World’s Most Dangerous Roads | Best Of - Russia, Canada & Eastern Europe | Free Documentary

[Music] w in the Arctic Circle in the north of Russia there are roads which only exist for a few weeks each [Music] year conditions in the ice are [Music] extreme if you take the Winter Road you do so at your own peril [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] in Siberia many roads are made not of tarmak but of ice and s the Winter Road linking sikat and Nadim is only passable from December to April when spring arrives on the border between tiger and Tundra temperatures rise from -50 to -20° C it's the beginning of the end for the road of ice Yuri ziru knows this road like no other he is accompanying a heavy haage back to sikart his hometown in spring water flows across The Frozen Ground turning the road into an icy past the two drivers need to cross a dangerous section the top is dangerous we could slide down let stay at the bottom keep to the bottom Drive slowly in first gear is this part dangerous no you just have to be careful stay on this track over there and just keep going on and on many people try to take the upper part of the road and slide down sometimes they even overturn and fall to the side it's a really tricky part you have to be very precise when [Music] driving L padala specializes in heavy hoage driving he has to maneuver with a heavily Laden lorri across the [Music] ice the Lori almost makes it of the little rise but the last bit of the slope is too Steep and too slippery it's for moments like this that Yuri zuru is with him we need to make the Rope longer because I'm on a slope and so is he I need to get further up the hill the articulated lurry only makes it across the hill with the help of the second vehicle as long as the makeshift extension of the tow rope holds we need to get the wheels off the ice and then you try going in second [Music] gear [Music] the drive from salad to nadan B takes 5 days if the weather complies it's only during the winter months that the men can transport urgently needed goods between the towns right now they need a street roller in salahat the drivers reach the city in the evening founded as a CAC Fortress sikad today lives off the vast gas fields of this region the gas reserves are among the biggest in the world and have made the town an affluent Community despite the extreme temperatures some 40,000 people live here on the outskirts of the town the company premises of yamala todor the Region's Road building contractor can be found yamala toor is responsible for building and maintaining the Region's few roads the company employs Leon padala and Yuri zidu as drivers they are glad it has got a little colder atus 30° their work becomes easier before the temperatures rise again and the road sinks into the mud they have to drive one last Heavy hoage Across they urgently need an asphalt paver at the other end of the Winter Road in [Applause] Nadim before they can set off the 15t machine needs to be loaded onto the [Applause] trailer if the track widths are not the same the machine can topple over it's so heavy it's impossible to load it back up in order to make sure the load doesn't slide off on Route the man painstakingly secured it on the trailer good preparation is the very least they can do to get across the ice Road yri zbu Loves the nor but he also knows its dangers you can freeze to death very quickly you won't even feel it you look for an escape you clasp at every straw to get out and reach your destination to solve your problem but you're very much [Music] afraid the Convoy will be traveling on this road without any contact with the outside world for several days there is no mobile phone reception if you want to to take the Winter Road you have to know about the dangers everyone registers at the entrance the Convoy consists of four vehicles the lry with its heavy load is followed by a bulldozer which is supposed to clear the way in case of an emergency then there's a lry with building materials at the back is Yuri ziru securing the Convoy Sarat is situated in the autonomous yamalo nenat region right on the OB River in the Arctic Circle the winter road to Nadim is some 300 km long and leads through Marshland and across several Rivers it's the only road which connects Salat with the outside [Music] world at the other end of the road in Nadim Kia proov and yor stepanka want to risk the drive across the Winter Road the two share an unusual passion they love driving cross country away from regular roads for the summer they're planning an off-road trip across Russia they want to use the winter road to test themselves and their cars in the most extreme conditions they told us not to let any more lorries pass we'll wait until tonight the boss wanted to call back then he said that maybe we won't let any more lorries pass from now on how's the road is it slippery yes will we get through with the Jeep yes you will why won't you let any more L's pass it's warm it's throwing how long for until 6 p.m. all right thanks the two off-road drivers are from Nadim and have never made it all the way to the neighboring town of sikart now at the end of the winter they have picked the most unpleasant time for their trip there is neither accommodation nor any restaurants along these 300 kilm they have to look after themselves it's started to s the snow's getting heavier we'll hope for the best I heard the weather forecast they forecast temperatures above zero best thing will be to drive at night it'll probably be colder then during the day it'll be pretty wet we've thought it through we're well prepared we double check everything several times before we embark on a tour like this it's the only way we value our life and our health very [Music] much the road leads across a river in just a few weeks time barges will be traveling here instead of cars but for now the ice [Music] [Music] holds weather beaten pylons and deformed rail tracks remind us of Stalin superp power fantasis which were thwarted by the Eternal cold of Northern Siberia after World War II The Dictator wanted to build a Railway line along the Arctic Circle the secret project was called Stalin's Railway or the route of death more than 100,000 golik prisoners were exposed to the cold with no protection extreme driver yor stepanka seized the camps for the first [Music] time Stalin's Railway was never in operation 2 weeks after Stalin's death work [Music] stopped at the other end of the Winter Road Yi zubu has veered off the right path even experienced drivers have a hard time recognizing where the road ends and deep snow begins in the course of of the day it becomes warmer again there is no traction between snow and wheels the snow is like soap the wheels just spin because of the angle it would take him hours to get out of this situation by himself the edge of hardpressed snow makes it hard to get the wheels back on Solid Ground you need to understand that the temperatures of the air the ground and the snow are all different and that it's all interconnected only then you can come to a conclusion and make a decision on which way to take best right now he needs less air in his tires yoris path takes him back into deep snow he wants to make the road wider with his Russian Ural truck which is specially designed for heavy territory he can change the air pressure in the tires while he's driving with less air the tires are like the pores of a bear when a bear steps on branches you think they break but they don't they don't even make a sound this also applies to the tires of the [Music] Ural now the vehicle has created the necessary space for itself and feels like a fish in water you just need to keep calm and be patient don't get hectic every year in November Yuri forges the road into the deep snow centimeter by centimeter day by day until he has made a fresh track across the 300 kilm from sart to [Music] Nadim Evan and Grigori ataman are on their way home they were selling reindeer meat on the market in sikart and bought some groceries the two brothers are Tundra Nomads and members of the nenat people Ivan and gregori live in a small settlement some 130 kilm outside of sikat right in the middle of the tundra they need a snowmobile or a sledge to get to their tents snowmobiles are are fast but tiring after 40 km the nomads stop for a teab break this is not just so they can recover the nanets stop in sacred places to gregori ataman and his people a road is not just a road we always stop over there and make an offering sometimes we also throw coins in passing too you mustn't destroy any branches around here there are no petrol stations in the tundra therefore the nette's brothers always take a barrel of petrol with them they want to reach their little settlement before nightfall the last 30 km will lead them through deep snow without this road it took us much longer to get to the town sometimes as long as 2 or 3 days back in those days when there was no Road our sledges would get stuck in hilly territory today it's the road of life for us Yuri ziru and his Convoy colleagues make sure the road will remain passible on each trip they chain pipes which will be welded together to their lores these makeshift four ton rollers level and compact the snow which would otherwise break up blow away and become impassible within a few days to make a good road you need to build it above the tundra we want the winter road to be similar to a normal Road normal roads have a firm base here we have a base of snow we