"Male narrator:" "Tonight on Ice Road Truckers..." "Fire!" "[Boom]" "Narrator:" "As the season hits the halfway point..." "Get the hell out the way." "Here comes the Chop." "[Boom]" "Whoa!" "Crap!" "Narrator:" "The competition heats up when the ace returns to the haul road." "Whoa" " Fuck!" "This is really dangerous." " Hugh gambles on a rookie..." " And he's never even been on the fucking ice before." "Narrator:" "To save his season." "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy." "Ha ha ha." "Narrator:" " An Alex faces off..." " You go over that cliff, you're dead." "Narrator:" "With the Yukon's deadliest road." "Jesus, I trust in you." "Save us from the fires of hell." "[Dramatic music]" "♪" "[Country rock]" "Narrator:" " In northern Canada..." " I'm like Columbus with wheels." "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" "Narrator:" "Alex Debogorski is on a mission to help the people of the north survive another Arctic winter." "Whoa, baby." "Narrator:" " All season..." " That's a reminder to all those people that say that trucks never go through the ice." "Well, there you are." "There's another one that never went through." "Narrator:" "He's fought the deadly Dempster..." "Oh, lord, give me a hand." "Narrator:" "Surviving blinding whiteouts and thin ice..." "It's cracking." "Narrator:" "To keep the supplies flowing." "We bring food, we bring groceries, we bring everything." "Sometimes we bring whole houses." "All:" "Oh!" "Narrator:" " But today..." " How are you?" "Pretty good." "Are you ready for your big day?" "Yes, ma'am." "Narrator:" "He's outside of Whitehorse, Yukon, on a special assignment." "You are going to be taking a load of reagents to Cantung." "And what are those?" "Those are chemicals to run the mill at the mine." "You have to get it there fast, Alex." "If they don't get it today, they're gonna have to shut that mine down." "They've got enough to last for 12 hours." "Alex, this road is no joke." "It's very serious." "I can't stress that enough." "Narrator:" "Alex is headed to the Cantung tungsten mine..." "With a load of chemicals vital to keeping the mine running." "[Engine humming]" "But getting there means facing the one-lane mine road that's barely wider than a big rig." " To help navigate..." " This is Alex." "Alex." "Brent Labonte." "Pleased to meet ya." "Narrator:" "Alex is running with a wingman." "What's the plan?" "The plan is just stay back like a kilometer or two, just so that if I get into trouble, I got time to warn you, 'cause we got quite a dump." "It was snowing pretty good when we came in last night." "So could be a whiteout today." "There's a couple of one-way bridges that are a little hard to get onto." "Okay." "So let's get rolling." "Okay." "I'm on my way." "Didn't sleep well." "I kept waking up..." "All this how horrible a road it is is gettin' on my nerves." "I was on edge." "I'd wake up and check the clock every 20 minutes or 1/2 hour, seemed like." "And I'll be shortly turning onto the mine road." "Narrator:" "Once he enters the one-lane road..." "There's no turning back." "Jesus, I trust in you." "Save us from the fires of Hell." "Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle, especially most in need of thy mercy." "What do we got?" "[Suspenseful music]" "♪ ♪" "We are safeguarded against the evils and snares of the Devil." "Help us through this day." "All glory to you." "Name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit in Jesus' name." "Amen." "[Suspenseful music]" "♪ ♪" "Jesus, I trust in you." "Jesus, I trust in you." "Narrator:" "In Alaska..." "[Woof woof]" "[Horn honks]" "Those other rookies better watch out." "'Cause I'm back." "Narrator:" "The haul road ace and a crop of newcomers are resupplying the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay..." "Yeah, she's blowin' hard up here." "Narrator:" "Battling extreme weather patterns that have temperatures reaching negative triple digits." "I'm stuck here." "Narrator:" "But halfway through the season..." "I'm after the load count, and this ain't working for me." "Narrator:" "The load count is still up for grabs." " In Fairbanks..." " It's time to go to work." "Narrator:" "Ronald "Porkchop" Mangum is up early." "Man, it's a big day." "We gotta get this thing on the ball, let's go." "Narrator:" "He's been trying to prove he belongs in Alaska with a bunch of deliveries off the Dalton." "I told Lane I was gonna do it their way, and I went slow and steady like I said I was going