Original subtitles

Narrator: Now...

Lisa: Woo!

Narrator: on "Ice Road Truckers"...

[Hard thud]

Lisa: [Bleep]! I can't stop or I will be stuck.

Darrell: Whoa!

Narrator: As the season races towards the finish line...

Darrell: This ain't gonna last long.

Narrator: the trails fall to pieces...

Todd: What in the hell?

That sucks.

[Ice cracks] Steph: Oh my God!

Narrator: and the drivers...

- This is [bleep]!

Narrator: are feeling the heat.

Lisa: Oh [bleep]!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Narrator: Throughout the winter road system,

an early spring is looming.

Opportunities for the drivers are quickly becoming scarce...

[Truck rumbles,] horn blasts]

Narrator: ...and at Polar headquarters in Winnipeg...

Mark: Hey, guys. Yeah, just checking on that road.

Do you know when we're going to be able to get up in that area?

Narrator: ...owner Mark Kohaykewych is scrambling.

Mark: When you're faced with an El Nino year,

I mean the challenges are exponential.

Drivers need to step up,

you know, we can't afford an, an extra minute

never mind an extra day.

[Metallic clang]

- I'm hooked in, baby.

Narrator: The boss has gotta capitalize

on every open route he can find.

- It's good to go.

Narrator: So, today, he's taking a chance

on the greenest driver he's got.

- It's my first, uh, my first solo trip.

Mark: I got loads stacking up, I got roads closing.

Steph's gotta step up and get out there on her own.

Narrator: On her first mission...

[Clanging thud] - Holy [bleep]!

That knocked me right out of gear.

Narrator: ...Steph Custance was mentored by Todd Dewey.

- Welcome to the ice road, baby!

Narrator: But even with the company top dog at her side...

[Ice cracking]

- You can hear the ice flexing. Now I wanna get off.

Narrator: ...driving on ice

was like nothing she'd experienced before.

- Yeah, I'm nervous.

[Truck rumbles]

I got lights here.

Narrator: But now,

with time running out and loads piling up,

Mark's sending the 22-year-old out on her own.

- So I think it's really cool

that Mark trusts me enough already and...

and that he's letting me go out

and giving me another opportunity

to prove myself even more.

Yeah, my biggest concern is just lack of knowledge.

I mean, it's, I'm still new, I'm still a green horn,

so I have to be on my game.

So let's hope I learned enough from Todd.

Narrator: With only one training run under her belt,

it's time for the rookie to earn her stripes.

[Door shuts, engine rumbles]

Narrator: But this one won't be easy.

Steph: We're wheels up.

Narrator: Steph will have to haul

a heavy 28-ton load of building materials

200 hundred miles to Pikangikum.

But to get there she'll have to battle

one of the longest ice crossings in Ontario,

stretching nearly ten miles.

Steph: Finally on my way, so we're gonna...

pray the good Lord's with us

and that we're good to go.

Hammer down.

Narrator: While Polar hits the trail with a newcomer,

600 miles to the north...

Darrell: All right, I am in South Indian Lake.

Narrator: ...the competition's already banking a delivery.

Darrell Ward isn't backing away

from the challenge of a short winter.

Darrell: You know, with the way the weather is this year,

I gotta get in as fast as I can and get back out of there.

I don't know when the road will close.

It's pretty heavy.

Narrator: And today he's attempting a mission unlike any before

by trying to complete three deliveries in a single day.

- I got one load going to three destinations.

This could be huge for me.

[Squeaking]

One piece down.

[Door shuts] All right.

Narrator: The epic journey starts in South Indian Lake

then moves northwest a hundred miles to Lac Brochet,

and if successful,

caps off with a 50 mile sprint to Brochet.

[Truck rumbles, chains clink]

- I've got school supplies for three different communities.

I've got two left to deliver,

and I have another drop in Brochet

and another drop in Lac Brochet.

So hopefully,

by the time I'm done up here in northern Manitoba,

I've scored three loads -

got three more loads under my belt.

Narrator: For the small company it's an ambitious undertaking,

but it could be the best way to utilize their two-man fleet.

- Could be a new adventure or a new disaster.

As of tomorrow, they're gonna start closing a lot of roads.

It's a long ways in and a long ways out,

so no room for error today.

Narrator: 400 miles to the southeast,

Darrell's business partner's got a big-money haul.

- My truck's been taking quite a beating.

