Ice Road Truckers (2007) s10e01 Episode Script
Against All Odds
For nearly a decade the ice road truckers have battled arctic conditions Whoa! Get back, go back! extreme terrain Woo-hoo! Stop! Stop! and deadly ice crossings We are on the ocean right now.
We broke through the ice, man.
Whoa! to re-supply remote communities at the end of the earth.
We are building our own road.
Unbelievable! Along the way Polar Industries became a winter road juggernaut.
I've dominated this area.
I've beaten my rivals.
While a team of renegades You're on my fucking turf here, bud.
My fucking turf.
It used to be yours.
dared to go it alone.
We're just about to cross enemy lines.
Now for the ice road warriors, it's all led up to this Whoa! Whoa! a season ten years in the making.
Ohhh.
Hang on.
Uhhhh.
An unprecedented heat wave turns the winter roads upside down.
This is gonna be the shortest season ever.
Ice is literally melting.
Forcing the drivers to risk it all Keep the truck moving.
in record time.
Yeah.
Over disintegrating roads and rapidly thinning ice.
We're off to run the Alberta Death Roads.
To keep the companies and communities alive.
Oh no! Ahhh.
The truckers may have finally Fuck! met their match.
Pretty rough.
Holy fuck! We just lost the fucking truck.
This season a weather event called El Niño has thrown the industry into chaos.
There's a serious threat that these communities aren't gonna get all their supplies and all the goods they need.
We're looking at total devastation.
El Niño is a band of warm water that develops in the Pacific Ocean that disrupts weather patterns throughout the globe.
Causing crop decimating droughts and violent typhoons.
And in the north warm temperatures spell disaster for the ice road truckers.
At Polar headquarters in Winnipeg It's like spring out here.
Hard to believe in February you're standing in a puddle of water fixing trailers, eh.
Owner, Mark Kohaykewych is already feeling the heat from the warm season.
We would normally, at this time last year, had probably close to a hundred loads out.
I've got loads piling up in my yard.
Customers are freaking, they're yelling.
The ice roads aren't freezing and hundreds of vital loads could go undelivered.
Hey, I'm just checking up on that winter road.
Yep.
Still not for awhile.
Okay, no, I got a lot to get in there so we're, we're starting to panic.
This is one of the first times that I'm faced with a situation where we may not get all the loads into the communities.
Building supplies may not get in, fuel may not get in, food may not get in.
May not open at all.
Oh man.
They rely on us to get these essential goods in.
They need us and then we need them to survive too.
If you hear anything let me know.
Thanks.
Bye-bye.
Right now if you were to ask me how we're going to do it I don't have a plan.
The company is gearing up for a battle against Mother Nature.
And down the road Polar's rivals, Darrell Ward and Lisa Kelly, are also feeling El Niño's wrath.
I think most of these roads over here are closed.
We're gonna have to hunt down some loads this season.
Do they have a lot of loads going out there though? They're just not open? Well, I think there's a lot of loads to go but no roads.
Last year, the former Rocky Mountain log hauler This is a deadly job, deadly job.
and the Alaskan trucking icon, Ugh.
Yeah! formed their own business.
- Partners.
- Nice.
And despite challenge Ahh! Oh my gosh! after challenge Oh, what am I doing out here.
Have I lost my fucking mind? in the end they made their mark.
We have the power.
Oh, we do.
We have the power.
But this season the weather's already threatening to sink their new company.
I don't know what it's like up here.
I haven't had any report on it.
That one's closed.
That one's closed? With this being a really short season that's going to limit how many loads we're gonna be able to haul.
That could break a company.
We need to keep this company afloat, and scavenge all the loads that we can find.
We might end up not coming out ahead or even breaking even, and then there would be no more company.
As trucks sit idle a welcome cold front finally moves in.
This is what it's all about right here, baby.
Oh, yeah boy.
And Polar's the first to strike, unleashing their top dog, Todd Dewey.
There's just so many factors I love about ice road trucking.
You know, you can feel the ice flexing as you get on there.
How far the cracks spreading apart.
Is there water coming up? Is this it? It's like a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
Hey Todd, man, what's happening? Mark, what's up, bud? Going up to Pikangikum, Ontario.
That road literally just opened ten minutes ago.
Oh wow.
Take uh, take a load of construction supplies.
It's got a lot of concrete on it so she is gonna be heavy.
You're gonna get some challenges out there for sure - cause she just opened up.
- Oh yeah.
That ice is gonna pop for sure.
We got a window, we're not sure how big it is.
I mean, the weather is good for us today but she's supposed to get warm again so let's get whatever we can in right now while the weather's like this, okay? All right I'll push straight through - till I get in there, buddy.
- Thanks, man.
All right, Mark.
Here we go.
Polar's maiden voyage is a 200 mile trek to remote Pikangikum.
A brief cold spell has provided a short window for Todd to reach the community.
But the ten mile lake crossing, one of the longest and most dangerous in Ontario, has just frozen.
Hauling over 25 tons of construction supplies, Todd will be the first to test it.
This is the first time ever out of all these years of coming up here that I've ever seen open running water all over the place.
I have never seen that ever at the beginning of the season.
So I'm a little nervous.
It feels like it's the end of the season with the warm temperatures we're having.
It's just crazy.
It's very vital to get these loads in the communities so they can survive, but we're putting our lives at risk trying to get these loads into the community and with the temperatures fluctuating like they have been, I don't want to think about what would happen if one of us went through.
A lot of stress, man, a lot of stress this year.
There is the ice.
I'm definitely gonna get out of the truck.
I wanna go down walk on the ice, I want to check it out, just visually get to see it, mentally prepare myself.
