All language subtitles for Rocky.Mountain.Wreckers.S01E05.Clearing.Lanes.and.Taking.Names.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-RAWR_United States [English] (SUBRIP)

An ambulance

heading up the canyon,

that usually means a wreck.

Holy.

Okay, here we come.

Collin and I are probably
the only ones crazy enough

to do something like this.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Hold it!

Seriously, dude!

Traffic ain't stopping
for nothing!

It's a safety risk.
I mean, it gets nerve-racking.

The conditions on I-70

are still challenging,

especially if you are traveling
between Denver and Vail.

Keep your eyes open
for slick roads

and accumulating ice

since the temperatures
are still in the low teens.

After days of heavy snow

on I-70 in Colorado,

the weather
has started to break,

but there's no break
for Mountain Recovery.

Usually after the storms,

we got business,
we got a lot of business.

The residual effect
days after a storm,

we're pretty busy.

Loveland Pass
is clear at this time.

I'm gonna head for the 205
and the tunnel grade.

What's it looking like up there?

Copy that.

With the road still slick,

the crew is sticking close to
the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel.

You have
40-plus-thousand vehicles

that go through
the Eisenhower Tunnel

every single day,

and it's not
an eight or ten-lane highway,

and there is a lot of traffic.

At 11,000 feet
above sea level,

the route
to the 2.7 kilometre tunnel

is a steep climb

to the highest point
on any U.S. interstate.

Let's go check out
the other side.

This morning,

the west side of the tunnel
is primed for trouble.

On our way.

We've got very,
very slick roads going downhill.

The snow subsided for a minute,

but the sun came out,

kind of made it even slicker

as that sun melted
that top layer.

The steep descent
and slick conditions

have taken their toll.

Hey, 18, you're going
to the jackknife, right?

Seth is just minutes away,

and on the move.

Let's go get on scene.

Trying to just figure out

what you're about to walk into,

hoping that you're able

to get the job done efficiently.

Ooh... yeah, we're slippery.

Yeah, it is bad.

Oh, man,
we're screwed right here.

They basically
can't close the road right now,

we've got too heavy
of westbound traffic

coming through the tunnel.

About a thousand cars
an hour,

so, yeah, you're not gonna...

you don't want to stop that up.

If you're closed for an hour,

now you've got a thousand cars
on the road backed up,

and it does... it's not pretty.

Probably a bad spot
to be right now, to be honest.

Seth has maneuvered around

to face against
the flow of traffic

so he can winch
the semi backwards.

He'll then hook up front
to pull it free.

We're doing two double lines

to the back of the trailer,

and just pulling from the angle

that they're letting us get to.

Big truck.

Looking good,
gonna pull forward,

give us some room to winch.

Hooked up to this thing,

I've got enough winch line out

for about a full vehicle length
of winching backwards...

...which will straighten out
the trailer,

and un-jackknife the tractor.

All right.

We're dealing with
icy road conditions.

We've got lanes of traffic
opened up right next to us.

I'm just hoping
that the truck sets in,

get my spades in the ground.

Spades coming down.

The spades
will help anchor his truck

so he can wrestle the semi

and get off this road.

This is one of
the more dangerous spots to be,

for sure.

Come on, baby.

When I start winching...

...my truck
starts pulling backwards

just due to not having
enough resistance.

Come on...

I notice this crack
in the asphalt,

and I think, man,
it might just be enough,

um, to get my spades
down into that.

Dammit.

Well, we're gonna end up
getting to that crack, I guess.

Definitely feeling pressure.

Set in, come on,

come on.

Yes.

Found it.

Yeah.

Yeah, just needed those spades
to find the crack.

Sometimes it's just
that little bit of resistance,

just the spades
with their fingernails just...

just grippin',

holdin'.

Hell, yeah.

Now we're in business.

But now that it's moving,

the semi's trajectory
is a new problem.

Yeah, I gotta check an angle
on the far side here.

I want to keep going,

but we're getting too close
to that active lane there

with that rear corner
of the trailer.

The truck isn't
as straight as he'd planned,

but he can't pull
any farther backwards.

Yeah, when you guys are, yup.