Narrator: Lisa Kelly's nabbed the last load

into Sandy Lake for the season:

a lucrative contract that could be a windfall for the company.

Lisa: I've got a vanload of trap supplies

and it's the last one that's gonna be able to get into Sandy Lake.

So it needs to get there

because this road is falling apart.

Narrator: But there's a good reason for that high price tag.

Warm weather's destroying the road,

turning it into a 300 mile trail

of nothing but mud and slush.

Lisa: I need to get out before they close down for good,

so I'm gonna have to keep the pace up.

It's gonna be trying not to get stuck in mud

and trying not to get stuck in snow and slush

because there's no one else out here to pull me out.

It's really warm out,

Tundra showing through, it's really slippery.

We'll be mud-road trucking.

Narrator: The muskeg's almost completely melted down...

- The farther I go the softer it's getting.

Narrator: ...and it's taking everything Lisa's got

just to keep the big rig plowing forward.

[Truck rumbles]

Lisa: Ugh! This is just rough.

It's rough on your body, it's rough on your freight,

it breaks your truck.

[Hard clanging thud] Woo!

See how wide this road is?

I gotta be dead center to not go in the ditch.

This thing is going so out of control everywhere.

This road is just muck and tundra and rocks and slush.

There's not much ice left.

[Water splashes]

[Hard thuds]

[Truck rattles]

Pretty much a nightmare road.

I don't even think this road's gonna last another day.

[Truck rumbles, water splashes]

Narrator: As the sun breaks from the clouds...

[Truck groans, loud crunch] Lisa: Agh! Woo!

I'm gonna feel like I've been through a war when I get there.

Narrator: ...the road goes from bad to worse.

[Clang] Lisa: Woo! Ow!

[Thudding]

This is why I look older than I am.

[Grunts]

Oh man, oh man.

Ah! [Bleep]!

[Tires spin]

I gotta keep going.

I can't stop or I will be stuck.

[Clanging and thudding]

Pretty hard going.

Something smells really hot.

Narrator: But the temperature's not the only thing

starting to heat up.

Lisa: Okay. Yeah, something smells really hot.

I don't know what it is.

I see like-- oh, I see like tons of smoke in my mirrors.

[Coughing] I can't stop.

See that?

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!

[Coughing] Holy crap.

Oh [bleep].

Narrator: Throughout the north,

the winter roads season is entering the home stretch,

so both companies are trying to squeeze in

as many loads as they can.

For Polar, that means sending out rookie Steph Custance

on her very first solo mission...

- This is the iciest, the most dangerous

I have been on yet.

Narrator: In Manitoba,

Darrell Ward's trying to give his small company a leg up

by delivering three loads in a single day.

Darrell: I've got two left to deliver.

So moving out, expanding the company.

Narrator: And deep in northern Ontario...

Lisa: I gotta keep going.

I can't stop or I will be stuck.

[Clanging and thudding]

Ah! [Bleep]!

Narrator: Darrell's business partner Lisa Kelly's trying

to get her haul across the mud-filled trail to Sandy Lake.

Lisa: Okay. Yeah, something smells really hot.

I don't know what it is.

Narrator: But her plan may be going up in smoke.

- I see like-- Oh, I see like tons of smoke in my mirrors.

[Coughing]

I can't stop.

See that?

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!

[Coughing] Holy crap!

Oh [bleep]!

[Coughing] Oh [bleep]!

The truck's burning.

There's a little bit of flames, stuff's on fire.

I don't know what it is.

Fire extinguisher.

[Flames crackle, smoke hisses]

[Fire extinguisher hisses]

The, uh, tundra dried out

and caught on fire on the exhaust.

[Fire extinguisher hisses]

Narrator: Throughout the rough journey,

thawing muskeg got kicked up and packed under Lisa's hood,

eventually igniting from the heat.

[Steam hisses]

Lisa: Cool that off and clean that out a little bit.

I got my cleaning tool. [Chuckles]

[Snow crunches underfoot]

Phew!

Narrator: First step, clear out the soot and debris

remaining around the exhaust.

- It's really packed in there.

It's all leaning right up against this turbo.

I don't see any damage to the truck.

I just caught it smoldering before it...

I don't know, it could've melted some of these...

rubber lines.

I had some great kindling, fire starter.

A bird could live in this thing.

[Objects clatter lightly]

I got the fire put out,

cleaned the grass out a little bit.

