Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Tonight on "Ice Road Truckers," a haul road newbie

puts the hammer down.

[bleep] faster.

How am I supposed to drive on the most dangerous road

in the world with no seat belt?

NARRATOR: Canadian veterans--

Holy mackerel.

NARRATOR: --get pushed to the limit.

The largest load of the Manitoba season--

RICK: Road would be challenging enough

with just a regular load.

Holy [bleep].

NARRATOR: --sparks big-time trouble.

He can't get out of his truck.

Don't back up.

And Lisa's dream job is in sight.

Trucking is everything I've worked for.

NARRATOR: Until it isn't.

Oh.

Whoa.

Dang it.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: Deep in the wildernessnorth of Winnipeg, Hugh

Rowland, Rick Yemm, and convoy partner Vlad Pleskot

are on day three of the biggest haul ever

to hit the Canadian ice roads.

At least I'll be happy when this [bleep] load's over

and done with.

NARRATOR: Three massive 62-foot-long modular buildings

have put the veteran drivers through hell on ice.

Oh, man.

Watch out, Hugh.

[ice cracking]

[bleep] sick of this [bleep]

MARK: God willing, we get it upthere, everything in one piece.

It's going to be great for the success of our company.

I mean, we're a growing company,and this is huge for us.

I mean, if we fail, it's going to be

a big hit to our business.

[truck horn]

NARRATOR: Delivering an entire airport terminal

will be a reputation maker for Hugh and Rick,

but they're not out of the woods yet.

MARK [ON RADIO]: Now, boys, just keep your eyes

and your feet planted.

We got a nice crossing coming up here.

We're a little bit heavier than what

we're supposed to be here.

NARRATOR: Each loadedtractor-trailer weighs 43 tons.

But the lake's weight limit is only 40 tons.

All right.

Put your life jacket on, Rick.

NARRATOR: Mark eases out in thepilot car to test the waters.

MARK [ON RADIO]: Nice and smooth here, guys.

Nice and smooth.

So we've got to go really slow and make sure we got

our [bleep] space in there, or somebody could drown.

Now, this is ice road trucking.

One of the reasons why I got into trucking on ice roads

was the danger.

There's something unknown out there.

You never know what can happen.

[ice cracking]

It just keeps me pumping, listening to the ice cracking

underneath my truck.

[ice cracking]

That crack there, but I went by, it opened up at least half

an inch.

Believe it or not, but we're traveling on this ice,

and whenever we're traveling on the lake,

the ice is going down a foot.

NARRATOR: As Hugh's truck bears down on the ice,

it creates a wave in the water below.

And the heavier the load, the bigger the wave.

HUGH: We're making a bigger wave.

We're going down farther like this,

and we just got to go that much slower.

We have a bunch of water right up

through the cracks right there.

Come on.

Come on, baby.

MARK [ON RADIO]: Drove over onthe east side of the lake here,

so you guys are free and clear to come.

[rumble]

We made it.

Hey, Hugh, how's it going back there?

I'm just coming off the lake.

Not too bad.

We're getting closer and closer.

Hats off to you guys.

That was phenomenal.

Thank you.

That's a 10-4, and we'll see you in Dodge.

NARRATOR: The caravan hopes to reach its destination in just

a few hours, but on these roads, nothing is certain.

RICK: The load isn't delivered yet,

so I'm not going to count my blessings.

But when it's off my trailer and everything is done,

then it's delivered.

NARRATOR: While Rick and Hughhit the homestretch, in Alaska,

Lisa Kelly is at the start of her own mega-haul.

[truck horn]

- Hi. - What's up, Lisa?

Not much.

And the next day.

OK.

NARRATOR: With a 120-tonmodular building on his trailer,

veteran Carey Hall will be relying

on Lisa and fellow driver Scott Swanson to push him up

and over the Dalton stepped slopes.

It's got to be right here on the boost,

and you'll be pushing against Scott.

We'll pull him all together.

OK.

Give me five.

You're going to do a good job.

First time since last year.

Yeah.

So you'll catch right back on again.

All right.

NARRATOR: Last season, Lisa earned a reputation

as a reliable push truck driver.

Like bumper cars.

NARRATOR: This is her chance to show

she's still got what it takes.

