Original subtitles

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: For five seasons, the ice road truckers

have tested themselves on the most dangerous roads in North

America.

We're on the ice.

Woo-hoo!

[horn honking]

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

[horn honking]

Woo!

[horn honking]

NARRATOR: This year, old friends--

[horn honking]

Hey.

You look familiar.

NARRATOR: --and new rivals--

I cannot wait to get driving.

I came here to drive the ice roads.

You know, everybody talks about the ice road.

NARRATOR: --will face off in a battle across the continent.

Well, I think Little Miss Muffet's gonna get knocked off

her tuffet.

It ain't over till the fat lady sings. [SINGING] Ah!

NARRATOR: They'll return to the deadly mountains of Alaska.

Holy crap.

NARRATOR: And take on the frozen wilderness of Canada--

[dramatic music]

It's like four-wheel driving in a big rig.

Ha, ha, ha!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

NARRATOR: --to fight for the title King of the Ice Roads.

Dash for the cash.

I want to be the guy making all the dough.

NARRATOR: Two roads, one winner.

When you only got 60 days to make your cash, you drive her.

[dramatic music]

NARRATOR: No second chances.

The cop's gonna come arrest me right now.

Stop.

Stop.

Brake, brake, brake, brake, brake!

[dramatic music]

[theme music]

NARRATOR: As winter takes hold across the north,

plummeting temperatures mean one thing.

Damn!

Love you.

Love you, too.

And I'll see you in the spring.

NARRATOR: It's time for the Polar Bear

to get back on the prowl.

OK!

Let's roll!

[horn honking]

This will do it.

Keep the sleep at bay.

Let's get at her.

NARRATOR: This trucking legend has

made a name driving the toughest roads in the north--

Yellowknife--

Woo!

NARRATOR: --Inuvik--

She's another good bingo.

I made her back to Inuvik one more time.

[horn honking]

NARRATOR: --and for the last two seasons, Alaska's Dalton

Highway.

[imitates whip cracking] Come on, baby!

NARRATOR: But this year, the Polar Bear

is talking new territory, back in his homeland of Canada.

Well, I was kinda sick of the Dalton.

I mean, it's a glorified [bleep] highway.

My-- my driveway is steeper than most of the [bleep]

hills out there.

The girls on the Dalton can stay on the Dalton.

I mean, this is where the real boys actually do some trucking

on the ice road.

[horn honking]

NARRATOR: His destination?

The starting point of Manitoba's deadly winter roads.

1,400 miles of twisting trails through some

of the most remote and unforgiving wilderness

on the planet.

Drivers here face axle-crushing frost heaves,

heart-stopping ice crossings, and frozen swamps that

can swallow a big rig whole.

ALEX: Whoa.

NARRATOR: And out here, the only thing more dangerous

than the ice is the isolation.

Basically, taking your truck, driving it through the worst

[bleep] possible, and hoping things don't break down.

These are the most southernly ice roads in North America.

We've got a small window here-- 60 days.

That's what I like.

60, 70 days of ice roads.

And, you know-- head down, ass up, and get at her.

NARRATOR: For just a few weeks each year,

the window opens to resupply dozens of native communities

across the wild.

All these people depend on us to get their supplies up there

for the upcoming year.

[horn honking]

Last year, the season ended really early.

There was essentials that needed to get into the communities.

And the weather turned, and everything just

went to [bleep].

[ominous music]

This year, we've got a lot of work to do.

Because we've got last year's loads and this year's loads

to haul up.

NARRATOR: The extreme danger means big money for any trucker

willing to take the risk.

[dramatic music]

Ha, ha, ha.

[horn honking]

NARRATOR: And for this job, Hugh is bringing along some backup--

his ex-employee Rick Yemm.

Feels good to be back.

I've been off from the ice trucking for a few years now.

And for-- I guess-- my triumphant return,

I get to do it with my best friend.

I said, Rick will never drive one of my trucks again.

And that was a couple of years ago.

