All language subtitles for rise_of_the_machines_s01e10_ice_monster

To keep these avalanche -prone mountains
safe.

We've just had a problem, Houston.

The piston bully polar snowcat.

The ultimate snow and ice hauling
monster.

If we make a mistake, somebody's going
to die from that.

Blowing this half a million dollar beast
apart.

We'll discover its technological
secrets.

From super tough lightweight snow
tracks.

To 25 ,000 volt xenon headlights.

that turn night into day will reveal how
this

extraordinary ice -crawling monster
evolved to rise above all other

machines.

Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort, British
Columbia.

site of the 2010 Winter Olympics and
premier destination for two million

and snowboarders a year.

The resort's peaks soar over 2 ,000
meters high.

With a mammoth 8 ,000 acres of terrain,
it is North America's largest ski range.

But high in the mountains, with around
27 million metric tons of snow falling

it every year,

This winter wonderland can quickly turn
into a danger zone, with avalanches and

icy slopes posing a deadly threat.

No trail at Whistler can open to the
public until it's completely safe and

snow is sculpted into the perfect skiing
surface.

This challenge falls to snow grooming
manager Stan Kelly.

How are you doing today?

Stan heads up the resort's elite crew of
snow haulers.

We're charged with maintaining all the
slopes and not having any avalanche

concerns for our guests.

We move the snow around and cover over
all the rocks and fill in the holes and

then people can ski on top of it.

We'll be working really hard this week.

Hey, how's the crew doing?

His team is gearing up to prepare the 8
,000 acre site.

for the biggest weekend of the year.

Is anybody available to work any extra
shifts?

If you give me a day's notice, I can.

To do this, he needs the help of a
remarkable machine.

Ten meters long and weighing in at 11
metric tons, the Piston Bully 600 Polar

Snowcat, constructed from more than 10
,000 parts.

She's one of the most advanced snow
-hauling machines ever built.

Steel -tipped aluminum tracks spread 11
metric tons of muscle across the snow.

Ford gas -powered 25 ,000 -volt
headlights blaze a path through even the

thickest blizzards.

And a 13 -liter, 450 -horsepower diesel
engine

conquers the steepest slopes.

All of these features work together to
make this snow and ice hauler the

toughest crawler on the mountain.

This is my snowcat. This is what I run
on Whistler Mountain. It makes

everybody's life easier.

Skiers, snowboarders, everybody loves
it.

With over 20 years on the job, Steve
Dewar is one of the most experienced

drivers on the mountain.

All right, man, we're good to go.

Whistler runs a fleet of 39 piston
bullies. They are the ultimate multi

Operators like Steve can use them to
shovel snow, crush ice, and manicure

pieces, transforming danger zones into
the perfect downhill run, a process

as grooming.

This is my office.

It's got a beautiful view.

Every office is a corner office.

Being out here in this is what I love
the most, really.

It's spectacular.

Top of the world, playing with 500
horsepower, having fun.

It's a good job.

Steve sets off to the first destination
on his shift.

He's got a tough week ahead.

It's the opening of a new season.

Five days from now, around 20 ,000
visitors will descend on the mountain.

A recent storm has dumped 75 centimeters
of snow on the site.

It's up to Steve and the team to shift
this snow and make every piece safe in

time for the skier's arrival.

There's going to be lots of people out,
and they're going to want to do some

skiing. We're not just rooming it for a
couple of people. We're rooming it for

thousands of people.

Before Steve and his team can get to
work on the mountaintop, they must check

the avalanche forecast.

Avalanches kill more than 40 people a
year across North America.

It's up to Anton Horvath and his team of
ski patrollers to make sure that the

snowpack at Whistler is completely
stable.

Ready to listen up, guys? Let's rock and
roll.

The height of snow is now 179
centimeters.

Freezing levels today, 2 ,700 meters.

Ski patrol must inspect the mountain
before anyone accesses it.

It's pretty stable.

Yeah, 10 -4. Sounds good.

Steve gets the all clear for his first
location.

I have a lot of faith in our ski patrol
brethren that they've done their job

really well.

He's approaching the saddle, one of the
highest, most exposed runs on the

mountain.