The moment has come.

Hey.

There's Rowdy.

No cuts, Rowdy.

No cuts.

Keep your hands out of my truck.

CAREY: Hey, Debbie, we're on the road.

Right now, we're getting ready to go on with the Taps.

NARRATOR: The steep, twisting hills of the Taps

will immediately put the convoy's teamwork to the test.

LISA: I haven't done this in a year.

I really don't want to screw it up and die.

Scott, don't ever be afraid to yell at me

if I'm doing it wrong.

NARRATOR: Scott moves intoposition directly behind Carey.

NARRATOR: Now it's up to Lisa to help power

the building over the hill.

Come on, catch him. Catch him.

Catch him, Lisa.

Catch him.

[crash]

The bad part about being in the middle here, you get

knocked around pretty good.

Hey, Lisa, I'm hooked up here.

Me too.

Nice job.

Nice job.

My job is to make sure he doesn't stop.

Lisa's job is to make sure that I stay glued to him.

Without us, he'd be parked on the hill, waiting for someone

to rescue him.

NARRATOR: As the convoy approaches

the top of the hill--

I can't tell if going to, like, go faster,

or if we're going to be slowing down.

[crash]

Whoa.

Damn.

Dang it.

Lisa.

NARRATOR: 90 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska, pushing

a massive load up the hill, Lisa, misses a gear

and stalls out.

[grinding]

Whoa.

Damn.

Dang it.

Lisa, where you at?

Lisa.

Can't get this truck--

Lisa.

LISA: Shoot.

NARRATOR: If Lisa can't catch up to push the convoy,

Carey will lose his momentum to get up the hill.

Screwed that one up.

You lost me.

I had to pick up all the slack there.

Lisa got messed up and ended up dropping back, way back.

So I had to grab about three gears

to keep him from stalling out right there on the hill.

Push trucking.

Some people it comes easy, some people, it's hard.

Jeez.

I can't catch him.

CAREY: Lisa.

Yes, Carey?

NARRATOR: Despite Lisa's problems,

the convoy pushes north toward Coldfoot.

But with steeper grades tocome, the rest of the haul road

won't be so forgiving.

Back in Canada, 300 miles up the winter road, Hugh, Rick,

and fellow ice road trucker Vlad Pleskot

have finally hauled their mega-loads

to the remote village of St. Theresa Point.

RICK: It's been a bit of a frustrating one for me.

Painful.

Yes, sir, it is.

The road would be challenging enough

with just a regular load,never mind a wide and long one.

[truck horn]

I don't mind getting up, like, 5:00 AM and going,

because if we leave at 5:00 AM, we should be there for--

[explosion]

Oh, [bleep]!

Where?

NARRATOR: Vlad's rig has snaggedthe town's 33,000-volt power

line.

See how that line's dropped here,

and another one crossing there?

Is it caught right on it?

Yeah, well, what happens if he backs up?

Or do we just wait-- - I don't know.

We've got to find out if that's power's live, man.

No, it is live.

I wouldn't [bleep] do nothing yet.

Hey, don't back up.

[police radio chatter]

HUGH: That front truck there caught the wire that goes

across, and we drove with it.

The cord wrapped around the corner of the building there.

The corner of the container grabbed the wire,

wrapped around the corner and ripped the hydro pole down

with it.

And the weight of the pole is keeping tension on the wires,

and we can't get it lifted off the corner of the shop

to get the truck moved.

Oh, man.

He's wrapped up there, man.

It's tight, and he can't get out of his truck,

because if he gets out of his truck

and that line his hot to his truck, he'll break the ground,

and Vlad will get zapped.

NARRATOR: Power company workers arrive on the scene.

They're trying to figure out what to do, exactly.

So he's got to stay put.

NARRATOR: Finally, Vlad is free.

[whistling]

Isn't that something?

NARRATOR: But delivering the mega-haul

will have to wait until daylight.

Vlad the Impaler.

NARRATOR: Just east in the town of Garden Hill,

Alex Debogorski is loading up a backhaul.

I'm not looking for any adventure, excitement,

or experience.

Because at my age, an adventure,excitement, or experience

means that something went wrong.