keep driving across new snow so it increases in height once the road is above the level of the tundra you needn't worry about blizzards and wind [Music] anymore [Music] [Music] the best time for driving on a winter road is at nighttime with their headlights the drivers can make out bumps sooner than in the diffus daylight the Convoy is making good progress but then Yuri and his colleagues encounter a loric which just had an accident the driver has been stuck since lunchtime no one has been able to help him his attempts to free himself have only dug him deeper into the snow I miscalculated and veered off the road there was a blizzard and I couldn't see anything then I overturned and slid off the road you H wants to pull the lorri out with a rope the wheel loader also pushes it from behind the lorri is not moving at all try to start the engine it's complicated if we could start it the power of the engine would help us right now it's like a dead weight without the engine running it's practically immovable due to the cold temperatures the vehicles are never switched off on the Winter Road not even on longer brakes the drivers know once the engine cools off there is nothing they can do without outside help everyone out of the [Music] way the rescue mission has delayed the Convoy considerably on the Winter Road punctuality is a luxury nowadays it's each to their own the north doesn't forgive these mistakes on your own you won't get far in the tundra in this kind of Frost don't know how strong a man has to be here to get by without help sooner or later everyone needs the help of a friend or a colleague 10 km further on there's another accident Fury is not surprised the black eyes here has been the downfall of many a driver this Lorry has been stuck for 3 days now several attempts to help him have failed the heavy load has pulled the Lorry deeper and deeper down the slope try second gear Yuri quickly realizes that they can't help him either but the Lorry blocks their way he needs to stay where he is damn it we'll carefully go past him so we won't squash him if we slide we've cleared it all we give up un couple the Convoy carefully drives past the unfortunate vehicle after a few meters the wheel loader starts to slide I told him you need to drive at the bottom at the very bottom so you won't slide and he replies very well I need to proceed to drive a different route the Convoy has been on the road for 14 hours despite their exhaustion the drivers make use of the favorable nighttime conditions they continue to find their way through the cold and snow until [Music] dawn very few creatures can survive the hostile environment of the Arctic Circle extreme differences in temperature blizzards permafrost soil the nards people have come to terms with the adversities of nature the brothers Ivan and gregori ataman reached their little settlement of 3 t0 on the previous evening together they take a breakfast of tea and raw frozen reindeer meat some 40,000 netts live in the region of yamal Nets named after them in their language nensei means man some of them have preserved the old culture they live as Nomads of the Tundra with their tents they move from place to place the Nets practice stract division of labor the women are responsible for the tent the food and the children the men take care of the Reindeer and the [Music] hunting reindeer are the n's treasure many Nomad families have thousands of the animals at their disposal tents and clothing are made from reindeer hides nothing else keeps you as warm the dogs are restless they can feel that they will be hunting today spring is coming and soon Gregory Ivan and their friend will start heading for the Summer Meadows up North with their herds this means the herd which has been living independently of its owners needs to be rounded up [Music] again [Music] Gregory is the owner of 3,000 reindeer they are able to withstand colder temperatures than any other farm animal first the men want to catch some individual animals the animals can smell [Music] trouble with their snowmobiles gregori and his brother round up the animals and heard them towards the others who are waiting with their lassus they tried to catch the male lead animals reindeer hooves are very Broad and they can move fast in deep snow [Music] as soon as they've caught the first reindeer they tether them to the wooden slays they need to get used to their task as working animals again the rest of the herd follows them voluntarily [Music] soon it will be impossible to drive around on the snowmobiles then we won't be able to go into town once it THS everything gets water locked the road becomes impossible now we take those reindeer to the herd then we catch the younger ones and train them up too watch the first sleigh is ready to go soon the netts will ride hundreds of kilometers up north on them always following the cold into the vast Tundra the drivers use the roof of Yuri's Ural as a refrigerator the Convoy has driven until the morning before they can carry on they need to put a good meal on the table the delicacy of the North is called mukun a fish whose home is the OB River Yuri Cuts up the raw fish as Net's tradition dictates into small strips it's freshly Frozen the fish is for internal use with salt and pepper vodka is desirable too without Vodka it's not perfect but you can eat it anyway the night was cold the wheel valves are frozen we let the air out of the tires so the car can cope better with the winter road so it won't get damaged if there's less air in the tires it's easier to drive and you've got a better grip between the snow and wheels halfway between NAD and sart there is a station Yori and the others want to reach this station today [Music] many drivers make use of the last days when the road is still passable soon it will be closed for the next 8 months transports will have to take place by plane or ship the road disappears as it were the only reminder for the wrecks of The Unlucky lores an oncoming driver tells Yuri about conditions on the rest of the way they say the road to Nadim is bad will our Convoy make it it will probably get through though if not use the ropes you can get through on the tracks have you been getting through okay yeah the road is like so if it's turned warm I'll string up and carry on now have a good [Music] trip in the north of Siberia the permafrost soil is hundreds of meters deep on top there are vast swamplands which the Winter Road leads through parts of them thw when temperatures has reached 15° below zero in some areas even experienced drivers like Yuri find it hard to make out whether the road is still passable at [Music] all it's still okay at the moment sometimes the water comes up to my feet in the cabin [Music] in some places the water is up to 1 and 1/2 M deep the difficult bit is that you don't know what's underneath in the spring there's water coming from above and from below so the ice is no longer solid it breaks you can cave in any time really anytime the Convoy has reached the little station halfway between salahat and Nadim many people take a brief break there before they tackled the second part of their trip a reserve fund of petrol helps those drivers who underestimated the high petrol consumption on the Winter Road Yu's Ural uses more than 50 L per 100 kilm vasili volov guards the station and the petrol he's a Hermit of the Wind Road for 8 months each year he's completely alone for the other four months when the winter road is in use his Hut is a popular meeting place for truckers one of the drivers tells of his accident just short of the station this morning his Lorry overturned he was carrying a load of petrol fellow drivers freed him from the broken vehicle and brought him here my first thought was damn this is it I thought I was dead this was the end then I wondered is this what heaven looks like everything was upside down you see nothing there's snow everywhere are you still alive or not you just don't know no one knows in the old days they forced us to drive now we do it of our own free will yes now we do it of our own free [Music] will temperatures rise to 5° below zero lizards are increasingly likely the wind picks up within a few hours the road is covered in loose snow the road markings on either side disappear off-road drivers Kia and yor find it more and more difficult to drive their cars across the Blown Away [Music] Road the front axle of I's vehicle has hit deep snow he won't be able to get out again by himself yor has to help him the wind has become very strong it blows snow onto the road so we can expect more snow drifts we'll have to keep pulling the other one out a few more times the jolt at the start pulls off part of the Rope holder but at least ca's car has come unstuck I drove quite a deep track into here it's only 30 m to the other side of the snow bank they could make it if they drive faster the Men start wondering if they will make it back home this winter if they have to leave their vehicles behind they'll never see them again the Convoy drivers also find it hard to keep control over what's going on the snow is wet and slippery the Lorry carrying the asphal machine won't make it up the hills on its own when attempting to tow it the wheel loader also starts to slide once they've dug it out they start a second attempt at getting the articulated lri across the hill they need to cross several Hills in a row again the wheels start spinning after a few minutes 35 tons rotating on the spot we need more speed