To pull from the front,

Seth will need
to flip his wrecker around.

We're waiting on the plows
that just went up

to create a break in traffic.

I'll probably have to
cut off these active lanes

for a minute.

This is not a good spot here.

In Utah,

southwest of Salt Lake City...

See?

It's too fast.

...Chuck from Stauffer's

is wrapping up his latest job

on a busy morning.

You have got cars
coming at you within feet.

You gotta pay attention.

Okay, we are outta here!

There's quite a few times

that it's been
close calls for me.

It's been
a slippery morning on Highway 6,

a road that can be a test
for drivers,

even on a good day.

It's because of
the narrow, windy, twisty roads.

It's rated one of the deadliest
highways in the state.

Up here
is not a very forgiving place.

There's a lot of wrecks
in this canyon,

and when I say wrecks,
I mean bad ones.

That's never a good sign.

An ambulance

heading up the canyon

with the sirens going,

that usually means a wreck.

That's not good.

Stuck in the backup,

Stauffer's operators Carl

and Jaramie

are heading to answer
the urgent call.

We have highway patrol
coming down

on the opposite side of traffic,

and they are going to
give us an escort.

We good to follow you?

Okay.

Holy .

It's a really bad wreck.

Debris is all over.

Trailer with snowmobiles
upside-down.

It's a terrible wreck.

Highway 6 in Utah
is at a standstill.

I don't know much
of what happened, honestly,

I just know it's a mess.

A westbound box truck

crossed into the eastbound lane,

hitting a pickup,

and rolling its trailer

before colliding head-on
with an SUV.

Three people

have been transported
to the hospital

with serious injuries.

All survived.

Let's get this flipped over.

Better hurry.

Now the work begins.

Highway 6 has been shut down.

You have a lot of people
backed up for miles and miles.

Multiple tow companies

will be clearing the damage.

Carl and Jaramie's job

is the trailer.

And go up with it.

Just having him boom out
so he can get it flipped over

and get everything
back onto the trailer

and get it loaded up.

This job is very dangerous,

especially me being deaf...

Perfect.

...but I do not let it
affect my job.

I always tell everybody

Carl's world
is a little different,

being hearing impaired...

...but he does anything

and everything that we ask him,

and we appreciate him.

We wouldn't know
where we would be without Carl.

Jesse is very
understanding of my disability.

He treats me
like everybody else.

Now we are going to lift
them snowmobiles

up on the trailer.

I'm always watching
what's going on.

This-this cable,
let it out a little.

You're all the way up,
so let this cable out.

I have to learn
their lip pattern...

Working with Carl on a job,

he'll be able to read your lips,

and just do
whatever needs to be done.

As they clear out
the damaged snowmobiles,

heavy operator Austin pulls up
to lend a hand.

Hey, Austin.

Do you guys need my help
with this?

I'm going to back up.

We'll hook up
and get it loaded up.

The snow's coming down,

it's pretty cold,

and we need to get this
taken care of

'cause we've got both lanes
shut down

both directions.

There's no movement
on the highway

where we're at.

Are you putting this
on the ball?

No,
it's going up on the bed.

Okay.

Now a Stauffer's
competitor has arrived

to move out the box truck,

adding more chaos to the scene.

It's a huge
conglomerative mess.

We've got to work
as fast as we can

to try and get this road
back open.

Back on I-70
in Colorado...

Another beautiful day
in the Rockies.

...Seth has finally
received the go-ahead

to flip around his wrecker.

We're on the move.

State patrol's, you know,
giving me one of these,

like, "Let's get it going."

Turning radius
of a small battleship.

All right.

Not my first ro-de-o.

Good morning to you too.

Now he can finish
unfolding the jackknife

and get off this busy stretch
of slick road.

Definitely feeling pressure.

You get the feeling

everybody's kind of "Tick-tock,
let's get this done."

We got it.

We are un-jackknifed.

We are jill-gunned!

So, right now,

we're just getting a truck

from winch mode into tow mode.

Come on...

Really?

Air system on the tractor side,
it's not building air.

I'm gonna have to do something.

The brakes are controlled

by compressed air.

With damage to that system,

they're locked.

I'll need some time.