NARRATOR: As Alex makes the final adjustments on his

20,000-pound load of recycling,another driver stops by with

news.

Somebody go in the ditch and hit it, or--

No.

One of the truck drivers--

Hooked the power line?

Yeah.

Broke it in half, eh?

Yeah.

Holy mackerel.

How much trouble can a guy get into?

The fellow that fueled us up claimed that this wide load

that Hugh brought up to the airport, that he broke a power

pole and pulled down some wires.

Every time I hear something about Hugh and Rick,

it's not good things that I want to hear.

They're not very patient fellows.

So you know, maybe the lack of patience is showing through.

We get into the back country here.

We're back in the woods.

Beautiful day.

I wouldn't want to be out there in my swimming trunks,

but uh-- heh, heh, heh.

Go through all these corners blind, and then

you really don't know if anybody's

coming around that corner.

[truck horn]

We always have some civilian traffic on winter roads or ice

roads.

You know, we can't slow down as fast.

So they catch us by surprise and they're going too fast,

especially in a corner or something,

and we can get pretty close.

Every curve here, or every second curve,

you see the tracks for somebodywho's gone off the curve

with a civilian vehicle.

Come on, baby.

Turn, turn, turn, turn.

Come on. Come up a little bit more.

Yep.

That was pretty close.

If I hit that, they're going totake that out of my paycheck.

The whole trip gets thrown out the window.

Holy mackerel.

Ugh.

Easy.

Easy.

Whoa.

There goes your smooth ride.

When the [bleep] hits the fan, all you want to do,

your brain wants to is-- wah!

And jump.

Easy.

Easy.

[crash]

Whoa.

I haven't seen a flying saucertrying to land on the road yet.

That'll be next.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: Back in Fairbanks, the mercury has hit 30 below,

but Dave Redmon hopes his ice road

season is about to heat up.

I've had a real rough start to this season,

but still going to beat him in the load count.

I'm going to run him under the [bleep] table.

And that's just the way it's going to be.

[engine cranking]

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Damn it.

You know, it's just like they're really just trying

to piss me off deliberately.

Hugh's old truck won't start.

I'll get Dale to go out and give you a jump start,

put the battery charger on it and put the heater on it,

and then get it fired up.

All right. - Thanks.

You bet.

Yeah.

I've got to deal with them guys in the shop today.

Now they're going to drag their feet

and not want to come out here.

NARRATOR: Dave's dash for the cash is stuck in neutral.

Said they're going to come back in about a half an hour

to check on it and see if it'll start.

So all we do is wait.

They don't seem very enthusiastic at all

to be over here, you know, helping me

try to get this thing started.

It's almost like they just don't even want me here.

I'm the new guy.

You know, let's mess with this guy, you know?

Let's screw with his truck so it won't run.

[engine cranking]

[engine starting]

It's not a conspiracy.

It's just cold out.

They die.

There ain't nothing you can do about it.

There ain't nothing he can do to prevent it.

NARRATOR: Half an hour later, the truck is up and running.

With only one haul under his belt

this season, he hopes to make up for lost time.

All right, Dave.

What you got is three 20-foot conexes on a 53-foot flatbed.

OK.

You're going to take this load to Coldfoot.

OK.

You get that up there as soon as you can.

The driver will be switching with you there.

Does this add to my load count?

We're going to count that as a full load.

So that's number two. - OK.

Appreciate it. - All right, Dave.

You have a safe trip. - All right.

Thanks.

NARRATOR: Finally, Dave's ready to hitch onto his load,

then hit the road.

Somebody has red tagged it.

It's got a marker light out,which it's this one right here.

I'll get the trailer shop to look it over.

It's going to be another long [bleep] day.

This was on the trailer I was picking up.

You're going to have to bring it in front of the building.

OK.

NARRATOR: But before Dave can even

bring his trailer to the shop, he

discovers yet another problem.

This thing here is hitting--

hitting the trailer, and I don't know how I'm going

to get this mother out now.

NARRATOR: A metal hanger designed

to keep air hoses in position has wedged between the tractor

and the trailer.

I can't go anywhere until I fix that.

That's just going to get tore up, bust the son of a bitch

off, and I'm not going to be responsible for tearing

the damn thing up.

