>> male announcer: At the top
of the world, there's an outpost like no other.
And a job only a few would dare. The mission: to haul critical
supplies across 350 miles of frozen lakes to Canada's
remote billion-dollar diamond mines.
>> Alex: It's called the dash for the cash.
[truck honks] >> announcer: The challenge:
to transport 10,000 loads in 60 days...
before the road disappears. The rewards are great.
>> Rick: Gettin' amped up to make some money!
>> announcer: The risks...even greater.
>> announcer: At the doorstep of
the Arctic lies the land of the Tli Cho people.
For centuries, the Tli Cho have been the lords of the tundra.
A desolate place in a harsh climate.
Yet, in some ways, it's the richest real estate on the
planet. First, there was gold under the
ice. [explosions]
Now, the other kind of ice. Diamonds--an estimated
$40 billion worth. But for all their riches, the
mines are starving for supplies. In need of heavy equipment.
Gigantic tanks. And millions of gallons of fuel.
>> All of the electrical power is generated off of, uh, diesel
fired gensets. We need 48 million liters of
fuel, and if we do not get that, we will not be able to
run the plant. >> announcer: 300 miles south is
the capital of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife.
Where the supplies that the mines needed yesterday have
been piling up for almost a year.
>> I'm Rick Fitch, and this is my yard.
>> announcer: Rick manages the winter road operations for the
elite trucking company, Tli Cho Landtran.
They're sitting on thousands of loads.
100 million pounds worth, needing to move out.
>> Come hell or high water, this yard will be empty.
>> announcer: Only one problem. There's no road.
For most of the year, the terrain north of Yellowknife is
impassible. A quagmire of deep lakes
and spongy permafrost. Yet, when the lakes freeze over,
another passageway becomes possible.
An ice road. >> Maynard, do you copy?
>> announcer: The first vehicle ventures onto the surface of a
frozen lake. It's a Hagglund, a personnel
carrier used by the Swedish army.
There's a good reason why the Hagglund is first on the
ice. It floats.
>> If the machine does go in, we have an escape hatch in the
front. We have one right here.
It's basically grab, pull the lever down, and lift.
And bail out. >> announcer: The team precisely
measures the thickness of the ice using ground-penetrating
radar. >> Back of the unit is a radar
pulled by the sled. This screen gives me the
top of my ice and this line right here is the actual bottom
of the ice, right now. >> announcer: When the ice is at
least 16 inches thick, it's ready for a road.
In the tracks of the Hagglund, snowcats blaze a trail.
It's 350 miles long, 85% of which is over frozen lakes.
Crews are racing against the clock.
They have just 30 days to build a road that'll last maybe
twice as long. [truck honks]
300 miles south, Yellowknife begins to resemble one big
truck stop. Drivers arrive from all over
North America. Drawn by the mystique of the
ice roads, its dangers, its rewards.
>> Rick: Money! [honking]
>> Hugh: They can make a year's wages in eight, nine, ten weeks.
>> announcer: Down in southern British Columbia, Hugh Rowland
gears up for his 21st season. >> Hugh: A lot of people just
come to say they've done it. And when they get there,
they're scared [bleep]less and turn around and go home.
I've took a lot of guys up there that parked their truck in the
mine and want to be flown out. They won't go back.
>> announcer: Hugh owns a fleet of four ice road trucks.
[chuckling] One of his drivers: second-year
man Rick Yemm. >> Rick: I was pretty scared
going up my first trip. No matter what people say about
the ice roads, till you actually do it, you can't be
prepared for it. Ready to--loading up here.
>> announcer: This season, he's ready to take on his boss.
>> Rick: I gotta take him out. I gotta get more loads than him
this year, and that's the whole reason I'm going.
>> Hugh: Oh, yeah. [men laughing]
Rick. That's just the way Rick is.
He likes to talk. You can only believe about half
of what he says. >> Rick: My theory is the good
die young. I got a long life to live.
[chuckles] >> announcer: Hoping to run
with the veterans is rookie Drew Sherwood.
>> Drew: Drew Sherwood, 45 years old, and I'm the newbie.