Okay.
This is the lake right here.
This is the ice.
So what happens is you get big cracks underneath this ice.
The snow covers up the cracks and you can't see where the cracks are.
You know, I'm a family man, and I love my wife and I love my kids.
And I could never, if ever possibly imagine falling through the ice and one of my crew members or Mark or somebody having to call my wife and say, "Hey, you know" that really tugs on ya.
It's just crazy out here this year.
Well, let's be the first truck across the ice.
Here we go.
I wanna get my frickin' door open for one thing.
It is a cracking too, boy, you can hear it popping.
In northern Ontario Well, let's be the first truck across the ice.
Todd Dewey braves the first open ice crossing of the season.
Here we go.
I wanna get my frickin' door open for one thing.
It is cracking too, boy.
You can hear it popping.
An open door provides a quick escape route in case disaster strikes over the ten mile crossing.
The thing about this water is too, it's a couple hundred feet deep.
The truck goes through it's going to the bottom like a freakin' lead weight.
As fast as it can go and you're going with it.
Lake ice flexes under the weight of the truck causing a pressure wave of water, that's powerful enough to burst through the thinning ice.
Usually the ice is a good 36 inches and they want it 33 to 36 inches thick.
Right now we're crossing it in anywhere between That is a huge difference.
Oh my gosh, those cracks are loud.
Yeah, cause the ice is moving.
The ice is actually moving and it's cracking.
You can feel it rocking like a frickin' boat, man.
Come on, good Lord, stick with me just a little bit longer.
Get me across this ice.
Oh, those are some loud pops.
I can see the community now, but I'm not off the ice yet.
Come on, you son of a bitch, I am so close.
Oh, we're right there, baby! About ready to roll off.
Come on, baby, come on, baby.
Woo! Yes! Off the ice.
Son of a bitch.
Back on solid ground My destination.
This is it.
Got it into the little community Pikangikum.
Conquered a badass ice crossing this time.
I mean a badass ice crossing.
Todd comes through big for the small community.
Finally.
Gosh, dang it! I can shake it off and relax a little bit.
So I'll go find my site boss guy and see where he wants me to put the load at.
We really strive to get everybody up here what they need by the end of the ice season and we're not really having one this year and that's pretty spooky.
So we gotta a lot of miles to do.
Let's hit the road.
Let's get out of here.
As Polar locks in the first delivery of the season back in Winnipeg Garden Hill, huh? So how long is that road gonna be open? That short, huh.
The competition's not backing down.
You gotta get it in there I can pull it off.
Last year we went toe to toe with Polar.
We took a big bite of the apple.
This year we're gonna devour the apple.
Yep, I'll do that.
Yeah, I'll leave right now.
The young company lands a valuable new contract to Garden Hill.
But to get to the remote community Darrell will have to survive nearly 400 miles of brutal winter road.
I'm headed to Garden Hill with a load of supplies.
Hopefully, I can run straight in, get unloaded, get turn around get right back out there without any issues.
I like a nice clean run.
Nice clean runs are difficult to do on these roads.
The village is in desperate need of the load of food and medical supplies.
But the warm weather is making the rugged trail even more difficult to navigate.
These roads are in pretty rough shape this year.
You can see where they're gonna fall apart.
Ooh.
Hang on.
Ohh.
They're rough.
There's definitely rough spots in 'em.
You got places where there's already dirt showing and as soon as the sun hits it it'll start deteriorating in a hurry.
The winter roads are made of hard packed snow over frozen swampland called muskeg.
But El Niño's warm temperatures are melting it fast.
Exposing rocks and uneven divots making for an painfully rough ride.
Pretty warm out.
The road's icy, slippery.
Whoa.
You can see the shine on the road, that's how slick it is.
The road's all shiny, you know, sun's beating down on it.
See that's pretty slick right there, load's sliding around.
End up over in the rhubarb if you're not careful.
About ten kilometers up there's a corner here and gets just slicker than shit.
Couple years ago old Alex jack knifed there and totaled his truck.
Slick roads mean no traction and over the years has caused drivers to crash especially around corners.
We're done.
You get these corners like this-- a little bit out-sloped and they're definitely slick.
She's sliding around a little bit.
Whoa! On the road to Garden Hill Yeah, she's sliding around a little bit.
Darrell Ward's on a collision course.
Whoa! That was fucking close.
It was real fucking close.
Darrell's seen it all in his decades behind the wheel.
I've built the pipelines across this country.
I've worked in the oil fields in North Dakota.
There's nobody better.
And he's never backed down from a challenge.
Oh shit! From Alaska's Dalton highway Yeah, this is Alaska, baby! to Canada's winter roads.
Beware of potholes, soft shoulders, washboards and drop-offs.
Perfect.
To starting his own business.
Yeah, I was driving for Polar.
I ain't anymore.
There's a lot of loads up for grabs.
I might as well grab 'em.
But he's never faced a challenge like this season.
The roads are goin' to shit this year.
The roads-there is not enough snow, there's no, no frost, no, you know, nothing's froze good.
Shoulders of the roads are soft.
Yeah, that was definitely a close call.
Be on my mind most of the day.
I don't like close calls.
While Darrell hammers down only a 100 miles back Here's the start of my long, long, long, long journey.
See everything that I'm driving is newly open.
That means like, well, it's good enough.
Better go for it.
Business partner, Lisa Kelly, secured the second half of the Garden Hill contract.
A mammoth 20 ton loader that could bring a big pay day to start the season for the young company.
It's been a really warm winter.
Good ole El Niño decided to mess this winter up for everybody.
That's why we need to figure out how to get as many loads as possible as quickly as possible so we can break even or come out a little ahead.