Overnight, wind has blown the heavy
snowfall, creating drifts of deep

Steve's task is to carve and compact the
snow on this slope.

to make it safe to ski.

Once we get a lot of snow, it becomes
unsafe.

Our job as snowcat operators is to go
out and flatten them down.

Steve reaches the crest of the saddle,
high in the alpine zone at over 2 ,000

meters. This steep trail is a tough test
for both man and machine.

Attention all Whistler Mountain radios,
winch cat on saddle last chance.

There's the odd occasion where the
machine wants to slide off sideways and

to take evasive action.

Steve must drive head first down this 40
degree slope to groom the snow.

If he loses grip, he could plummet
straight to the bottom.

We drive into a steep section of a run
and you're going to slide toboggan out

control.

There's our winch tower.

I've just got to hook us up.

Steve hooks his machine to a three meter
tall tower.

anchored deep into the bedrock.

All right, let's rip it up.

To lower him down the mountain without
skidding out of control, he depends on

ingenious winch that's built into this
ice crawler.

The winch acts as a safety system to
stop Steve from sliding down the icy

Its design was inspired by ancient Greek
sailors.

Over 2 ,000 years ago, merchant ships in
the Mediterranean

Sea grew so large that the crew could no
longer lift their enormous stone

anchors.

So sailors built rotating winch drums on
deck and wrapped the anchor ropes

around them.

Now, just two men could raise huge
weights from even the greatest depth.

The ice crawler uses this idea to anchor
itself on the slopes.

Hydraulic motors in its winch give it
the pulling power of over 50 sailors.

The anchor wire is over a kilometer long
and could hold 10 family cars.

Steve uses this winch to haul him up and
down the steepest slopes without fear

of falling.

As the slope gets steeper, the tension
on the winch cable increases.

Right now the cable's paying out behind
us.

It's holding us back.

When we're grooming steep runs like this
paddle here, the rope keeps the cat

from sliding out of control on the way
down.

Steve compacts the powdery snow as he
descends to the bottom of the slope.

Now he needs the full power of the winch
to haul him back up again.

The cable failure here would be his
worst nightmare.

This here is the steepest part of the
run.

Anything can happen.

The ice crawler has a super smart
invention hidden under its hood that

spot any problem before it's too late.

The machine has a sensor that scans the
cable for tiny weaknesses.

Two plastic plates press on the wire as
it runs.

Even a single broken strand makes the
plates flex together, triggering a

switch which sets off an alarm so that
Steve can shut down this machine

and replace the cable before disaster
strikes.

This cat is a winch cat, and it's
nothing without its rope.

To make sure the cables and sensors are
working perfectly, A team of 24

mechanics inspects each ice crawler
every day here at Whistler's maintenance

shop.

There's another one coming in for a bit
of repair.

In the few hours we have with the
machinery, we'll do all the maintenance

repairs needed.

Even with clever technology and perfect
maintenance, the ice crawler's cable is

never 100 % fail safe.

Hey, Benny. How was your night last
night?

This winch wire on another crawler...

failed while it was in service last
night.

I heard we had a broken winch cable.

It's kind of ugly.

See how it tore it apart there?

Oh, yeah.

The machine's cable sensors only detect
breaks that the rope passes through

them.

Exposed on the mountain, there's a risk
the wire can catch and snap on a sharp

rock. It obviously ripped it apart, and
then it tore it through the whole winch.

Yeah, man, I hate to see that. I don't
like to see these cables breaking. You

never know what could happen, right?
What slope he's on.

Luckily, this time, the driver wasn't
hurt.

Keeping these cables in top condition,
it's critical to give Steve a fighting

chance on these steep ascents.

He's making good progress.

But 200 meters from the top of the
slope, he's about to encounter big

The cables, it's your lifeline.

High in the mountains of Whistler
Blackcomb Ski Resort, British Columbia,

elite team of snow haulers is up against
it, preparing the slopes for the

opening weekend of the season.

Big day. It's going to be a big weekend.
Busy.

Ice crawler driver Steve is halfway up
one of the highest trails on the

mountain. The saddle.

And he's in trouble.