to, stayed by the book." "Started to feel good." "Kinda proud of myself and starting to do things, you know, getting it done the right way." "Narrator:" "And he's about to see if it's enough to get him back on the haul road." "What's up, Marky Mark?" "Basically got you just whatever was in today, nice little easy load." "So, uh... it's your first solo trip." "Not a problem." "That's how we do it Southern style." "Yeah." "Absolutely." "I'm gonna get outta here so I can shag my wagon on up the road, man." "There ya go." "Appreciate it." "All right." "Be safe." "[Back up beeping]" "This is a big shot for me." "I can prove myself up here." "I been trying to prove myself all my life." "Well, looks like a good load." "Got some weight on the front." "Narrator:" "This 32,000-pound load of sandbags is Porkchop's first solo run to Prudhoe Bay." "Everything seems to be going a little bit better." "Got my own load, finally." "Heading up to Prudhoe." "By myself, thank God." "I'm gettin' outta here." "[Horn honks]" "[Coughing]" "As happy as I should be, I feel like crap, so..." "Don't really feel too good right now." "Feel like I got a fever, little bit of congestion." "I wish I felt a little bit better." "Big step finally..." "and I don't feel good." "Narrator:" "Even at his best, he's struggled in Alaska, and at less than 100%... he'll have to dig deep to get through the next 500 miles." "This could get rough." "Narrator: 100 miles up the road..." "I'm back on the road, doing what I love to do." "Narrator:" "Haul road ace Jack Jessee is back from a brief hiatus." "I needed some time." "I probably should have asked for it, but... circumstances the way they were..." "It just-- it's the way it went down." "Narrator:" "And this load's not letting him ease back into the job." "Got about 48,000 pounds of pipe on here right now." "24-inch heavy wall pipe." "Narrator:" "Used to feed the Alaskan pipeline... long pipe keeps the oil flowing from Prudhoe Bay." "This load's important, you know." "There's guys waiting to put this pipe together up there, and I gotta get it there." "Narrator:" "But a stack of long pipe is also one of the toughest loads to haul up the Dalton." "[Metallic clatter]" "What the hell is that noise?" "[Clatter]" "I think the load just shifted on me." "Well, this is not good." "This is" " Yeah, this is bad." "Gonna have to fix this." "All right, we're ready to pull out." "Let's get out and fix this." "Wow!" "Question is what to do with this." "I'm supposed to have about this much hanging over the trailer." "I don't have anything." "If this whole unit slid over any farther, and then these straps probably woulda broke... then somebody woulda been in a world of hurt." "Narrator:" "There's no way to re-center the 48,000-pound load without heavy machinery." "Get my ratchet winder out." "I'm gonna hook it to the chain." "Narrator:" "So Jack's gotta improvise." "I got no other alternatives." "I'm not going back to town." "It's too far away to go back to town and get this fixed right." "Narrator:" "Chained down, the load's still off-center." "I gotta get this load up there." "Narrator:" "But it's better than nothing." "Thought I was gonna have a great day, but... hasn't worked out so well so far." "I just can't get a break today." "Tomorrow will be a new day." "But I got 12 hours to go before that's gonna happen." "Narrator: 150 miles to the north..." "This is my first time on the Dalton ice trucking." "[Honks horn]" "Narrator:" "Austin Wheeler's in the middle of a career-making heavy haul convoy." "The second truck is definitely the hardest position, the second push truck." "Third truck total." "Narrator:" "The three-rig team has just 24 hours to push a 100-ton modular building to Prudhoe Bay." "Today's a new day, and hopefully we can make up for lost time." "Narrator:" " Last night..." " Damn it!" "The engine's cutting off." "Narrator:" "The convoy was nearly canceled when engine trouble forced teammate Carey Hall back to town." "It's just been a really bad day." "Stuff like that happens." "It was just frustrating 'cause we had so many stops during the day already." "It just got frustrating." "Narrator:" "Today they're back underway with relief driver" "Neil Locke and Greg Vance." "Well, as you can see, it snowed a couple inches last night." "It's really shitty for what we're doing right now, because you got 30-some wheels in front of you that are just throwing snow dust." "You can't see shit, so you just gotta trust the guy