Wouldn't that be swell? Uh.
The ride is bumpy.
They were right about it being all tore up.
When you got fresh snow over all the bumps, I can't really see where the bumps are.
Whoa! Man, I'm seriously like gonna get the wind knocked out of me from this.
The hidden bumps under the snow are giving Lisa a surprise at every turn.
But now You gotta be kidding me.
she'll have to tangle with a 15 percent grade hill and the loader's high centered weight won't be doing her any favors.
Come on.
Good grief.
Don't do this to me, you damn truck.
Ah.
Gonna chain up now.
The truck doesn't have enough traction to pull the heavy load up the incline.
Stupid hill.
Putting my chains on.
So she's gotta throw on tire chains and hope it's enough to get to the top.
This hill is slippery and then there's a corner at the bottom.
And when there's a corner at the bottom you can't get the run for it.
Here we go.
See if I can't get it to grind a little bit here.
If she can't make it the load ain't getting delivered.
Dammit.
Dammit.
Still not enough.
What a freakin' complete disaster.
On the road to Garden Hill Dammit.
Still not enough.
What a freakin' complete disaster.
Lisa Kelly is facing an uphill battle with her first haul of the year.
I'm positive that if I don't make it this time I won't make it at all.
Going back all the way to Kansas and try this again.
So as a last ditch option she's backing down the hill and giving it all she's got.
Getting one heck of a run too.
I think I'm gonna go for it here.
I'm just gonna jam it in gear and grab gears as fast as I as can grab them here.
This is so sharp.
Oh my gosh.
Oh no.
Just running for the hill.
Made it farther than I did but I'm not at the top yet.
Holy crap.
Okay, I'm there.
Lisa conquers the steep grade.
That was only a lot scary.
Finally on the move.
But she's still got over a hundred miles of disintegrating winter roads ahead of her.
From here we're gonna trounce along until we get to our destination only, only like five hours behind schedule now.
Back in Winnipeg All right, boys, let's check this fucking thing out.
Another road's just opened.
So Polar's enlisting company wild card, Art Burke, onto the battlefield.
I don't where you play cards, eh, but in my world the wild card's the best card in the deck.
I can be anything I want.
I can be a king or a joker, anything I like depending on the game, right? So the wild card's actually the best card in the deck.
Am I wrong? Three years ago Art got off to a rocky start on the winter roads.
Fucking shit.
Yeah, there that's really slippery, eh.
Who's your boss? Who do you work for? Where do you get the money from? That's right, you.
End of story.
And had a falling out with his first boss.
I might be telling them to go fuck themselves.
You guys go fuck yourselves.
Come on, baby! But he made a name for himself at Polar as an unpredictable Oh my God, we just tore the bumper off this fucking truck.
unconventional yet always reliable driver.
You brought in the tie breaker load.
That's right too, eh.
- Art, buddy.
- How are you doing, ol' son? How is it going? Good to see you, buddy.
- Good to see you, b'y.
- You ready to rock 'n' roll? All ready to roll, buddy.
- Hitting Wasagamack.
- Right on.
- There's your paperwork.
- Cool.
Okay, you're heading out south road.
I hear the roads are bad.
Yeah, the roads are really bad.
So be careful.
We got a short season.
It's-it's bad.
Road just opened and we don't know how long it's gonna stay open for - so don't waste any time.
- Okay, buddy.
'Kay bud.
Save travels.
See you later.
Well, here it is day one, getting the hell outta here.
That El Niño or whatever the fuck they call it is up there.
It's not good for us at all.
And now the fun begins.
Eh.
Art's mission, to the remote village of Wasagamack and he'll be the first to brave the rugged 400 mile trail this winter.
Heading in the boonies now, b'y.
Well, here we go for another season.
Another shit-kicking in the truck.
Hope the fuck we don't fucking spin out there.
Fucking Christ.
The road is getting a little rougher here, I'm noticin'.
Getting a little hilly and a little rougher.
Isn't this fun? Matter of fact, put a little air in my seat to make myself a little higher here.
I like to be high, eh.
Not near as much as I did years ago.
Different type of high.
Well, so far so good here.
Fucking shit! I hit my fucking head on that fucking thing.
That was a good smash, let me fucking tell ya.
Lower this fucking seat a little bit, I'll try that action.
The rough road's giving Art a beating in the cab.
I'm worried about losing them two by four's.
And back on the trailer his valuable load of lumber is hanging on by a thread.
It's starting to get a little bit loose, eh.
Big rush to get this There's a big rush to get this stuff in here.
As soon as the road opened somebody's gotta be there to grab that and get on it because you never know when the roads might close.
We gotta get as much stuff into these people as we can because they need their stuff and this is the only way to do it.
It's kind of a no fool around kick-ass job, eh.
What the fuck was that noise out there? So I know it's moving.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
There's something going on back there.
I'm gonna have to get around the turn to get it straightened out and get a better look at it.
Oh, my fucking--! On the distant trail of Wasagamack What the fuck was that noise out there? the rough road is wreaking havoc on Art Burks first haul of the season.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
There's something going on back there.
I'm gonna have to get around the turn to get it straightened out and get a better look at it.
Oh, my fucking--! Holy mercy for fuck I wanna fucking smash it.
I bet you that took the fucking meat off her.
I'm gonna pull this sucker over here and have a look at that before something nuts happens, eh.
Ah, for fuck's sake.
See how these are starting to slide out, eh.
Eventually they'll work their way right friggin' out.
The ragged terrain is causing the 25 ton load of lumber to violently shift.
And now it's in danger of tumbling off the trailer and spilling all over the road.