And he never has drove one of my trucks again.

This time, he's leasing a truck.

And he's his own boss.

NARRATOR: After years struggling to play by other people's

rules--

You [bleep] [bleep].

Come back in this yard again, I'm gonna get the RCMP in.

[thud]

NARRATOR: Leasing Hugh's truck is Rick's first shot

to be in business for himself.

A lot more money for me and a lot more responsibility

for me, too.

But I'm taking a big step, and moving forward, and moving

my way up in this kind of work.

This is his big redemption here.

If he can make her here, he's going to be in the--

he'll be in the money game now.

NARRATOR: Finally, Hugh and Rick arrive in Winnipeg.

And the Polar Bear wastes no time getting down to business.

I'll try this Mark guy.

See what he's got going on.

Hello, Mark?

Hey, Mark.

Hugh Rowland here from-- from BC there.

Just made her into Winnipeg here now.

So what's she looking like for loads over there?

OK.

OK, thanks.

Bye.

Bye.

He said give him a call tomorrow.

He's got lots of loads. He said he's got lots of loads.

Just not till the first of the week.

He's got lots of loads, he said.

So that's good. - Lots of loads, yep.

Cha-ching!

HUGH: You nail some of these loads,

you're going home with a pocketful of cash.

This separates highway truckers from the real guys

that know how to drive a truck.

I mean, this is the Canadian ice roads.

This is where it all started.

This is where-- this is how they learned how to drive on ice.

Right here.

NARRATOR: While Hugh and Rick gear up--

2,600 miles northwest at the starting line of the Dalton

Highway--

[engine turning over]

[horn honking]

--the race has just begun.

[horn honking]

Alaska's elite truckers are about to embark on an epic

mission.

The goal?

Deliver 1,500 loads in just 90 days

to resupply the billion dollar oilfields of Prudhoe Bay.

We're hauling modules.

We're going to haul pipe.

We're going to haul fuel.

Basically, if they build it, we're hauling it.

NARRATOR: With a record number of heavy hauls this season,

every trucker on the road will have to raise their game.

LANE: It doesn't matter if it's going over

the ice, through the wind, through the whiteout--

we're going to get it there.

NARRATOR: And at the Carlile yard in Fairbanks,

veteran trucker Lisa Kelly is up for the challenge.

Well, I ain't Blondie no more.

My hair is red, because I've been blond for too long.

Doing the whole-- oh!

I'm a damsel in distress, and I don't know what I'm doing.

And this year, I'm gonna take no prisoners.

So I dyed it red, because it's to remind me

of my fiery attitude that I'm taking on this year.

NARRATOR: Lisa's first load of the season--

80,000 pounds of pipe.

And she'll be leading a convoy of heavy haul drivers

to Prudhoe Bay.

Heading out on the first trip of the season.

[horn honking]

Our little convoying gang is heading down the road.

Let's get this party started.

[dramatic music]

[horn honking]

[horn honking]

[dramatic music]

NARRATOR: As the short Alaska days give way to night,

the heavy haul team approaches one of the biggest challenges

on the Dalton.

We are almost to Koyukuk.

And Koyukuk is a nice, left hand, uphill corner.

And it's one of the steepest grades on the road.

Gotta do it now.

NARRATOR: Pulling a 60-ton load, convoy partner Carey Hall

doesn't have the horsepower to climb Koyukuk on his own.

Tail heavy lifts weight off the drive.

Here's the truck and the trailer.

Tail heavy pulls it up like this,

pulls weight off the drives.

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: To get the job done--

Putting the cables together.

NARRATOR: --Lisa hooks a 1-inch thick steel tow

line to Carey's rig to drag him up and over the hill.

What if we slip?

What if we start slipping on this one?

What do we do?

We start slipping, ain't much we can do.

NARRATOR: Pulling 120,000 pounds up Koyukuk's steep slope

will put extreme pressure on the towing gear.

One wrong move and the tow strap could

snap, sending Carey's rig crashing backwards

over the edge.