I see so many... Yeah,

we've just had a problem, Houston.

Thankfully, the winch cable is intact.

But Steve still needs to find the cause
of the breakdown.

Maybe call for a mechanic in a minute.

His engine appears to have lost almost
all power, leaving him stranded on the

mountain.

Any fleet maintenance radio from Steve?

Yeah, I won't want to drive his sled up
there, Link.

10 -4, I'll get the boom out back and
see if I can't get something up.

Steve's location is so inaccessible that
the maintenance crew can't reach him.

We're on such a steep pitch here, we
can't get here to us, do we?

We've got no choice but to limp our feet
to the top.

With reduced engine power, it's down to
his winch cable to pull him back up to

the top of the hill.

Let's see how we go.

We're going to be a little challenged
here to get out.

The cable is now under extreme strain.

It's the steepest part of the run that
we're on right now.

And the machine is laboring hard to get
us up there.

Only yesterday...

A cable like this on another machine
failed while out on the mountain.

We're barely making it out of here.

It's a slow crawl up to the summit where
the mechanics are waiting.

This is the final clutch moment.

We're right at the top now.

A little worried about making the last
pull here.

I can see the mechanics in the blue.

Oh, we've made it. I think we're at the
top.

I'm so relieved to reach the top here.

I was sweating a little bit there.

I don't sweat very often.

Mechanics are top -notch. They're going
to have this thing buttoned up in no

time. It's a quick diagnosis.

The engine's turbocharger has failed.

It supplies the airflow to the engine.
Without that, no power.

There's your blown clamp.

Easy fix.

I like those ones.

We're back online in how long was that?

Five minutes?

Steve Snowcat is back in business.

But he still had 60 acres of the site
left to groom.

And things are about to get a whole lot
harder.

See, the night is closing in. What are
we at?

20 to 5 and the sun is almost fully
down.

Things change a bit when the sun goes
down.

Your world gets a lot smaller.

Your world all of a sudden goes from
unlimited visibility to only as far as

lights will light the way.

Working on the edge of a sheer cliff
with just a few meters of visibility,

One false move, and Steve and his
machine could plummet off an icy 300

precipice.

He relies on an ingenious invention
built into his ice crawler that allows

to work into the night without fear of
tumbling off a cliff.

Super bright headlights.

Tucked into the roof of the cab are four
transformers.

Each generates 25 ,000 volts.

Feeding the machine's headlights.

Where a powerful force of nature
explodes.

It's like lightning.

Thunderclouds send out bright tentacles
of highly charged air molecules.

Where they touch the ground.

Lightning strikes.

The ice crawler's headlights use the
same principle.

Like the air in a thundercloud, its
light bulbs contain clouds of highly

xenon gas at 25 times the pressure of a
car tire.

Two tungsten electrodes hold a brilliant
arc of miniature lightning, half as hot

as the surface of the sun.

Four of these bulbs give the ice crawler
blazing headlights that turn night.

And today... We've got so many lights on
these snow cats. It's phenomenal.

It's phenomenal, the technology that
goes into them.

The xenons being the really bright ones,
they can give you a headache. They're

so bright.

Thanks to her powerful xenon headlights,
Steve's ice crawler can scale the

dangerous mountain terrain right into
the night.

Day two, 6 a .m.

Whistler's ski patrol crew head out to
conduct their routine avalanche control

on Little Whistler Peak, a 2 ,100 -meter
ridge sitting right above a skiing area

known as Glacier Bowl.

On average, 10 people a year are killed
by avalanches in the mountains of

British Columbia.

Anton Horvath needs to make sure that
snow on this mountaintop won't endanger

the lives of skiers below.

The biggest hazard that we have right
now is cornice fall.

So we have an overhanging cornice here
that we want to make sure it's stable.

Cornices are massive ledges of snow that
collect on the top of ridges during a

snowstorm.

Weighing up to three metric tons, if
they give way, they could trigger an

avalanche. Okay, so the cornice is below
us here somewhere. So if you head over

there, you can spot me from a good
vantage point.

To stop the cornices from collapsing
unexpectedly, Anton's team must remove

built -up snow before the skiers arrive,
using dynamite.

