff there, like old, old stuff.
Joey: This Cat's a 1941.
Art: How does it steer? Art: Joey's quite a cat.
I like him, but he's a little eccentric.
How old is this fucking thing? Joey: It's a 1945, but these things are fast.
You remember the screaming Ford, eh, Art? Art: - It's your old screaming Ford, eh? Joey: - Yeah.
Art: Yeah, she's quite the rig, Joey, b'y.
Quite the Kingdom.
Well, I was kind of wondering, I've got a B train right Yeah.
Art: And I can't take the whole thing in there myself, - I'll have to make two trips.
Joey: - Yeah.
I was just kind of hoping you could make one of them for me, and we do it together.
Okay, I'll pull the back trailer, you pull the front? Art: - Deal.
Joey: - All right, done deal.
Let's go.
Art: - Right on, bro.
Joey: - All right, let's go have some fun.
(Truck engine starts) Well, she started, that's the main thing.
Narrator: With the King on board, the two trailers are split up, and the reunited team preps to hit the road.
That's that.
Lead the way, buddy.
Okay Art, I'm ready to lead.
Okay, right on, buddy.
I guess we're off.
Let's roll for fuck's sake.
It's going to be dark before we know it.
(Truck engine roars) Narrator: But in the midst of the thaw, the notorious winding trail to Brochet will be a monster to try and tame.
Joey: As the temperature outside warms up, the winter road gets slippery.
This road will get slippery.
Art: I'm here to get these loads in.
We'll see how it goes.
Narrator: While Art and the King hit the melting trail, 550 miles to the southeast - (Loud clanging) - Oh! Narrator: a legend in the thick of it, too.
Alex: Got to take the odd bump, especially now because it's a warm day, it's quite slippery.
Narrator: Alex Debogorski's heading 700 miles to remote Big Trout Lake, with what could be the final load of supplies the village will receive this winter.
I'm trying to get out of the bush without getting stuck here because of spring weather.
Narrator: But the road might not last long enough for the old pro to get there.
Alex: Just hanging in there where I can drive on this road, otherwise it gets too soft and I could be stuck here.
This could be the end-- the end of my job, the end of the winter road.
I gotta really hammer down.
So this must be the lake here.
Looks slippery here.
Narrator: Alex turns a corner and suddenly the mission gets even tougher.
As a two-mile ice crossing rapidly evaporating in the midday sun may not be thick enough to support the 20 tonne rig.
Alex: Well, people always ask, if you're going to drive a truck, what is the best advice you give to a person? I said the big thing is learning how to handle fear.
Just grip the wheel and drive.
Let's go and do it.
Hopefully we don't wreck nothing.
(Preparatory exhale) Narrator: With the First Nations community counting on Alex, the 40 year veteran tests the ice.
Alex: Well, right here's a good hole.
Look at that groove right in there.
It is a little slipperier than usual because it's warm.
You can hear it popping pretty good here.
(Water bubbles) (Engine hums) You really get the crackin' there, eh? Okay, what have we got up here? This is all, looks like water.
Narrator: Open water appears in the middle of the crossing, adding even more weight to the surface and accelerating the thaw.
Have we got water splashing up? (Ice cracking) Narrator: Now Alex will have to negotiate a tight corner.
Alex: It's gonna be slippery, I'm really friggin' serious.
Narrator: And the lethal combination of water and ice will make traction a challenge.
Alex: Hold on.
Ooh! Damn! Damn! Hold on! Whoa! Hold on! Narrator: On the dissolving crossing to Big Trout Lake Alex: Hold on! Narrator: The slick surface has Alex Debogorski sliding out of control.
Whoa! Hold on! Shit.
Holy mackerel.
It's slick.
Trailer's coming around to write me off, like jackknifing, eh.
Just about got me.
Just about.
Yeah.
So now I've gotta keep an eye on all the shiny stuff here.
I've got about 100 feet to the shore.
Narrator: The end of the crossing's in sight.
Alex: It would be a good thing to get across it safely.
Narrator: But the edge is where the ice shrinks down to its thinnest.
Hate to wreck a clean record now.
Narrator: And the 20 tonne load may push it over the edge.
(Engine hums) Still snappin' and poppin'.
Come on, baby.
Just a little longer.
(Ice cracking) Come on, baby.