OK.

I'm ready whenever you are.

OK.

Let's go.

[ominous music]

Can you feel him back there?

You would feel a jerk.

[ominous music]

I am in second over.

What are you in?

I'm at 1,500 RPMs.

[engine straining]

OK.

[suspenseful music]

LISA: The grade at the top is the steepest grade.

Slipping already?

[ominous music]

Yeah.

He's slipping like crazy.

[suspenseful music]

LISA: What?

What's wrong?

[clatter]

[clanking]

[lisa gasping]

NARRATOR: Halfway up the Dalton's steepest slope--

LISA: What?

What's wrong?

[clatter]

[clanking]

[lisa gasping]

LISA: Whoa!

Holy crap.

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: When the temperature drops below minus 40 degrees,

metal becomes brittle.

And pulling 60 tons up the 11% slope

was more than Lisa's tow hooks could handle.

There's where our pulley went.

CAREY: All right.

I did a little modification here.

NARRATOR: The only option is to hook the tow line

to the smaller D-rings on Lisa's bumper and continue the climb.

If those break off, then we're pretty much done.

CAREY [OVER CB]: OK.

Ready when you are.

[dramatic music]

I'm in first right now, working over to second.

[dramatic music]

OK.

I'm in second.

NARRATOR: The metal holds for now,

but Lisa's convoy still has 250 miles to go.

If one of those breaks, we're gonna have to get creative.

I think I'm just gonna kinda take that as it comes.

NARRATOR: 2,600 miles southeast in Canada, Hugh and Rick

have rolled north to get a sneak peek at the ice.

This is the winter road right here.

Why don't we go up a little further?

Even though it's [bleep] closed.

Well, we will go up and see which ones are open

and which ones are closed. I don't know.

Well, this one's closed.

NARRATOR: But two unfamiliar trucks

quickly get the attention of a passing officer.

How you doing?

Hello, gentlemen.

We're just up here checking the roads out,

seeing which ones are open, which ones are closed.

First time on these roads, so we kinda

come up to get a little bit of a heads

up before we gotta start hauling.

Oh, yeah.

That's why we got no trailers on or anything.

OK. All right.

But, yeah. No, we weren't going to go out.

We seen the roads closed.

And we're-- we go on the ice.

We know when it's closed, it's for a reason.

Yeah.

We've got some construction activities going on.

We're-- we're removing some beaver dams today.

If you want to come along and see some of that,

you're welcome.

Oh, that'd be cool. Want to go check it out?

- We've got time. - Yeah?

Sure.

Well, if the road's closed, we're not hauling.

Yeah.

There you go.

So we're going to end up going about 100 miles north to blow

up some beaver dams today.

There's a few there that are causing us grief.

And we need to get them removed so we can get our road in time

to get the freight going.

NARRATOR: A four-foot high beaver dam is blocking access

to the last section of the ice road.

And it's up to the Manitoba road crew to clear it away.

Damn beaver dam.

Yeah.

We-- we curse the beaver dam. Yeah.

How do you guys remove them?

Do you just got a--

like an excavator over here?

Well, these ones we have-- this one,

we'd have to blast out of here.

[ominous music]

That's a lot of dynamite, man.

Sorry.

I'm getting a little excited now.

I thought he was gonna put a couple sticks in the ground.

Boom. Now, that's looking good.

That dam runs right across the roadway here

and runs all the way over to that rock.

We're chopping holes in that beaver dam

to find a place to set the dynamite.

RICK: Oh, yeah.

We'll set the dynamite in there, and--

HUGH: Pop her.

OK.

It's ready to go.

Run!

[hugh laughing]

HUGH: Get up!

[rick laughing]

RICK: [bleep].

You're gonna get blown up.

[series of explosions]

[laughter]

A couple of [bleep] clowns.

[rock music]

I wasn't sure you guys were going to make it outta there

in time.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: With the path clear, the road crew

can get down to business.

And the winter road season will begin.