in front of you." "[Chuckles]" "Narrator:" "When two trucks are pushing the load, timing is crucial." "The middle truck has to hook up first, before the third truck moves in." "If Austin connects too early, he'll create a domino effect that could end in disaster." "Right now I can't see." "This is ridiculous." "Guys, this is dangerous." "This is really dangerous." "Narrator:" "As the team reaches the next hill, they line up for the push." "Whenever you're ready, Greg, I'm right on you." "Hey, Greg, can you see at all back there?" "Nope." "Narrator:" "But in the blinding snow, Greg can't hook up to the lead truck." "Let's go." "[Suspenseful music]" "♪ ♪" "Oh, fuck." "Narrator:" "Coming up..." "[Horn blares]" "And he's never even been on the fucking ice before." "Narrator:" "Hugh's rookie gamble." "This is crazy." "This is crazy." "This is crazy." "Narrator: - 250 miles north of Fairbanks..." " Here I come." "Narrator:" "Austin Wheeler is driving blind." "[Suspenseful music]" "♪ ♪" "Oh, fuck." "♪ ♪" "Sorry about that hit, Greg." "I didn't realize you were changing gears." "Don't hook up to me until I say so, okay?" "Okay." "Austin hooked up before Greg was hooked up." "So Austin hooked into Greg, and he wasn't hooked into me." "That's why we got that nudge." "With Austin right behind me, we could head off into the ditch, which is not a good situation." "If Greg loses the road, he can go off the road." "Austin's shoving him." "Austin goes right off behind him." "That's bad." "That's really bad." "I didn't realize you were changing gears." "I thought you had already changed." "Since Greg's the lead push truck, he kind of knows what's going on, 'cause he can see the load and kind of see what Neil's doing." "Me, on the other hand, it's hard because..." "If you're not sure what gear those guys are in, you're just kind of trying to guess." "Narrator:" "The delivery deadline is only 20 hours away, and Austin's last chance to prove he can handle Dalton heavy haul will be the convoy's biggest challenge." "They're approaching Atigun Pass, where a recent snowfall has the mountains crying for an avalanche." " If the snow pack breaks loose..." " Whoa!" "Get back!" "Go back!" "Narrator:" "The result could be fatal." "[Dramatic music]" "♪ ♪" " At the DOT Chandalar camp..." " Up and away." "Gotta get ready to roll." "Narrator:" "Keeping the pass clear falls on avalanche expert Reid Bahnson." "We gotta get rolling." "We" " You know, the clock is running." "Narrator:" "Reid is a 20-year veteran of Alaska's DOT." "It might crack at any time." "Narrator:" " And when danger looms..." " Fire!" "[Boom!" "]" "Narrator:" "He's called in to blast away avalanches before they strike." "Good shot!" "Got it." "You get some strange looks from the truckers when you're driving down the highway in the F-150 with a gun sitting on top of it." "Keep going." "Rotate, rotate." "Narrator:" "Reid's weapon of choice, a Korean-war-era cannon." "Mandatory safety meeting." "This is a recoilless rifle." "Half the blast goes out the back of this weapon." "Nobody" " You understand this?" "Nobody goes beyond this point." "From that area out back, you're gonna get fucked up and killed." "[Dramatic music]" "♪ ♪" "Okay, Ken." "We're closed and clear, correct?" "10-4, closed and clear." "All clear." "Ready to load." "HE, super quick." "Loaded." "Clear to the front." "Clear to the rear." "All clear!" "Ready to fire." "Fire!" "[Distant explosion]" "Narrator:" "Shot one, no action." "Loaded." "Shot 112." "Clear to the front." "Clear to the rear." "All clear!" "Ready to fire." "Fire!" "Narrator:" "Shot two." "[Distant explosion]" "The snow holds solid." "Let's dial it in really tight this time, see if we can't get it to run." "Loaded." "All clear!" "Ready to fire." "Fire!" "We'll see what happens." "[Snow rumbling]" "Yeah!" "Right on." "Here it comes." "Looking good." "Okay, Ken, we're clear." "Slide path 25 just released." "The guys got the road under control, and the trucks are rolling." "Narrator:" "The danger is diffused, and Atigun's open for business." "And they'll be rolling all day now." "That's all that counts." "Narrator: 50 miles south at the Coldfoot truck stop..." "[Indistinct conversations]" "Well, I'm gonna pull out ahead of him and, uh, make the load count." "Narrator:" "Word of Jack Jessee's return has reached Darrell Ward." "I'm going up against the haul road ace." "I'm chasing him for load count." "Yesterday was kind of another chop-chop day." "Long drive, short