Oh, all right. [Hood clangs shut]

Ungh! [Grill clanks]

Okay. That's that all wrapped up.

Let's hope that doesn't happen again.

[Door shuts, engine roars]

Narrator: The fire's out,

but Lisa's still not out of the woods.

- I would have hated my truck to burn down

out here in the middle of nowhere.

There'd be no one to help, that's for sure.

All right, onwards to the next obstacle.

Narrator: She's still got over a hundred slush-filled miles to go

before she can call the contract complete.

- Really slushy right here.

[Slush splatters]

Keep her going.

[Truck rumbles, chains clink]

The plan now, if I smell something,

I'm gonna find a puddle and splash through it hard.

Other than that, I'm gonna go forward

and just keep driving.

Narrator: While Lisa's in the thick of it,

500 miles to the northwest...

[Truck rumbles]

Narrator: ...her business partner's already closing in

on another delivery.

- I got 35 kilometers left to go

to get into Lac Brochet.

The road's still rough, but I'll get there.

I'll get this load dropped off,

get turned around and go get the third--

my third leg of this adventure,

finish up this journey.

Narrator: Darrell Ward's trying to pull off

a nearly impossible feat:

delivering three loads in a single day

to three communities stretching well over 200 hundred miles.

- I need the loads, this company needs the loads,

these communities they need their freight

and I got it on my back.

Narrator: Up ahead, it's time for the next stop.

- Well, it looks like I'm coming into Lac Brochet.

[Airbrakes hiss]

- So we made it. All right.

Thank you, sir. - My name is Steve.

- I'm Darrell.

Narrator: The pro quickly offloads supplies

for the local school...

Darrell: Onto my next destination.

Narrator:...but there's no time to rest.

He's still got 50 miles to go

to complete the third and final stretch of the mission.

- I know absolutely nothing about Brochet

other than it's one of the farthest north points

you can drive to in Manitoba.

Narrator: The far north trails are legendary

for being the rockiest and least maintained...

[Clanging thud]

- Little rough and nasty.

Narrator: ...and this one's living up to its reputation.

- It's always a gamble when you hit unfamiliar territory.

You never know until you take the load

what you're gonna encounter.

[Clanging thud]

Oh [bleep]!

[Clanging thuds]

Whoa!

[Engine rumbles]

From what I can see, I played my cards wrong.

Narrator: While Darrell rocks and rolls

toward delivery number three,

600 miles to the southeast...

Todd: Crazy-[bleep] season.

My stress level is clear up over my--

top of my head right now.

Narrator: ...the competition's got their top dog

on his most challenging mission of the year.

Todd: This ain't a short run. This is a long run.

I got a big challenge ahead of me.

I got a big job ahead of me to get this load in.

[Engine hums]

Narrator: Todd Dewey's headed to the remote community of Big Trout,

a 500 mile road that's been closed all season until now.

Todd: I've gotta get this load in,

get it to delivered to those communities

and get the hell out of here.

Narrator: The town's desperate for the 20-ton load

of building materials

needed for a giant construction project.

- It sucks and it's a lot of stress,

and it's not just five minutes of it.

You're talking [bleep] 15 hours

of nothing but stressful [bleep] driving.

And on top of all of that it's my birthday.

I have a family at home, a wife and kids,

that I miss with all my heart every day I'm up here.

I know what the feeling is to come home with a pay check

or be able to, you know, give my kids what they need.

So imagine what it's like for these communities up here

when we come rolling in with all their supplies.

Pretty awesome feeling,

and that's why I continue to do it year after year.

[Truck rumbles]

There's a road coming off to the side right here.

This might be the one right here.

Here we go, baby.

Narrator: As Todd reaches the turn off to Big Trout...

- What in the hell?

Narrator: ...he's hit with an unwelcome surprise.

- This road is closed.

[Gearshift squeaks]

That sucks.

Narrator: On the road to Big Trout Lake...

[Engine rumbles loudly]

- There's a road coming off to the side right here.

This might be the one right here.

Here we go, baby.

Narrator: ...Todd Dewey's birthday...

- What in the hell?

Narrator: ...is turning into a nightmare.

- This road is closed.

That sucks.

Narrator: The road that just opened

for the first time this morning

is already getting shut down.

Todd: This is gonna be one hell of a [bleep] show.

I have a bad feeling.

- The road's closed, uh? - Yeah.