You know, hopefully the trucks start coming,

the freight starts moving, the communities are happy.

We're all happy when the freight's going.

That's what we're out here for.

NARRATOR: Back in Alaska, another old pro rolls

into Fairbanks, ready to give the haul road

veterans a run for their money.

I'm going to come out on top on the dash for the cash.

I mean, that's just a given.

All the others think they're going to come out on top.

They might as well just-- I guess, pack it in now.

Because it ain't going to happen.

NARRATOR: Trucker Dave Redmond--

a good, old boy from Riverside, Alabama-- with a truckload

of swagger and 25 years of driving to back it up.

This isn't my first rodeo.

I've driven in every state in the lower 48.

I've been in virtually every city, every small town.

Got 2 and 1/2 million miles experience.

Last summer, I went to India to do a job.

I mean, there's no room for error.

Now, these [bleep].

Piss off.

[bleep]

Done most everything you can.

But I've never driven up here on these roads.

It's kind of a badge of honor.

It's kind of bragging rights.

You know, where you can go into the truck stop.

And guys will be talking, and you can say, well,

I got one better.

Basically, made a few phone calls and found an opening.

And here I am.

You're Lane? - Howdy.

Happy to meet you. - How you doing?

Dave Redmond.

- How you doing? - All right.

Good.

DAVE [VOICEOVER]: I'm going to go haul freight.

That's what I'm here to do.

Yes, sir.

We're going to send you out with Tony Molesky.

OK.

One of our senior drivers.

You know, Tony has been out there for a long time.

He's been there for 20 years.

I know you've got 25, 26 years driving experience yourself.

But this is just a different road.

Am I going to-- you know-- be expected to just basically sit

there and look out the window all day, or--

When Tony tells me you're ready to go,

I'll-- we'll cut you loose and get you out there doing it with

the guys.

OK. LANE: All right?

All right. LANE: All right.

Thanks, Dave. - All right.

Have a good trip.

Yup.

DAVE [VOICEOVER]: I've been on ice, been on snow,

been in the mountains, you know, and I've--

I've been more places than they've been.

I've been in traffic and done the same [bleep],, you know.

This-- this road has a way of uh,

busting an ego in an awful hurry,

so that's the big thing we try and get through to the drivers,

whether they're-- you know, got a lot of miles, or are--

they're a new driver, is that the road doesn't care who you

are.

I don't need a [bleep] chaperone.

I just wanna get out on the road, get this [bleep] done,

get going on-- you know, by myself.

[tense music]

Hi.

You must be the new guy. - Hey.

Tony? - What's happening, Dave?

Ready to rock and roll? - Ready to go.

Cool.

Well, we just loaded-- uh, diesel fuel for Prudhoe,

so uh, let's go get her done.

NARRATOR: 20-year veteran Tony Molesky

will judge Dave's skills as they head to Prudhoe Bay.

He knows firsthand what can happen when a rookie gets

behind the wheel.

[suspenseful music]

TONY: Last Wednesday, I was heading for Prudhoe Bay with

a load of fuel, and I came up over a small little rise--

what we call a surprise rise--

and met another truck coming at me.

Couldn't get out of his way fast enough,

and I had about two seconds to react.

[horn blares]

And I just steered the truck into the ditch as hard

as I could.

[truck rumbling]

[metal rattling]

I thought I was gone.

[grim music]

LANE: It's been a long time since I seen a wreck this bad--

literally just a couple inches from--

from taking his life.

Probably one of our most senior drivers on the haul road.

He's been doing it for 20 years.

You know, he's second to none out there.

He proves it can happen to anybody.

TONY: The gentleman that hit me has been on that road

less than a year, probably did not remember where he was at.

And so that makes me think of safety a little bit more.

If you don't drive safe on the haul road,

you're not gonna make it--

that's the way it is.

[truck rumbling]

I could drive this truck on the Dalton myself,

by myself, right now.

It's just another road.

Just another truck.

Just another load of freight.

I'm here to make money.

