"I make my entire living off The land with gold mining." "We need a bunch of capital In a hurry." "And I just have this vision." "That it's going to Come from bluff." "I mean, you never know." "But if I could get out there And prove what's there is There," "I'm going to be Piling the gold up fast." "It's "Make it or break it" Time." "Today is our first day Of mining." "Go find us lots of gold!" "You need to come up immediately." "right there." "we've got gold, boys!" "Take my hand, zeke." "I am a miner!" "Captions paid for by Discovery communications" "the moment of truth." "For a bering sea miner," "It's an integral part Of the lifestyle." "For some," "A long-elusive mother lode May finally be in reach." "For others," "A last chance To find redemption." "Where they've pinned Their hopes." "And for newcomers," "It's time to prove They belong." "100 miles east of nome." "At the bluff... we're back." "Weather's good." "We're going to see how much Gold." "We can put in the box In this next dive." "Shawn pomrenke Could be on the brink of." "Unleashing the next Alaskan gold rush..." "We're on our claim now." "And it all looks like Really good rocky material." "And proving to his father That his instincts are dead-on." "This is right next to where That big nugget come from." "This is going to be good." "This is going to be fun!" "At the start Of the season..." "Bluff is a silly Damn idea." "I think it's Just silly, shawn." "The senior pomrenke scoffed At shawn's dream." "Of finding gold at the bluff." "Here we go, First claim I've ever staked," "And it's out in the richest Offshore reserve in the world." "Undeterred, Shawn led his expedition." "To the remote, Untapped location." "Yeah!" "Look at that nugget!" "Wow!" "And on his last trip," "He finally found evidence He's onto something big." "That's a big nugget there." "Now it's Time to find out." "If the 1 1/2-ounce nugget Was just the beginning." "We're going to start From where we found the gold." "And widen the search From there," "Grid it out, See how big the..." "Big the area is and see If we can find." "A big slab of gold down there." "Today might be the day." "I might just go down there." "And be able to retire After today." "Using the spot of the nugget's Discovery as a starting point," "Shawn will Systematically check out." "The grounds in every direction." "And we need This ground to pay off." "And we need to pay it off big And pay off in a hurry." "But if the nugget Was just a one-off." "And he comes up dry," "Shawn's big gamble Will have been a bust." "Ooh, here we go!" "Going to get that gold." "Nuggets, nuggets, nuggets." "All right, I'm on the bottom." "which way do I head?" "Turn and walk northeast." "How's the visibility?" "visibility's not bad at all." "And he's moving straight Towards Where the nugget was." "And here we go." "Let's hope there's some gold right here." "Not seeing anything here." "Just a few little colors here and there." "I don't know." "I'm not seeing it." "damn, I was hoping to come down here and see a bunch of gold in this spot, but..." "I'm not seeing it right now." "yeah, I'm going to just keep on taking a look here to the east of us." "yeah, copy that." "So he's still hunting And pecking a little bit," "You know, not really Quite mining." "I'm punching my second hole here." "I'm not seeing much gold right here either." "He's not finding it." "The nugget May have been a promising sign." "Now I'm starting to get worried." "I ain't seeing over here." "But without other nuggets To keep it company," "Shawn's dad may have been right About the bluff all along." "If I was some gold, where in the hell would I be hiding?" "120 miles west..." "I've done a bunch Of dives so far," "And I haven't seen anything That looks." "Even remotely Indicative of gold." "Zeke tenhoff and emily riedel Are readying for another battle." "With their nemesis, Mighty sledge island." "You know, I think The definition of insanity," "You keep trying the same thing, Expect different results." "And they're desperate For a big score." "Can't find gold Without looking, but..." "At the same time, You know," "If the evidence is just Completely lacking." "And you know that you have The skills and the time." "And you know what You're looking for," "And if it's just not there, Then there's a time to quit." "I've angled myself Financially and otherwise." "For a prospecting trip Out to sledge island." "And kind of just assumed That it would work out," "But if it doesn't work out, Then I'm going to be broke." "We don't see any evidence Of any gold," "We're going to have to Have a powwow." "And kind of Reconsider our options." "For weeks..." "Whoa." "My god." "Zeke and emily have braved." "Treacherous waters At the mysterious site." "It would be really nice to see just a little flake of gold, you know?" "But after exhausting their Most promising leads..." "I'm not seeing any heavy minerals." "Yeah, I think we've done all we can do on this side." "They haven't found a thing." "Where's the gold?" "So now they're hoping To salvage the