If they keep sliding out, sliding out, sliding out, sliding out, I don't have fucking all day to fix 'em.
so I'm gonna try this thing.
We're gonna improvise here today.
So we're gonna tie that like that.
Miles from heavy machinery to help adjust the cargo, Art's got just one strap to secure the loose lumber.
My hands are getting a little chilly, I'll tell ya that.
Not to mention me fucking ears are gonna drop off any minute.
What the fuck am I gonna do though.
It's not workin' real well, b'y.
Well, well, well, well, well, well, well.
I haven't got enough to tie it on this end.
The strap and Art's plan are coming up short.
Yeah, see I need something to hold that up like that so that I can ratchet the fucking thing, eh? I ain't done yet, b'y.
So Art will have to use a little ice roads ingenuity to get the job done.
I don't know what the fuck this has got to do with anything, but it seems to work.
And that's one of his specialties.
I might be able to jam that on the other end and at least make circulation.
Supposed to be a cover on this thing, eh.
I'm not a mechanic, right? And I don't pretend to be one.
But I know how to improvise.
Like I said I never did this before, b'y.
I don't know if this is gonna work but I like to get that tight.
My plan is to clamp them vice grips on the bottom of that, see if I can reef on it.
Might come right out I don't know.
But it might stay.
Using a vice grip, a tool used mostly for ratcheting down nuts and bolts, Art will try to secure the strap and hope it's enough to keep the load locked down.
That's not too bad, b'y.
Listen to that.
It's a long ways from a fucking fiddle string but it certainly gonna help.
Not bad.
What I think of the odds about that being there at the end? Ah, fuck it, we'll see what happens.
Well My gadget works.
So far, eh.
With the quick fix in place, Art will tempt fate for the next 80 miles over the rockiest stretch of the entire trail.
Well, we just jimmied that sort of speak.
It'll pull down on them two by fours anyway for a little while.
Might stay two minutes, might stay all the way in there.
I don't know.
I mean, it might bust and fall off yet.
Anything can happen, eh.
As Art soldiers on, deep in the Manitoba wilderness Oh fuck.
I've run this road a lot of times in the past.
This is my first run back-- Ohhh! This is my first run in here this year and look at this, this road's already falling apart.
Darrell Ward's closing in on Garden Hill trying to deliver the first half of a valuable new contract.
This road's rougher than shit.
Good thing I'm not hauling eggs.
I'd have scrambled eggs if I did.
But the blistering sun has made the final 20 miles the toughest of the journey.
Holy fuck, I'm doing I'm doing 20 kilometers an hour and it's rough, it's rough.
Oh yeah.
It's kinda like riding a bull in the rodeo.
I had a couple of girlfriends like this.
It was a rough ride.
I'm gonna ride these bumps.
Finally Right on.
I'm just rolling into Garden Hill.
I'm gonna pull up here where I've off-loaded in the past and, uh, see if this is where they want it.
Darrell makes it to the tiny village.
Let's get rid of this load.
And despite the challenges of the warm season, the young company's delivered their first load of the year.
It's really hard being a small company on the winter roads.
You have to deliver your loads on time.
I depend on Lisa, Lisa depends on me and the community depends on the both of us.
Night falls on the winter roads.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Almost there.
And Darrell's business partner, Lisa Kelly, also arrives at the distant community.
Just got to Garden Hill.
I made it.
Coming through big for the company with the second half of the contract.
They were worried I was gonna be late but I think they're just happy that they get their stuff.
It is actually a concern that we get these loads to these people cause there just might not be a big enough window.
And the communities having their supplies is what really counts and what really matters.
I mean, it'd be great if we come out ahead, but what matters is that they have what they need before they go into summer.
Batta-boom.
I'm outta here.
In the Manitoba back country We're getting close, b'y.
Art Burke's pushing down the final few brutal miles to Wasagamack.
I'll be glad when we get there.
Been gettin' the shit kicked out of me now since seven o'clock this morning.
It's all right when I get used to it but she been a rough road, eh.
And thanks to his jerry rig, the 25 tons of lumber is still holding on.
She's starting to get a little bit loose, eh.
For now.
We're almost where we're going anyway, I think we're gonna be fine.
Finally, after a grueling two-day run Well, we made it to Wasagamack, b'y.
Art reaches his destination.
Our first load of the season.
I feel like somebody threw me in the dryer and put in about five bucks.
Well, my jigger randy made it here, b'y.
And it stayed, and it stayed tight and it kept that wood from falling off.
The wild card proved to be an ace as his quick fix kept the load secure and in the end, he came through for the remote village.
It was a good day.
Little things happen, man.
It was a good day.
We're here.
That's the main thing.
And we're all together and we made it.
That's what it's all about.
While the haul may have made it Away we go again.
Art will still have to survive the 400 mile trip back over a rapidly deteriorating road.
All this banging and fucking crashing, if you're not used to it it can definitely fuck you up.
Nine hours of this, eh b'y? Wanna say fuck it.
Hang on here.
Whoa! No, no, no, no, no, no! Oh my God, my God, my God.
How in the fuck am I gonna get out of this? This season Ten years on the ice has all led to this.
Yee-ha! Two companies We are absolutely behind the eight ball.
in a desperate battle against Mother Nature.
Look at the ice cracking right there.
What the fuck! New hopefuls emerge.
I'm gonna see if I can bring these communities the relief they need.
And a legend returns.
The temperature is too warm.
It'll be a very challenging season.
As the ice road truckers face a meltdown The sun is just slicking the hills up.
like never before.
Oh my fucking--! Aggh.
Treacherous son of a bitch.
And nothing's off limits.
The epic journey begins-- Darrell Ward and Mark.