I'm not here to sit on my ass.

I'm gonna go haul freight.

[percussive music]

NARRATOR: Outside Winnipeg, Canada, at the headquarters

of Polar Industries--

We made it.

Finally.

NARRATOR: Ice road truckers Rick Yemm and Hugh Rowland

report for duty.

MARK: Well, hello, gentlemen. - Mark?

MARK: Yes, sir. - Hey.

I'm Hugh. MARK: Good to meet you.

- Rick. - Mark, of Polar Industries.

- I'm Rick. - How you doing, Rick?

- Good. - Welcome back to Canada.

- Right on. - Have a seat.

We have a six to eight-week window

to get 200 loads into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

You're moving millions and millions

of dollars worth of freight.

I need the best guys out there, and that's why you're here.

First order of business--

I'm gonna be sending you guys to Oxford House, the elders'

residence, where the ceiling is starting to collapse,

and I've got a load that's going to get up there for tomorrow.

It's in the yard, ready to go.

It's emergency load.

[tense music, forklift buzzing]

NARRATOR: Hugh and Rick's first run this season

will be hauling building supplies 620 miles northeast

to that Cree community of Oxford House.

Sounds good.

When you gotta go?

MARK: Right now.

Sweet.

There's your load sheet.

There's your load sheet. - See you in a couple days.

- OK, guys. - Thank you.

Take care. Drive safe.

Yeah.

MARK: This is a time-sensitive load.

They have to get up there.

Ah, the trailers are loaded-- they gotta go.

Like, there's-- there's no-- there's no farting around.

There's no sleeping, there's no nothing--

they got to get there.

[reverse alert beeping]

[truck clacks and rattles]

First [bleep] load of the season.

Here we go.

[hood clanks]

All right, Polar Bear-- she's good.

[truck hisses and rumbles]

[horn blaring]

HUGH: I'm feeling good. I'm on the road.

That's all I wanted to do, is get going

and get making some [bleep] cash here.

If I'm moving, I'm making money--

that's all that matters to me.

NARRATOR: 100 miles north, they leave the pavement behind,

and roll onto the newly-built Winter Road.

[horn blaring]

[snow crunching]

[truck rumbling]

[undercarriage squeaking]

Whoo-hoo!

[metallic rattling]

That's a little rough.

You got that right.

Bouncing the farts right out of me.

[laughs]

[tense music continues]

RICK [ON RADIO]: Welcome to running, Canadian style.

You gonna do what you gotta do to get a buck in the pocket.

That's a big 10-4.

When you only got 60 days to make your cash, you drive her.

NARRATOR: This ice road is built on frozen swamp land called

muskeg.

The constant melting and refreezing of the bog

makes for a rough ride.

Muskeg is like a wet, sloppy ground

that when you put the weight of these big trucks on it,

it actually punches the road and makes big holes in it.

[truck rumbling and squeaking]

And then it just gets wetter and wetter and wetter

with the weight.

Churns it all up, and then you can't get through it anymore.

Like mud-bogging, almost.

HUGH: You get off where the road is

and you'll sink, just like quicksand.

Your truck's probably staying there until [bleep] spring.

[truck banging and rattling]

[harsh breathing]

[shift clanks]

[snow crunching and hissing]

This would mess Lisa's hair up, for sure.

She'd constantly have a brush on her.

[hugh laughs]

Bounce that mother [bleep].

RICK [ON RADIO]: Oh yeah, buddy.

Yee-- [bleep] hah.

[horn blares]

NARRATOR: The rocky ride may have the Canadians revved up,

but just a few miles ahead--

Hello [bleep] Joe.

Where you at?

We got a casualty.

A casualty?

Got a casualty up here.

Really?

Trailer broke in half.

A what broke in half?

HUGH: Big, big trombone trailer's

broke in half up here.

[grim music]

RICK: Ain't that something, eh?

HUGH [ON RADIO]: You betcha.

[scoffs] See?

Go a little too fast through here.