It has a detonation rate of around 20
,000 feet per second.

I'll ignite the shot, and at that point
it'll detonate two and a half minutes

after ignition.

Okay, good, right there.

Stop. And then I tie it onto a ski pole
or something and I retreat to a safe

location.

The blast sends three metric tons of
loose snow cascading down into the

bowl.

That was an effective shot.

It took out some fairly large cornish
chunk, the size of small cars.

And now it doesn't pose a danger anymore
to any skiers.

Whistler Alpine Office from Anton.

Go ahead, Anton.

You have AC clearance all zone?

For AC clearance all zone, thanks.

It's now up to snow groomer Steve to
shift the detonated chunks of snow and

from the blast to make a smooth surface
for the skiers.

He sets off for Anton's avalanche zone.

Up above us here are many avalanche
paths.

To make it to the debris -sided glacier
bowl, Steve must drive along a line of

treacherous mountain paths, including a
precarious stretch known as Pekus

Traverse.

Attention all radios, snowcat up Pekus
Traverse.

The drop we've got here is substantial.

The edge of the run pretty much cliffs
out below us.

With a sheer cliff on one side...

This narrow ledge tests the nerves of
even seasoned drivers like Steve.

The road narrows up tremendously here.
It's just wider than a snowcat.

A few years back, a midnight shift
operator was driving up here, and the

above gave way and swept the snowcat off
the road. Actually, the cat hit some

rocks and whatnot and came to a stop,
but the avalanche came through the back

window. All in all, it was quite spooky.

Fortunately, that driver escaped with
just minor injuries.

Steve's ice crawler has a special design
that protects him from avalanche

impacts.

Hidden under the housing of the cab are
a puncture -proof windshield and a roll

cage made from high -strength steel
tubes.

Together, they can withstand the impact
of 15 metric tons of snow, keeping Steve

safe inside the cab.

Even if the crawler takes an icy tumble.

It's crucial to getting this job done
safely.

The potential for outlandish here is
pretty good.

Steve creeps along the narrow alpine
path and makes it to the mountain of

blocks.

Yeah, Cornish, they bombed, let down a
good patch of snow, and we've got to get

it out of the way and have the run
groomed out for public to ski on.

Steve's on track to clear this zone
today, but only if these good weather

conditions hold.

These are the mountains, and the weather
can change fast.

We can go to whiteout in moments, and
you feel quite safe in here until

something like that happens.

An elite team of ski patrollers and snow
haulers race to prepare the slopes in

time for the season's big opening at
Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort, British

Columbia.

Snowcat driver Steve Dewar works fast to
clear detonated blocks of snow and ice

from the glacier bowl.

There's just four days to go until
Whistler's busiest weekend of the year.

As you can see, there's a good pile of
debris in front of us. The snow is

different than fresh snow. It's been
sitting in a cornice for a couple of

It's getting hard. It's sometimes like
concrete.

Fortunately for Steve, the ice crawler
has an ingenious propulsion system that

thrusts her through every type of snow
imaginable.

Super lightweight tracks stretch right
under her calf.

They let the ice crawler float on snow
using a trick borrowed from nature.

To escape predators, the snowshoe hare
has evolved extreme feet,

almost as big as a human hand, and
covered in thick fur.

They give the bunny supreme traction.

for a quick getaway on even the
fluffiest snow.

The ice crawler takes this idea to the
extreme.

The edges of its super lightweight
aluminum tracks are made from hardened

for ultimate grip.

They spread the weight of the 11 metric
ton machine across 13 square meters of

snow, cutting the pressure on the snow
to less than a human foot.

making the ice crawler the ultimate all
-terrain vehicle.

Very effective in loose snow and wet
snow, all conditions.

They'll throw this cat anywhere.

It's down to the mechanics in Whistler's
workshop to make sure that the tracks

on every ice crawler are fit for a night
on the mountain.

It's just arrived now. It's got a couple
of issues.

Our bar is broken for the track, so we
need to get that sorted before it can go

over. If not, we could have a breakdown
tonight on the hill.

These tracks have taken a little bit of
a beating. They've been running over

rocks and that, so the bar is busted up.