This is gonna be interesting.
Fuck! Ah! I'm losing blood fast, guys.
Ahh!! It is not my-- Isn't this wonderful?
We broke through the ice, man.
Whoa! to re-supply remote communities at the end of the earth.
We are building our own road.
Unbelievable! Along the way Polar Industries became a winter road juggernaut.
I've dominated this area.
I've beaten my rivals.
While a team of renegades You're on my fucking turf here, bud.
My fucking turf.
It used to be yours.
dared to go it alone.
We're just about to cross enemy lines.
Now for the ice road warriors, it's all led up to this Whoa! Whoa! a season ten years in the making.
Ohhh.
Hang on.
Uhhhh.
An unprecedented heat wave turns the winter roads upside down.
This is gonna be the shortest season ever.
Ice is literally melting.
Forcing the drivers to risk it all Keep the truck moving.
in record time.
Yeah.
Over disintegrating roads and rapidly thinning ice.
We're off to run the Alberta Death Roads.
To keep the companies and communities alive.
Oh no! Ahhh.
The truckers may have finally Fuck! met their match.
Pretty rough.
Holy fuck! We just lost the fucking truck.
This season a weather event called El Niño has thrown the industry into chaos.
There's a serious threat that these communities aren't gonna get all their supplies and all the goods they need.
We're looking at total devastation.
El Niño is a band of warm water that develops in the Pacific Ocean that disrupts weather patterns throughout the globe.
Causing crop decimating droughts and violent typhoons.
And in the north warm temperatures spell disaster for the ice road truckers.
At Polar headquarters in Winnipeg It's like spring out here.
Hard to believe in February you're standing in a puddle of water fixing trailers, eh.
Owner, Mark Kohaykewych is already feeling the heat from the warm season.
We would normally, at this time last year, had probably close to a hundred loads out.
I've got loads piling up in my yard.
Customers are freaking, they're yelling.
The ice roads aren't freezing and hundreds of vital loads could go undelivered.
Hey, I'm just checking up on that winter road.
Yep.
Still not for awhile.
Okay, no, I got a lot to get in there so we're, we're starting to panic.
This is one of the first times that I'm faced with a situation where we may not get all the loads into the communities.
Building supplies may not get in, fuel may not get in, food may not get in.
May not open at all.
Oh man.
They rely on us to get these essential goods in.
They need us and then we need them to survive too.
If you hear anything let me know.
Thanks.
Bye-bye.
Right now if you were to ask me how we're going to do it I don't have a plan.
The company is gearing up for a battle against Mother Nature.
And down the road Polar's rivals, Darrell Ward and Lisa Kelly, are also feeling El Niño's wrath.
I think most of these roads over here are closed.
We're gonna have to hunt down some loads this season.
Do they have a lot of loads going out there though? They're just not open? Well, I think there's a lot of loads to go but no roads.
Last year, the former Rocky Mountain log hauler This is a deadly job, deadly job.
and the Alaskan trucking icon, Ugh.
Yeah! formed their own business.
- Partners.
- Nice.
And despite challenge Ahh! Oh my gosh! after challenge Oh, what am I doing out here.
Have I lost my fucking mind? in the end they made their mark.
We have the power.
Oh, we do.
We have the power.
But this season the weather's already threatening to sink their new company.
I don't know what it's like up here.
I haven't had any report on it.
That one's closed.
That one's closed? With this being a really short season that's going to limit how many loads we're gonna be able to haul.
That could break a company.
We need to keep this company afloat, and scavenge all the loads that we can find.
We might end up not coming out ahead or even breaking even, and then there would be no more company.
As trucks sit idle a welcome cold front finally moves in.
This is what it's all about right here, baby.
Oh, yeah boy.
And Polar's the first to strike, unleashing their top dog, Todd Dewey.
There's just so many factors I love about ice road trucking.
You know, you can feel the ice flexing as you get on there.
How far the cracks spreading apart.
Is there water coming up? Is this it? It's like a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
Hey Todd, man, what's happening? Mark, what's up, bud? Going up to Pikangikum, Ontario.
That road literally just opened ten minutes ago.
Oh wow.
Take uh, take a load of construction supplies.
It's got a lot of concrete on it so she is gonna be heavy.
You're gonna get some challenges out there for sure - cause she just opened up.
- Oh yeah.
That ice is gonna pop for sure.
We got a window, we're not sure how big it is.
I mean, the weather is good for us today but she's supposed to get warm again so let's get whatever we can in right now while the weather's like this, okay? All right I'll push straight through - till I get in there, buddy.
- Thanks, man.
All right, Mark.
Here we go.
Polar's maiden voyage is a 200 mile trek to remote Pikangikum.
A brief cold spell has provided a short window for Todd to reach the community.
But the ten mile lake crossing, one of the longest and most dangerous in Ontario, has just frozen.
Hauling over 25 tons of construction supplies, Todd will be the first to test it.
This is the first time ever out of all these years of coming up here that I've ever seen open running water all over the place.
I have never seen that ever at the beginning of the season.
So I'm a little nervous.
It feels like it's the end of the season with the warm temperatures we're having.
It's just crazy.
It's very vital to get these loads in the communities so they can survive, but we're putting our lives at risk trying to get these loads into the community and with the temperatures fluctuating like they have been, I don't want to think about what would happen if one of us went through.
A lot of stress, man, a lot of stress this year.
There is the ice.
I'm definitely gonna get out of the truck.
I wanna go down walk on the ice, I want to check it out, just visually get to see it, mentally prepare myself.
Okay.
This is the lake right here.
This is the ice.
So what happens is you get big cracks underneath this ice.
The snow covers up the cracks and you can't see where the cracks are.