I'm the new guy.

I'm the outsider.

They just want to [bleep] with me, that's all.

I don't give [bleep].

That mud flap hanger they got, you

know, sticking out over the top to hold the [bleep] air

hoses in [bleep].

Yeah.

It's up against the trailer.

You know, it's just been nothing but trouble,

and it's now 9 o'clock in the morning.

It's just been a wasted morning.

There we go.

Yeah, if it's like this the whole season,

I'm just going to be screwed as far as the load count goes,

and I'm just totally discouraged.

It's not a good start to the season.

NARRATOR: 300 miles up Alaska's Dalton Highway--

You copy that, Lisa, direct?

10-4.

NARRATOR: --Lisa Kelly and her heavy haul convoy

approach the deadly slopes of the Brooks Mountain Range.

Two longest hills.

Four miles.

Two miles up, two miles down.

NARRATOR: First, they'll face the long, steep climb

of Chandalar Shelf.

OK, Lisa.

I'm on.

I hooked up at the bottom of the [bleep]..

Help.

NARRATOR: It takes the muscle oftwo 470 horsepower push trucks

to power this 120-ton modular building up and over

the steep terrain.

But so far this trip--

Oh.

Whoa.

Damn.

NARRATOR: --Lisa has been off her game.

[grinding gears]

Dang it.

Every little practice that I get makes me better and this

so I'm taking a chance every time I get it.

I want to be good at it.

NARRATOR: That's one down.

But just ahead--

We going up Atigun Pass so I'm just going to switchback.

NARRATOR: The heart-stopping cliffs of Atigun Pass.

We're in third direct.

1800 RPMs, 12 miles an hour.

NARRATOR: A 4,800 foot climb along sheer cliffs

and through unpredictable avalanche zones.

A mistake on Atigun could costLisa more than just her career.

I'm not slipping at all.

How you doing back there, Lisa?

Wonderful.

How's everything going up there?

So far so good.

We're almost to the top.

NARRATOR: Finally, the monsterload makes it through the pass.

Hey, Lisa.

Just keep it up.

You're doing good.

You're doing a good job.

You know, we're still moving, so we're doing good.

NARRATOR: With the biggest hills behind them,

lead push truck driver Scott Swanson will turn back south

to grab another load.

- Thank you very much! - Yeah.

Appreciate you putting up with me.

Thanks.

Have a good one.

All right, Lisa.

It's all up to you now.

NARRATOR: But there's still160 miles of frozen tundra left

to go.

At the Carlile Truck Yard in Fairbanks,

Dave Redmon is off to a slow start.

Yeah, I'm ready to get load number two delivered.

I only have to go to Coldfoot.

I mean, that's a good thing, but it'd

be nice to just be able to get going.

NARRATOR: With his truck finally ready to roll,

Dave meets with today's convoy partner, David Double-D

Dickard.

Hey, Dave.

Ready to go?

Where you been, Dave?

They said to be here at 8 o'clock this morning.

The truck wouldn't start this morning.

[bleep] lights were out.

Right.

Somebody had tagged it.

But nobody saw the tag.

Oh, OK. Yeah.

I guess they just leave it for the next guy.

Right.

So just things are stacking up against already.

Well, that's all right.

We'll get it going sooner or later.

All right.

We'll make it happen.

Let's go to Coldfoot. - All right, man.

Let's get outta here. - OK.

You know, [bleep] I got[bleep] with it for three hours

just to get the damn thing on the trailer and get moving.

So if anybody wants to give me many [bleep] about taking

the credit for one load on the load count,

and it's only going to Coldfoot, I don't care.

They can kiss my ass.

I'm going to take the credit and move on.

NARRATOR: It's finally time for Dave to hit the road.

But there's a problem.

[bleep].

Seat belt don't work.

I can't get the seat belt pulled out.

NARRATOR: At this point, Dave's through

with asking mechanics for help.

I got a claw hammer, I got--

Claw hammer.

Give me that claw hammer. Yeah.

I'll swing that [bleep] thing.

Ugh.

Bastard.

How am I supposed to drive on the most dangerous road

in the world with no damn seat belt?

This thing has a damn brake on it, and the brake is stuck.