She's got an air issue.

Okay.

So you can't drag 'er
with the air issues

right now, or...?

I was feeling
my heart just sink.

Three tow companies

are working to clear
a chaotic scene

on Highway 6 in Utah.

We've got miles of traffic,

both directions,
completely shut down,

so we have no traffic flowing,

so the urgency is to try
to get the highway open.

You want me to grab
a snatch block?

She's getting heavy.

It's up to
the Stauffer's crew

to clear the final obstacles
blocking the road

so at least one lane
can start moving.

Got a hammer?

Comin' at ya.

Go ahead and pull,
see what it does.

Our pressure
that we have to get in,

get hooked up,
and get out of there,

it's pretty high.

I want to be off that road
as quickly as I can.

Are we hooked enough
that we can move?

Yeah, I'm just
tightening this off.

Okay, let's get moved,

and then we'll finish strapping
down the road.

They're going to open
westbound.

Yeah, we're
getting outta here!

These guys have
this part figured out.

They're going to take care
of this truck and this SUV,

so we're going to take off

and get off the road
before they open the highway.

It's a good feeling

knowing that we got
the highway opened up,

we did our job.

Now there's time to reflect

on the people injured,

recovering in the hospital.

It's a really bad wreck,

a terrible wreck.

That's the worst feeling.

I worry about my family
being in a wreck.

I tell everybody,
cars are replaceable,

people are not.

You are not replaceable.

All I care about
is you being okay.

In Colorado,

on the edge of I-70...

Whatever
is spitting like that is--

air system
on the tractor side.

Seth
is hunting for the breach

in the semi's air system.

I know they are eager
to get us out of here.

If he can find the leak,

he might be able to bypass it

and feed compressed air
from his wrecker

to release the locked brakes.

Oh, that's
where that is, okay.

This is a quick disconnect,

and where it broke
is just above it,

and there's a fitting
right above that,

so if it had to go,

it kind of went
in, like, the perfect place.

I can air this thing up.

I just found the problem.

We're gonna bypass it.

This thing
will be rolling in minutes.

Yes!

We're in.

Little bit of luck,
little bit of skill,

call it what you want to,

but, yeah, it worked,
so, hey...

Currently airing up,

and good to go.

Yeah!

Basically just
putting the bow on this

before we move it.

I honestly can say

I pretty much did everything
as fast as I could...

Whew.

...as safe as I could,

and that's what you try to do
as an operator.

Let's get outta here!

Here we go.

Takin' names
and clearin' lanes!

Yeah, buddy.

One man, one truck, one job.

Hell, yeah.

That's how that should go
right there.

Hey, Colorado.

It's finally the weekend,

and the stretch
of nice weather continues

with some clear skies

and unseasonably
high temperatures,

so make sure you seize the day,

because, I hate to say it,
this isn't gonna last.

All right, rollbacks,

you can go ahead of me
right here...

5,000 feet
closer to sea level,

there's no trace of the weather

that hit up in the mountains...

...and then you can just
sit on the shoulder.

...and other members
of the Mountain Recovery crew

are heading away from I-70

for a different
kind of recovery.

Normally we're working
on the highway,

keeping the highway open,

but today we're going to focus
on the waterway,

absolutely free of charge.

All right, let's all get out.

All right, here we go.

Eagle River

is a popular
white-water rafting run

just west of Vail.

In a few months,

rafters will descend
on this river...

That's the bad boy.

...but first,

there's a dangerous problem
that needs fixing.

So, how long
has that been there, Rick?

That came in
during runoff last spring.

The danger now is,

as this river comes up,

spins that log off of there,

we don't know where it goes.

Does it pin
on the two boulders downstream?

Does it pin on
the next train trestle?

Does it make the Eagle
completely unrunnable?

Mikey, what do you think?

We wanna rig to
the river side of that log...

Yeah.

...so we have something
that we can grab onto.

Bad Grandpa,

he's a former
white-water rafting guide.

He was for many, many years.

He knows these waters,

he knows the danger
in these waters,

and he's the best one
to lead the charge here.

In theory,

it'd be nice if we could just
kind of stand it up

right over that rock,

and then drag it up.