Never done this before. I'm the rookie.
>> announcer: Rookies tend to wash out.
Brutal conditions, accidents, and sheer panic sends 'em
packing. As for Drew...
>> Drew: Not a hope in hell. I'm here for the long run.
>> Hugh: Like I say, talk's cheap, whiskey costs money.
We'll see what separates the men from the boys when we get there.
>> announcer: On a frozen lake north of Yellowknife,
snowplows carve out the roadbed. As the lake surface is exposed,
the illusion of being on solid ground vanishes.
[ice cracking] >> Oh, out on the lake,
sometimes it gets a little hairy there.
You feel the ice sort of move, and you hear it all crackle.
[ice cracking] I guess I heard a lot of the
accidents that did happen where people were going through the
ice was in the plow truck, and a few people have lost their
lives. >> announcer: December 29th,
2004. Prosperous Lake.
35 below. A young snowplow driver was
clearing the road when he hit a hidden patch of weak ice.
[ice cracking, water bubbling] The plow dropped 285 feet to
the bottom of the lake. In 35 below, the water refreezes
within minutes, sealing off any possibility of escape.
In the 75 year history of the ice roads, dozens of men have
lost their lives this way. Night falls.
But the job doesn't stop. The road builders are now
working around the clock. Because very soon, there'll be
18-wheelers rolling on the ice. In Kelowna, British Columbia,
Hugh Rowland and his team get the call.
They're about to set out on their 1,400 mile trek north,
around the top of Great Slave Lake, to Yellowknife and the
gateway of the ice road. [engines revving]
>> Hugh: Hey, buddy boy. >> announcer: This is good-bye
to home and family until the spring.
>> I hate it, I hate it. It doesn't get any easier.
It's just a really long time to be apart.
>> Hugh: I love you. >> There's the scary part
where, you know, he could go through the ice.
It happens, you know, people die up there.
>> announcer: Hugh's convoy hits the highway.
Next stop, the top of the world. And the last great adventure of
the open road. >> Hugh: Well, we've been, uh,
psyching ourselves up for a couple of months for this.
Now everybody's excited to get going, so...
Today's the day. >> announcer: Up ahead...
Whiteouts. Breakdowns.
Deadly cold. [truck honks]
>> You're listening to CBC North, Radio One.
I'm Brian Collins. And another cold, cold day here
in Yellowknife. You know you're in the north
when the temperatures are reaching minus 40.
Yes, that's right, minus 40. Celsius or Fahrenheit, doesn't
matter. Just very, very, very cold.
>> announcer: Some things are naturally adapted for life in
40 below. Most are not.
Even the tough breed called the big rig truck.
Tli Cho Landtran needs every truck that can move.
First, they need to thaw. >> We cover up the hood
just to keep all the heat in. [whirring]
115,000 BTUs. She gets warm.
>> announcer: Then, the conversion begins from pavement
mule to ice road truck. >> Today I'm going to show
you what we go through to winterize trucks.
Definitely right off the bat, we'll check our air system.
>> announcer: The number one problem for trucks in the north
is moisture in the air lines. >> Up here, 40 below, you can't
have any moisture in the lines. Water doesn't stay water at
40 below. >> announcer: Ice in the air
system can mean no brakes. >> Prevent any freeze-up, these
alcohol evaporators, they should be on every truck.
>> announcer: Evaporators pump methyl hydrate alcohol through
the lines. >> Any ice in the way, she'll be
melted. >> announcer: 12 gallons of
heavy-duty antifreeze top off the radiator.
Then, a heavy winter coat. >> This belly tarp I'm putting
on is gonna keep some of the of the heat in, keep the water
off the bottom of the engine, keep the engine running warm.
Just makes it a lot easier on all the mechanical parts.
[engine revving] Everything works, she's ready
to go. >> Now, when you're driving on
on ice, it's not--it's not really a solid.
It doesn't stay flat. It bends, it shapes, and all
that kind of stuff. And if you break the rules by
speeding, then there's a possibility you could go through
the ice. [honking]
>> announcer: As a semi moves across the lake, the ice bends
under the weight. This starts a pressure wave
moving in the water beneath the surface.