If I need to get [bleep] done around here,

I gotta do it myself.

Oh, come on.

Never just drive.

Always gotta be [bleep] with this truck.

[bleep] trash.

OK.

Here we go.

Ugh.

I have a seat belt. It's just for looks.

It don't work.

But at least I got something to put

on when I go across the scale.

It doesn't do nothing.

It just sits here, but you know, what

else you going to do when you're working

with substandard equipment?

I guess you gotta [bleep] deal with it.

I don't know if Hugh broke this.

You know, he had to stretch it across his big gut.

I don't know.

NARRATOR: Deep in Northern Canada--

[truck horn]

--Hugh, Rick, and Vlad took on the wilderness,

hauling an entire airport terminal.

And after 54 hours, four blown tires, and one downed power

line, the mega-haul has come to an end.

We just made history here.

We just hauled the biggestloads that have ever been hauled

on the Manitoba Ice Roads.

[creaking]

Beauty.

Now they're just trying to get this unloaded

and move on to the next one, andthen move on to the next one.

HUGH: Everybody said you guys would never make it in there

with them shacks. RICK: Nope, they--

HUGH: And here we are.

We done real well.

RICK: And that's everybody. HUGH: Everybody.

All the companies, they laughed, saying you're

crazy to take them loads.

They'd never make it here.

NARRATOR: For Rick, the challenge

of measuring up to his mentor, Hugh, has been difficult.

It was a bit of a discouraging run.

I had a little bit of issues there

and tough thing when you get going wrong on you,

and you gotta keep yourself-- gotta keep your mind going

in the right direction.

He worries too much.

That's my little hug for the month.

Yeah.

That's his hug of the month right there.

Next time you're in St. Therese,and there's the airport,

I hauled it.

So that's pretty cool.

That's part of history right there.

Want me to take that off and sign it for you?

NARRATOR: 60 miles south of Prudhoe Bay--

NARRATOR: --Lisa Kelly's push truck run

has made it through the Dalton's steepest hills.

NARRATOR: But the haul road isn't finished with them yet.

I can still see them.

Haven't lost it yet.

You're gone.

You're officially gone.

Holy crap.

NARRATOR: 50 mile per hour gustspile drifting snow on the road

and obliterate Lisa's view.

Holy crap.

Carey, I can't see anything at all.

NARRATOR: Lisa and Carey must trust each other completely

to make it through.

While she gives him the push he needs,

the tight connection between the trucks

lets Carey steer for both of them.

Just hang on really lightly.

He's steering for me, and he can see.

But I can't see.

And my life pretty much depends on it, you know?

Staying hooked up and trusting him.

Can you slow down?

OK.

I'll stay up to ya.

Somebody might panic and youcan come off the booster there.

Once you come off, you can't see where to go.

But if she stays on that booster,

I'll bring her right around through it.

If let off during the drifts, I

can go completely off the road,because I can't see anything

at all.

I could just go out in the tundra somewhere.

My eyes are open, and they're not seeing anything.

See anything?

Nothing. He's gone.

Carey's gone.

Fricking nuts.

Holy crap.

That's scarier than just talking about it.

CAREY: I know what you mean.

That's why I love this job.

NARRATOR: Lisa finally pushes Carey through the drifts

and toward the lights of Prudhoe Bay.

That was scary.

I couldn't see anything at all.

[laughter]

Yay!

Good job.

NARRATOR: 2,600 miles east, Alex Debogorski is on the road

back to Winnipeg with 20,000 pounds of recycling.

ALEX: I'm more worried about the Sasquatches and the flying

saucers.

I'd hate to run over my first Sasquatch--

or a bush monster.

Hello.

NARRATOR: But just 30 miles into the trip--

Did I leave my trailer back there?

Uh-oh.

NARRATOR: --something is seriously wrong.

ALEX: Ugh.

Holy--

NARRATOR: In the remote Northwest corner of Manitoba--

Did I leave my trailer back there?

NARRATOR: --Alex's backhaul hasturned into a 10-ton headache.

[screech]

Whoa, baby.

I just dropped the trailer, but it didn't fall off.

The trailer is disconnected.

Usually when that happens, you lose the trailer,

and the trailer is bouncing down the highway behind you.