I'm coming off the ice.
We've made it off the ice! (Howling) We have survived another one.
Narrator: The old pro's made it across, but he's still got 80 miles of havoc before he reaches the First Nations village.
Hopefully I can get to Big Trout and unload.
550 miles to the northwest Art Fuck, the road went to shit, didn't it? Narrator: and the King The road's rough.
We're bouncing.
Narrator: are battling the melting road to Brochet.
Narrator: And by the hour, the warming sun's tearing the trail apart.
Art: Hang on! (Splashing) That was a rough spot.
Joey: Is that you, Art? Art: No, it's Mary Poppins.
He's chained right up to the fuck.
The only thing that ain't chained on that thing is fucking doors.
(Truck engine roars) Okay, we're coming up to Ricochet Hill.
Narrator: Now, they're coming up on an old nemesis, Ricochet Hill, a 12% grade incline with one of the tightest turns on the entire path.
This is the one last year that Joey piled high and dry into the fucking woods.
(Truck crashing into snow) I hope the fucker doesn't do it again this year.
Art: This looks like it here.
How close is Ricochet Hill? We know we're getting closer, motherfucker.
(Truck engine roars) Coming up to the hill.
(Shifts gears, truck roars) Ricochet Hill, here we come.
Narrator: The King will have to increase his speed (Truck engine roars) Hopefully we make this corner.
Narrator: but it'll be tough to maintain control of the screaming Ford around the turn.
(Shifts gears, truck roars) (Truck engine roars) Well, we made it.
Onward we go.
See how it turns out.
I've gotta give it to her uphill.
Come on, baby.
(kissing sounds) Move, move, move, move, come on, b'y! Whoa! Move! (Engine roars) Yeah, we made 'er, buddy.
Joey: How was it, Art? Art: Not bad, b'y, we just rolled right up there.
I see you did a lot better this year, too.
Joey: I just about hit the snowbank.
That was close.
He just about hit a bank on Ricochet Hill.
All right, buddy, hammer down.
(Engine hums, chains clink) (Tires screech to a halt, crash) (Engine hums, chains clink) Narrator: On the slick trail to Brochet (Tires screech to a halt, crash) A King has been slain.
I come around that corner, I had to give it all it's got, and we just slid right into the snowbank.
There's no traction.
Narrator: Joey Barnes took a sharp turn too hard, and slid right off the road.
Art: What the fuck is going on here? Narrator: Along with half of Art's super B haul.
Lord fuck, he's into the fucking snowbank! (Airbrakes hiss) How did he not make that? Narrator: To break free the King tries to rock the rig out of the clenches of the wet snow.
(Truck whines, tires spinning) (Revving) (Creaking) Thata boy.
Narrator: Clear of the bank, now the King must negotiate the turn once again.
But this time he takes a more cautious approach.
Well, he's just makin' it, and that's all, and he's tearing it all to pieces.
I've got no fucking chains on, and I'll be lucky if I'm gonna fucking make it now.
That's what's happened.
(Truck engine roars) Art, I made it! Motherfucker, fucking shit.
Away we go.
He's fucked up the whole fucking hill up here.
Hopefully we'll make it.
Narrator: With a torn up trail ahead of him, Art confronts the rough patch head on.
Fuck.
Yeah, we made 'er, buddy.
I don't know what to think of that.
Narrator: The convoy hustles across the last 20 miles.
(Truck honks) Narrator: And makes it to the distant outpost of Brochet.
Art: - Holy fuck, b'y.
Joey: - Yeah.
Art: You're making me look good again.
Joey: I know, it's unreal.
(Art laughs) Travelling with Joey wasn't bad, at least he got the other, he got the pop up here for me, that's all that I wanted, eh.
Joey: The road was a little slippery, but we handled it, and once again we got it done.
Narrator: With the two trailers safely delivered, the dynamic duo has come through for Polar.
Buddy, thank you very much, eh.
Joey: - No problem.
Art: - I appreciate it.
Joey: - Pleasure to run with you.
Art: - My pleasure to run with you.
Narrator: 500 miles to the southeast Holy smokes, this is bad.
Only going to get worse.
Narrator: Polar's competition is just trying to get home.
Dareell: This here is ugly, ugly, ugly.
I can't believe how warm it is out here.