We'll probably change at least 100 of
these a year.

We've got about an hour now to get all
this done, so we're going to get going.

She's good to go, just in time.

Gonna go out and groom the slopes
tonight.

It's regular track repairs like this
that help Steve make headway in the icy

snow.

Right now, the weather is on his side,
too.

But Steve knows that at Whistler, a
winter storm can appear within minutes.

Can go from...

Beautiful scenery like this to being
like driving around in a ping pong ball

where you can't see your hand in front
of your face.

As day turns to night on this exposed
slope, he must always be prepared for

worst. We deal with winds in excess of
100 kilometers an hour regularly.

I personally have been in storms over
160.

The storms can last days if not for a
week.

To stop the fuel in Steve's machine from
freezing and plunging nighttime

temperatures, the ice crawler has
special technology hidden beneath her

Her power source is a monstrous six
-cylinder, 455 -horsepower

diesel engine.

Frozen fuel crystals would choke this
beating heart.

So sitting above the fuel filter,

are disks of high -resistance metal,
heated to over 50 degrees.

They stop the diesel from freezing and
keep the engine running,

even at extremely cold temperatures.

Right now, Steve is dealing with extreme
weather of a different kind.

This year, Whistler has been
experiencing unseasonably high

So despite the recent snowstorm, snow
levels across the resort are still lower

than normal.

These unusual conditions are creating a
new danger.

Exposed rocks.

The lower the snow, the harder it is to
cover the rock.

Right now, they're our biggest hazard.

I'm taking a bit of a risk, driving
quickly here.

If we hit a rock, we'd stop pretty fast,
possibly break something, but we're in

a bit of a hurry.

On this remote mountaintop in the dead
of night, an encounter with a rock at

speed could end in disaster.

A momentary lapse of concentration out
here, and you'll pay for it.

At North America's biggest ski resort,
Whistler Blackcomb, snow groomer Steve

Durer and his team race to prepare the
site for the opening weekend.

In three days, 20 ,000 skiers are
expected to arrive.

The slopes must be ready.

Steve's now hauling snow and ice from a
trail called Harmony Ridge.

unusually high temperatures are exposing
large areas of rock here.

The pressure's on snow grooming manager
Stan Kelly to decide if this slope is

safe for skiers.

The depth of snow, it's pretty thin,
just over a foot, eight inches of snow.

definitely it can be a problem for
skiers because if the rock starts to get

exposed, they can hook an edge on a
rock.

And then tumble down this pitch, and as
you can see, it's a pretty long, steep

pitch. We're going to have to winch some
snow back up here.

Stan calls in Steve to get to work on
this slope.

More and more rocks seem to keep showing
up.

It's a big hazard to skiers,
snowboarders, and staff alike.

To scoop enough snow to cover the rocks,
he uses a crucial device bolted onto

the snout of his extraordinary machine.

The ice crawler can move mountains
thanks to a giant shovel that's longer

Ford Mustang.

Behind it sits an invention inspired by
a surprising member of the animal

kingdom.

High on the slopes of Everest, the
Himalayan jumping spider, an acrobatic

arachnid that has evolved a unique way
to catch its prey.

The spider forces blood into its lower
legs to create hydraulic pressure.

It unleashes this power to catapult
itself up to 30 times its body length

towards its unsuspecting dinner.

The ice crawler takes this idea to the
max.

Nine powerful pistons attach the shovel
to its body and are

driven by hydraulic fluid at 100 times
the pressure of a truck tire.

The pistons make the shovel both
powerful and agile, so it can scoop up

shift it up the mountain.

All control for our blade on the front
is done with this blade handle right

beside me. It's comically referred to as
a potato, because it kind of feels like

a potato in your hand.

It's got endless button combinations.

Here we go with a little bit of snow
here.

We're going to grab a big mittful here
and cast it over.

As the snow continues to melt, Steve's
task gets tougher.

It gets harder and harder to cover the
rocks. The snow seems to hide more. It

gets pushed away and more and more
difficult to recover.

Steve scours every inch of the slope
into the night.

to find snow to cover the rocks.

We're going to fix it up.