You know, I'm a family man, and I love my wife and I love my kids.
And I could never, if ever possibly imagine falling through the ice and one of my crew members or Mark or somebody having to call my wife and say, "Hey, you know" that really tugs on ya.
It's just crazy out here this year.
Well, let's be the first truck across the ice.
Here we go.
I wanna get my frickin' door open for one thing.
It is a cracking too, boy, you can hear it popping.
In northern Ontario Well, let's be the first truck across the ice.
Todd Dewey braves the first open ice crossing of the season.
Here we go.
I wanna get my frickin' door open for one thing.
It is cracking too, boy.
You can hear it popping.
An open door provides a quick escape route in case disaster strikes over the ten mile crossing.
The thing about this water is too, it's a couple hundred feet deep.
The truck goes through it's going to the bottom like a freakin' lead weight.
As fast as it can go and you're going with it.
Lake ice flexes under the weight of the truck causing a pressure wave of water, that's powerful enough to burst through the thinning ice.
Usually the ice is a good 36 inches and they want it 33 to 36 inches thick.
Right now we're crossing it in anywhere between That is a huge difference.
Oh my gosh, those cracks are loud.
Yeah, cause the ice is moving.
The ice is actually moving and it's cracking.
You can feel it rocking like a frickin' boat, man.
Come on, good Lord, stick with me just a little bit longer.
Get me across this ice.
Oh, those are some loud pops.
I can see the community now, but I'm not off the ice yet.
Come on, you son of a bitch, I am so close.
Oh, we're right there, baby! About ready to roll off.
Come on, baby, come on, baby.
Woo! Yes! Off the ice.
Son of a bitch.
Back on solid ground My destination.
This is it.
Got it into the little community Pikangikum.
Conquered a badass ice crossing this time.
I mean a badass ice crossing.
Todd comes through big for the small community.
Finally.
Gosh, dang it! I can shake it off and relax a little bit.
So I'll go find my site boss guy and see where he wants me to put the load at.
We really strive to get everybody up here what they need by the end of the ice season and we're not really having one this year and that's pretty spooky.
So we gotta a lot of miles to do.
Let's hit the road.
Let's get out of here.
As Polar locks in the first delivery of the season back in Winnipeg Garden Hill, huh? So how long is that road gonna be open? That short, huh.
The competition's not backing down.
You gotta get it in there I can pull it off.
Last year we went toe to toe with Polar.
We took a big bite of the apple.
This year we're gonna devour the apple.
Yep, I'll do that.
Yeah, I'll leave right now.
The young company lands a valuable new contract to Garden Hill.
But to get to the remote community Darrell will have to survive nearly 400 miles of brutal winter road.
I'm headed to Garden Hill with a load of supplies.
Hopefully, I can run straight in, get unloaded, get turn around get right back out there without any issues.
I like a nice clean run.
Nice clean runs are difficult to do on these roads.
The village is in desperate need of the load of food and medical supplies.
But the warm weather is making the rugged trail even more difficult to navigate.
These roads are in pretty rough shape this year.
You can see where they're gonna fall apart.
Ooh.
Hang on.
Ohh.
They're rough.
There's definitely rough spots in 'em.
You got places where there's already dirt showing and as soon as the sun hits it it'll start deteriorating in a hurry.
The winter roads are made of hard packed snow over frozen swampland called muskeg.
But El Niño's warm temperatures are melting it fast.
Exposing rocks and uneven divots making for an painfully rough ride.
Pretty warm out.
The road's icy, slippery.
Whoa.
You can see the shine on the road, that's how slick it is.
The road's all shiny, you know, sun's beating down on it.
See that's pretty slick right there, load's sliding around.
End up over in the rhubarb if you're not careful.
About ten kilometers up there's a corner here and gets just slicker than shit.
Couple years ago old Alex jack knifed there and totaled his truck.
Slick roads mean no traction and over the years has caused drivers to crash especially around corners.
We're done.
You get these corners like this-- a little bit out-sloped and they're definitely slick.
She's sliding around a little bit.
Whoa! On the road to Garden Hill Yeah, she's sliding around a little bit.
Darrell Ward's on a collision course.
Whoa! That was fucking close.
It was real fucking close.
Darrell's seen it all in his decades behind the wheel.
I've built the pipelines across this country.
I've worked in the oil fields in North Dakota.
There's nobody better.
And he's never backed down from a challenge.
Oh shit! From Alaska's Dalton highway Yeah, this is Alaska, baby! to Canada's winter roads.
Beware of potholes, soft shoulders, washboards and drop-offs.
Perfect.
To starting his own business.
Yeah, I was driving for Polar.
I ain't anymore.
There's a lot of loads up for grabs.
I might as well grab 'em.
But he's never faced a challenge like this season.
The roads are goin' to shit this year.
The roads-there is not enough snow, there's no, no frost, no, you know, nothing's froze good.
Shoulders of the roads are soft.
Yeah, that was definitely a close call.
Be on my mind most of the day.
I don't like close calls.
While Darrell hammers down only a 100 miles back Here's the start of my long, long, long, long journey.
See everything that I'm driving is newly open.
That means like, well, it's good enough.
Better go for it.
Business partner, Lisa Kelly, secured the second half of the Garden Hill contract.
A mammoth 20 ton loader that could bring a big pay day to start the season for the young company.
It's been a really warm winter.
Good ole El Niño decided to mess this winter up for everybody.
That's why we need to figure out how to get as many loads as possible as quickly as possible so we can break even or come out a little ahead.
Wouldn't that be swell? Uh.
The ride is bumpy.
They were right about it being all tore up.