Yeah, I think
that'd be perfect.

I have seen these
in my white-water rafting days.

If you are in a boat,

you could be pinned
up against it,

you could be washed
underneath it.

It's extremely dangerous.

Pulling it out

is a challenge unlike anything
the crew has faced before.

We might have to
get out on the log itself.

Yeah, can you get
on that big boulder,

and then get on the log?

That's what I'm thinking.

How stable's that log?

I dunno. We'll see.

Cool. Let's suit up.

Sounds like a plan.

Rafting season
is coming up here very quickly,

and this log has got to be
recovered today.

On Eagle River
in Colorado,

Bad Grandpa is sizing up
the unusual job ahead.

Back
to my old stomping ground.

I probably have over
1,500 hours on this river,

raft-guiding it.

It's in his heart,

you know, he wants to keep
the river safe,

'cause this is
what he used to do,

so seeing him take the lead here
is really cool.

I've got three stents
in my heart,

I've had two heart attacks,

so I have obstacles
that I need to overcome,

but I don't let that
stand in my way.

I'm out here like Superman.

How do we go down there?

Let's go down this way.

The plan for this job

is to utilize the track machine
and the winch box,

choke this log,

and then force this log
off this rock,

up the hill, out of harm's way.

Okay, here we come!

Collin and I

are probably
the only ones crazy enough

to do something like this.

Come here, Mike,
come float with me.

I love Bad Grandpa.

He's great to work alongside.

Keep doing what you're doing.

The rigging team

will need to wrap a chain
around the log

so operator Dustin
can then pull it free...

Winching.

...from 400 feet away.

We've got our machine
where we want it.

We've got cable in line
with the actual log.

Once that's rigged,

I think we're going to be
really close

to pulling on this thing.

Are we ready?

We're going
to put a chain around the log.

It looks like
it's a little brittle.

Hopefully it just doesn't
break apart on us.

What we want to do is go down
two or three of these.

Right.

Yeah, whatever you do,
don't let go.

That's like 15 feet deep
right there.

Reaching out
on top of this log

trying to hook a chain
that weighs about 40 pounds,

and get the chain tight...

easier said than done.

In case for some reason

that Collin and I would happen
to fall in the river,

we want to have
our feet downriver

in case you come across
any obstructions

or another strainer,

you can use your feet

to brace yourself
from the impact.

How are we looking down there?

They're trying
to get it wrapped.

Just don't
dislodge that thing

and cause bigger issues.

The rivers up here
are very dangerous.

They claim several lives
every season,

and we want to be on guard here.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Is he okay?

You all right?

Yeah.

Ah, it's another day

of white-water rafting.

I didn't panic.

They called the right guy.

Okay.

All right, we need the cable.

Get that real tight
around that log.

Dusty, cable in.

Yeah, we're winching in.

There it is.

Keep going.

It's gonna break.

Right there.

Oh, the log's broken.

Keep going, keep going.

Fortunately, the chains
that we secured on the log

held together.

Okay,
that's good right there. Stop.

It went really well.

We're gonna rig up
the other half too,

and bring it up the hill.

Both of 'em need to come up.

They're-they're big enough
and enough of a hazard.

Okay.

All right,
get out of the way, boys.

Cable in.

The final piece.

We've completed the task.

Yeah.

A success.

It's out of the water.

Nobody got hurt.

I'm still breathing.

Barely.

I might need some oxygen.

Good job, buddy.

Nice.

Bad Grandpa did good today.

He's tired.

This was a challenge

from a physical standpoint.

I'm tired too.

The towing business,

it's almost like
white-water rafting.

You don't know what
you're going to run into,

what sort of obstacles
you're going to overcome.

You never know what
the day's going to bring.

Not looking good

around Spanish Fork tonight.

Winds gusting around
20 miles per hour,

and the blowing snow
is reducing visibility

to as low as a quarter mile.

Avoid traveling
through the canyon

if at all possible.

In Utah,

a busy day on Highway 6

is giving way

to a busy night.

A semi
is straddling the ditch,

cutting off all traffic.

Let me see here.

The driver was
coming down through the canyon

when he lost control.

I'm all right!