That's a big 10-4.

They were saying the roads are nice right now,

and he broke a trailer in half.

Must have been going too fast over these hummocks,

broke in half.

RICK: So you got to find your--

what works to get you in quick, but without doing

all that damage.

You go too fast, you're not gonna make it.

Load's not gonna make it-- you're not gonna get paid.

You have to keep it-- as much you want to get in and out,

you got to keep it cool.

And it's like, this is only going to get worse.

[sharp ringing music]

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: Back in Alaska, halfway up the haul road--

DAVE: Let's go.

We got to go.

NARRATOR: Dave Redmon is getting his first shot

behind the wheel.

[truck hisses]

[truck rumbling]

TONY: So how you feeling over there?

I'm getting, uh--

used to the truck, you know.

Things are kinda falling into place.

They say anybody can drive a truck.

It's pretty easy to sit here and shift gears and steer

the wheel.

It's the decisions, like when to put chains on

and your fans on-- there are two, by the way.

It's [bleep] you know, it's--

it's those other decisions that make this job hard.

I'm-- I'm definitely not new to this game.

I've been doing this for 25-plus years.

It'll just take me a--

you know, a couple of passes to just get comfortable.

Yeah.

This is a dash for the cash.

This isn't a day care center.

[suspenseful music continues]

TONY: Koyukuk gets gnarly.

It's that steep, dude.

It is a nasty son of a bitch.

Koyukuk gets a lot of guys.

NARRATOR: The hill's 11% grade is the steepest on the haul

road.

To make it to the top, Dave will have to build speed, then

quickly shift gears as he climbs the slope.

[truck rumbling]

TONY: I'd go from six direct to fourth direct,

so whatever you got to do to get into six direct halfway

up the hill, and then you-- once you get into the hard pull,

go from six direct to fourth direct.

[percussive music]

Then hit your fourth direct.

Stay to the right, Rick-- stay to the right.

[sharp ringing music]

Second.

[gearshift grinding]

Oh [bleep].

TONY: Stop.

Stop-- brakes.

Brakes, brakes.

Brakes, brakes.

Brakes!

[wheels hissing and squealing]

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: 240 miles north of Fairbanks--

[bleep].

TONY: Stop, stop.

Brakes, brakes. Brakes, brakes.

Brakes!

[sharp ringing music]

[brakes grinding and hissing]

You find the brakes?

DAVE: Ab, what [bleep].

TONY: That did-- you did.

But we're all right. We're all right.

We're stuck.

Keep on the brakes.

I'm on them hard.

[grim music]

You'll take it over?

Nope.

I'm gonna put chains on.

Oh.

[clanking and rattling]

Couldn't get it into fourth gear quick enough.

NARRATOR: Dave's mistake puts the tanker, and its flammable

load, dead in the middle of the road.

Crucial that we get our chains on right away.

Good luck.

Clear.

We don't want anybody barrelling up behind us,

so make sure we're clear behind.

Somebody comes down the hill and can't stop,

they could smash into us.

NARRATOR: At any moment, a southbound truck

could come over the top of the hill--

[truck rumbling]

--and jackknife directly into the tanker.

[truck rumbles, explosion booms]

We got to get out of here.

Let's go.

OK-- check brakes, brakes.

Yep.

Let your clutch out until it starts to grab a little bit.

Now let go of your brakes and go.

[truck hisses]

There you go.

[grim music continues]

[wheels crunch, chains rattle]

DAVE: What are we gonna walk it up to?

TONY: Was that enough action for you today?

I'm awake now.

[truck rumbling]

[mellow guitar music]

NARRATOR: Finally, they reach the top

and stop to take off the chains.

My ego's [bleep] right now.

I shouldn't have missed that gear.

I mean, I'm real-- [STAMMERS] and I don't--

and I'm not just saying that.

I shouldn't have missed it.

But it's a new truck.

I've never driven it before.

Lots of guys have trouble on this hill,

and really, it's the way to figure out what a guy has got,

you know?