if we go faster we can pull the Lorry up the hill the Rope needs to at full stretch if it stops at the bottom of the hill you can't pull it up it's stuck you can only do it together I'll use fourth gear it'll be faster that way if I go in second gear I'll get stuck You're simply too slow there are several hundred weights of bottom Ash in the lry it's a survival aid for winter road drivers bucket by bucket the drivers put down a trail in the snow so that the wheels can grip at the next attempt the team carefully rolls back to the bottom of the hill then both drivers will go at full speed simultaneously again the lorri grinds to a halt but right at that moment the bulldozer Wheels catch hold in the snow [Music] uhhuh in the N settlement the problems on the winter road go unnoticed the tundra Nomads have been living in the Arctic for thousands of years like every year they quietly prepare for spring some of the Slavs need mending once every 2 weeks Ian and gregori Slaughter a reindeer for their own use they need all hands on deck for that they have to be quick or the meat will freeze under the knife and the men won't be able to skin the animal reindeer meat reindeer blood and fat are basic food stuffs as well as a source of income Ivan and gregori take the snowmobiles into town for the last time this year there they sell reindeer meat and frozen fish they use the proceeds to buy supplies for the coming [Music] months there's another one who got stuck poor guy slid should we try it from the top offroaders Kia and yor are standing in front of a slope which is completely frozen over some lorries have slid off and blocked away may I offer you my hand sir this hill is particularly treacherous if you leave the track do you want to drive along here yes in the last days when the winter road is still open no vehicle makes it through without problems the icy past becomes a slide for man andine [Music] [Music] machine Kia and yor don't want to wait several days for the road to become free again they look for an alternative route around the blocked area O Let's Go do you see how much water there is we could sink here I can't imagine how we would get around that bit with the two trees over there no idea to the right to the right ctime by CM Yore advances on the thin ice CA secures the car on the side oh [ __ ] sir at that moment an oncoming vehicle blocks their way what now why do you drive along here without checking the area first the way in front is blocked and they can't go back either there are very few options left to avoid having to leave the car behind until next year the men want to try using a cable winch and ease the car down the slope [Music] sideways we've managed the tricky icy bit I'm happy I don't want to sleep anymore I'm not hungry or thirsty anymore at last we can keep [Music] going for the near future a modern Railway is planned between sikart and Nadin along the old Starling Railway will there ever be a paved road that makes traveling between the two towns easier no one knows Yuri and his colleagues have made it the Convoy reaches the control station from there it's just a few more kilometers into town you're from here right you have one car three good luck Yuri can't imagine a life without that road and the snow this road is like a treat for me the Winter Road would always remain the winter road if you work here with good people you won't ever feel fatigued of course you'll get tired but you're always in a good mood it's fun you do a job which you sometimes doubted you can succeed at you wonder how you've achieved this much but it's a fact we made it without much to [Music] do [Music] winter in Canada's far north is the most important travel season for the people who live there ice roads are built across hundreds of miles connecting frozen rivers and lakes reaching remote Villages and stretching up to the very Northern tip of the country by the Arctic Ocean they are highways across the icy Tundra all the way out to the MacKenzie River delta these are roads to Solitude roads that disappear from the map completely as soon as the ice melts in Spring early morning in anuic a small town in the Arctic Northwest Territories of Canada Kurt weinman and his crew are starting work for the day making sure the ice roads are driveable the ice road's been a well it's been a lifelong thing for the company here uh since day one um you know it's a maintenance contract it's money to us it's a it's a job it's a lifestyle it's different not everywhere in the world people build ice roads to get to community to community right everything around here is winter based work to do an exploration to do any anything going forward access to the oil fields out in the Ellis Island out in the ocean area right it's a it's been a meaningful uh me and the iceo have had meaningful relationship most of my life we started off at one one one plow truck and one semi ended up to I got about 350 pieces of equipment now we start around December 1st we start checking Ice by December 10th we start plowing the roads thanks to the cont continental climate there isn't much snowfall in the western most part of Canada's Arctic Province and the little snow that does fall is powdery dry the beginning we just clean it off and then the ice thickens and then we go and we do greater work we ice blade it so it gets smoother ice isn't totally smooth like everyone see thinks it is it's actually rough it's pretty hard on a vehicle so when we grade it smooth it it flattens it down like an ashphalt Road right so to do that they attach massive steel planers to the front and sides of the snow plows Kurt and his crew often need to drive back and forth several times to make absolutely sure the roads are wide enough it's got to be 100 ft wide to accommodate the weight you can go narrower but it doesn't work it's got to be at 100 ft wide to to hold the flotation if this was your ice Road and this was your side it floats up right and the sides break off Hey cuz this is like a ship it floats right and the sides break off and they fall down and they don't gain any in are they lean like this and there's always water in the cracks right you want to haul heavy transport loads you it's most likely mid February to the end of February till the ice builds naturally on its own thick enough right we do um profiling with GPRS we profile the ice to see the thicknesses there you got water for safety reasons profiles are mapped along the entire length of the roads the first step is to calibrate the GPR by drilling a hole in the ground then a dynamometer car drives along the road measuring the thickness of the ice the radar can show the top and bottom of the ice cap to within centim hundreds of miles of these ice highways are built every year they're a modern substitute for the traditional dog sled Trails we use it for everything we play on the ice road we sled on the ice road we we boat we boat in the summer when there's no ice [Laughter] [Music] Road Inuvik is located at the edge of the sprawling McKenzie river Delta the northernmost point of the regular Road system in Canada in the local language of the Inuit Inuvik Translate to the People's Square about 3,500 Inuit members of the Guin First Nation and Caucasian Canadians live in harmony up here it's a true cultural Melting Pot everyone here has managed to adjust to life in these extreme winter conditions and for Pastor John Hansen the freezing cold even has some advantages the roads between our communities are are very important to me as a as a priest is a clergy person who has to travel uh between four different communities here in the north I prefer it in the winter time because it's less Dusty and not so much mud to cover my truck once the ice Road opens up I see all kinds of people from up there coming down and I'm able to get up there more [Music] frequently it was father Adam's idea to build a church that uh represented the culture of the local people here and uh so he decided upon the igloo shape all of the materials were shipped up or down the the McKenzie river to the site all of the trusses which hold up the the large Dome that you see uh were built by hand out of sticks of lumber these days it's no longer just Inuit who come to the church a number of Filipino settlers also attend Dan helbron is originally from Ontario his spare time consists of just two things huskys and dog sleds the most important means of transportation before people began using the ice roads wait a second this is Cash he's one of our best lead dogs he's uh he's a really happy fast strong guy creeky come this is Creek Creek's also a really nice leader and she's she's a big big girl come here these are Alaskan huskys too it's just a mix of different type of husky spotty jump up spotty has a lot more hound dog we do Sprint racing here which is see how fast the dogs could go as opposed to the long distance racing where they have to camp and they go much slower with the dogs before uh short Sprint race which is about 16 kilomet they will only drink plain soup plain beef suit for about 24 hours before the race they don't eat anything solid because we want their stomachs and intestines to be free from all sorts of obstruction in the last 10 years or so there's been four or five different dog teams that have uh that have quit because it's very expensive and it takes uh takes everyday dedication to give the dogs breakfast and run them three four times a week it cost thousands of dollars a year just for a dozen dogs and thousands of