To reach the hidden snow, he must make a
tricky 180 right on the edge of this

steep slope.

If we start to lose traction, we
couldn't accomplish what we need to do.

wouldn't be safe.

If Steve loses traction here, the cat
could slide out of control and skid off

the edge of the cliff.

So this ice crawler is fitted with a
clever invention that helps it maneuver

of any tight spot.

As Steve reaches the edge of the piste,
the winch arm comes into its own.

Two five -horsepower hydraulic motors
swing it round, sliding on top of

of roller bearings.

the 5 -meter steel arm rotates with a
pulling force of 700 kilograms,

giving Steve the extra leverage he needs
to pivot out of tight corners.

This way, he can reach every inch of the
slope without sliding out of control.

It's a game -changer. It's really
enhanced the performance of these

As I lose traction on one side of the
machine, the boom will actively move

to the track that's losing traction and
allows it to gain traction by putting

weight on it.

With it, we can find snow down where
it's been pushed into the hollows and

toes of the slope, and we can bring it
right back up to the top.

Steve reaches the end of his night
shift.

How did the night go?

Tough one?

Yeah. Yeah.

A lot of work left to do. Yeah, it's
been a tough week for sure.

Yeah.

There's now just two days to go until
the big opening weekend.

Stan's anxious to get all the slopes
ready in time.

Skiers' lives are in the groomers'
hands.

They have to be up all night pretty much
and have everything ready by morning.

Pressure's on.

All right, thanks, you guys.

We have to ensure the public safety is
number one. We want them to have a good

skiing experience.

But number one above that is that we
want to make sure that nobody gets hurt

because of something that we did.

Today, Steve must groom Whistler's
famous Olympic run.

With the skiers on this steep slope
traveling at super high speeds, the

are high.

One small anomaly that I didn't take
care of, trying to get into the forest

80 kilometers an hour.

The snow haulers at Canada's Whistler
Blackcomb Ski Resort are on a mission to

shift, carve, and pack down thousands of
tons of snow in time for the season's

big opening weekend.

Going down.

There are just two days left to prepare
these

slopes for skiers.

Today, Steve faces the most important
task on the mountain.

Groom the Olympic racetrack.

This is a training area for the Canadian
national team. This run was used during

the Olympics.

We can't leave the run in anything but
perfect shape. These kids and racers are

training at speeds of close to 100
kilometers an hour, and the surface we

is paramount to their safety.

One small anomaly that I didn't take
care of could, you know, tend to get

the forest at 80 kilometers an hour.

He'll need to work through the night to
groom the full length of this three

-kilometer run.

Pressure's on here. We gotta get this
run done.

To keep the resort's most difficult
tracks safe for the elite skiers,

ice crawler is equipped to carve the
perfect high -speed trail.

It carries a tiller.

a four -meter -long roller equipped with
steel blades.

Its design grew out of America's
agricultural revolution.

In the 19th century, pioneers faced a
vast expanse of unpilled land.

Single -bladed plows pulled by horses
were slow and tiring.

That's until an American inventor...

harness the steam engine to drive up to
14 blades at once, allowing the farmer

to take it easy up top.

The ice crawler takes this idea to the
extreme.

Hydraulic motors drive its tiller with
the power of 55 horses.

They rotate 300 steel blades 1 ,600
times a minute.

crushing even the hardest ice, smoothing
it into the perfect skiing surface.

That teller's capable of breaking ice.

Turn it back into snow.

Look out when you're done the run. It's
gone from a destroyed surface to a

beautiful surface.

The finish that the cat leaves behind
us, we call it corduroy, basically

it looks exactly like corduroy.

Some guys like to say you could put a
marble at the top and roll it to the

bottom, and if you've done well, it'll
stay in the same groove.

I've never tried it.

Saturday's deadline is just 24 hours
away.

And the snow is still melting.

This makes it extra tough for the crew
to prepare all the pieces in time.

I've been in town for almost 20 years
and I've never seen it like this. So

basically stealing every little inch of
snow that we can find to put on the run

so that we can make them safe and we can
make them groomable.

The melting snow also worries Anton and
his ski patrollers.