If the driver exceeds a critical speed, the wave grows so
powerful it can burst through the ice.
>> And then the guy behind you will be driving into that pool
of water, right? So we're not talking about just
the safety of yourself, but also looking out for those guys
behind you. >> announcer: All this is
sobering news to 21-year-old TJ Tilcox.
He's been driving trucks since he was 16.
But does his over-the-road experience translate to the ice?
>> TJ: Oh, I seen an ad in the paper for it, and I thought,
"Well, it's truck driving, and...I could--I could probably
do it." >> I've seen lots of people
who froze to death, and it never makes for a good-looking
corpse. So don't do that.
>> TJ: First thing that goes through my mind, I think, when
I come onto the ice will be, uh, cross my fingers and pray
that I do make it to the other side.
>> announcer: 200 miles north of Yellowknife, road construction
enters a crucial phase: building the portage, or land
crossing. What is now permafrost needs
to be paved with a thick, smooth covering of ice.
>> I'm going to start up the auger here now and drill us
a hole. [auger whirring]
So that I can suck some water out for our water truck.
Which we use to water down the portages to make them hard for
the trucks to pass over. >> And the typhoon pump, we
stick it in the hole there. And it pumps water out onto the
ice for us. >> announcer: Frigid water is
mixed with snow to make slush-- the quick-set concrete of the
north. Back on the lake, they flood the
road. As the water freezes, it forms
another inch of protection from the frigid depths below.
350 miles of open ice and land bridges are now stitched
together, ready for the big rigs.
[horn honks] >> I don't know if you've
noticed, but it's getting to be that time of year again.
The truckers are arriving in town, and any day now we'll see
that ice road opening up. >> Rick: We just got in.
3,000 kilometers from Kelowna, B.C. to Yellowknife in the
Northwest Territories. >> Hugh: Whoo!
>> announcer: First stop, nearest bar?
>> All right, next guy. >> announcer: No, it's the urine
test for drugs. [laughter]
The test itself is no joke. When they're on the ice roads,
drivers work long hours around the clock.
The temptation is strong to use amphetamines to stay awake.
>> Rick: Oh, I know I'm going to pass.
>> Drew: He studied hard. >> Rick: Yep.
>> Hugh: If it comes out colored, we're good.
And if it comes out pink, we're pregnant.
So... [laughter]
>> Okay, who's next? TJ.
[laughter] >> announcer: The young rookie
is so nervous about the ice roads, that when it's time to
give his sample, nothing happens.
>> TJ: When it comes to [bleep]ing in a cup, it just
says, "No way." No way.
[laughter] They were laughing at me in
there. They thought it was funny.
>> Alex: I stopped drinking liquids about ten years ago.
[laughter] For me to [bleep], I'm so old
now I gotta have half a Viagra. Just to...
[laughter] >> announcer: Alex Debogorski
has 25 years on the ice roads. And nearly as many mouths to
feed. >> Alex: Well, guess what, I'm
broke. But I got a better excuse for
being broke. I have 11 children.
And my seventh grandchild on the way.
>> announcer: Unlike most ice road truckers, Alex doesn't have
the long commute. He lives here in Yellowknife
with his wife and family. [honking]
>> Alex: Every day is my last load.
I got to get as many loads as possible.
I got to feed these 11 kids, and, you know, I'd like to have
some cash. Maybe I'd like to buy a
Cadillac and smoke big cigars one day too.
>> announcer: As for the drug test...
>> All right, so you can see this side, control's on, you
tested negative. >> Alex: I passed.
I'm going to get a framed certificate like that so
they'll be able to see it from 1/4 mile away.
>> Rick: Ready to run. >> Drew: I passed the test,
pretty in pink, ready to ride the road.
>> Hugh: We're outta here. >> Rick: It's done now.
>> announcer: In the laydown yard of Tli Cho Landtran,
truckers have been cleared to pick up their first loads.
The big logjam of freight is finally starting to move.
>> This year's going to be a precedent-setting year for the
ice roads. We'll probably move a higher
volume of loads that's ever been moved before.
