Ice Road Truckers (2007) s09e10 Episode Script

Come on, you son of a bitch! Now on the season finale of Ice Road Truckers Todd, you're going down! After all the thrills Whaohha! spills Oh no! and chills No-no-no-no-no! it all comes down to the final run I am racing against the melt.
to try and make it out alive.
Hold on! At the end of the earth It's impossible to clear away enough snow to really know how deep the ice is.
All right.
That's it, that's all we've got! We don't have a choice.
We gotta go! Todd Dewey and Lisa Kelly, are about to take the biggest gamble in Ice Road's history-- forging a route over miles of untested ice.
Well, here it is.
Do or die, huh On the hunt for one big payday as winter draws to a close.
I wanted to pop in, and present possibly a business opportunity to you both.
Two rivals formed an alliance that could change the winter roads battlefield forever.
They're going to the end of the earth and beyond.
This is huge in the world of trucking.
With both these companies coming together, this is going to be beneficial for both of us.
Blazing a trail with a cat train over the frozen sea Ha-ha! Who would have ever thought, uh?! at one of the most remote and unforgiving destinations in the world.
The Hudson Bay, where there's no roads and big rigs are forbidden.
This ain't even an ice road.
We are building our own road! Todd and Lisa embarked on the 35 mile journey from the town of Churchill to the distant outpost of Seal River, as they pulled lumber, building supplies and a massive 17 ton excavator.
Just so you know, it's as fast as this thing goes, bud.
Their skills were tested again Yee-hoo! Whoa! and again.
Holy smokes! Wow! Now, after enduring 12 grueling hours-- surviving 28 miles I'd cold and my adrenalin is pumping so hard right now, I don't even feel it.
the convoy is heading into darkness on the Hudson Bay and towards the deepest waters they've ever faced, over 300 feet to the ocean floor.
Okay.
Holy smokes! See all that water down there breaking through?! Come on, keep going.
This is it.
I'm stuck.
The untouched ice is beginning to splinter under the heavy weight.
What the fuck broke the fucking ice.
And Todd's excavator haul may have pushed it to the brink.
Breaking through pretty bad here, guys.
Come on, you son of a bitch! Fuck! Wait! Fuck! Todd, you're going down! Have you heard anything from Todd and Lisa? No, I haven't.
And ah, I'm starting to get a little worried.
Oh yeah? I am too.
I've been trying the sat phone.
It just saying, it can't connect.
So, if we don't hear from them tonight, I think tomorrow morning we might wanna call a chopper company out of Gillam.
I know it's not going to be cheap but I mean, I don't want to lose anybody.
Yeah, but if they're having problems we need to do something.
Do a fly over the area or something like that? - Yeah.
- Okay.
You know, there's been any contact with Todd or Lisa.
They're in the middle of Hudson Bay.
You know, I said this was going to be a challenging run.
I said there was a lot of dangers in here.
Now my greatest fears might be coming true.
This is something that's never been done by these companies.
We don't know what we're getting ourselves into.
This is Hudson Bay.
And I'm just a little worried.
Back on the Hudson Bay Shit.
Wow! He's getting stuck in the ice big time! That's it! It brought us right to a fucking stop.
Come on, go! They don't wanna move.
There she goes.
Todd is able to power the cat machine onto solid footing.
But the excavator is still marooned in the giant crater.
Well, as long as I'm through the ice, I'm not going to stop or try to get through that spot.
So Todd'll try to drag the monster through, while the emergency driver pushes the bucket into the shattering ice.
You can feel all this ice moving underneath of us.
Come on, keep going! He's got to bury that bucket as fast as he can to get us pushed out of there as fast as he can! That's better.
Whooo! Finally, Todd and the haul escape the freezing water for now.
Make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, I tell you what.
You all right? Oh dude, it is unbelievable! It is a shit show fight for me.
I'm glad that I'm not driving that.
Whoooo! It takes every muscle you've got to keep this fucking thing going.
I think we should go.
Still, six miles from Seal River and heading into the dead of night.
The daring expedition is far from over.
All these hours, I can feel Dude, I'm so fucking pissed already.
Here we go, buddy.
Let's roll, boys! We've got a long way to go! Me and Todd are hauling our um We've loaded the building supplies on the excavator to, uh, Seal River lodge.