Because it's a nasty son of a bitch, isn't it?

Let's turn around and try it again.

[CHUCKLING] No.

You can do it next time.

All right.

So this road isn't quite as easy as you--

you were thinking earlier, is it?

Eh.

It's fine right here.

[chuckling]

Let's go to Coldfoot.

[dave grunts]

[truck rumbles]

NARRATOR: Back in Winnipeg, another legend of the ice roads

prepares to enter the race.

Hi, Geraldine.

Hello.

How are you?

Good, thanks.

GERALDINE: You all ready for your load?

ALEX [VOICEOVER]: I'm Alex Debogorski from Yellowknife,

Northwest Territories, Canada.

Other people may describe me as sweet, calm, collected, cool.

Good looking.

Handsome.

[laughs]

Do you want to come and look?

Sure.

NARRATOR: With more loads than ever this season,

First Nations Trucking is looking for top drivers,

and 30-year veteran Mr. Debogorski is as good

as they come.

ALEX [VOICEOVER]: I've come back to Canada Truck

because the opportunity was there.

There's a good chance we'll make more money here

than we would have in Alaska.

You're heading up to Red Sucker.

Food supplies, OK?

Very good.

NARRATOR: 700 miles north of Winnipeg, Red Sucker Lake

is one of the most remote destinations on the winter

road.

There's-- right before you get into-- uh, Red Sucker,

there's a lot of ice.

So you just take your time.

You know what you're doing. - OK.

OK?

Basically, it's a half load.

It's a half load-- probably got some ice road going over

it?

GERALDINE: It's only open for half loads.

ALEX: Still a little thin, then. - It is, yes.

[suspenseful music]

OK?

I don't have any questions right now.

I might have in five minutes. If I do, I'll come back.

[laughs]

Can't find your trailer back there?

See if I can't find the truck and the trailer.

[laughs] - I got you.

[reverse alert beeping]

[truck clanks]

Guess we have to thaw that out before we drink it.

[truck rumbles]

And we're off.

Slip sliding away.

[suspenseful music continues]

[TRUCK RUMBLING, CHAINS CLINKING]

So it's a good day for driving ice.

[snow crunching]

As long as there's enough of it in the first place.

NARRATOR: 120 miles north, Alex approaches his first true test

on the winter roads.

Our next stop is going to be at a river crossing.

[menacing music]

This must be the fellow from highways here.

Let's not run him over.

Good day, sir.

BRETT: Hey.

How you doing.

We're just finishing up some ice testing here, so--

got a few more holes to drill before uh, before you cross.

ALEX: OK. You want me to come down here--

BRETT: Yeah, sure.

--punch a hole?

NARRATOR: The safety officer uses an auger

to dig in and test the thickness of the ice crossing.

[auger grinding]

Let me check that out.

[snow crunching]

Well, it's 100 right there, so--

NARRATOR: 100 centimeters, or about 39 inches,

is the bare minimum to support a fully loaded big rig.

BRETT: So we'll-- we'll open up the ice crossing,

and we'll get you on your way. - Very good.

Am I gonna be the first one through?

Yep. You betcha.

Well that should make it interesting.

Thank you.

[menacing music]

NARRATOR: 120 miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba--

[menacing music]

Alex Debogorski is about to become the first driver

on a newly frozen ice road.

ALEX: I'm afraid to drive across the ice sometimes.

It tends to make me nervous.

There's a lot of ice in this winter roads compared to what

we have up in Dalton.

NARRATOR: This ice crossing spans a half a mile.

While a few spots show the right thickness,

other areas are much thinner.

If the ice road flexes under the weight of the truck,

it could fracture--

[cracking and rumbling]

--and swallow the entire rig.

[horn blares]

[clanking and rumbling]

ALEX: We're loaded, and it's supposed to go.

And he says I can go, then I'm gonna go.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC, SNOW CRUNCHING]

[rumbling and clanking]

[muted crackling]

[truck rumble echoing]

[menacing music]

Whoa, baby.