dollars but I love the dogs they're always in a good mood and they're always lots of fun and we go out there we play with them every day and it's the it keeps me healthy all winter it keeps me sleeping really well in the dark winter yeah it's a very healthy uh it's a very healthy for the mind and body living with dogs may be the healthier alternative but the trend these days for transport and winter sports is snowmobiles young people like James and Shawn love them working tirelessly on their racing machines at night in late winter toward the end of March they compete in snowmobile races between the Villages of the Delta comes to that when it comes to this time of year everyone think about competition everybody is you just pay your entry fee and then you have a chance to quadruple it or whatever yeah it's pretty good time of year everybody looks forward to this time of year every year yeah yeah you got to save lots of money for this time of year it's hard on the pocket now and you try to be a racer and all that you got buy brake pads belt gas oil ski rods you can be when you race like you'll be driving 10 km an hour if you're scared when you when you when you come to a corner the first corner is always going to be nervous but the second one you can't give up cuz then you have friends out there racing you're friends before the race then when it comes to racing it's enemies people come to Inuvik from all across the province to participate in or watch the races that are part of the jambur festival at the end of March you just come down the stretch and you shoot across over the ice Road and onto the other side and get windy a little bit the first place is 4 grand I believe yeah last minute preparations and they're off [Music] the course runs parallel to the ice Road right outside of town that way there is enough space for mechanics and the repair Vehicles the audience has a front row seat all along the [Music] course depending on the race drivers have to race around the course 255 to 40 times tactics are key here but physical strength helps on the jumps and bumps as [Music] well James has to end the race early he's dislocated his shoulder and needs to go to the [Music] hospital dropping out is part of the race though and The Show Must Go On after a long dark winter everyone in anuic is longing for a change the Jamboree Festival which takes place in March is right on time after all it's only -5 C [Music] now along the ice Road people are barbecuing Burgers meeting friends and following the various competitions please just look normal traditional dishes are also popular including Caribou soup or sweet pastries deep fried in hot oil people here call them Eskimo Donuts another important part of the Jamboree is of course dog sled [Music] racing Dan and his girlfriend have brought one sled each they were expecting three more teams from Alaska but they got stuck in a blizzard Not Unusual up [Music] here the race is taking place anyway so Dan puts small leather shoes on his dog's feet to protect them from the sharp edges of the icy [Music] snow 1 minute to start 1 minute minute 1 minute one minute to [Music] start the way they go folks you'll be back here in about 45 [Music] minutes the race course parallels the ice Highway for 5 miles turning the entire stretch into a mobile [Music] grandstand keeping sled dogs isn't all that common these days but everybody loves watching the dogs race even if it's just two teams this [Music] time Dan's girlfriend is winning the race which means the prize money of $1,000 will stay in the family Canada's winter roads start down south where a paved Road leads from White Horse up to Dawson City from there to Inuvik the so-called Dempster highway is just a gravel road covered by snow and ice through 450 Mi of uninhabited Wilderness during winter the Road North turns into a magical journey through a wondrous world of [Music] ice in the old days people only traveled long distances using dog sleds in winter in summer the tunder was just a swamp land without any [Music] roads in the 1950s people tried for the first time to bore their way into the Wilderness using machines so-called cat trains a long line of bulldozers and sleds made their way across frozen ground at a snail's pace they brought supplies to remote locations and delivered heavy equipment used in the extraction of Natural [Music] Resources in the mid 1950s people then built the first road to Dawson City a former gold mining town on the Klondike the little town has kept much of its Flare from the pioneer days but there is still no Bridge across the Yukon in summer just a ferry boat going back and forth and win there is an ice Road for 5 months north of Dawson City the landscape gets even lonelier and less inhabited this is where the huge Caribou herds roam the so-called porcupine herd alone consists of 120 to 170,000 animals every year they migrate over 1300 miles between Alaska and the Yukon Province it's an Arctic spectacle of nature that's been going on for thousands of years Eagle Plains is the only service station on the Dempster Highway it has a gas station a container motel and a road maintenance Depot this morning Kathy the supervisor is assigning tasks during the daily briefing then he can clean it up before you guys get there traffic narrow areas wind controls radio communication do you still have your in reach from yesterday is it charged Kathy and her guys have to make sure the roads are passable all winter long and they are responsible for 130 Mi of Highway up to the border of the Northwest Territories they have to go out when it's dark when it's- 4 5 C when blizzards are sweeping across the mountains and later on when the road is turned into a muddy Track by Spring [Music] temperatures Eagle Plains is the only Outpost of civilization in the area the next town Dawson City is about 250 Mi away and the journey there is fraught with danger we are on a road check right now and what I'm looking for normally is any broken down Vehicles they could be people that have been stranded overnight uh sometimes people aren't prepared for this road they don't have the proper Footwear they're they don't carry a shovel with them they don't have chains the blowing snow can make a big difference in driving we have snow poles that are 100 ft apart and when we can't see more than two snow Poes we shut the road down can you make another pass towards the circle here Dwayne it's not so much the amount of snow the plows have to deal with but the drifts wind can compress the actually powdery snow so tightly that it's as hard as concrete Yukon is the center of the cold pole in North America where temperatures have gone as low as -63 C and Winds of 75 mph Are Not Unusual during storms near the Arctic Circle trees in the Richardson mountains can't survive this kind of climate and for truckers this glistening emptiness makes it difficult to [Music] navigate the mountains turn into Sahara likee Dunes of snow and the vast landscape is reduced to just a few [Music] lines the Dempster Highway was built just 40 years ago it was the first Road in Canada to cross the Arctic Circle and is still the only one now it covers the same distance as Paris to Marseilles but without any traffic lights intersections or people [Music] on the Northern flank of the mountains the highway leads into the vast Delta of the MacKenzie River it's a maze of tributaries and lakes known to very few people before the highway was built Bush pilot Fred carmichel was one of [Music] them flying was only really means of traveling between between communities other than if you went by ESO or or dog team or [Applause] [Music] something basically I left the Trap line where I was driving dog team to to as Transportation as the means of getting to the Trop line and hunting and everything from there I went directly to an airplane Fred is 81 years old now and one of the last people still able to master the dangerous art of flying with snow [Music] blades it's I guess 61 years now that I've been flying it's totally different today than than the way the you know in the old days I mean all the Lakes you thought out there there would be you'll Che signs of people tracks and trails all over them CU they were trapping muskrats it was nothing for family to get anywhere from 5 to 10,000 muskrat in the season but these days muskrat fur is out of fashion and Bush Pilots are fewer in far between small roads off the main ice Highway take you deeper into the MacKenzie River delta to the tribal area of the Guin First Nation only during winter is the ice thick enough for trucks and emergency vehicles to reach these remote settlements the ice Road also helps hunters and Trappers reach their hunting grounds more easily and the Delta is teaming with game including musx Caribou moose Fox and beaver the Guin have been living in the heart of the Delta for thousands of years but elements of modern civilization have arrived even in small villages like aklavic where people ride snowmobiles and get electricity from [Music] generators nevertheless some of the old inhabitants like Billy Archie try to maintain a traditional lifestyle as hunters and Trappers not just because it's been part of their culture for centuries but for financial reasons as well MUSC you got 150 pounds of meat for one so you try and buy that from the stores you you got to be wealthy oh they make good they make good burgers so at the at the end I mean that's that's the way it is we got to keep our deep freezers full and never