mission..." "West-northwest side Of the island," "It was just sort of Supposed to be." "Where these pods were That I heard about." "By investigating one of The island's oldest." "And tallest tales." "So there are some rumors That emily heard." "About these mounds Or pods of gravel." "That were glacierally Deposited." "I don't really know what That's supposed to mean," "But I think it's Enough of a hunch to follow." "Whoa, what's that?" "Looks like It could be like." "Maybe, you know, Like bays of grav..." "I mean, there're definitely Ridges through here," "Some kind of Ridges of gravel." "Yeah." "That's very interesting." "That's definitely different From the other side." "It looks like there's These, like, it..." "I mean, it..." "Like, I guess, yeah." "I could..." "Could describe that." "As like mounds or pods Or something like that," "These like rocks Kind of popping up." "Out of the sand right here And these ridges." "Yeah." "It looks like mounds of gravel." "Well, what do you think?" "Should we go down In this spot, check it out?" "Yeah." "This place looks Pretty interesting to me," "But if I don't see Any gold here," "I think we're going to have To start seriously thinking." "About going somewhere Other than sledge island." "Gold is Where you find it," "And we haven't found it yet." "Okay." "So, Let's go anchor up..." "All right." "Out front and..." "I'll toss the anchor." "Yeah." "We could have missed it." "And this could have been Where it was all along." "This is our last attempt." "With their season and Potentially their partnership." "Hanging in the balance, Zeke looks to see." "If the rumors Of the mounds are true." "Go find us lots of gold, Zeke!" "All right, what are we going to find down here?" "I always hate going down the hose." "It's always really deep." "Big ol' rocks down here." "You know, I thought the rocks looked a little smaller." "More of the same." "All right." "Kind of like the same old, Same old down there," "Nothing new?" "Just rocks, rocks, rocks, and more rocks." "grab my hose." "We've circumnavigated This entire island." "Multiple times And done a bunch of dives," "And this is really Our only chance." "Of making this trip worth it Or discovering gold out here." "What's up?" "yeah!" "26 miles West of nome... what's up?" "Zeke and emily are Making a last-ditch effort." "To unlock the mysteries Of sledge island..." "And find gold." "Yeah!" "look at that." "The rumors of the fabled Sledge island mounds." "Prove to be true." "Pretty unmistakable." "And now it's time to learn If they hold the gold." "Kind of what we were thinking of." "It's just like mounds of what could be clay or hard band coming up from below." "I mean, that's what it looks like to me." "Now we just need to find some gold in them." "I'm going to try to plow it through and see what..." "See what's under there." "The concentration Of gravel could be a sign." "That heavy minerals Are trapped beneath... a lot of silty stuff." "It's getting a little cloudy." "And zeke's hoping." "One of them is gold." "You see anything in Those mounds of gravel?" "It looks like there is just gravel under this gravel." "I can't really speculate as to whether they are glacially deposited gravel or if it's just busted-up pieces of rock that fell off the mountain." "It looks like bedrock." "look at that." "Just big chunks of bedrock that have fallen off the mountain, probably chunks of bedrock from around different places from around here." "I don't know why all this gravel is like sitting on this bedrock and not getting washed off of it." "that's really weird." "Well, that could be A pretty good sign?" "I don't..." "I don't know." "I bet what happens is this place gets beat up by the waves really hard, and so you probably have this... this light gravel on these rocks, just like kind of on these mounds, these mounds of maybe glacial gravel that was... started piling up." "just more rock." "It's got a lot Of shells in it." "Shells are never A good sign 'cause shells Kind of indicate." "That it's not really All that old." "And it's not really That mineralized." "It just looks like ground-up island rock, you know?" "Little pieces just got beat up and pulverized by the ocean waves." "yeah, no, definitely no gold here." "that's... that's pretty depressing news." "We've done so many Dives at this point." "If we don't see anything Leading up to gold," "You know, it's like, When the do we quit?" "When do we call it?" "This is not looking all that promising." "Well, what do you Want to do, zeke?" "You want to keep Wasting gas." "And looking around Down there?" "What do you want to do?" "No, it's... all right, man." "I'll meet you At the nozzle line." "Frustrating." "I'm discouraged." "I'm not happy." "It's the same story." "There's no gold." "And there's not even A trace of gold." "What do you think, man?" "Is it time to call it?" "Yeah, I think so." "It's cool and it's pretty, But there isn't..." "There isn't Any money in it." "Sledge has Delivered a death blow." "To zeke and emily's hopes." "I mean, we came out to Sledge island chasing rumors." "The mounds of gravel," "They were supposed to Have gold in 'em." "There's no gold In these things at all." "It's been another day Of no gold." "I think my theory about there Being a lot of gold here." "In this area is maybe not true." "Let's get the Out of here." "I don't really know What I'm going to do next." "And as they flee, The mighty island." "May have claimed Its latest victim." "Sledge island." "While the book May have closed." "On one prospecting dream... 