This wonderful, sunny, warm weather does
create some concerns for us. We could

see some large, destructive avalanche
activity in some isolated areas.

145 centimeters.

Crew member Kevin examines the layers in
the snowpack for telltale signs of an

impending avalanche.

Number one biggest concern is creating a
safe environment for our staff, guests

to ski in and ride in in avalanche
terrain.

There's things you can look for and sort
of tell about what's going on with the

snow.

So I'm going to do my observations on
this wall over here.

And I'll do a couple of tests and we'll
look at some different layers.

So I've got a layer there.

Go there. I've got another layer here.

I've got this.

Denser slab sitting on top of this
weaker snow down near the bottom. There

the need for some further avalanche
control work.

This upper layer of thick snow could
slide if the melt continues, triggering

avalanche.

Kevin's crew must remove it before
skiers arrive.

We're going to throw explosives from the
helicopter to try and trigger

avalanches.

The only way they can cover enough
ground.

is from a helicopter.

He'll need more than just sticks of
dynamite this time.

We're going to use the big bombs with
the ANFO, and they're lit as well with

double fuse.

We're going to light those and put those
in the hole we've created with the

smaller shot.

This is risky business.

Okay, safety precautions.

Bombardier, under no circumstances, must
drop a shot behind the seat should

there be machine trouble. The pilot will
say whether or not to jettison the box

of explosives.

With 50 kilograms of explosives on
board, a slip here could end in

There's one day to go before opening at
North America's biggest ski resort,

Whistler Blackcomb.

An elite team races around the clock,
preparing its slopes for the biggest

weekend of the year.

We're going to get out there and get her
done.

Across North America, more than 40
people a year are killed in mountain

avalanches.

The pressure is on Whistler Ski Patrol
to prevent these hazards.

Any avalanche activity that does occur
would be very large, destructive

avalanche activity.

Kevin's crew plan to blast a loose layer
of snow away using dynamite.

Stage one, use a single stick of
dynamite to carve out a small hole in

Stage two, drop a 12 -kilo bag of ANFO,
an explosive normally used in the mining

industry, into the hole.

Once they ignite the fuse, the crew has
just two and a half minutes to drop the

bomb and escape.

or they could be blown out of the sky.

Mission accomplished.

Three metric tons of snow slides down
into the valley, making this slope safe

from avalanches.

20 ,000 skiers will pour through the
gate in less than 24 hours from now.

Okay, bud, here we go. Search!

The avalanche rescue team hones their
emergency drills, while mechanics make

sure every ice crawler is ready to hit
the piece.

The pressure's really on. It'll be done
by 3 o 'clock in the afternoon. As soon

as our guests leave the mountain, the
groomers are out.

Dawn, the first of the weekend skiers
arrive.

Where are you guys from?

San Antonio and Austin. All right, Team
USA, bon voyage. Come ahead, folks.

Come ahead, man.

And how many?

Three. Right on board, you guys.

This is getting exciting, folks.

It's a triumph for Team Whistler
-Blackcomb.

20 ,000 visitors and every slope is
open, right on time.

It's been a tough week for Steve.

It's been a big challenge for me this
week.

We're dealing with very low snow
conditions, no new snow.

Look around, sun's coming up, busy
weekend.

What more could anybody ask for? We've
done it. We've delivered it. We're

finished.

I think I'm going to go for a few runs
once the lift opens up, maybe meet up

with my wife and kids, and enjoy the
weekend.

But there's no such thing as a weekend
for his trusty ice crawler.

This machine doesn't get to rest. It's
going to go out again. In eight hours,

this is going to be out there.

Scaling 1 ,800 acres of treacherous
mountain piste.

Shifting six million metric tons of snow
a year, whatever the weather.

The piston bully ice crawler is the
toughest climber on the mountain.

It's all thanks to a multi -blade tiller
that crushes lethal ice into the

perfect corduroy run.

A winch that allows impossible maneuvers
on the steepest slopes.

Headlights that harness the power of
lightning.

Aluminum tracks that give it formidable
grip.

and a shovel engineered to build
mountains.

It's these technological secrets that
have helped this ice -crawling monster

evolve to rise above all other machines.