Narrator: Darrell and Lisa are fighting the final miles out of Deer Lake, a path so destroyed from the thaw, authorities could shut it down by end of day.
Darrell: I'm just ready to get out of this fucking hole.
Just, I mean I don't know how much we may bring in bringing these loads in but we sure as hell spent a whole lot more getting out.
Darrell: Yeah I know, right.
Lisa: Well, I mean this is already really bad, so, I mean I'm glad I completed the contract, but at what cost did I have to keep my word? Narrator: The trucks will likely need costly repairs, even if they survive the journey.
I've just heard of people leaving their trucks and getting helicoptered out, but I would need to leave this truck out here.
Narrator: If they're forced to abandon their rigs, it would bankrupt the small company.
Lisa: I mean a helicopter ride would have been awesome, but I'm sure that would have been just more expensive.
Darrell: Well we're almost there, we're almost to the end of the road.
Lisa: Yeah, yeah.
Lisa: Shit, here we go again.
I'm at the ice crossing.
Darrell: I don't know, I never really looked forward to ice crossings before but I know this is our last ice crossing.
Narrator: Now the team's at the last hurdle, a three mile ice crossing at the end of the trail.
On the way in, it barely held together under warming temperatures.
(Splashing) Now, after another 24 hours of melting, it could be a suicide mission.
Lisa: Ah, hopefully the ice froze over at night because we've got to cross that and then we're home free.
Darrell: Yeah.
Lisa: I'm going to listen to the ice very carefully and see if I can hear any tell-tale pops.
There's no point worrying about it all year, but I think if there's any time to worry about it, it would be today.
Narrator: With under five miles of winter road to go at the other end of the crossing, You ready, Darrell? Darrell: Yeah, I'm ready.
and a chance for the nightmare to finally be over All right, I'm going to come down on this last lake here.
Narrator: the daredevils roll the dice.
Lisa: See if it'll hold.
(Ice cracking) Narrator: Only seven miles away from surviving the hardest trip of their careers You ready, Darrell? Darrell: Yeah, I'm ready.
Narrator: Darrell and Lisa have one last ice crossing to conquer.
All right, I'm going to come down on this last lake here.
Narrator: But it's unlike anything they've ever faced before.
Lisa: See if it'll hold.
(Ice cracking) Don't even know where to drive on this thing.
It's starting to look like a lake.
Narrator: If the crossing were tested in its current state, it would likely be shut down.
All right, I'm right behind ya.
Narrator: The young company goes for it, and sends the two heavy big rigs on to the ice.
Darrell: On to the ice again.
Into the water.
(Chains clink) (Water bubbling) (Tires splashing in slush) Darrell: You know the ice gets weaker and weaker getting hit by that much UV.
The sun's beatin' down on it today.
Narrator: The hot sun has baked the surface, and all that remains is slush, floating chunks of ice, and gigantic pools of water.
I've done some crazy shit in my life, but this is pretty unreal right here.
It's a short story from here.
Things aren't gonna last much longer.
(Water rushing) You'd better open your door because this don't look good.
Can't be too careful.
(Ice cracking) (Door closes) I don't know if the ice would be solid enough to dig in with my screwdriver or not.
I don't even want to find out.
Glad we can get out.
That water's open and shit, isn't it.
Copy, I mean there's just chunks of ice laying everywhere, like big chunks you know.
Darrell: Yeah, for sure.
Narrator: The cracks in the ice are getting flooded with water, accelerating the melt under the drivers' wheels.
Lisa: These cracks are really wide, I mean, I feel if they open up anymore, my tires are gonna fall in.
Darrell: Hardly any longer an ice crossing, it's definitely a lake crossing.
Lake crossings are a little bit freaky with this much water on them.
I'm gonna-- Oh, look at the cracks over there, too.
(Ice cracking) Kind of freaks you out riding right along that crack waiting for it to just bust off.
(Ice cracking) (Water bubbling) Almost done, we're almost off this damn road, and I am pretty happy to get off the road with the truck.
Darrell: Yeah, I'm real happy to get off the road.
Narrator: The edge of the crossing's within reach, and the end of the long rugged trail awaits on the other side.
Okay, so I'm going to celebrate getting off this road.
How are you celebrating? (Flares pop and whistle) (Lisa Laughs) Ouch! My victory stings.