- Just too warm of temperatures, uh?

- Ohhh... All right, buddy.

So he's the, uh, head road guy

for this road going into Big Trout.

He's kind of the boss.

I was gonna hit the road with everything I had

and he just informed me that this road is closed.

There's nobody coming in and there's no one going out.

Narrator: All Todd can do is wait

and hope temperatures cool down enough

that the trail's reopened.

- We don't got no time to waste.

And when you get up there

and you can't get onto the road

'cause it ain't cold enough,

there's nothing more frustrating than that.

Narrator: If the road remains shut down

and the load goes undelivered,

the community would take a financial hit

that could be crippling.

- I don't think I'm gonna be able to move anywhere

or do anything, so...

that's not a good situation.

It's turning out to be an absolute [bleep] disaster of a trip.

Narrator: While Polar's yet to deliver

a single load on the day,

a hundred miles to the north...

[Engine roars, mud splatters]

- You don't normally go for a Sunday drive through the woods.

Narrator: ...the competition's already chalking up their third.

- I'm just getting into Sandy Lake now.

All right, I'm here.

I just gotta wait for someone to offload me now.

Narrator: Lisa Kelly secures a huge payday...

- Hi! Nice to meet you. - Yeah, nice to meet you too.

- So how was the road? - Um, falling apart.

- Really? - Yeah.

Narrator: Scoring big for the small company

and for the community of Sandy Lake.

- When it's all said and done,

the communities having their supplies is what really counts.

It is actually a concern

that we get these loads to these people

because it just might not be a big enough window.

This year more so than ever.

- Well, thank you for bringing our supplies.

- Yeah, you're welcome.

Narrator: While the veteran locks in the big contract,

100 miles to the south, on the trail to Pikangikum...

[Chains clink]

Steph: Going out on my first run solo.

Narrator: Polar's rookie, Steph Custance,

is trying to pull off an ice roads mission

all on her own.

Steph: Being out on my own on this road,

it's a lot more nerve wracking than uh,

than I imagined.

This is a very washboard bumpy

uh-uh-uh-uh,

dodgy road.

[Rattling]

She's icy.

There's lots of curves and winds.

I brought my sons school picture

on the winter roads for me.

I uh, I didn't have it last trip which I regret,

but it's a good reminder on what I have to get home for,

what's keeping my-my drive going,

what's making me out here doing this.

[Engine hums]

[Truck rattles]

Remind me why I'm out here on these awful roads.

Narrator: Just ahead...

Narrator: ...the new ice road trucker

is about to face her ultimate test.

Steph: Uh, makes me really nervous

'cause I know for a fact I'm pretty much max weight.

[Creaking]

And then we got snow, it's snowing on top of it.

And with the snow, snow acts as an insulation on the ice

so it, it doesn't get the cold wind,

it doesn't get the, you know, that wind chill

and then and that weather with it like the snow

just acts almost like a blanket for, for the ice.

It's gonna be the most dangerous one period as is.

[Creaking]

Narrator: The frozen lake to Pikangikum

isn't just any crossing,

stretching over ten miles

it's one of the longest in the winter road system

and hidden underneath the new fallen snow

it's a guessing game if the ice can hold Stephs 28-ton haul.

Steph: Oh my God, here it is. It's coming.

How far does this go?!

I can't even see the other side.

[Chains clink]

[Airbrakes hiss]

Steph: This is the longest crossing I've had to do

and I'm solo.

I'm gonna get out and go take a look and see.

[Wind gusts]

[Door shuts]

[Wind gusts]

I'm gonna be on that ice forever.

I knew it was gonna be long,

but when you're actually looking at it

and you're standing there

and you know that I can walk faster

than my truck's allowed to drive on the ice,

it feels like hell.

I'm gonna have to be careful crossing this

'cause it's white-white

so I gotta make sure I stay right in the middle.

♪ ♪

[Door shuts]

There's the ice Carter James

'cause I'll never bring you over anything like this

in my life.

My son is my world.

I breathe and live for him.

That's what I'm here for.

And he's everything. He's my entire heart.

Narrator: Without an experienced hand to help

for hundreds of miles,

[Engine hums, chains clink]

the rookie rolls onto the ice.

- I'm coming onto the ice.

[Ice cracking]

♪ ♪

I'm right at max capacity.

I mean, I'm at 56,000 pounds.

If I were any heavier

I wouldn't be allowed on this ice right now.