trip." "So I'm gonna roll on north." "Narrator:" "He'd be a load on Jack if not for last night's setback." "Delays, delays, delays." "Narrator:" "A truck jackknifed across the road put him behind schedule..." "Whoa!" "That's part of the life of a trucker, and I don't want to see Reno to end up in that same boat, you know." "Narrator:" "But reminded him why he's here." "Oh, yeah, Reno'd love to be snowmobiling up here right now." "Nice snow." "Narrator:" "On the pass, the avalanche danger may have been cleared, but the slick road and sheer cliffs remain." "Slick out here, man, I'm telling you." "Well, fuck." "Damn it, man." "Slip-sliding all over the place." "It's slick, slick, slick today." "[Suspenseful music]" "Right on." "I made it through the pass, and I'm good to go." "♪ ♪" "Oh, shit!" "Oh, fuck!" "My trailer coming out, dude?" "Fuck, that's slick." "That fucking road's slick as hell." "I'm just rolling along." "My trailer just... headed for the ditch on the side over here." "Wow, that-- that was close, close as I wanna get." "Makes you think." "You know, same thing happened to that truck on nine mile." "His trailer slid around, and-- You know, could've been me sitting in the same situation." "Might need to stop and clean my drawers out after that one." "Narrator: 2,400 miles east..." "in Manitoba, Canada..." "A brutally warm season has washed away Hugh and Rick's hopes of cashing in on the winter roads." "Holy fuck!" "Narrator:" "They've only delivered a handful of loads." "[Laughs]" "[Siren blips]" "We might not be going anywhere." "Narrator:" "A deer mouse infestation left Rick's truck un-drivable..." "We gotta make sure nobody goes in there." "Narrator:" "And Rick sidelined with a potentially fatal infection." "It's like a 2% survival rate if you get hantavirus." "Narrator:" "And Hugh's profit sharing deal is looking like a bust." "If we can't get shit" " straightened out, then..." "Narrator:" " At Polar Industries..." "[Ratchet gun whirring]" "Rick's truck is ready to roll after a complete cleanout." "But Rick's still out of commission." "Hey, Wilson." "Hey, Hugh, how's it going?" "Rick's still sick." "He's still sick." "So did you get that truck of so did you get that truck of yours running?" "I don't mind." "How much are you guys paying?" "[Laughs]" "I'll give you the golden ring." "Narrator:" "And with his season on the line..." "Hugh's calling a Hail Mary." "This year, there's a lot of loads hanging out here and, uh, you gotta get 'em in there." "I got Wilson driving one truck, and we got the mechanic driving the other one, and Derreck's never been up the road before." "Narrator:" "His plan is to lead a convoy of dispatcher Vlad" " Wilson Pleskot..." " It looks like a short dispatch day for me because, uh," "Hugh asked me to take a load up with him." "Narrator:" "And shop mechanic Derreck Berry, who's never driven on the ice." "I don't know where he got this crazy idea from." "I think, uh..." "I think he's, uh..." "He's not right in the head right now." "Narrator:" "Today, they've got three trailers of cement headed across Lake Winnipeg and over the winter roads for a construction project in Pauingassi, Manitoba." "Wilson and Lewis, ready to go." "Okay, let's rock and roll." "Narrator:" "If the plan works, Hugh will earn another load for himself, and put three more on the books for Polar Industries." "The loads have to go up there, and they all have to be up there tomorrow." "Narrator:" "But if it doesn't, Hugh, the Polar staff, and 39 bags of cement could end up on the bottom of Lake Winnipeg." "Either we'll have panic all over the place, or it'll be a good show." "Narrator: - 1,000 miles to the northwest..." " I'm 134 kilometers down the tungsten mine road." "Narrator:" "Alex Debogorski's learning the ropes on the one-lane mine road." "Are you behind me now, Alex?" "I can't see ya." "There's no place to get into trouble." "Okay, Alex, stay to your left." "Kinda leans the wrong way." "A few of the boys have been upside-down here." "Just kinda watch yourself." "Okay." "Yes, it's a dangerous road." "You get into trouble on this road, you're gonna be two hours before you get help." "You bleed to death a lot faster than that, you freeze to death faster than that." "Depends if you're upside-down down in the gulch." "You can ask Brento how many trucks went over this road, how many trucks got smashed, how many guys survived?" "The road narrows as they head closer to the mine and deeper into the mountains." "If