know there's times when the Carib animals don't come near and uh it it has happened my generation growing up uh back when the prices of boxes were like $300 now you'd be lucky to get 20 bucks our people were so independent at one time uh living up of the land and it is a challenge for uh for communities adapting boom and bust with oil and gas uh our community back in the day was uh around a, people now we're down to 600 So Young Folks getting their education moving on and getting career in AIC or Yellow knife or white horse back to the ice Road in the Jamboree where people are waiting excitedly on this particular Sunday night many of them have come all the way from town to the Delta for the special event in which the reindeer are brought out to their summer pasture to provide a reliable sour of food for the people up north the Canadian government imported a herd of reindeer from Sweden in the 1930s including their Shepherds from Lapland unlike wild Caribou which go on Long migrations reindeer usually stay in one place this of course helped the Inuit and Guin to find sustenance even in lean [Music] times today Lloyd binder takes care of the herd he is a descendant of those Swedish Shepherds they stay on this side of the river uh until just about today and today is the the second is it the second the 3rd of April and we usually figure that the first fonds start to come about the 7th of April so the thing is that we like to have the herd cross the ice road so that uh afterwards there's no stress the animals don't have to go anywhere they just naturally graze on this island it's called Richard's Island it usually isn't too much of a challenge but sometimes like they say [ __ ] will happen and we had this very uh bad circumstance one November we came and there was there were no animals left on on the island so we had to go looking for them on the mainland side and they had gone across the river and then further north we spent uh basically we spent 3 months collecting what we could and we lost about uh 1,500 rain [Music] this year everything goes well and all of the reindeer are brought safely across the road during summer those 3,000 animals will fan out over the pasture lands over the next couple of weeks Lloyd is expecting 1500 fawns just in time for the region to slowly leave winter [Music] behind [Music] the next morning we get an idea of just how hard the winter can be here even in April it's- 25° C in anuic it's windy cloudy and there are snow flurries but during The Long Winter months it's even darker colder and more depressing up here now spring is almost here and the little bit of cold left in the air certainly isn't keeping anybody from the [Music] Jamboree traditional gloves of polar bear fur and boots out of seal skin or moose hide are good protection against the extreme temperatures [Music] let the games and the festivities [Music] begin the most popular competitions focus on traditional skills like tea boiling which is more exciting than it may sound the men have to chop wood as fast as they can and light a fire to boil tea in a simple tin can without using any other tools boiling Spectators all around parents please watch your kids it's a skill one had to master during Trapper times after falling into an icy River for example a fast cup of boiling tea could decide whether you survived or not in the end the oldest participant among the guins gets his tea ready first and wins the competition yeah afterwards everyone has a sip the Smoky Taste of the fire brings back memories of the old days when Trappers were still common in the region or the grandparents still cooked over an open [Music] fire the audience is even more excited about the next competition muskrat skinning it was an everyday skill for the older people in the crowd who still witnessed the Heyday of trapping in the Delta but for the younger folks it still takes a bit of getting used to get set go the fluffy pelts of the Muskrat were once the most important article of Commerce in this region and once again it is an older participant who wins the competition taking only 30 seconds to skin the whole animal what you got there you want to come and get you a prize at the here [Music] at the kindergarten in anuic even the little ones help prepare food for the jamere I know I'm they chop vegetables and Caribou meat using ULU knives the traditional tool of the Inuit careful with your KN ULU are as sharp as razor blades but the kids seem to know exactly what they're [Music] doing [Music] in the evening a huge Buffet is prepared at the local gym the kids have made a caribou soup and almost everybody has brought homemade dishes for the event there are also a few Regional Specialties from the Delta on display including muskrat they tra the muskrats in the Muskrat houses and then they skin them and then they cook them yeah and they even have the tail there we do have the a delicacy according to tradition here in the North all of the nearly 500 guests have to be served food before the evening program can begin after the meal people sing old songs and perform traditional dances for hours on end the drums set the Rhythm it's hypnotic and archaic it's a celebration for all generations and even the youngest are joining in [Music] [Applause] This Is How They welcome spring at the jeree and its arrival at the beginning of April is heralded by wondrously long bright evenings all across the watery Maze of the [Music] Delta it is almost the end of the season for the ice roads now just a few more weeks before they melt away once [Music] again anuic is the starting point for the northernmost and most spectacular section of Canada's winter roads on the easternmost arm of the MacKenzie River a road of pure ice leads across the Delta up to the Arctic Ocean and further across the ice pack to the town of takaku the harbor of Inuvik seems Frozen in time indeed 6 months of the year the MacKenzie River is completely covered in ice from mid December to the end of April the ice is safe enough to transport heavy Goods all the way out into the Arctic Ocean the road seems glassy over vast distances here and people rarely use Spike tires because the extreme temperatures keep the ice from getting slippery we arrive at the tree line shortly before reaching the frozen Arctic ocean from there an endless wide expanse surrounds the road all the way to the Horizon after 115 M on Ice Tu yakk finally appears in front of us it's the northernmost town on the Canadian Mainland a centuries old Inuit settlement about a thousand people live here at the edge of the world but they do enjoy some Modern conference the extreme location of the village just requires some extra effort there are no basements and houses are built on stilts so they don't sink into the marshy tundra in summer while anuic has Central water and gas tuck as the locals call it has to get fresh water delivered daily by trucks this is the only way to guarantee a living standard that includes a shower or dishwasher and the delivery has to be made quickly otherwise the water will freeze immediately thanks to the ice Road supplies for the town are more or less guaranteed in Winter trucks from the south roll in several times a week to fill the local supermarket shelves from boat paddles to Yogurt the residents of Tuck have a wide range of products to choose from just like anywhere [Music] else but living on the edge of the world is not easy especially for children as social worker Fay trumbley says how long am I going to be here that was about the first question kids ever asked me when I came here 10 or 11 years ago and they said how long are you going to stay and that's because usually teachers or nurses or RCMP or people from the South they're in and they're out like maybe 6 months maybe 2 years but they don't seem to stay very long so I said I'm here till my teeth fall out and I happened to tell that to the bishop and he said keep brushing kids like to drop in I have centers of interest that they can enjoy I've got Wi-Fi the family might not be able to afford um internet connection like there are many families in town don't even have a telephone they might not even have a television some families so I try to say what can I have available in my house that might help them not only to pass the time but enjoy themselves and be a little bit helpful for them there's no Catholic priest here but we have church services on Sundays the church is at the very far Northern tip of Tuck and in the winter if it's 30 or 40 below and you've got two or three kids to to pack up and walk here it's a big challenge after all our Sunday Services we have brunch over here and sit around and talk like we might talk for two or 3 hours it's lovely Tu yuuk is a place of extremes human warmth and proximity sharply contrast with the fact that this is one of the coldest places on Earth where people can still survive while the nubik is located south of the tree line the population of Tuck is very exposed to the strong winds and snowstorms of the Arctic Ocean in Winter the sun doesn't even make it Beyond the Horizon for 46 days a minor mishap out here can quickly turn into a major problem but as brutal as nature may be it is just as beautiful and bizarre to behold the icy landscape and the frozen ocean are mesmerizing in their melancholic solitude it's a strange foreign world where nothing is as it appears the 300t hills at the shoreline of Tu yuk are not actually mountains but upwelling in the permafrost they are called pingos a sort