When you got fresh snow over all the bumps, I can't really see where the bumps are.
Whoa! Man, I'm seriously like gonna get the wind knocked out of me from this.
The hidden bumps under the snow are giving Lisa a surprise at every turn.
But now You gotta be kidding me.
she'll have to tangle with a 15 percent grade hill and the loader's high centered weight won't be doing her any favors.
Come on.
Good grief.
Don't do this to me, you damn truck.
Ah.
Gonna chain up now.
The truck doesn't have enough traction to pull the heavy load up the incline.
Stupid hill.
Putting my chains on.
So she's gotta throw on tire chains and hope it's enough to get to the top.
This hill is slippery and then there's a corner at the bottom.
And when there's a corner at the bottom you can't get the run for it.
Here we go.
See if I can't get it to grind a little bit here.
If she can't make it the load ain't getting delivered.
Dammit.
Dammit.
Still not enough.
What a freakin' complete disaster.
On the road to Garden Hill Dammit.
Still not enough.
What a freakin' complete disaster.
Lisa Kelly is facing an uphill battle with her first haul of the year.
I'm positive that if I don't make it this time I won't make it at all.
Going back all the way to Kansas and try this again.
So as a last ditch option she's backing down the hill and giving it all she's got.
Getting one heck of a run too.
I think I'm gonna go for it here.
I'm just gonna jam it in gear and grab gears as fast as I as can grab them here.
This is so sharp.
Oh my gosh.
Oh no.
Just running for the hill.
Made it farther than I did but I'm not at the top yet.
Holy crap.
Okay, I'm there.
Lisa conquers the steep grade.
That was only a lot scary.
Finally on the move.
But she's still got over a hundred miles of disintegrating winter roads ahead of her.
From here we're gonna trounce along until we get to our destination only, only like five hours behind schedule now.
Back in Winnipeg All right, boys, let's check this fucking thing out.
Another road's just opened.
So Polar's enlisting company wild card, Art Burke, onto the battlefield.
I don't where you play cards, eh, but in my world the wild card's the best card in the deck.
I can be anything I want.
I can be a king or a joker, anything I like depending on the game, right? So the wild card's actually the best card in the deck.
Am I wrong? Three years ago Art got off to a rocky start on the winter roads.
Fucking shit.
Yeah, there that's really slippery, eh.
Who's your boss? Who do you work for? Where do you get the money from? That's right, you.
End of story.
And had a falling out with his first boss.
I might be telling them to go fuck themselves.
You guys go fuck yourselves.
Come on, baby! But he made a name for himself at Polar as an unpredictable Oh my God, we just tore the bumper off this fucking truck.
unconventional yet always reliable driver.
You brought in the tie breaker load.
That's right too, eh.
- Art, buddy.
- How are you doing, ol' son? How is it going? Good to see you, buddy.
- Good to see you, b'y.
- You ready to rock 'n' roll? All ready to roll, buddy.
- Hitting Wasagamack.
- Right on.
- There's your paperwork.
- Cool.
Okay, you're heading out south road.
I hear the roads are bad.
Yeah, the roads are really bad.
So be careful.
We got a short season.
It's-it's bad.
Road just opened and we don't know how long it's gonna stay open for - so don't waste any time.
- Okay, buddy.
'Kay bud.
Save travels.
See you later.
Well, here it is day one, getting the hell outta here.
That El Niño or whatever the fuck they call it is up there.
It's not good for us at all.
And now the fun begins.
Eh.
Art's mission, to the remote village of Wasagamack and he'll be the first to brave the rugged 400 mile trail this winter.
Heading in the boonies now, b'y.
Well, here we go for another season.
Another shit-kicking in the truck.
Hope the fuck we don't fucking spin out there.
Fucking Christ.
The road is getting a little rougher here, I'm noticin'.
Getting a little hilly and a little rougher.
Isn't this fun? Matter of fact, put a little air in my seat to make myself a little higher here.
I like to be high, eh.
Not near as much as I did years ago.
Different type of high.
Well, so far so good here.
Fucking shit! I hit my fucking head on that fucking thing.
That was a good smash, let me fucking tell ya.
Lower this fucking seat a little bit, I'll try that action.
The rough road's giving Art a beating in the cab.
I'm worried about losing them two by four's.
And back on the trailer his valuable load of lumber is hanging on by a thread.
It's starting to get a little bit loose, eh.
Big rush to get this There's a big rush to get this stuff in here.
As soon as the road opened somebody's gotta be there to grab that and get on it because you never know when the roads might close.
We gotta get as much stuff into these people as we can because they need their stuff and this is the only way to do it.
It's kind of a no fool around kick-ass job, eh.
What the fuck was that noise out there? So I know it's moving.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
There's something going on back there.
I'm gonna have to get around the turn to get it straightened out and get a better look at it.
Oh, my fucking--! On the distant trail of Wasagamack What the fuck was that noise out there? the rough road is wreaking havoc on Art Burks first haul of the season.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
There's something going on back there.
I'm gonna have to get around the turn to get it straightened out and get a better look at it.
Oh, my fucking--! Holy mercy for fuck I wanna fucking smash it.
I bet you that took the fucking meat off her.
I'm gonna pull this sucker over here and have a look at that before something nuts happens, eh.
Ah, for fuck's sake.
See how these are starting to slide out, eh.
Eventually they'll work their way right friggin' out.
The ragged terrain is causing the 25 ton load of lumber to violently shift.
And now it's in danger of tumbling off the trailer and spilling all over the road.
If they keep sliding out, sliding out, sliding out, sliding out, I don't have fucking all day to fix 'em.
so I'm gonna try this thing.
We're gonna improvise here today.