Lisa Kelly and Todd Dewey, have been on a relentless voyage across the frozen Hudson Bay for over 20 hours.
It's crazy.
The plan is to keep driving till we get to the offload site and then offload because And after breaking through the ice with the heavy loads, surviving the final two miles is anything but a sure bet.
We are so close So close! My body is screamin' to quit! Despite the fatigue and the dangers all around them Come on, baby.
the team ain't about to quit now! I want to be able to say that I started this shit, I hooked up these fucking trailers and I took it all the way there! Finally Looks like we're starting to get ready to go on land here.
after 35 miles over untested ice and Arctic tundra Seal River is in their sights.
Hell yeah! Finally made it to the camp! I saw this job and I plan to fucking finish it, that's all that matters.
At the top of the world, the one-of-a-kind mission is an overwhelming success.
It looks like they've got the excavator offloaded.
And Todd and Lisa have made Ice Roads history.
Ha-ha, we did it! That's it, we're done.
The loads have been delivered.
Whoo! Long night.
Yeah, more than a long night.
But you did it.
How fucking crazy is that? I can't even believe you made it.
If someone can drive it, I want to drive it.
And I knew that it was going to be a challenge driving a snow cat on ice and it was challenging.
And I was able to do it.
What a journey! This is something that I will remember for the rest of my life! We fought for hours, fighting ground that has never been touched.
So I actually drove a cat train across the ocean.
How many people can say they got to do that? Fuck! Help! When I was busting through that ice, I was so scared and so freaked out and my adrenaline was pumping so hard that I didn't think about even dying at that point.
Come on, girl! There she goes.
Whoo! But I tell you what, I've never been so scared and so fucking excited at the same time.
Me and Lisa came We conquered We got the job done It's back to Winnipeg.
As morning breaks on the winter roads, the last remaining open trails are melting away.
As each hour passes, and the paths become more dangerous, the last minute contracts are commanding huge price tags.
Bang-bang-bang-crash.
This is some rough.
And Polar's wild card is charging right into the madness looking to deliver big for the company.
Well, now we just turned onto the ice road here and headin' into Poplar Hill.
But there's gonna be nothin' left of the truck by the time I'm done this.
Art Burke and his final mission of the season Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, baby.
and it's a tall order.
Can't go too fast.
We're really heavy, eh? I'm maxed right out.
It's 80 grand.
Hauling a 40-tonne load of building supplies The road is going to hell here because it's been really warm.
The sun is out, all the frost is starting to come out of this and it's all pothole-y and swamps, eh? It's not good.
I figure this is probably gonna be the roughest one yet.
There we go.
Now Oh yeah, I see it now.
Art's gotta tackle the last open ice crossing of the season.
Stretching over four miles, it's one of the longest in Ontario.
With a frozen surface that's disappearing in the spring-like conditions.
That's wonderful.
You know what that reminds ya? On Art's last crossing No-no-no-no-no! When I pulled on to that lake, not in my wildest fucking imagination did I think that was gonna happen, b'y.
I was sure we were gone.
I can't go forward and I can't go back.
We're gonna go through the ice here, you got that? Keep the fucking door open, buddy.
Every time I think about it, it's like, wow! Yeah, wow is right.
Yeah.
Am I scared of the ice? Very much.
But we're going with it anyway, b'y.
Fuck it.
Away we go again.
Art rolls forward putting his nerves and the melting ice to the test.
On the last open ice crossing of the season Away we go again.
Art Burke could be reliving a nightmare.
Damn, b'y, I hope we don't go through this one.
We don't need that again.
As the thaw melts the surface, the ice shrinks and the water level below rises, putting more and more pressure on the ice until it ultimately breaks apart.
That's what insanity apparently is described as keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over, and expecting different results.
Every time I hear the ice crunching underneath me now, I get a little nervous.
Today, temperatures are soaring to near record high levels, heating up the ice under the midday sun, and the 40 tonne load could be too much for the weakening ice to withstand.
We've just gotta started out the last time I went out on the ice and the sun is just pounding down on this.
Holy fuck b'y, it just never ends, do it.
See the hole there on the left.
Look.
Fucking won't go near that one.
All around, holes in the ice are springing up as the surface quickly dissolves.
It is cracking like a bastard.
Listen.
Rough fucking spot here.
We'll have to mosey over this.
I can hardly wait to get there and get this off.
The season is coming to an end very soon.