of natural Frost boil to build a driveable road on the ice of the Arctic Ocean you need to be a specialist like mvin grin I'm 53 now um I used to come out with my dad and uh some of our guys with a bombarder track machine machine and and uh just by traditional knowledge of where the ice is thin we'd come out and chisel some holes with the you know the Chisel and scoop and uh just like I say pick out where we know the ice is thin or traditionally bad and then come out and then plow it now you notice out here you see a lot of the cracks and stuff it's the lot of the tidal ice it's going up and down but um you know notice a lot of places too where there's a big dips on the [Laughter] ice the ice here is about 7 ft thick and Crystal Clear in some sections sometimes you can even see the Sandy ground below [Laughter] [Music] it we're totally exposed up here with no Windbreak you look at uh you go up further up the river you're obviously you're in a river and you have trees and you have some uh a lot more protection you get out out here you see forever you can you keep on driving that way you'll get end up in Russia mvin is worked on the ice highway for three decades but now he is helping to build a new Gravel Road this is the start of the tueni highway this is the first all weather highway road that reaches the Arctic Ocean in uh public Highway in continent of North America and this a significent road as it connects Canada Canada is surrounded by three oceans the the Arctic Ocean up here the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east so Canada is now connected by by road to the three oceans the new road across land will change people's lives in Tu yuuk forever connecting them to the outside world all year long perhaps they'll miss the ice Road and some of the Traditions that have come with it either way it is the end of an [Music] era Manitoba Canada temperatures go down to below -50 c one of the most inhospitable regions of the earth as soon as the swamps and marshes are frozen the ice Road season begins it's the only period of time in which the inhabitants of these isolated areas can be supplied with Goods it's a short period of time everything the people need for the course of the whole year must be brought there within 2 to 3 months the problem is no one knows for exactly how long the Deep Frozen swamps and lakes will be passible for the 40 ton trucks every single trip to the north is a risky ride go ahead a little bit hot roads the Canadian ice roads [Music] we're going to we're going to offer a little bit of tobacco to the uh to the the smudge here we're going to put some of that tobacco in in our pipe we're offering this pipe as a way of our acknowledging that you're going to you're going to have a safe trip I want you to um just uh Scott Campbell's ancestors belong to the First Nation the country's native people else that you feel that you need going to help he's proud to be one of them pray out loud for those things that that you want on this journey and then after that you you and I will smoke that pipe on you got lots of hair anyway ahead of Scott lies a dangerous trip for which he wants to prepare himself spiritually I prayed to my family um that they are kept safe when I'm on my long journey and to be able to come back home safe Scott and chief Calvin conjure up the Mystic White Buffalo Woman a powerful being and Patron of the North American [Music] [Music] natives Scott has promised a friend to transport an urgently needed snowmobile across the ice roads up North with a snowmobile on the back of his truck he sets off on a long lonely trip The White Buffalo Woman is supposed to accompany and watch over him spirituality is connected to traditions and customs and and to family um and I find that every religion or race has their own beliefs um native people tend to be very spiritual very tied to the land and to me in my heart if you don't know where you come from it's sometimes hard to find direction in life and find out where you're [Music] going his journey begins in the heart of Canada not far from the border to the USA Winnipeg the capital of the province of Manitoba from from here the route leads almost 1300 km further north to a little Community called God's Lake last warnings on the way into Wilderness in wintertime God's Lake like many other Villages can only be supplied via the ice [Music] roads the transportation of goods Goods is a tough business most transports are organized by the state and are contracted out amongst the road haulers it's a question of money and speed both man and material are extremely under stress anyway main [Music] part every truck that manages to return safely is put to the acid test before being sent out back into the cold oh I guess I'm some change Ur Rowland earned his money already at the age of 15 as a construction worker building the ice roads after 30 years in the business his colleagues call him polar [Music] bear I mean people used to get up there and the truck had break down and if your truck broke down in 15 minutes you didn't get it going you were stranded there I've had guys freezing to death freeze their feet freeze their hands uh and you can't go you can't leave your truck cuz of the wild animals you get by polar bears wolves so you have to stay with the truck and that's how people freeze to death I mean at 60 below up there it's uh it's not a nice place to be with no heat Vlad pescott arrived in Canada as a young man with $42 in his pocket today he owns a freight forwarding business as soon as the first snow falls he sits on the driver's seat of his 40ton truck again this is my baby you know I sleep uh truck I eat truck uh I breathe truck I mean if something happens to my truck uh it's devastating it get can cost me my life so everything's got to be tip up that's why I'm checking every single bolt every single knot from Bumper to Bumper everything's got to be Tip Top if it's not it can break down up there um there's no way to pull over and and fix something it's minus 40 you know you freeze to death in half an hour well when I was like a kid you know I wanted to be an astronaut or president actually I wanted to be a pilot but my father he drove a truck his whole life so I knew when I was young that that's going to be my future too uh I was always interested in a truck and I I got a diesel underneath my fingerprints when I was really young and I guess you know once you get a little bit of diesel in your blood it's really hard to get rid of it as soon as the Road Patrol releases the ice roads the Ice Truckers are on the road every tour means [Music] cash when I first started it it was uh real adventurous and that paid good and of course you know I raised my whole family driving the ice roads and everything so I just kept doing now I'm just passionate about it I can't wait to do it every year I can't wait for the ice to come in and I get up there and I get to drive them and I wait for it every year I love the ice roads it gets in your blood you just keep doing it the loneliness of the northern hemisphere begins just a few kilometers outside the city of Winnipeg only very rarely do you meet people here Jim need Meer is one of them he grew up here in the summer he works as a farmer and grows rice up here in Northern Canada during The Long Winter months he works as an artist he used to manufacture mainly furniture by now he sees more in wood than simply Building Material you have to see what you're going to do in the wood the wood has to have some kind of spirit in it that you have to see it you don't know how it's going to turn out you start up the saw and you just see what [Music] happens you'll see it pretty quick you'll know that you could see something in there you know this there's a Eagles and it's just you know the chainsaw is just removing wood that's all it's doing but this thing is underneath it and it's a tool uh just for removing that wood and exposing that carving along the ice Road people know Jim Naya the truckers regard his sculptures as symbols of their home country well we have a lot of wood out here a lot of animals to me it's got to be part of Manitoba you know it's just uh showing the creatures that are running out in the forest here I I try to bring them back to life in wood that's my goal is to bring them to [Music] life the people living in the reservations are completely dependent upon state aid and upon the transportation of goods on the ice roads Scott visits old friends and relatives on each of his tours to the north see you again my friend hi how you guys been he has met up with Lee Cod to go ice fishing Lee is a Pine Creek Indian and like Scott fights for the remembrance of past injustices what he did is is uh when your kid was 5 years old they would come here take all the kids all the children and and and then they'll take them and take them to uh residential schools and then they then then they either Catholic Presbyterian I don't know uh some kind of denomination Christian uh and they turned them out to uh be christianize them and believe in something that they were that they weren't you couldn't speak our language and you weren't allowed to talk to your family members your siblings and there was a lot of [Applause] crying Lee is trying to make the First Nation members more aware of their traditional way of life it starts with very practical things we would never have gloves like this we' have like a leather Ms you know that hides uh Caribou hide has a fiber as a hole in it that for