His brakes
had overheated,

seized up,

and were minutes away
from bursting into flame.

Now we stuck.

All righty,

well, we've got ourselves
a semi trailer

that slid off the highway.

Here we go again.

I've been up here already today,

had the snowmobiles earlier.

We're going right back up 6.

Let's get up there,
get our eyes on him,

and see how bad his situation is
and go from there.

There's definitely
a huge difference

between working
in day and night.

Going into the darkness,

you can't see very well.

There's a lot of unknowns.

We're gonna roll up here
nice and slow.

It looks like
we've got highway patrol here.

We also have fire department
on scene.

Looks like they've got
the highway shut down entirely.

The tractor,

it's still sitting
on the travel lane.

The trailer ended up
sliding down into the ditch

to the point
that she was ready to roll.

-You the driver?
-Yes, sir.

Okay.

Highway patrol, fire department,

they've got both directions
completely closed.

Nothing is driving
either direction in this area.

I'll go see what kind
of damage we're looking at.

Right, right, right.

Uh, he said that there was
a tire blown, right?

-Three.
-Three of them blown?

Uh-huh.

Oh, man...

All I heard was a pop,

and one after another,
they're popping out...

My dogs were going crazy
in there, so...

...but everybody's safe.

That's a good deal.

Driver and dog are okay...

Go ahead and hop up
in your truck,

just stay warm,

don't release any brakes, okay?

Just sit up there for a minute.

All right, good deal.

...but for Austin,

the pressure is just beginning.

He is loaded, about
40,000 pounds with mattresses,

so he is pretty heavy.

I'm seeing some brakes
that have overheated,

some tires that have blown out,

so this inside dual,
it's completely dead.

We've got two good tires
holding air.

Three of 'em
are completely shot.

How do I get this semi
out of this corner

and get this trailer
out of the ditch

where we can get this road
back open?

Just from him sliding
into the ditch,

we've got probably

a couple of miles
of backup already.

It's just single lane
each direction.

They have nowhere to go.

Traffic
is completely cut off

on Highway 6 in Utah,

and clearing the stuck semi

is up to Austin.

This is going to be
a pretty tricky winch-out.

I've got to be very meticulous

on how I get this trailer
brought back up

onto the highway.

If I don't, I could end up
losing the trailer

into that ditch even further,

potentially rolling this truck
on its side.

He's probably gross
really close to 80,000 pounds.

Sitting there on scene,
looking back either direction,

watching traffic build up...

even at night,

you can get
a couple-mile buildup

pretty quick out there.

I'm going to start
pulling the trailer

over to the highway.

Just sit tight,
don't touch anything,

don't play with anything, okay?

Six inches of snow have fallen

in the last two hours,

and it's not stopping.

Austin needs to hurry,

but not at the expense
of caution.

We've just
got to take our time,

make sure we're watching
everything she's doing.

The last thing we want to do

is try and just give 'er hell
and break something.

You're listening
to the cables on the truck.

If it's whining
and groaning and popping,

that's a terrifying sound,

because any one of those pops

can let that cable just break.

The semi
is out of the ditch,

but there's still a problem...

All right, driver,

you will have
no trailer brakes.

Everything is on the truck.

...so Austin

will pull the broken trailer
himself.

There's too much damage,

so I need to disconnect him,

hook my truck to the trailer,

pull him down the mountain.

To connect to the trailer,

Austin somehow
needs to turn around

and get in front.

All right,
we got a plan.

Let's get 'er done.

Can't do a three-point turn.

The road is way too narrow.

I'm going to end up
putting myself in the ditch,

or worse.

The only option

is to head to a pullout

a kilometre west up the road,

where he can flip around
to head east,

but the road is blocked.

-Okay, thank you.
-Yup.

Impatient drivers

stuck in the backup

have taken over both eastbound
and westbound lanes up ahead.

We have some semis

that decided to come
the wrong way,

thinking they could get past
some of this stopped traffic,

so I am unable to continue
further up the canyon

to get flipped around.

Knowing
that I'm kinda the linchpin

to get this highway open,

I've got to get this done
as quickly as I can.

Instead of
disconnecting him here,

I need him moved down
to that pullout area.