10,000 in 60 days or less. >> announcer: Last year was
abnormally warm, cutting the season short two weeks earlier
than usual. The highway dissolved into
slush. This year, the pressure's on.
>> Some of this stuff unfortunately never made the
winter road last year because of our short season.
So, like, for this year, everything is a priority.
>> announcer: At any moment, highway officials will open the
road. The long hibernation of the
north is almost over. Next, opening day on the ice
roads. >> Hugh: Can't wait.
I love the first trip of the year.
>> announcer: First tracks... [ice cracking]
Big cracks. >> Alex: You'll see, like,
lightning strikes on the ice, you'll see the cracks in front
of you. [ice cracking]
>> announcer: It's 350 miles long, cost $10 million to build.
And in about 60 days, it'll melt away to nothing.
But now, all systems are go. >> In case you haven't already
heard, the ice road is finally open.
[honking] >> Drew: Get out of my way.
I'm leaving. [engine revving]
>> announcer: But the dash for the cash doesn't start in a
drag race. Drivers are given departure
times, precisely spaced, so the ice won't be overloaded.
The dispatch authority is known as Nuna.
>> Nuna here, go ahead. >> announcer: Dispatchers juggle
load weights, delivery priorities...
>> Go ahead. >> announcer: And the
all-important thickness of the ice.
[honking] Everyone's ready to bust out of
the gate. But only one can go first.
>> Hugh: We're ready to roll, here.
We're gonna be the first out the gate.
>> announcer: The honor goes to the 25-year veteran, Alex.
>> It's good luck that Alex takes the first load.
All the past years he's done that we haven't had anything
major happen. And so we're going to stick with
the tried and true. >> Alex: I'm off to the races.
>> announcer: The first haul will also be the longest,
testing nearly the entire length of the road.
The 22,000 pounds of diamond processing sand are bound for
the BHP mine, 300 miles to the north.
>> Alex: 11:10 in the morning. We just crossed the Yellowknife
River bridge. Northbound, on the Ingraham
Trail. >> announcer: This is the last
40 miles of pavement before the ice begins.
A white-knuckle ride in itself. >> Alex: The Ingraham Trail is
the most dangerous. It's winding, it's relatively
narrow, it's slippery. Being the first is kind of nice,
because we don't have all the trucks, everybody's not all
stressed out, the season's new, the few people out there
are still relaxed. So, with the first trip, you
know, everybody's still in a good mood.
[laughs] Unless they don't like my jokes.
>> announcer: Being the first also means being the guinea pig
for the new road. >> Alex: Well, this is the
beginning of the ice road. Which will be, basically, we're
going on to Tibbett Lake. [ice creaking]
We quite often have problems here, so you got to govern your
speed. You gotta drive slower.
>> announcer: 28 inches of ice is all that's between Alex and
and 75 feet of frigid water. [ice creaking]
It sags under the strain. And cracks.
>> Alex: You'll see, like, lightning strikes on the ice.
You'll see the cracks in front of you.
Portage 7. >> announcer: The danger of the
unknown comes with the first trip on the ice.
But there's also a big upside. The earlier the start, the more
loads you can take. The more loads, the more money.
The more bragging rights. >> Alex: It's sort of a He-Man
thing, you know. Like the who's got the biggest
pecker, you know. [laughter]
Who gets the most loads. >> announcer: Back at Nuna
dispatch... >> Hugh: Whoo!
>> announcer: Hugh Rowland's convoy gets the green light.
>> Rick: First trip, FTE, baby. I'll be in here for 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. [laughter]
>> Drew: I brought a creature comfort.
I brought the porta potty. There it is there.
So I don't have to be outside in the cold.
First floor, kinky underwear. See you on the ice roads.
>> Hugh: I'm rarin' to go. Can't wait.
I love the first trip of the year.
Okay, Rick, I'm on the road. >> announcer: Hugh leads the
convoy with the first wide load of the season.
He's hauling massive mining equipment, ore chutes, and a
water tank. [honking]
If that's not enough to manage, behind him, he's got rookie Drew
Sherwood with nine tons of bunk beds.