Very, very soon.
After four miles on splintering ice Damn, we're on the grass, b'y.
Art conquers the crossing and his demons, making it safely on to solid ground.
So hopefully they're gonna get that off as quick as they can and we'll get the hell out of here, eh.
The building supplies are delivered to the tiny village of Poplar Hill.
Let's go in and see what's goin' on, b'y.
And Art locks in a financial windfall for Polar, in this final load of the season.
Isn't that wonderful.
We made it through all the ice and all that stuff.
I'm glad to be here.
She was a rough trip.
They've just about got 'er unloaded.
And I'm gonna kick my little ass back to Winnipeg after I get 'em to sign all the papers.
Out of here yippity-doo-dah.
While one driver heads for Winnipeg This one is gonna be a little rough.
Oh! Fuck! Darrell Ward is heading right into the heart of the thaw.
This is the last run of my season right here.
Warm temperatures are making this road a little bit slippery.
Oh! Whoa! The new business owners snagged a valuable final contract and it's a rush order.
Twenty tonnes of sheet rock bound for Pikangikum, Man, I can't believe how much it's warming up out here.
Agh! It's the last day the road is open and the offload site closes at 4 PM.
You know, this is huge for our company.
But right now the road to Pikangikum sucks.
But as the minutes tick away Ooh! the trail is a mess of mud and slush, completely destroyed from high temperatures, making speed a challenge at the worst possible time.
It's a race against time to get this load delivered.
I gotta get it delivered on time and the roads are meltin'.
Oh-uh-uh-ugh The falling muskeg could do more than just slow him down It could snag his rig like quicksand, possibly forcing him to abandon his truck and load till next summer! Don't know what the groundhog had to say, but I'm sayin' spring is here.
The thaw came a lot faster than I expected it.
And I called it early this year, but I didn't expect it to come this soon.
Whoa! Fuck, man.
Holy fuck, man, I got sheet rock slidin' back and forth back there.
Something to be concerned about.
Take the load right off that side if I ain't careful.
If Darrell can make it to Pikangikum in time Okay.
How much farther is it? the fledgling company will bank enough money to set up shop for another season.
Holy cow! But if he fails to arrive before the site closes, they'll be on the hook for the entire contract, wiping out the profits they fought for all year.
These roads are bad.
They're over with.
Oh, this is gonna be just rough to pieces.
One thing I can predict, the road will be rough! Coming up It's quite slippery.
a legend presses his luck.
Hold on! On the chaotic trail to Pikangikum Drop this off I'll make it back to Winnipeg.
I hate washboards.
I hate wash-boarded roads.
It rattles your truck apart.
Darrell Ward is fighting the clock with a lucrative, time sensitive haul on the line.
Ohhhoo fuck As he turns the corner, the final stretch poses a mountain of a challenge.
Oh-oh-oh! It's bad ahead.
Yeah, I ain't gonna make it up this hill.
The steepest hill on the path, caked in mud and slop, could grind him to a halt.
Find a rut, put a steer tire in it and go for it.
There we go! To try to scale it, Darrell guns it as hard as he can! Ooh! Hang on! But it will be tough to maintain control not sliding off the road.
Get up the hill! Oooh! Oh! I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can.
Wooh! Rock and roll that's how we do it.
Made it over the top! But I'm gonna tell you right now the next truck that hits it, it ain't makin' it, I'll guarantee it.
Darrell conquers the incline.
And on the other side Welcome to Pikangikum.
arrives in time to cash in on the monster contract.
See if I can find where my offload is and get turned around and get out of here.
Proving once again, no job was too tough for the renegade company.
The last load of the season.
The satisfaction that you get from delivering is huge.
The sheet rock is offloaded Get unloaded here.
I want to get back to Winnipeg before these roads all get melted down.
and Darrell closes the book on a successful season.
Nice.
Back to Winnipeg.
Turn and burn, baby, turn and burn.
But 200 miles to the east, in the midst of spring-like weather Off like a hurdle of turtles.
Watch this turtle run.
a legend still on the road, battling one of the only open trails left in Ontario.
The plan is to get to Kingfisher Bay.
I've gotta get this load delivered.
I don't care if I have to carry this load on my back, this load is getting there.
Veteran Alex Debogorski, is on his last mission of the season, hauling a wood boiler and cement.