you're not careful, these roads'll bite you, and that's this road just like any other." "Narrator:" "Coming up... [Coughs]" "Narrator:" "Haul road fever." "Doing okay?" "Alert, awake?" "Narrator: 250 miles north of Fairbanks... [Coughing]" "Narrator:" "Porkchop's seven hours into what should be a triumphant first solo run." "Whew." "Still feel like I've got a fever." "Just all around, don't feel good." "[Coughing]" "Narrator:" "But all he wants to do is take a nap." "Got me some coffee in me." "Took me a shot of energy." "Hopefully it'll get me on up the road here a good little ways." "The better you feel, the better you got your wits about you." "Mm-- [Coughs]" "[Sighs]" "I'm not as good as I should feel." "Just trying to get this day over with." "Got a lot on my mind." "First time out here by myself, I want to play it by the books, get everything done." "Skin her back, get her drunk, get her done." "[Chuckles]" "Look up ahead of us." "Porkchop, copy?" "10-4." "Narrator:" " All season..." " All right, you're done driving, pull over." "Narrator:" "Trainer Phil Kromm hasn't been impressed with Porkchop." "I wouldn't feel comfortable signing an authorization." "Narrator:" "And now he's checking in on his former student." "How do you feel?" "Alert, and awake, and doing okay?" "Yeah, so far so good." "Just don't be afraid to ask if you got any questions." "10-4, thank you, sir." "Narrator:" "But Phil's offer to help falls on suspicious ears." "35-year-old man." "I don't need some-- somebody that's been driving a couple of years longer than me, just 'cause he knows the road, try to tell me how to drive." "I'm here to do what I do." "Porkchop's got 15 years of driving experience, but he didn't learn all the best driving skills." "And up here on the haul road, you have to have the best driving skills." "And I think he can learn 'em, but I think it's gonna take a while." "I ain't got people sitting here watching over me, and looking at me like I'm a piece of prey and they're a hawk up on a limb waiting on me to make a-- a wrong move so they can swoop" "in and gouge my eyeballs out or something." "Narrator: - 300 miles north of Fairbanks..." " It's just been a really long trip." "I usually don't have anything happen to me." "Narrator:" "Austin Wheeler's still dwelling on his mistimed push earlier in the day." "Sometimes you can't help but to hit 'em hard." "That's what push trucking's about." "Narrator:" "The convoy has just 12 hours to make it to Prudhoe Bay." "Well, we're down here at the shelf." "Narrator:" "And they've reached their biggest challenge." "Hopefully the pass is good to go." "Um..." "Everything good back there?" "Yeah, I'm good." "Okay, go to third over." "Narrator:" "Atigun Pass is the 23-year-old's last shot at proving himself as a Dalton heavy hauler." "Here, the kind of mistake Austin made earlier could be fatal." "Are you hooked?" "Yeah." "Watch yourself there, Austin." "We're going around a corner here." "Yeah, I'll back off if I need to." "Okay." "Okay, here I come." "Yeah, you're good to go." "Holy smokes." "Hang on." "[Dramatic music]" "♪ ♪" "Narrator:" "He makes the connection." "Right now, I'm hooked up to Greg, Greg's hooked up to Neil." "Narrator:" "But it's still a mile to the top." "Yeah, if Greg accidentally disconnects from the bumper of the trailer, and I'm still hooked up to him, I could push him right into the ditch, 'cause I'm still, you know, pushing on him hard." "[Dramatic music]" "♪ ♪" "Narrator:" "Finally, Austin's in the clear as the 100-ton load makes it over the pass." "So, you don't need us the rest of the way in?" "No, it's flat." "It's all good." "Narrator:" "He'll see the mission through to Prudhoe Bay, but the hardest part is over." "It's flat from 62 mile all the way into Prudhoe." "Don't really need push trucks anymore, and we can cruise on into Prudhoe Bay." "Narrator:" " Coming up..." " Look at" " Look at that." "Can barely even see the delineators." "Narrator:" "An ice-fog whiteout." "I think I'm on my side of the road." "Hey, dude, slow-- slow-- slow down, slow down!" "Narrator:" "In Manitoba..." "Got three loads of concrete to go to Pauingassi." "Narrator:" "Hugh's on a Hail Mary run." "Rick's still sick, so I talked fucking Wilson into coming for a trip." "He ain't been up here since last year trucking, so he decided he'd come along." "We got a rookie here going across the ice bridge the first fucking time." "It's good for him, so..." "Keeps us fucking rotating, keeps the