20 miles east..." "Back in nome... well, I'm going to Go get some gold." "Another mining story Is just beginning." "It's going to happen." "Rookie miner George young has packed up." "And left his life In colorado behind." "As gold's siren song Has led him." "To seek his fortune In the bering sea." "There's a lot of gold In that ocean," "And if you can find it, You can make damn good money." "The lure of golden Treasure has bankrupted." "And destroyed many a soul," "But this free spirit Is willing to take the risk." "I love going out And doing now things and," "You know, Doing things on my own." "It's a pride thing." "And that's come to bite me At times." "2001, got in my pickup To drive home that day." "And hit some black..." "Bunch of black ice," "Went in the ditch, Rolled my pickup truck once," "And..." "Legs haven't worked since." "You just roll with the punches And keep going." "All right." "We're going mining." "That's what's Happening today." "This is the beginning of Another chapter in my life." "Today's my first day Ever getting some of that." "Yellow rocks for me." "I'm going to dive for gold And I'm going to succeed." "If another man can do it, I can do it." "George has picked A tough season." "To start his prospecting Career, 'cause traditional hot spots Have dried up throughout town." "The bering sea Is right out there." "I'm going to get me Some of that." "But he's got An ace up his sleeve." "What are you Yapping about?" "Brother dave has been in The nome mining game for years." "And owns the rights to Several claims yet to be Tapped." "Today we've got to find ground." "That's going to be good To start mining on." "So that's where George Will begin his hunt," "But the opportunity Will not come cheap." "I have big debt to pay off." "I owe my brother 50 grand Just for this boat, 20 grand for the extras, So I'm in the hole $70,000." "And I've got to get some gold To start paying that off." "That's right." "I can retire." "You gotta love debt." "Hundred ounces would guarantee That I pay off my dredge," "I'll be able to pay my guys," "And I'll be able to go home With some money." "I'm jacked." "I'm excited." "I know we can do it." "Once you get past these rocks, I can be considered a captain." "That has driven a boat In the bering sea." "You know, right now, I'm just excited." "Just getting in the water, You know, it starts right then." "This is awesome." "Woo!" "100 miles East of nome." "At the bluff... come on, baby." "where's the gold at?" "Shawn pomrenke is trying to Keep His family's empire alive," "Hoping a 1 1/2-ounce nugget." "Was just a stepping stone To riches." "But, after three Hours of dive time..." "I keep going over here." "I'm going to come and punch a couple more holes out here." "you never know." "He hasn't added A single speck," "And the bluff might be Proving to be a mirage." "I see some cobble over this way." "I'm going to go check it out." "I just punched another hole, and, all right," "I'm seeing some better-looking material right here." "A lot more iron, heavier, and the field's underneath you." "I do have a good feeling about this." "I think we're going to find something really, really good down here." "If I can find the edge... edge of there, it's going to be good." "here's a big rock." "I'm going to flip this out of the way, see what's here." "right there!" "we got gold, boys!" "we got gold." "yeah!" "Now we've just got to see if we can find where it's concentrated a little better around here, but we do have... yeah!" "rice krispie treats, rice krispie treats." "It's just pouring out of The sand down here." "Big chunks, nice-sized clumps of gold, easy to catch." "It just keeps coming out, too." "We are killing it right now." "We are killing it Right now." "While shawn may be Seeing gold on the bottom," "Looks can sometimes Be deceiving." "I'm coming on up." "He'll need confirmation." "That it's piling up In the sluice box." "Did you have fun?" "Yeah." "Whoo!" "This is loaded!" "Hell, yes!" "That's Sold gold ripples!" "Whoo!" "Finally we have A whole big pile of gold." "Now it's just Getting it off the bottom." "Of the ocean floor And hopefully onto the scale." "Life's good." "I'm happy." "Well, what I'm seeing down Below Is I'm seeing the black." "Like we're seeing On the cliffs there," "And then it turns tan, And as soon as it turns tan," "The gold was just Pouring out of the dirt." "Going right into The middle of our claim." "Perfect." "You know what this is?" "What is that?" "That's the gold dance." "We're going to find The mother lode here." "100 