The final load bound for remote Kingfisher, I am racing against the melt, I'm racing against the temperature.
As it comes up, it starts making the road shiny and then finally it'll destroy the road.
So ideally I get this load delivered today, or I'll be stuck up there till next year.
The company is counting on the old pro to come through big in the home stretch Whoa Quite slippery but the road is getting slick and virtually unmanageable.
Oh! And with even warmer temperatures expected the trail won't survive another 24 hours.
See where the road is breaking up here, the road surface itself is powdery rather than staying hard.
So the pressure is on Alex to pull off a tough assignment before it's too late.
If I sit here I'll be in a puddle of water.
Another stretch of road here that's falling apart from the weather.
Geez, it'll be some slippery.
Holy mackerel! Hold on! Ahh! On the melting trail to Kingfisher I am racing against the melt, I'm racing against the temperature.
Trucking legend Alex Debogorski, is racing to deliver the last haul of the season.
Gees, it will be some slippery.
Holy mackerel! He's come face to face with a 20-tonne road block.
Hold on! Oh, yeah, I'm okay.
As Alex approached a blind curve, so was a 20-tonne tanker coming from the other direction.
As both trucks slammed on their brakes trying to fend off a potentially deadly collision, the tanker side swiped Alex's rig.
The tanker spooked me.
I mean it was just sort of like there was nothing there and all of a sudden, a road full of truck and taker, you know.
You got a truck over here and tanker over here and I'm gonna run into it.
Ahhhhh! The tanker was empty.
I was fully loaded.
And I slammed on the brakes but it wasn't slowin' down.
Good.
Are you okay? Okay, well too bad we couldn't meet under a little better I've been in accidents before.
So I know that, you know, first concern was back away from it and go check on the driver.
Make sure he's okay.
My poor old bulldog.
If either one of us was going faster, it would have been a heck of a lot more damage than that.
You hit a fuel truck, the first thing you think, this is going to be a big fire.
You know, things can go to hell really quick.
But as it turned out, the bumper hittin' right on the wheel, it just ended up being pretty minor.
Okay, well, sorry about that.
Thanks.
- No problem.
- All the best.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
He took it pretty calm, everybody took it calm.
That's the way you have an accident.
You don't get out and start yellin' and hollerin' at each other.
The other driver hits the trail back to Winnipeg.
So, I guess I should go check my load because I kind of rattled my sacks.
I completely got shook up.
Better take a look.
And Alex assesses the damage to his truck and trailer.
You see it bent the rail right here? See how the rail is bent, the aluminum rail? See how much look how far this one here moved from here to here.
See that mark? I think everything is okay.
With only minor damage to the rig I guess better get goin' before it gets dark.
the trucking legend gets back on the road and hammers down on the last slick stretch to Kingfisher.
I'll be payin' more attention on the next corner.
I didn't get hurt and he didn't get hurt.
You know, a guy like that could have a heart attack right there by the road and I'd have to give him mouth-to-mouth.
Cause me to have a heart attack if I would give him that.
We just have to make this last little stretch.
As the clock strikes 3 AM Finally, I can see Kingfisher.
Alex makes it to his destination.
I might not go fast but I can go long.
- Alex? - Yes, sir? Bring that load straightaway, eh? Despite the challenges of the early melt, another load is delivered, and the very last haul of one of the shortest ice road seasons on record is in the books.
It was a successful delivery.
It just wasn't very it was a little bit hard on the equipment, was hard on the truck.
- Very good.
- Thanks.
As Lisa and Todd, fly back from Churchill, throughout the north the final roads are shut down, and the drivers return to Winnipeg.
All the snow is gone, it's warm outside.
I don't know of any other roads that are open any longer.
I think my season here is over with.
Here we are in Winnipeg.
The end of the last trip of the season, b'y.
Just a matter of dropping this here and I'm outta here! Thank you, dear God for having finished a winter in one piece.
Just pulling up to Polar.
And click, she's done.
And that's it season over.
Down the street from Polar It's all good, Lisa.
You can close the hood.
Okay.
Lisa safely returned and the new company wraps up their first season.
That run to Churchill is huge for our company.
Yeah.
You know, when this season started, we had nothin'.
By the time it was over with, we built a strong reputation, strong binds with the community and contracts that we can count on for another year.
Our future looks bright.
Starting a new company right out of the hole like that, it's pretty hard to get your name out there and get the load.