an good insulation that that runs around this territory here Lee wants to connect traditional ways of life with Modern Life For example an ice drill can actually be quite helpful if the ice is thicker than a [Music] meter this balance between the past and Modern Age is not at all easy for many First Nation members ice fishing used to be an ordinary part of self-sufficient life for the people up North today it's more or less a way to pass the [Music] time many First Nation members have drug and alcohol problems Li himself had a hard time too now he helps young people and is engaged in revitalizing I in the traditions of the ancestors it has helped him to get over his own problems as well no bites I think all the fish are in school yeah meanwhile you and Vlad are still heading up North oh I know that guy well I just passed yeah I'm going up north going to Central East uh how's the road no they're not too bad once you get up to about 220 there before you hit more on Hill you're going to have to slap your chains on it's pretty slick up there so basically same old same way same sh yeah it's uh looks pretty good out there it's never any warmer than minus 25 like last year we had 8 weeks of- 60 below and never got there wasn't one day that was below minus 40 so I mean you get up there metal braks at minus 40 breaks right in half and then you're screwed you're you're not getting out of there so you make sure you got a sleeping bag that's good for minus 40 so I mean you always you got to be prepared fortunately the storm weakens so Scott can drive on he wants to make up for lost time that's when it happens in a short moment of distraction he starts to slide and gets stuck but he's fortunate in his bad luck Scott is already within radio distance of the next Village help arrives after a few minutes Scott's truck is badly stuck in the snow the second vehicle can't get any grip on the icy track finally the men try to alternately push and pull Scott's truck out of the deep [Music] snow done and since everyone knows each other out here a place to sleep is easy to find Vlad and you have almost reached their destination for the day 800 km north of Winnipeg they cross the Nelson River on the concrete Dam of a hydroelectric power [Music] plant worldwide Canada is one of the major producers of hydr powerered electricity this this is how the province of Manitoba produces more than 90% of its [Music] energy the truckers drive across the last Lake of the day in walking pace standing still would be potentially lethal because of dangerous cracks in the ice that might occur top speed 5 km an hour there is air between the ice and the water surface the weight of the passing truck presses the ice down a bit it freezes underneath so the cracks are [Music] patched [Music] in spite of all the experience every single crossing of the ice remains a risky business Vlad and you arrive late at their place for the night along the ice Road they have everything they need for the night inside their trucks so how did be today uh how did we do today well I think we did pretty fair she's pretty decent time getting up here to the aads hey I'm good I got my coloring book all done so uh soccer down for the night what time you getting up tomorrow morning oh we may as well get up around six and hit her a that gives me my 13 hours yeah that's fine well you need all the beauty sleep you can get yeah you passed that passed on that a long time ago there is no return for you I said I'm too ugly to be on TV just show me the money all righty man I'll see you in six good night all okay good night man the second leg stretches from Norway house to God's Lake almost 300 km across snow ice and dangerously hilly [Music] terrain the next day in the summer you'd find swamps and lakes impenetrable Mo lands neither boat nor truck could pass here here the roads across snow and ice can only be built in wintertime and if it's cold enough one of the things they do if they find out the ice isn't thick enough is they'll send crews out here um with big drills that they pull behind a vehicle and they'll drill a hole in the ice and as the augur spins through the ice and and gets into the water it'll pull water up it's called flooding the ice so they can actually add inches to the top of the ice to to make it thick and safe enough the ice must be at least 1.2 M thick in order for the 18wheeler to cross the ice [Music] safely Vlad and you start their journey early too if all goes well they'll make the last 300 km to God's Lake before Darkness sets in they are a well-rehearsed team and have gone through a lot together if I go with h on a trip you know I feel much more confident H is a great partner to be on these roads you know every single trip something happens I know I can rely on that guy behind me because uh he knows a lot well me and vad uh we're business partners and good friends like best friends so we get along real good and uh when we travel together there ain't nothing we can't pull off I mean uh it uh we know we ain't going to get stuck in the bush anywhere and we know we're going to get anything done that needs to be done so me and him travel real well together we uh know each other pretty fair it's the beginning of March the roads are still in good shape considering the time of year it may get warmer any day then the roads will turn into impassible swamps Vlad and you are in a hurry they want to drive as many truckloads as possible up North this season come on boys the the ice roads have only existed for the last 50 years there used to be no vehicles up here in the north it was the time of the Sledge dogs for Dwayne cabalu a construction engineer along the ice Road the dogs are just a hobby his dogs are Alaskan Malamutes famous for their strength and endurance they can manage up to 100 km without taking a rest up in the north well basically uh they moved around from place to place wherever the food was and they brought their families and all their belongings with them and that's what they use the dogs for and your dogs back then were basically your home pets treated well just like family and in the summer months when they were low on food your dogs were basically let loose and they fend on their own that's why the dogs still have a bit of uh prey instinct to them compared to most dogs the dogs are not only persevering and tough they are also capable of defending the freight and their owner against polar bears Dwayne practices with his dogs almost every day along the ice roads he hopes next year they will be ready for their first race [Music] Vlad and you must stop in spite of all the hurry it's Safety [Applause] First there is one kind of accident on the ice roads the truckers are especially afraid of a jack knife that's what is called when the heavy trailer and the truck twist and wedge together this must be prevented by all means now we got about 30 clicks of rough road in front of us and we going to need some outed traction because it's really hilly and we loaded Trails like that I don't want up I don't want to end up in the day upside down so uh putting up chains so I can basically make those Hills up there well if I don't have the chains best best case scenario is I just get stuck until somebody pulls me up worst case scenario I start sliding backwards jack knife and basically ended up in a ditch Truck Trailer Load you know uh we talking about $300,000 in Damages so I don't want to end up like that that's why I'm putting all those [Music] chains [Music] the ride through the hilly terrain is an act of [Music] balance if you drive too slowly you lose the momentum and risk sliding backwards but if you go too fast you end up in the ditch and block the road which uh What's blocking the road the truck to the trailer everything truck right the middle I'll take you down there one of vladin Us's colleagues has landed in the ditch and must attach the truck now to clear the way without the weight of the trailer the truck is hardly able to maneuver anymore there's not much vadin you can do here but help is on its way inch by inch the fully loaded trucks work their way past the damaged truck it's only later they learned that their colleague had to wait for 2 days before heavy machinery helped him out of his misery anything you learn on a highway throw it out the window I mean uh basically you can't hit your brakes on the ice you got Hills up there everything you hit the brakes your load is going by you you're going to hit the brakes you got to use your trailer brakes no no tractor brakes at all and uh you got to have a big set of nuts Vlad and you want to make up for lost time and speed up but a lack of attention for just a single moment is enough to cause Danger on these icy roads are how far are you uh it looks like I went too fast and I got into the ditch might need to pull oh yeah I see you now there go a piece of ice was sufficient to derail vlad's truck and once a truck starts sliding there's hardly any stopping it go ahead a little bit okay I'm going to lock everything I got just put her in gear and [ __ ] step on yeah let's try slow if you can then just step bumping it yeah [Music] okay A Towing maneuver with 500 horsepower they got off lightly though just a slight damage to the bumper all right well all hook it ah yeah you just touched her in there sideway that'll be good let's rock and roll often enough the the two have experienced that they couldn't continue their Journey they had to hold out for days in their trucks until help arrived from