miles west..." "Slow it up a little, Buckwheat." "I got ya." "Rookie miner George young." "Is looking to make his First dive of the season." "I'm jacked, man." "I cannot wait." "To get in that water And see what's down there." "And see that gold To pay off my debt." "And get that gold To pay off my debt." "George will be Starting his mining career." "On claim 31," "One of his brother's Virgin claims," "Five miles from nome Off the alaskan coastline." "We're there!" "We've got a spot that's Going to offer some good gold." "I've got leases that They haven't been dredged," "So the cobble should still Have lots of gold in it." "So, yeah, I mean, it's going to Be a pretty big debt." "To my brother I'm going to have to owe." "You ready?" "Yep." "George has had a Taste Of underwater mining before," "But he's never tangled With a body of water." "As intimidating As the bering sea." "I love to ski." "I love to hunt." "I love to fish." "Just be careful." "Can happen Pretty fast." "But quite honestly, You know, this is..." "This is dangerous stuff." "Dave worries, But I love diving," "So I'm going to dive." "Ready?" "Yeah, I'm ready." "All right, I'm on the bottom." "How's it feel down there?" "just trying to get my groove on." "there we go, baby." "I can do this!" "I'm on the nozzle." "power up." "all right, powering up." "me. yes, now I got it." "I just want to dig this hole and see what I got." "Everything good?" "10-4." "Keep sucking, george." "I want to hear rocks." "Trying to just get a hole here." "I hear rocks Coming through." "There it is." "Now you're getting it." "See any gold?" "Holy!" "Five miles West of nome... feeling the weight Of his debt to his brother." "And intent on proving He can make it." "As a bering sea miner... holy!" "George young needs to hit Pay dirt in a big way." "Yeah, baby!" "Woo!" "And on his debut Dive," "The rookie may already Be coming through." "Good job." "He's doing pretty good." "It's getting pretty bouncy." "If it keeps up, we..." "We won't be able to dredge." "What's it like down there?" "But just as The gold's rolling in... so too Are rough waters," "As fortunes can change In an instant." "In the bering sea." "We've got to Get out of here." "I think I can balance under this." "I just want to dig this hole and see what I got." "The waves are starting to Get over a foot or two now." "These waves are Probably three-footers." "This is about max right here." "You need to come up immediately." "well, it's not enough." "we're out of here." "Okay, come on." "George is forced to cut His first dive short..." "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "Yeah!" "But not before he gets Gold in the box." "Boom!" "Not bad for a rookie." "You know, when you First hit the water," "It feels like, Yeah, freedom." "Whoo!" "When you see gold on The bottom of the ocean," "It's a pretty exciting thing." "It can get you Pretty riled up." "One day into The next chapter of his life..." "I am a miner!" "Nngh!" "George young can now Officially call himself." "A bering sea miner." "All right." "Got to get my first..." "First-dive celebratory cigar." "I'm now a miner, A miner in nome." "Good job." "22 miles west..." "I'm really ready to see A little bit of gold." "Just a speck of gold Would be good." "I think the best option At this point." "Is to go somewhere different To make some new theories." "And find some new clues, Et cetera." "Yeah." "Zeke tenhoff and emily riedel Have left sledge island behind." "Check this out." "Well, for some reason, The bottom comes up." "And there's a big Like shallow area." "See right here, it starts Getting really shallow." "Right." "Super shallow." "But there may be one." "Last potential spot On their way back." "It looks like there's These big kind of shelves." "Of bedrock and stuff And like drastic like." "Elevation changes On the bottom where it like..." "There would be like A cliff of bedrock." "And if a bunch of Gold-bearing gravels." "Did get kind of deposited there By like a big glacier plow," "Then that shallow spot Is where it's like." "The currents Are concentrating." "And kind of probably removing The light gravels." "And silt and stuff, And so if there's." "Any heavy minerals there, It'll be probably evidence." "Of them on the seamount." "Well, if there's gold Out here at all," "This is where it would be." "A little ways offshore From sledge island," "There's a place where There's a bedrock pinnacle," "Apparently, that comes up." "It's a really hazardous, Tricky place to dive," "Though, 'cause the currents Are very strong." "We're well out Into the channel." "In between the mainland And the island," "And that's where the water Kind of gets channeled." "And it speeds up." "Despite the rough Conditions of the area," "The partners are refusing To throw in the towel." "I want to get down there And see what we're looking at." "They'll give it one last Hail mary try for gold." "Holy." "Look at this current!" "This is insane!" "There's like a wake!" "We're like leaving a wake." "I've never seen Anything like this." "Without the