Ow! Hallelujah! Oh! Oh! Oh! Darrell I'm on the land, ice is good.
Let's make tracks, we're almost done.
Darrell: Yeah, really.
Narrator: Lisa makes it across.
I'm just about to the end of ice up here, I believe.
Narrator: And through the rising water Darrell: Just a little farther.
Narrator: her business partner joins her on land.
Darrell: Yeah! I made it! Lisa: Yeah, rock 'n road, huh.
Rock 'n road! Back on land again, I ain't gonna say solid land because this land is soggy and this snow and ice is getting soft and rotting away fast.
Narrator: The rookie company took the biggest gamble of its life to make it in and out of Deer Lake through the thaw.
Oh yeah, I see dirt.
Narrator: And despite enduring days of hellish conditions I thought that was never gonna end.
I thought we were gonna be trapped out there for ever and ever.
Narrator: they live to tell the tale.
Darrell: She was a brutal trip, Lisa, definitely.
One of the best.
Yeah.
Narrator: At Manitoba's South Indian Lake Todd: Ain't no time to sit around.
Narrator: Polar's top dog is readying for a one of a kind mission.
Todd: That's it.
Ready to roll.
Oh for goodness sakes! Narrator: While most drivers are facing crossings that are rapidly melting, Todd's on one where the ice has literally disappeared.
(Water bubbling) So here we go, this is kind of, I guess it's definitely a different type of adventure.
Here we go, we're on the move.
Toot toot! (Horn honks) Narrator: The route to South Indian Lake is capped off by an ice crossing to reach where most of the villagers reside.
(Horn honks) But, in the warm temperatures, the ice has turned to water.
Todd: That's just a trip.
I've never seen a ferry like this in my life.
Didn't even now they existed.
Narrator: Leaving a ferry boat is the only way for Todd to deliver an eight-tonne front end loader.
Todd: It's hard to believe, just a few weeks ago, the trucks were coming up here and driving across this.
It was all frozen, and, I mean, driving across it to get their loads in here delivered.
(Shifts gears, truck roars) (Horn honks) Narrator: On the other side Todd: So the only thing left to do is get this tractor unloaded.
Narrator: Todd unpacks the loader for the people of the remote town, not letting the thaw derail his mission.
Todd: That's how you do that shit, right there.
There's only one thing left to do, hit the road.
Narrator: With the load on the books for Polar, Todd hitches a return ride on the boat.
Todd: That's just crazy.
So we're on the ferry boat.
Narrator: And heads back to Winnipeg.
Todd: What an experience, huh? To come up here and actually do something like this, and actually experience trucking across the freaking cable ferry boat on a river.
Wow, it's amazing.
Narrator: 400 miles to the southeast It's a warm day, it's quite slippery.
Narrator: One driver is still on the winter roads.
Alex: I am racing against the melt, I'm racing against the temperature.
Narrator: Alex Debogorski is rushing to get what could be the last load of supplies into Big Trout Lake.
Alex: You see where the road is breaking up here? It's so slippery, a person could end up in a snowbank.
Narrator: But as the sun begins to set Alex: We just have to make this last little stretch.
What the heck's going on? (Airbrakes hissing) It's closed.
Narrator: The trail into Big Trout is shut down.
Alex: It was warm all the way, we expect it to be colder up north.
I got here, it's melting, it's at least ten degrees above freezing, and the road's closed.
And not only closed, but they blocked it, they pushed up a bunch of snow and they blocked it with the grader.
Narrator: Despite driving hundreds of miles and burning a fortune on fuel, Alex can't complete the mission.
Alex: Okay, we're going back.
Narrator: The load won't be delivered, and Alex, Polar, and the village feel a very real impact of the early thaw.
Alex: Well, I'm going back to where I started.
Frustrates me.
I haven't had to turn around for a couple of years, but usually get the load in there.
I'm disappointed.
Those communities have to wait a whole year.
Narrator: Next time, on Ice Road Truckers Lisa: I guess we're just blazing our own trail on untested ice.
Narrator: The drivers take on their most daring journey yet, blazing a trail at the end of the Earth.
This is an adventure of a lifetime right here, I tell ya what.
And changing the Winter Roads battle forever.
Todd: Now, I feel on top of the world!