It's, it's very thin.

[Ice cracking]

[Water gurgles]

[Wind gusts]

You can feel it shifting, it's all, you can feel it.

[Creaking]

It's not a comforting feeling.

It's not like your mom rocking you to sleep or anything.

[Ice cracking]

[Bleep].

[Creaking]

[Ice cracking]

Uh, the ice is cracking.

[Loud ice pop]

Holy crap, man, these cracks are unreal!

[Ice cracking]

[Loud pops] Oh!

Oh my God.

[Loud pops]

Oh my God.

[Wind gusts]

Narrator: On the first sol

- Uh, the ice is cracking.

Narrator: Steph Custance could be cracking under pressure.

[Loud pops] Holy crap, man,

these cracks are unreal!

Narrator: On the way to remote Pikangikum

the rookie's trying to conquer

one of the longest crossings in Ontario,

but a 28-ton load is right at the weight limit

and the ice is splintering under her wheels.

[Ice cracking]

[Loud pops] Oh!

Oh my God.

[Loud pops] Oh my God.

[Ice cracking]

[Chains clink]

Oh my God.

[Ice cracking]

[Engine hums]

It is not safe to be on here.

♪ ♪

[Ice cracking]

Oh, it's cracking so loud.

Oh Lord.

This is [bleep]. This is [bleep].

This is [bleep].

Who the [bleep] goes on ice like this?

[Ice cracking]

I just want to get off this ice now.

This is not safe to be on here why are we even on this?

Why are we on this? Why are we on this?

Please, oh my God, I'm almost there.

[Ice cracking]

[Whimpers] [Bleep]!

This is it and you wanna just speed and go

and you just want to get off.

[Ice cracking]

♪ ♪

Woo! I'm on land, baby.

We've made it.

That was awesome!

Narrator: Steph makes it to the village of Pikangikum

and the newcomer proves her metal

and earns her winter road stripes.

- I made it. I did it.

That was tough but I did it.

So I'm gonna get out and see what, see what I got next.

Fear pushes a lot of people away from things

and like it's pushed me away from lots but not this time.

I had to rely on myself

and I had to put my big girl pants on and go do it

and I did it.

I'm very proud of myself for doing it by myself.

[Engine hums]

I'm ready for the next one. [Laughs]

♪ ♪

Narrator: Polar's finally got their first load of the day

on the books,

but 600 miles to the northwest...

[Engine hums]

Narrator: ...the competition's way ahead of them.

Darrell: I gotta get this load there undamaged.

Narrator: Darrell Ward's looking at deliver

three loads in a single day

and he's only 30 miles away

from bringing in the final haul.

[Truck rattles]

- [Bleep].

Narrator: But the trail to remote Brochet

is one of the northern most routes in Manitoba.

- This is one of the bumpiest roads I've ever been on.

Narrator: Lightly maintained and loaded with rocky terrain.

Darrell: You can do a lot of damage to a truck on this road.

I don't know if we can handle it or not.

The road sucks.

This truck may be broke down and left up here.

These are the worst [bleep] roads I've ever driven on.

[Engine hums]

[Truck rattles]

Oh [bleep].

I'm gonna be an inch shorter

by the time I get done with this road.

It's getting awful late in the year

to be up here somewhere that I don't know anything about.

[Chains clink]

Narrator: 20 miles outside of Brochet...

Darrell: Oh [bleep] me.

[Engine hums]

This is pretty [bleep] up looking.

Narrator: ...Darrell might have hit the end of the road.

Darrell: Looks like I got a bog hole up here.

Looks like we've had some melt going on and...

a lot of water.

♪ ♪

Oh, this is a nightmare.

[Wind gusts]

[Wind gusts]

- Oh [bleep] me.

Narrator: Trying to pull off his third delivery in a day...

- This is pretty [bleep] up looking.

Narrator: ...Darrell Ward is getting bogged down.

Darrell: Looks like I got a bog hole up here.

Looks like we've had some melt going on and...

a lot of water.

[Stressed groan]

♪ ♪

Oh, this is a nightmare.

We need to go check this out.

Water running across the road.

Looks like we've had some trucks over on that far side.

Looks like they got a little far off to the side,

about got stuck over there.

I know those holes over there are deep.

Really deep.

Narrator: The bog could act like quick sand

swallowing his rig so deep there'd be no way to get out

and the third load would never get to town.