So we're gonna tie that like that.
Miles from heavy machinery to help adjust the cargo, Art's got just one strap to secure the loose lumber.
My hands are getting a little chilly, I'll tell ya that.
Not to mention me fucking ears are gonna drop off any minute.
What the fuck am I gonna do though.
It's not workin' real well, b'y.
Well, well, well, well, well, well, well.
I haven't got enough to tie it on this end.
The strap and Art's plan are coming up short.
Yeah, see I need something to hold that up like that so that I can ratchet the fucking thing, eh? I ain't done yet, b'y.
So Art will have to use a little ice roads ingenuity to get the job done.
I don't know what the fuck this has got to do with anything, but it seems to work.
And that's one of his specialties.
I might be able to jam that on the other end and at least make circulation.
Supposed to be a cover on this thing, eh.
I'm not a mechanic, right? And I don't pretend to be one.
But I know how to improvise.
Like I said I never did this before, b'y.
I don't know if this is gonna work but I like to get that tight.
My plan is to clamp them vice grips on the bottom of that, see if I can reef on it.
Might come right out I don't know.
But it might stay.
Using a vice grip, a tool used mostly for ratcheting down nuts and bolts, Art will try to secure the strap and hope it's enough to keep the load locked down.
That's not too bad, b'y.
Listen to that.
It's a long ways from a fucking fiddle string but it certainly gonna help.
Not bad.
What I think of the odds about that being there at the end? Ah, fuck it, we'll see what happens.
Well My gadget works.
So far, eh.
With the quick fix in place, Art will tempt fate for the next 80 miles over the rockiest stretch of the entire trail.
Well, we just jimmied that sort of speak.
It'll pull down on them two by fours anyway for a little while.
Might stay two minutes, might stay all the way in there.
I don't know.
I mean, it might bust and fall off yet.
Anything can happen, eh.
As Art soldiers on, deep in the Manitoba wilderness Oh fuck.
I've run this road a lot of times in the past.
This is my first run back-- Ohhh! This is my first run in here this year and look at this, this road's already falling apart.
Darrell Ward's closing in on Garden Hill trying to deliver the first half of a valuable new contract.
This road's rougher than shit.
Good thing I'm not hauling eggs.
I'd have scrambled eggs if I did.
But the blistering sun has made the final 20 miles the toughest of the journey.
Holy fuck, I'm doing I'm doing 20 kilometers an hour and it's rough, it's rough.
Oh yeah.
It's kinda like riding a bull in the rodeo.
I had a couple of girlfriends like this.
It was a rough ride.
I'm gonna ride these bumps.
Finally Right on.
I'm just rolling into Garden Hill.
I'm gonna pull up here where I've off-loaded in the past and, uh, see if this is where they want it.
Darrell makes it to the tiny village.
Let's get rid of this load.
And despite the challenges of the warm season, the young company's delivered their first load of the year.
It's really hard being a small company on the winter roads.
You have to deliver your loads on time.
I depend on Lisa, Lisa depends on me and the community depends on the both of us.
Night falls on the winter roads.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Almost there.
And Darrell's business partner, Lisa Kelly, also arrives at the distant community.
Just got to Garden Hill.
I made it.
Coming through big for the company with the second half of the contract.
They were worried I was gonna be late but I think they're just happy that they get their stuff.
It is actually a concern that we get these loads to these people cause there just might not be a big enough window.
And the communities having their supplies is what really counts and what really matters.
I mean, it'd be great if we come out ahead, but what matters is that they have what they need before they go into summer.
Batta-boom.
I'm outta here.
In the Manitoba back country We're getting close, b'y.
Art Burke's pushing down the final few brutal miles to Wasagamack.
I'll be glad when we get there.
Been gettin' the shit kicked out of me now since seven o'clock this morning.
It's all right when I get used to it but she been a rough road, eh.
And thanks to his jerry rig, the 25 tons of lumber is still holding on.
She's starting to get a little bit loose, eh.
For now.
We're almost where we're going anyway, I think we're gonna be fine.
Finally, after a grueling two-day run Well, we made it to Wasagamack, b'y.
Art reaches his destination.
Our first load of the season.
I feel like somebody threw me in the dryer and put in about five bucks.
Well, my jigger randy made it here, b'y.
And it stayed, and it stayed tight and it kept that wood from falling off.
The wild card proved to be an ace as his quick fix kept the load secure and in the end, he came through for the remote village.
It was a good day.
Little things happen, man.
It was a good day.
We're here.
That's the main thing.
And we're all together and we made it.
That's what it's all about.
While the haul may have made it Away we go again.
Art will still have to survive the 400 mile trip back over a rapidly deteriorating road.
All this banging and fucking crashing, if you're not used to it it can definitely fuck you up.
Nine hours of this, eh b'y? Wanna say fuck it.
Hang on here.
Whoa! No, no, no, no, no, no! Oh my God, my God, my God.
How in the fuck am I gonna get out of this? This season Ten years on the ice has all led to this.
Yee-ha! Two companies We are absolutely behind the eight ball.
in a desperate battle against Mother Nature.
Look at the ice cracking right there.
What the fuck! New hopefuls emerge.
I'm gonna see if I can bring these communities the relief they need.
And a legend returns.
The temperature is too warm.
It'll be a very challenging season.
As the ice road truckers face a meltdown The sun is just slicking the hills up.
like never before.
Oh my fucking--! Aggh.
Treacherous son of a bitch.
And nothing's off limits.
The epic journey begins-- Darrell Ward and Mark.
This is gonna be interesting.
Fuck! Ah! I'm losing blood fast, guys.
Ahh!! It is not my-- Isn't this wonderful?