I feel like we had to do a lot of crazy stuff to get that name out there like-- Yeah, we had to prove ourselves with the shippers.
- Run when no one else would.
- Yeah.
And be the first on certain roads and-- Take the loads that nobody else would take on those roads.
- Yeah, exactly.
- You know.
Ahhh! Oh my God! This is crazy! Wha-hoo! I've done some crazy shit in my life, but this is pretty unreal right here.
I had a lot of fun running with you, - so I got something for you.
- Okay.
That's funny.
I love running a business with Darrell.
It was awesome.
I feel really proud of how far we've come with all this.
And it didn't just all flat on its face because me and Darrell don't give up.
It's a team.
It's teamwork.
It's one or the other.
Yeah, that's true.
Thank you very much.
That's awesome.
- Team Lisa and Darrell.
- I think we're ready.
All right.
As night falls on Winnipeg the Polar team gathers to celebrate the most successful season in company history.
Hey, everybody! I just want to take a minute! I just want to thank everybody for comin' out.
This has been a great year, successful year.
Polar has pulled record loads this year.
I mean we doubled basically what we did last year.
It's an overwhelming feeling at the end of the season.
We go at a million miles an hour for two months.
And then when it's all over, you look back and say wow, look at what we did.
I want to thank the drivers.
You guys have pulled it off this year.
Some crazy challenges.
Todd, man, I don't even know what to say.
You took on every challenge I threw at you.
I mean you kicked ass, man.
Thanks a lot.
Biggest load in history across this ice right here I'm hauling right now.
Can you hear that shit? This season for me was by far my best season.
Woohooo! This is an adventure of a lifetime right here, I tell you what.
I feel like I'm on top of the world! The tings that I accomplished this year for Polar what a year what a phenomenal year.
Thank you, Alex, for your wisdom this year.
It's gonna be slippery.
Whoa! Hold on! Life is short, so I get to live life a little more because I do something that most people on this planet never get a chance to do.
Have we got water splashing up? You know, I've seen the Arctic Ocean and drove on the Mackenzie River.
I've seen so much of northern Canada and the northern US and the people that live there that I would never have gotten to see if I didn't drive on the ice roads.
So that's what the ice roads have done for me.
Mike, you know, rookie year, you kicked some butt out there.
You know, I'm really happy.
It's not how many times you get stuck, it's how you get yourself out of it.
Come on, move! I think I definitely pop my step on the ice roads this season.
When it's all said and done, and my life story is written, this is definitely going to be a big part of it.
Whoo-hooo! I want to be known as a good father, a good family man and a kick ass trucker.
And Art, you know, in the end of the day I asked you to step up and you did.
No-no-no-no-no! We broke through the fucking ice, man! Best season yet.
That's why I come here, for the rush.
Come on baby, come on baby, come on baby, come on baby.
This year I got a fucking good one.
At the end of the day, Art, thanks for not wreckin' a truck again this season.
Cheers, guys! Thank you! Good one! Whoooo! Well, well what's up, Darrell? How's it goin', Mark? A little different rig for you.
- Yeah.
Still diesel.
- Yeah.
Right on.
Things melted off pretty quick this year.
I feel like I was pretty lucky to get one what I got done.
Oh, you did good.
I mean I was impressed with what you guys accomplished this year, you know.
You gave me a run for money, like you promised.
Did you expect anything less? Ah, not really.
Not out of you, Darrell.
I mean, you go hard just like I do.
In the end of the day you know what, we did what was important and we got all the supplies to the communities that needed it.
So, you know, as long as you and I are on that common goal, I think we'll just get along fine.
Yeah, absolutely.
You know what, I'll be seeing you next year whether you want it or not.
Oh yeah, yeah.
All right, buddy, take it easy.
- All right, talk to you later.
- Have a safe trip home.
As the book is closed on a legendary season, the drivers head their separate ways and they've lived to tell the tale of surviving on thin ice.
Driving these ice roads is an absolute blessing.
Not everybody gets to go up there and see what the good Lord has actually built.
I love the challenge of these roads.
Don't put me out on the highway and send me 2,000 miles down the pavement.
I'll take the hundred miles of hell first.
I'm not good at very much.
But I can drive a truck.
Trucking is not a job, it is a lifestyle.
And I'm so thankful for trucking.
I can't imagine my life without it.