- It doesn't do me any good

standing here looking at it

when I gotta get to the other side.

The longer I stand here the wetter it's gonna get.

I guess I'll take the route less traveled.

[Door shuts]

[Engine roars]

♪ ♪

A lot of water coming through here right now.

This ain't gonna last long, I'm telling ya.

♪ ♪

Quite a spot to get stuck if things don't change.

[Splashing]

Holy [bleep].

♪ ♪

Here we go.

Narrator: With the creek behind him

it's time to push through the final 20 miles.

- After tomorrow I don't know

if they'll get anymore freight in here or not.

[Truck rattles]

I need to get unloaded

and get the [bleep] out of here.

[Wind gusts]

Narrator: As the sun sets...

Darrell: I pulled into Brochet here.

Narrator: ...a weary Darrell completes

the final piece of his epic journey.

[Airbrakes hiss]

Darrell: Let's get 'er done.

At least it's only half full.

I survived the roads,

communities got what they needed.

Can we get out of here before the weather turns warm?

I might end up living in Brochet if I don't.

Narrator: As the season enters into the home stretch,

Darrell scores big for his company

and for the communities when they needed it most.

- Against all odds we pulled it off.

Narrator: The small company's bagged

four total hauls in a day,

but 500 miles to the southeast,

late into the night...

Todd: Trying to get 'er going here good, boys.

I had a nice hot fire tonight.

They closed the road right in front of me,

parked me for the day.

Narrator: Todd Dewey's celebrating his birthday

stuck at the turn off to Big Trout Lake.

Todd: So why not take advantage of it.

You know, enjoy what the good Lord gave us out here.

It's absolutely beautiful.

Narrator: Earlier...

Todd: What in the hell?

- The road's closed, huh? Man: Yeah.

Narrator: ...warm weather proved too much for the road

and authorities were forced to shut it down.

Todd: All right, buddy.

Narrator: Since then Todd's been sidelined for hours

waiting until temperatures hopefully cool down

enough for travel.

Todd: You know, there's only one thing

that's really been on my mind that I'd really like to do

and you know we're not supposed to use the SAT phone.

Only for emergency uses,

but you know what, it's my birthday,

I'm in the middle of nowhere.

I'm gonna call my wife even if it's just for 20 seconds.

I know she's thinking about it right now

wondering where I'm at

and what I'm doing and if I'm okay.

♪ ♪

Hi. [Laughs]

I knew you'd say happy birthday.

Listen, honey, I've only got a minute.

I love you guys too. I miss you guys like crazy.

I know can you believe I'm only 25 years old?

[Laughs]

You wish? Yeah, so do I.

Being away from my family's already hard enough,

when it's your birthday

and you're in the middle of pretty much nowhere,

by yourself,

it-it can get to ya.

It gives you that sense of loneliness.

I love you too, honey.

Okay, tell the kids Daddy loves them and I miss them.

All right, bye.

That right there make a guy get tears in his eyes

missing his family.

Yeah, that's all she wrote.

Narrator: With the community desperate for supplies...

Todd: Finally.

Narrator: ...and temperatures as low as they'll get for the night...

Todd: Here we go.

Narrator: ...locals are willing to let Todd roll.

Todd: Oh she's gonna be a long night, boys,

I'm telling ya.

Yeah, after sitting around for 12 hours

waiting for the road to open

and now we gotta truck for another 12 hours straight

to get through this road.

It's gonna be a hard road to conquer, I'm telling ya.

[Engine hums]

[Truck rattles] Hang on.

Narrator: The road may be open,

[Todd sighs]

Narrator: ...but the muskeg's barely frozen if at all.

Todd: Hang on.

Narrator: And it's pulverizing Todd and his 20-ton load.

[Truck groans, rattles]

[Engine hums]

- If I get stuck on this trip to Big Trout,

I'm screwed.

[Creaking]

There ain't gonna be nobody here to pull us out.

[Engine hums]

[Truck rattles]

That's what makes a guy so nervous.

You're just thinking,

"please don't get stuck, please don't get stuck."

[Truck rattles]

What did I get myself into?

Narrator: As the clock strikes 4:00 a.m. ...

- We got a lot of miles to cover all night tonight.

Narrator:...Todd's night takes an even darker turn.

Todd: Oh, my effing God.

So I just came screaming around a corner

and now I'm right into an ice crossing so...