And second-year man Rick Yemm, hauling two 5,000-pound supply
crates. >> Hugh: Okay, we're just
pulling on to Tibbett Lake. That's the first stretch of the
ice roads here. I love being on the ice.
The first trip is always the best trip.
I love being on the ice. [ice creaking]
>> announcer: The moving, cracking ice can panic any
driver. But it's the invisible wave
beneath the surface that's the real danger.
Especially when there's oncoming traffic.
>> Hugh: When the wave meets the other wave, like if you've got a
southbound and a northbound and you're both loaded, now you've
got deflection in your ice. And your waves are big, and
they'll hit each other. And they'll just blow the ice
right out. Somebody's going down.
>> announcer: Once a convoy is rolling, it doesn't stop, except
for emergencies. Just a few miles up a slippery
portage, Rick's got one. >> Rick: Lost a couple of straps
on the back here. >> announcer: He was so anxious
to hit the road, he neglected to secure his freight.
>> Rick: It's a lot of money to get these loads picked up if
they fall off on the road. >> Hugh: Yeah, Rick made it on
probation last year. I was going to fire his [bleep]
last year. He didn't pull his weight very
good, and wanted to go home. He left early.
>> Rick: I'm getting a little cold.
Hurry! Hurry is the only thing I can
think right now! [grunting]
>> Hugh: I told him I'd give him one more kick at the cat here,
but if he don't pull his weight this year, he's outta here.
[honking] >> Rick: I have one thing that
pushes me, and one thing only. And that's Hugh Rowland.
Because if--if I can beat him, that's all I want to do is beat
him. The competition with everybody
that's up here is probably to beat him.
>> Hugh: And Drew, if you've got any...any questions pertaining
to, like, speed or anything like that, just go back to our
channel and ask that way, okay? >> Drew: Yeah, for sure.
>> announcer: The rookie Drew has no lack of confidence.
He's soon on cruise control. [Drew whistling tunelessly]
>> Drew: I'm not scared of running on the ice.
[whistling] I don't think I'm taking any
more of a risk by being here. Had to go back and get a
different coffee cup. I don't know how much I need to
believe from these guys, and how much is them putting the fear of
God in you. >> Hugh: Myself, I think he's a
one-year driver. He won't be back.
I'm pretty sure of that already. I can just tell by the way he
talks. >> Rick: Yeah, I might pull you
out of the ditch. >> announcer: 120 miles ahead of
Hugh is Alex. So far, the ice has held.
The truck has run true. But at sundown, Alex's luck
runs out. [buzzer]
>> Alex: Uh oh. We have a problem.
I'm losing my air. There's a piece of rubber around
the valve on the bottom of the air dryer.
When it starts dumping air, it just keeps on dumping air.
So maybe something's freezing up.
It won't build any air pressure and your brakes come
on, and you can't move. One of your biggest things that
shuts trucks down on the winter road is air leaks.
>> announcer: The truck and its 22,000-pound load are now dead
weight on the ice. >> Alex: As the truck sits
there, the ice slowly gives, gives, gives, and the vibration
of the truck with the engine running, and eventually it'll
sag out to a breaking point and break and there goes your truck.
>> announcer: 17 hours of darkness close in.
Temperatures drop towards 40 degrees below zero.
Precisely the last place you'd want to be with a broken-down
truck. >> announcer: Midnight in the
Northwest Territories. An ominous start to the ice
road season. 13 hours up the frozen road,
Alex's truck is disabled. [hissing]
>> Alex: See, there it goes again.
[buzzer] My air dryer keeps dumping air
out. >> announcer: When the dryer in
the air brakes fails, ice builds up in the system.
Soon, there's not enough air pressure to release the brakes.
And the wheels lock solid. It's now 40 below zero.
The engine needs to run or Alex will freeze.
But the truck just can't simply idle, or its vibration and
weight will break through the ice.
He needs to keep moving. [air hissing]
>> Alex: See, there it goes again.
This is about the fourth or fifth time I had to stop and
basically give it a little push with my finger.