loads going, and hopefully everything goes good." "Narrator:" "The makeshift team is Hugh's last-ditch attempt to salvage his season." " But before they reach the ice..." " Hey, buddy." "What's that?" "Narrator:" "The rookie gets some words of advice." "Poor guy." "Never been on the ice roads." "Oh, he's scared shit." "[Laughs]" "I've taken a lot of guys up there on their first time, and some of 'em, uh-- they're big, brave boys, but by the time they get there, lots of 'em just get out of the truck and say they ain't doing it." "Well, in case you're scared, just, you know, keep the truck rolling in the first gear, and jump out-- jump out and go home." "[Laughs]" "Yeah, he can always do that." "[Groans]" "Well, you know how to swim, don't you?" "No, no." "What, are you telling me you forgot your speedos today?" "I forgot my speedos." "Did you bring that life jacket that was on the stairs?" "I'm not going swimming, I'm not going swimming, no, no." "[Laughs]" "[Chuckles]" "[Clears throat]" "What the hell am I doing out here?" "I'm just a mechanic." "I am the mechanic." "Narrator: 2,100 miles to the northwest, on Alaska's North Slope..." "[Honking horn]" "See if I can't whip this day out in a pretty timely manner." "[Horn blaring]" "Narrator:" "Darrell Ward's made it to Prudhoe Bay ahead of Jack Jessee." "Comin' into Prudhoe here." "Drop my trailer off." "Go hit dispatch, get another load." "Whip over and throw some fuel on this old girl." "And Josh is gonna be following me." "[Country music]" "♪ ♪" "Narrator:" "But just behind Darrell..." "We're about 30 minutes out of Prudhoe." "Narrator:" "Jack's crawling up the Dalton with an off-center load of pipe." "Kinda funny." "I've had a pretty rough trip, but I think they've saved the worst part for the last." "Narrator:" "And as the sun goes down... visibility is near zero." "I'm not a big fan of twilight up here." "It's hard to see anyway." "Put ice fog into it, makes it even worse." "I can't tell where the edges are." "I can barely see the end of my hood." "It's really hard to tell between fog and ground level because everything kinda looks the same bluish gray." "You can't see any texture." "You got no definition." "The shoulders look just the same as the tundra, which looks just the same as the fog." "I don't wanna meet anybody out here." "I mean, just look at that!" "You can barely even see the delineators out here, man." "Hey, southbound." "How fast are you going there?" "I think I'm on my side of the road." "Narrator:" "The off-center load leaves no room for sudden movements." "That's getting a little close, getting a little close." "Dude, slow-- slow-- slow down!" "Crap, that was close." "These dangers, they're for real up here, but... doesn't matter what's in front of me." "I'm gonna get the job done." "Narrator:" "Pushing through the ice fog..." "Jack pulls into Prudhoe Bay." "Got it here, it's all in one piece, and it's still on the trailer." "Narrator: - 800 miles to the southeast..." " I'm on the Nohanni Range road about three-quarters of the way in to the tungsten mine." "Narrator:" "Alex Debogorski and Brento Labonte are a hundred miles up the mine road." "Yeah, this is where you're not supposed to sleep." "This is where you're not supposed to sleep, I like that." "Where was that truck that was buried that they had to dig out that was covered up?" "That was the Load Auro that went down over the bank." "Just up here by this stop checkerboard, you'll have a look off to your right, you'll see where I'm talking about." "Narrator:" "As they get closer to the mine, the cliffs get steeper and the drop gets farther." "Easy." "Can't tell, under that snow, whether that's the shoulder or not." "You go over that cliff, you're dead." "Oh, this is it right here." "Narrator:" "Alex reaches the last mile." "The steepest pass on the mine road." "I didn't get much of a run on that one, I'll tell you that." "This one's gonna be a little harder." "What the hell." "I think I've got a problem here." "It didn't quite go all the way in." "Narrator:" "The rough climb is popping his truck out of gear." "[Gear box grinding]" "Come on, baby, we're almost there." "Come on, come on." "Just hang on!" "Narrator:" "Coming up." "And he's never even been on the fucking ice before." "Narrator:" "The rookie's on ice." "Wow." "I'm, uh, I'm" " I'm feeling nervous." "Narrator:" "In Northwest Territory..." "Alex Debogorski is fighting to keep his truck in gear and on the road." "Whoa!" "Darn truck." "Come on, baby, we're almost there." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "You're over the top." "Yes!" "I was just hanging on to her." "Thank you, Lord." "That was a fairly steep climb." "Had to hang on to the gearshift to make sure it didn't pop outta gear." "Anyway, it worked out and didn't blow the transmission up, and we made the hill." "Thank goodness I had Brento to lead me in." "You're wonderful, Brento." "Thank you." " After 11 hours riding on the edge..." " And there's the camp coming over the hill." "Narrator:" "Alex and Brento make the deadline with just an hour to spare." "Perfect." "Manitoulin will be happy that their driver and truck got there in one piece." "They'll be happy to get their chemicals in one piece." "And I'll be happy to go in there and have two steaks for supper time." "Narrator:" "And thanks to Alex, the mine will stay in operation." "Well, thank you very much." "Hey, too much fun, Alex." "Yeah, good trip." "Yeah, it was so." "Good fun." "Okay, good enough, thanks." "Thanks." "Yeah." "Straight on." "Now it's time to eat some supper." "[Patting fender]" "Narrator: - 800 miles to the northwest..." " Okay." "Narrator:" "The heavy haul team pulls into Prudhoe Bay." "Thanks." "Nice working with you." "Hope I'll" " Hope I'll see you guys in a couple of days." "Narrator:" "They've made the deadline, and Austin earns another notch in his heavy haul belt." "You know, you just gotta prove yourself out here to the older guys." "You gotta prove that you know the road." "Now they understand that I have what it takes to be up here." "Narrator:" " Just a mile outside of town..." " Yeah!" "Yeah!" "That's what I'm talking about." "Narrator:" "Porkchop's at the end of his first solo run on the Dalton." "[Toots horn]" "Boo-yah!" "Prudhoe Bay, get the hell out the way." "Here comes the Chop." "[Country music]" "♪ ♪" "Narrator:" "And there's no better cure than the lights of Prudhoe Bay." "Still feel a little under the weather, but, you know, for the most part I feel pretty good." "Feels pretty good to have a moral victory for once while I'm up here." "First trip to freakin' Prudhoe." "By myself, baby." "I told you you can't stop the Chop." "That's one way to chalk one up on the load count." "Whee, doggy." "Narrator:" "Porkchop's just two loads off the lead behind a three-way tie for the top spot." " In Winnipeg, Canada..." " And we're at the winter road." "Narrator:" "Hugh's Hail Mary convoy is gonna be put to the test." "[Horn honks]" "We need three loads up to Pauingassi today." "Three loads of cement." "But Rick's still sick." "So I wrangled Vlad into it here." "So I got another guy, and he's never even been on the fucking ice before." "[Laughs]" "[Sighs] This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy, man." "I've just hauled on the highway." "I haven't done no winter roads." "[Engine idling]" "Never." "He's, uh, in his, uh, bunk right now, fucking cleaning his shorts." "[Sighs]" "Shit." "So how do you" " How do you think the mechanic's gonna do?" "He's gonna be okay going across there?" "He's got" " He's got second cigarette in his mouth in two minutes, so-- [Laughs]" "Narrator:" "The team's about to hit the ice." "I'm, uh, I'm" " I'm feeling nervous." "I'm" " I'm pretty nervous right now." "Narrator:" "And the time for joking is over." "But go slow coming on and off the ice." "Always go slow." "And then just hit that bridge straight." "You only go about five kilometers an hour or lower across that bridge." "Slow as you can go." "Just walk across it." "Wow." "Driving on ice." "Never driven across ice, never drilled holes in ice." "I've never done nothing on ice 'cept put it in my drink." "Now I have to haul 32 tons across the ice." "[Whistles]" "'Kay." "Either that or..." "Wish me luck." "Narrator:" "Next time on Ice Road Truckers..." "Okay, are we rarin', boys?" "Narrator:" " Hugh's big gamble..." " Oh, my God, it's cracking." "Narrator:" "Is falling apart." "Come on!" "Aw, this is gonna be a long, long night." "Narrator:" "On the Dalton..." "[Horn blares]" "Fuck!" "Look out." "Narrator:" "The haul road rivalry reaches a peak." "Don't cut my throat to keep your nickname." "It's all about freight, man." "Holy fuck!" "[Horn blaring]" "Narrator:" "And things get personal." "Get out of the way!" "[Honking horn]" "Suck on this, Jack!" "[Groans]" "Narrator:" "And in the Yukon, Alex has a million-dollar load." "Whoa!" "Narrator:" "On the edge." "Hold on, hold on, hold on..." "Hold on, hold on!"