Trying to see what's going on.

Narrator: Todd's the only trucker

to pass down the road to Big Trout.

Now he'll be the only one to test the ice crossing.

[Ice cracking]

- A little sketchy on the ice crossing coming in here.

♪ ♪

They haven't had any big rigs in here to Big Trout yet.

[Ice cracking]

Todd: That [bleep] makes a guy nervous.

[Bleep].

When you're the first truck up the road

or the first truck going across the ice, you know,

you know, there's supposed to be a certain thickness.

All actuality you don't know how thick the ice is

and you don't know if it's ready to go.

[Ice cracking]

Even though you can try to convince yourself

I've been across these ice crossings a hundred times

that doesn't mean jack-crap.

That just means that you've been lucky

all those other times

and maybe this one time your luck has finally run out.

These are the nights it just doesn't seem

like my job's really worth it.

♪ ♪

[Door shuts]

Well, there's only one thing to do.

It's to get [bleep] going.

[Chains clink]

[Engine hums]

It's always nerve wracking at night to go across the ice.

[Ice cracking]

- No stoppin' now.

[Ice cracking]

Narrator: In the dead of night

in northern Ontario...

- Well, there's only one thing to do

is to get [bleep] going.

Narrator:...Todd Dewey's rolling the dice.

[Engine hums]

[Ice cracking]

- No stoppin' now.

Narrator: The road to Big Trout just opened hours ago...

- Always nerve wracking at night

to go across the ice.

Narrator: ...and Todd's the first big rig

to test the crossing all season.

Todd: You never get used to that loud cracking

and popping on the ice at night that's for sure.

It's a big-[bleep] lake too.

You don't know how long it is.

See, you don't know if you got an hour,

two hours, 20 minutes, five minutes,

you just don't know.

I mean, you just go on it, keep your fingers crossed.

[Chains clink]

[Engine hums]

You can tell it hasn't been plowed properly.

The ice is rough.

It shouldn't be rough.

It should be nice smooth clean ice.

[Ice cracking]

I'm not even sure if I passed the halfway point.

♪ ♪

Todd: Imagine if you went through at night?

At least during the day light you come up out of the water

if you do and you get,

you can actually see what you're doing

and try to grab a hold of something or anything.

In the dk...

...you ain't gonna find nothing to [bleep] grab a hold of.

As soon as this truck goes underwater

you ain't gonna see nothing.

It'll be pitch black.

♪ ♪

Pretty darn spooky this time of the morning crossing the ice.

Look at that crack right there.

Look at that [bleep].

I hate crossing the ice at night.

[Ice cracking]

The road in front of me, I'm seeing some trees now

so that's a good sign.

That means I'm getting close to getting off the ice.

So close but yet so far away.

Come on, girl. Come on!

[Ice cracking]

[Engine roars]

All right, off the ice, baby.

Yes!

Narrator: Todd makes it off the ice...

- I don't know how many we got to go,

but I know we got a lot of miles to cover

all night tonight.

Narrator:...but he's still got over 200 miles

of brutal winter road ahead of him.

- It's gonna be one hell of a journey

I'm telling you right now.

[Engine hums]

[Truck rattles]

Oh, [bleep]! Come on, buddy.

Nasty-[bleep] frickin' road, man.

They're just getting more harder and more treacherous

trying to get through it.

It's just getting ridiculous.

All I'm gonna do is just keep on trucking.

[Truck rattles]

[Thud]

[Truck rattles]

What the hell?

[Rattling]

I gotta look at something here.

[Airbrakes hiss]

[Wind gusts]

This truck is done.

It's not moving on its own from right here

for any way shape or form.

That's the spring that holds the axel

on the front of the truck.

Narrator: With the spring to the front axle broken

the truck is virtually un-drivable.

[Door shuts]

Todd: That's it, the truck is stuck.

There ain't no going back.

I cannot [bleep] believe it, man.

Narrator: So hundreds of miles from the nearest town,

Todd and his rig are down for the count.

Todd: We're just so [bleep].

[Wind gusts]

Narrator: Next time...

Alex: This road is rotting away underneath us.

Narrator:...on "Ice Road Truckers"...

[Thud] Alex: Hang on.

[Truck rattles]

Narrator:...the melt descends on the winter roads.

- I'm gonna try hard to just not to go in the ditch.

Narrator: And for the drivers it spells trouble.

[Thud] - Ah!