[ice crackling]

Thank you, dear God, for this day.

Thank you for this job.

Thank you for my family and friends.

[TRUCK RUMBLING, MENACING MUSIC CONTINUES]

Thank you for the challenges in my life.

Thank you for the strength to handle any.

Help me to have a safe, constructive trip.

[truck rumbling and squeaking]

Help me to handle any of the challenges or problems

that we come across.

[wheels crunching]

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, amen.

[MENACING MUSIC CRESCENDOS AND ENDS]

[mellow music]

And we're off like a hurdle of turtles again.

Good day to be on the road.

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: As Alex rolls deeper into the Canadian wilderness--

[percussive music]

--back in Alaska, Lisa Kelly is the first across the finish

line.

[trucks rumbling]

LISA: Just got to Prudhoe Bay.

We're here.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Scoring the first load in the dash for the cash,

Lisa is now the one to beat.

LISA: And it's a good feeling to go to bed just exhausted

and tired and happy, because you've got a good--

you played hard, you worked hard.

NARRATOR: Just behind Lisa, southern driver Dave Redmond

pulls in.

And now it's up to trainer Tony Molesky

to decide if the good ol' boy from Alabama has

what it takes to run the haul road on his own.

You know, knowing what you're gonna

have to deal with in the next few weeks, I get this feeling,

you know--

I know what you're gonna have to do.

I know what it takes to get up and down this road, and um--

I basically just come up with a decision.

[suspenseful music]

You don't just get turned loose after a trip-- one

trip on the haul road.

That's just the way it is-- not around our place.

You're an experienced driver.

It's just about the road, man--

and knowing where you're at, and knowing

what to do, when to do it.

Well, so anyways, let's do one more trip,

and then we'll just go from there.

Yeah, that's just the way it's gonna be.

All right.

[grim music, truck rumbling]

[truck hisses]

[electric guitar music]

I'm a lot frustrated right now.

Just, um-- I have to go one more, I have to go one more.

I mean, what-- you know, what else can I do?

I'm behind from the start.

Yeah-- Tony's got one load more than I do,

and hell, I helped deliver.

So-- and I won't get credit for it.

It's close.

OK.

- He's pumping already? - Yeah.

My goodness.

Make sure we're not leaking anywhere,

all the valves are open.

I think Dave might be a little irritated at me,

but making a judgment call.

So you're cool with-- uh, taking another ride with Phil, maybe

in your own truck?

Or me. Whoever.

I'm sure it's disappointing to hear, but--

- What choice do I have? - You don't.

Well, then say so.

TONY: Yeah, yeah.

You don't.

I need to feel it in my gut, and right now, I just

don't feel like you're quite ready to-- to be on your own.

You know, I've been on my own for 25 years.

Um.

I haven't taken a road test in--

I can't remember when.

You know? I mean, I made a mistake--

I should have just started at the bottom

of the hill in fourth gear.

And what did he say?

That's not how we do things around here.

So he's not checking me out to make

sure I can drive the truck.

He's making sure I can do it his way.

That's all it is.

That's wearing on my last nerve--

really is.

NARRATOR: While Dave's plans to run the Dalton are on hold--

[ringing, suspenseful music]

--at the airport in Fairbanks, a new challenger

has come 4,000 miles to earn her place as an Ice Road trucker.

MAYA [VOICEOVER]: My name is Maya Sieber,

and I'm here to bring a little bit of New York up to Alaska.

[suspenseful music continues]

My last couple of working days were crazy.

I mean, you had a lot of snow in New York, a lot of ice.

I've been traveling for two days to get here to Alaska.

I need a slap in the face and a cup of coffee.

[laughs]

I have the biggest trucker withdrawal right now.

I can't take this anymore.

Trucking is such a passion of mine.

I have a tattoo of Kenworth on the back of my neck.

I want to get out there.

So I can't wait to drive.

Can't.

I'd drive right now with no sleep, if I could.