It'll shut off. I'll drive for few more miles
and do that. If I don't do that, it's going
to come skidding to a halt. >> announcer: Stopping every
few miles to reset the air dryer, he nurses the rig up the
road. [buzzer]
>> Alex: I'm losing air again. >> announcer: It takes all
night. Then, finally, lights on the
tundra. The diamond mine.
Alex is home free. >> Alex: Good morning.
3:40, full load to BHP. >> announcer: 90 miles south,
at De Beers-Snap Lake, Hugh Rowland and his team have also
completed their runs. But not without trouble.
>> Hugh: Drew was right behind us.
>> We were talking him through it, and he wouldn't listen.
>> Hugh: He wouldn't listen. He just kept talking.
>> announcer: Soon after, Drew found his ditch.
>> Rick: He blew off at Snap Lake, and had to call a
loader down from the top and everything else.
Pretty much shut the road down up there for about an hour and a
half, so... He learned it isn't just a
cakewalk to bring freight to the diamond mines.
It's a hard deal. >> Drew: Today it kind of came
up and bit me in the [bleep]. When we made the right turn
there to head up Snap Lake, Rick had said, you know, "Be
prepared, it's a little rough." Well, Jesus, I've had 4x4 roads
that were better than this thing.
>> Hugh: No cargo was damaged in it at all.
Nothing was hurt at all. Just Pigpen's pride was hurt.
But he's lucky I wasn't behind him, because his chin would
hurt. >> Drew: I think you have to
have a respect for the ice road. If you don't have a respect for
the ice road, I think you're not gonna be here.
>> announcer: Yellowknife. In the Tli Cho freight yard,
one of the elite drivers of the north gears up.
>> Jay: Those are big straps. >> announcer: He's known for
hauling the biggest, widest, most high-dollar pieces up to
the mines. >> Jay: The bigger, the better.
More interesting, fun. >> announcer: He's put in seven
years on the ice. And Jay Westgard is all of 25
years old. >> Alex: Oh, he's just a young
whippersnapper. Goodness grief, there's still
milk behind his ears. A little mouthy, but he's--you
know, he'll be a good--you know, give him another 20 or 30
years and a few more lines in his forehead and some gray hair,
and he'll probably make a truck driver out of himself yet.
>> Jay: These are ratchet boomers.
They're used for tightening the chains.
They're good, especially for heavy loads and stuff that
doesn't flex much. Who taught me about trucking?
My dad taught me a lot. I've been around trucks since I
was, I don't know, probably about ten?
Okay, they're tight now. Good to go.
>> He's wanted to be a millionaire since he was, like,
2 years old. So he's still working for that.
[laughs] >> announcer: Jay and his
fiancée, Desiree, live in Yellowknife with their
one-year-old daughter. >> What we sacrifice for the ice
road, I mean, we also come out ahead, like...you know, not many
people our age could have what we have in life, and that is
because of Jay's work ethic. >> Jay: Love you guys.
>> Love you too. >> Jay: Yeah, I gotta leave my
family behind, but it's something that I do every year,
so it's--it's almost routine now.
>> Say bye-bye. >> Jay: It's harder now that I
have a kid. >> announcer: Nightfall near the
Arctic Circle. It can be an evil hour to draw
a starting time for the winter road.
Especially if it's your first-ever trip up the ice.
>> So MacKay Lake is the killer.
It's going to take you four hours to cross MacKay Lake.
>> TJ: Four hours of frozen [bleep]ing ice.
>> announcer: TJ Tilcox. 21 years old.
Some trucking experience, but none on the ice.
The rookie catches no break on his first run.
He'll go a full 300 miles up to BHP Ekati.
>> TJ: That is a long, slow-going ride.
Youch. Lots of ice.
>> announcer: Coming up, ride shotgun with the rookie...
[ice creaking] on his first run.
>> TJ: Holy [bleep], I'm on the ice.
>> announcer: Into a full-blown whiteout.
>> TJ: This is unbelievable. >> announcer: On the next
episode of<i> Ice Road Truckers:</i> a frontrunner breaks down.
>> Hugh: She's a no go. >> Rick: Off to Diavek again.
>> announcer: A challenger makes his move.
>> Rick: If I can beat Hughie, I can brag all year long.