The 80,000-pound semi

will have to drive

three kilometres
down the canyon,

where the road widens,

relying only
on the brakes on its tractor.

So, my only concern

is that he's gonna do
the same thing,

just end up in the ditch.

He just needs to nurse it
nice and slow.

It's a huge gamble

to have this driver
take his own load

even a couple hundred yards,

because he already
put the truck into the ditch.

He already smoked his brakes.

It's kinda pushing its limits.

It's a gamble that I need
to try to trust him with

to take it nice and slow

so that we can
get this lane open.

The driver won't be alone.

Troopers will provide an escort,

and Austin will follow

so he can then flip around
and tow the trailer.

All right, driver,

I'm gonna be behind you

while Highway Patrol
is in front of you.

He's gonna guide you
to a good spot

where we can get you
pulled over.

When we get stopped,

we're gonna drop the trailer
off of you,

and I'm gonna hook it
on me, okay?

All right.

The only way
Austin can make the trip

is to drive in reverse.

I have to drive backwards
through all of the closure,

through all of the traffic
that's backed up,

until I get to a safe point
that I can safely turn around.

You gotta go backwards,
wrong way,

in a 50,000-pound truck,

with a police escort behind ya.

This is going to be

a long stretch of just stress.

My camera doesn't work
right now, actually.

She got some water in 'er
and stopped working,

so right now I've got some
Pink Floyd playing on my dash.

I've got to keep
my truck in my own lane,

not being able
to see much behind me.

It's pretty stressful.

Good old-fashioned mirrors.

Mirrors and self-awareness
of where my rig is.

I mean, it gets nerve-racking.

We still have
quite a long line

that I can see just
in my mirrors back here.

On Highway 6 in Utah,

Austin is inching
three kilometres down the canyon

in reverse.

I'm having
to watch myself

and watch him at the same time.

The semi still has
enough good tires to drive,

but there are no working brakes
on the trailer.

Having the headlights
from all the stopped traffic,

having the snowfall,

flashing lights,

it definitely creates
a stressful situation.

If I bump my throttle
a little too hard,

or if I have to touch my brakes
a little too hard,

it could lock up my rear end

and slide me into traffic

that's now
on my passenger side.

There's a huge risk

that this driver could
potentially be another hazard,

be another road closure

while I'm backing up
following him.

He's running the same risk
that I'm running

driving backwards behind him.

Can we hold up right there
for just a second,

bring 'er to a stop?

We're gonna try and get my truck
flipped around right here.

He's finally reached the spot

where there should be
enough room to turn around.

Now I'm in a place here

that I can work safely,

get this trailer hooked up to me

to get him off the mountain

without having
any further issues.

Okay, let's go ahead
and drop trailer

where you're at.

We'll get you
down the highway safely.

I'm gonna back up
to the trailer,

we'll get her hooked up,

and we'll pull 'er
down the road.

With the eastbound lane blocked,

they should have enough room
to work safely...

Okay, go ahead
and pull 'er forward.

...but another
impatient driver

has other ideas.

Seriously, dude!

This is some of
the most selfish behavior

I've seen on scene before.

Traffic ain't stopping
for nothing!

It's just the audacity
of some of these guys

that they need to get
where they're going,

and they don't care
what's going on.

They don't care
how dangerous it is.

I think
potentially Highways

is gonna get him
pulled over up ahead of us,

and possibly cite him for it.

Now Austin needs
to hook up the trailer

and get off this road.

All right,
let's get outta here.

It's a sigh of relief

knowing that you have both lanes
back open.

I was definitely
one small mistake

away from a disaster

on pretty much
this entire recovery.

With disaster averted,

a long day on this highway

can come to a close.

I'm happy to have Highway 6
in my rear-view mirror tonight.

Hardly ever
jump in a heavy.

This is kinda
fish out of water for me.

We broke our tow strap.

There's a lot
of curves here on this mountain.

It happened real quick.

You're loaded
with medical supplies?

The worst-case
scenario here

is this trailer rips open,

and we have medical supplies
all over the highway.

Keep 'er going!
It's a hard pull!

Uh-oh. Damn it!