The interesting thing is, it didn't come off the truck.

For whatever reason, the good Lord

decided I didn't need that much excitement.

I don't have time for [bleep] around here.

We're blocking the road, eh?

NARRATOR: In 25 below on a blind curve,

Alex has to diagnose and repair his trailer.

For some reason, the jaws on my fifth wheel opened up.

I checked the bolt. It was all the way in.

I checked it before I left.

This thing here is called the horse cock.

And that goes inside of those jaws,

and those jaws are supposed to lock on that.

This is probably what was going on there.

See, this looks like a piece of metal.

All this is is a piece of snow.

Obviously it wasn't properlylocked, and it unlocked itself.

NARRATOR: Alex's truck has a fifth wheel hitch, where

spring-loaded jaws on the tractor

clamp onto the knob from the trailer.

Snow caked onto the knob and prevented the jaws

from making a secure connection.

Somehow, gravity alone kept the trailer in contact

with the tractor.

Without it, the trailer would have detached

and careened out of control.

Alex pulls away from thetrailer to try pinning up again.

ALEX: There's not too many guys can say they lost the trailer

at that speed and had brakes dynamite,

and the trailer still stayed on the truck.

So somebody is still looking after me.

See, those jaw are closed there.

Now, are they going to stay closed?

Here's another experience.

Oh, Lord.

Good time was had by all.

Thank you, Lord.

NARRATOR: Back in Alaska,after a rough start to the day,

Dave is rolling on his second run of the season.

Still following Double-D. We're about 50 miles outside

of Coldfoot.

Going to drop these trailers here in about an hour

and a half.

Yeah.

I've had bad luck from the start.

Couple of setbacks.

Hopefully, the bad luck monkey will go away.

He'll climb on somebody else's back for awhile,

and I can make a little progress on this road.

It's sure been bleak the last couple of days, though.

But we'll get ahead somehow, some way.

I'm going to go ahead and hook up to this trailer.

I'm hooking this stuff up as fast

as I can so we can turn and burnand get the hell outta here,

get back to Fairbanks.

Try and get us another load, maybe.

NARRATOR: This run will give Dave two loads on the board,

four behind the leader, Lisa.

But Dave has no intention ofstaying at the back of the pack

for long.

It's not the nicest truck on the block,

but I don't need the nicest truck on the block

to do the job and get ahead.

I work well under pressure.

So we'll see.

NARRATOR: 2,600 miles east, after successfully delivering

the biggest loads ever to cross the winter roads,

the mega-haul team is looking to unwind, Canadian style.

Welcome to the curling rink.

This is a different form of ice for you, buddy.

You can't drive on this one.

I've been curling since I was six years old.

I even brought my curling gloves.

So you got to place your rock to the middle.

This round thing.

Right in the center.

Why do they clean it so many times?

It's clean.

Because you gotta have it nice and slick.

Ready to throw some rocks.

Let's rock and roll.

[laughter]

It rolled this way.

VLAD: That one--

VLAD: You're sleeping.

Oh, man down.

Man down.

RICK: That worked good, didn't it?

Rick and I versus you two.

[bleep] going to lose.

I can't [bleep] do this.

Well, winner-- winner buys the beers.

OK.

That works.

Look at that.

Look at that.

Perfect shot.

Well, I got one point.

He missed.

Bounce it over.

Argh!

[laughter] Yes!

Come on.

Get it in there.

Get it in there.

Nice.

I'm curling like a pro.

HUGH: He's taking you up.

What the, man-- what the--

Huh?

That good?

Last rock, guys.

Oh, he missed.

Still no points for him.

That's why I don't play.

Well, good game.

We got some beers bought for us.

That's the main thing.

Wow.

We suck.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: Next on "Ice RoadTruckers," slippery roads wreak

havoc for the rookies.

I don't know if we're gonna make it down this way.

NARRATOR: The pressure is on as Lisa Kelly gets called up

to the big leagues.

I've been working for five years to do this.

NARRATOR: And Hugh, Rick, and Alex team up--

We're getting the springs to work out,

that's for [bleep] damn sure.

NARRATOR: --to roll deeper into the Canadian wilderness

than ever before.

Yee-haw!

[truck horn]