>> announcer: Plus, if driving the ice road isn't tough
enough... try diving under them.
>> You're listening to CBC North Radio One, and we've got some
high winds and whiteout conditions.
Which is bad news for those of you wishing to use the road to
Ekati. >> announcer: 10:00 P.M.
on a brutally cold night. Not the best time for a rookie's
first run up the ice road. But driving all night in extreme
conditions is part of the job. >> Keep up and don't screw up.
It's going to get colder where you're going.
With the wind blowing, probably about a minus 50 wind chill.
>> announcer: TJ's is the last truck in a convoy of four.
The trek begins on the notorious Ingraham Trail.
>> TJ: Holy Jesus. This road is just wild.
You miss this [bleep]ing corner, you're right in the lake.
It'd be something else in the daytime, eh?
Holy mother of pearl, look at the size of this [bleep]ing
hill. Jesus H. Christ.
See that there, Johnny, the northern lights?
A little bit of them. You can see them a wee bit,
but... >> TJ: No, never back east.
>> announcer: Common as moonlight this far north, the
lights are charged particles in the upper atmosphere.
On the ground, the trip so far has been on pavement.
Now, the ice. >> TJ: We're actually doing it.
Holy [bleep], I'm on the ice. [ice cracking]
Must not be very thick, the ice. Right there ahead of me right
now is, uh--you see the hard white line?
Those are cracks. Can't believe I'm on the
[bleep]ing ice. >> announcer: On the open lake,
the wind intensifies... kicking up the snow cover.
The road suddenly vanishes. Whiteout.
>> TJ: I guess this is what they mean by whiteout.
Can't see [bleep]. >> TJ: Uh, no.
Not at all. I can barely see in [bleep]ing
front of me. >> announcer: Driving blind.
No longer knowing if he's still on the road.
>> TJ: This is unbelievable. This is a portage and you can
barely see it. So much snow on 'em.
Snow blowing to beat hell. I don't know how some guys do
it. It's crazy as hell.
>> announcer: Back in Yellowknife, bad weather or not,
Jay Westgard's convoy is next to depart.
>> It's minus 40 tonight, and just another night on the road.
My coffee's freezing. >> announcer: Highway officials
prepare to shut down the Ingraham Trail for an oversized
shipment. Jay Westgard is hauling a
17-foot-wide, 16 ton tank up the ice road.
>> We got two hours to get up the Ingraham Trail.
The road's ours for two hours. I don't give a [bleep] if we use
every minute of it. These loads have been identified
to us as critical to the construction schedule by our
customer, okay? >> I guess we're ready!
>> Jay: You too. >> Okay, I'm good to go.
>> announcer: Jay's convoy receives an escort up the
treacherous Ingraham Trail. >> Well, it's a pretty scary job
at the best of times. And I've got a lot of respect
for the drivers that, uh, travel those roads.
>> Jay: A load like this is top-heavy, so...
Only challenge, I guess, would be making sure you don't roll it
over. Slow down when you're hitting
weaves. And the road leans the other
way, try and pick the even spots.
I've been really fortunate on the road.
I haven't been in the snowbank yet.
I've seen lots of big things happen.
I just hope every year it doesn't happen to me or anyone
else. >> announcer: 200 miles north...
is TJ Tilcox. Socked in by the terror of the
ice road: a whiteout. >> TJ: It's like a nightmare
that you're actually living. >> announcer: Suddenly, lights
pierce the blowing snow. The diamond mine.
>> TJ: 10-4, John boy, thank you!
There it is. The mine.
Holy love. Well, John boy, how do you feel,
buddy? We made 'er to the end.
It's one hell of an experience. Holy [bleep].
>> announcer: Two days into the ice road season, it's a dead
heat: one load for each driver. Jay still has yet to test the
open ice with his mammoth rig. But TJ's first trip is in the
books. >> TJ: There's a crow, right
there. Right beside the window.
Look at the silly bugger. Look at him!
The size of the creature. >> announcer: The raven is
playing in the heat waves rising off the truck.
>> TJ: Incredible. >> announcer: But the sacred
bird of the north might also be a sign of good luck.
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