Protection Of massive sledge island," "Zeke and emily Will be fully exposed." "To the raging sea waters." "With like the wind And the current, though," "It's going to be A really sketchy dive," "So just be careful." "I think the current's Making it difficult," "But, you know, I mean," "If I can even find A trace of gold," "It would be a success." "We're out at open sea And the current is insane." "It's definitely A dangerous diving situation." "But if we're going to Make money," "We're going to Have to take risks." "No, It's getting worse!" "I'm not going to Survive this, dude." "This current's too strong." "Just be really Careful down there." "Hey, Is everything okay?" "Zeke, you've got to Get out of there." "You can... well, I..." "Know what?" "Just don't let go, dude." "Take my hand." "Take my hand, Zeke." "How many times have I Almost died in the bering sea?" "Way too many times." "A long time ago, I put a new motor on our skiff," "Decided I was going to Go take it for a ride." "I was by myself, No life jacket." "Started turning." "The boat didn't turn, Turned a little more." "It's still didn't turn." "Well, When it decided to turn," "It decided to throw me Out of the boat." "And into the ocean." "And I had to Swim for my life." "And I remember thinking, "I'm going to die."" "Somebody heard me scream." "And picked me up And brought me to the hospital." "I was hypothermic." "I lost the feeling in my Fingers And heels and toes." "For probably three months." "The closest call I've had." "In the middle Of the bering sea..." "Take my hand, Zeke." "Zeke tenhoff Is struggling." "With his "Current situation."" "aah!" "that's a." "That's just crazy!" "This is bananas." "You can't do anything Down there in that." "I've never seen Anything like that." "The last-ditch Effort is a bust," "And with no gold On the season..." "Just too much." "The partnership and spirits." "Are hanging by a thread." "I'm getting pretty depressed About this whole adventure." "There's no reason to believe There's gold out here," "As far as I'm concerned." "It's getting Real frustrating." "20 miles east," "In the nome Small boat harbor..." "Let's see what we got, Buddy." "Can you get in there?" "Yeah, right here." "George young Is cleaning the box." "After his first Bering sea dive." "There's one." "Look at that." "We got some gold in there." "Christmas." "That's kind of What it feels like, 'cause you just Unwrapped a present." "Yeah." "First piece of gold." "There's my first piece Of bering sea gold." "Looks like about 10 cents, So I've got a lot of of that." "To get to pay off my debt, I'll tell you that." "He needs to fill that up." "He's got one Little piece in there." "George still Has a long way to go." "To pay off the $70,000 debt, But, at least for now," "The rookie's confidence." "Is shining brighter Than the gold." "I want to prove That I can do it," "That I don't just come and go." "I want to prove that I can be up here." "And I'm going to stay here." "I'm going to succeed this year." "And I'm going to Be here next year." "And I'm going to succeed Next year." "You fill this up And we're even." "Across town... see if dad's here." "Can't wait to show him This gold I found." "Shawn pomrenke's got a score To settle with the old man." "He said he would never Give me crap again." "If I found gold at bluff." "Well, I think he..." "He can't really give me Too hard a time about that." "If I would've been wrong About the bluff," "My dad would've never let me Hear the end of that." "It's 6.2 ounces in two hours." "That's over Three ounces an hour." "At one point, He almost had me convinced." "That there was no gold." "But, I mean, I was right And dad was wrong." "Again." "There he is." "Well, if this don't put A smile on your face," "I don't know what will." "Wow, look at all Them big pieces." "This out in comcon, or..." "No, that's bluff." "Yeah, right!" "It's there." "Sure, right." "It is?" "It's there." "Damn it." "Jeez, now I can't holler At you ever again." "That's true." "How many ounces is that?" "6.2." "How many hours is this That you got..." "Took you to get this, A day?" "Nuh, two hours." "Yeah, right." "Two hours." "Don't be fibbing a fibber." "It's over Three ounces an hour." "With a recreational dredge." "I think I found it." "Shawn went out to the bluff And found a nice patch of gold." "I'm very proud of him." "Yep, by golly, that kid," "He's pretty good At finding gold." "He found a patch." "That is some Damn big gold." "Well, that should help With the down payment." "I know it's just a start." "We don't know How big that patch is." "That's the $64 question." "Is it a big patch Or is it a little patch?" "Thanks to shawn's Hot spot at the bluff," "The pomrenkes continue To dominate the scoreboard." "I think we found A big treasure." "It's been a long summer!" "It's another beautiful day On the bering sea!" "Let's get some gold." "The nozzle's gone, guys." "This is not good." "The buck stops here." "Seriously, I'm broke." "George, are you there?" "Help me!" "Come up!" "Come up!" "Holy." "Wow."