Winnipeg many a driver has gone crazy in the loneliness of the north last year a colleague had to be saved by a helicopter it's truly a dangerous job but 30,000 people in Manitoba depend on the transportation of goods on the ice [Music] roads [Music] for the last part of the trip to God's Lake the trucks need snow chains Scott and his light pickup truck are almost [Music] there the snowmobile in the back is still undamaged [Applause] [Music] The Village God's lake with its 2,000 inhabitants lies at the shore of the lake in summertime one of the best fishing grounds in Canada here a highlight is awaiting the drivers after a long trip Healey's Lodge it's the only comfortable lodging in an area of many hundreds of of kilom not only the breakfast is legendary the homely sitting room is a reminder of great hunting and fishing Adventures for decades owner Goldie Healey has been making sure the Travelers feel at home here morning oh good morning Scot nice to see you too you PA it yeah yeah it was a long trip so it's almost 26 hours but we made it yeah the road is better this year year than most Years cuz we haven't had any melt like it's pretty cold it's good though cuz the road's nice and tight it's it's- 51 this morning so yeah everything's frozen pretty good so made for some good going yes but I'm going to let you have your coffee at Gold practical information as well as tales of the trucker's greatest Deeds are exchanged yeah I'll be right back before delivers his Freight to a place a few kilometers outside the village he uses the opportunity to go out on the lake his old friend Brian who still goes fishing in the traditional way even in wintertime has to bring his Nets in and has asked God for hell if you're doing it the old way with uh the piics and the Chisel you got to dig a 3ft wide hole probably you know 3 4 ft of ice and that's a lot of work but you do what you got to do in the north so far basic supplies for the locals comes via the ice roads but a diverse diet especially one containing Fresh Vitamins can only be achieved by hunting and fishing Brian fishes mostly for his own needs he sells the Surplus fish in the village oh it's a nice one only a few moments after after they come out of the water the fish are already deep Frozen ready to be taken home an exceptionally yummy dish if fried in the pan I used to do a lot of hunting and fishing with some of my family and that and to be back out in the community of God's L now to to help some of my friends now it felt really good you know doing things the way they used to do things and and knowing that whatever I put into my day with them was going to help his his family out so it was good it was worth it I I really enjoyed it Vlad and you are still at work but they too have almost arrived at God's Lake a few kilometers from their destination the last great crossing of the lake is waiting for them [Music] a safety distance of 500 M and walking pace are obligatory cuz when you come onto the ice it deflects the ice and makes a wave under you so all the time you're going across that ice you're actually deflected and you've got a big wave pushing in front of you so now he's got a wave in front of him and I got a wave in front of me you don't want my wave to catch up to him cuz the wave will hit his back tires break the ice out and he'll sink you got to go slow steady and slow respect the ice at all times go slow going on go slow coming off and keep your spacing between the trucks you're not only going to like kill yourself you're going to kill somebody else if you don't uh respect the ice even after 30 years the men still hold a great respect for the ice it's their life insurance on the ice roads after 2 days of driving Vlad and you do not want to lose more time as soon as they are within radio range they try to reach their contacts in God's Lake hey h uh tell me one more time what's loaded first and what's loaded second okay the health unit is at the back if the add men is at the front uh you're going to B office that's that's the first load they're going to unload you and Ella from health authority is going to meet you at the B office and drag you over to the complex and I'm second okay so is somebody going to Marshall us from the corner up here yeah allies taking care of it unloading is manual labor it takes time especially if you arrive at the wrong time today they are lucky the helpers arrive quickly and they make good progress while 40 tons of load are stored box after box the driver's thoughts are already one step ahead over here I mean the whole season you know it's like roller coaster it's like a a longlasting marathon you know you load and you start thinking about the the trip uh when you get there you start talking about uh unloading when you unload you start thinking about how you going to get back and when you get back you're thinking about the next load cuz that's the name of the game you got to get all these loads up here before the ice melts and you seen it today it got down to only - 6 that's too warm for these roads if that happens for a whole week we're finished already the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is getting my paperwork signed and getting back for my next trip Scott to has arrived at his destination hey bud it's me Scott I just made it in h glad to hear buddy how was the trip it was good it was good it was a long trip but uh I got here I got the sled on the back everything's all fixed up right on yeah begin to get a little worried might have some trouble no it was a good trip I'll uh I'll see you shortly right on Budd I'll be waiting was a long trip but it was I'm glad it's over it's almost 30 hours on the road and roads are pretty decent but uh it's only half over now I got to unload this and and turn around and then I got to head [Music] back in delivering the snowmobile Scott has completed his mission just like you and Vlad he will now head back as soon as possible back across Canada's ice roads for as long as the ice still carries [Music] the Adriatic Highway a 1200 kilm long road set against breathtaking [Music] scenery [Music] the highway is one of the most fascinating roads in the Mediterranean it attracts many visitors and beguiles [Music] them a road of dreams that can turn into a nightmare jelco christovich has driven regularly on the Adriatic Highway since he was a boy for him this road is still a challenge and also an adventure at the same time shelo loves the highway but also has huge respect for it I've driven on this road countless times but it always feels like the first time because it's always so unpredictable sometimes straight sometimes winding and that's exactly what makes it so appealing and as for the beauty of the landscape it's Indescribable the Adriatic highway is one of the most beautiful roads in the world this technical Masterpiece was built in the 1960s in the former Yugoslavia the road begins just after triest and first travels through Slovenia over half of its 12200 kilm length is in Croatia around neum 9 kilm of Bosnia and heroina are squeezed in between south of dnik another 125 km stretch into Montenegro the highway is still the major artery for Adriatic tourism in all four countries sho's Journey on the Adriatic Highway begins in the North in sik Venza he himself lives in the South where he grows figs mandarins and olives he processes the fruits at his family run business making them into Jam marmalade honey and leure in traditional old ways he wants to try to sell his products at selected specialty shops in the tourist hubs along the highway hello I'm jelo hello pleased to meet you we spoke on the phone about my products I'm a bit late the road was very busy it's all handmade figs and mandarins are are processed mainly in the South shelo hopes he can attract interest for his Specialty Products in the [Music] north from Sri vinit the journey continues southwards just after sen shelo will face the most winding part of the highway for 70 kilm it winds in tight Serpentine bends around the vbit mountains patience and Care are required here I think the engineers made a big mistake in planning these BS some of them are built so that their incline is how can I say just the wrong way around however quickly or slowly you drive into a Bend like that it always pushes you out now we're driving into one of these exact bends and it always pushes us out to the left now it's pushing me out this part of the highway is also known for the Bora which can sometimes blow with a strength of up to even 160 km/ hour particularly in autumn and winter cars can be blown right off the road by the borous fierce gusts of wind so this section gets closed off for vehicles in strong winds [Music] many car drivers would gladly do without these Serpentine Bend but motorcyclists come from all over the world especially for them tight bends in a unique landscape an elado for every motorbike fan for Yura mishulin it's his home stretch which he visits when he needs quiet and time to himself as a bus driver he also spends his time on the highway through his job yorri loves the adventure of this road if only there weren't all the irresponsible drivers I'm pleased that tourists like to come here we depend on tourism so as long as there are tourists Things Are are good for us but they should be more careful many of them don't take enough care and drive at 50 60 km per hour then see something pretty and stop without looking to see if anyone is behind them and turn around where they aren't allowed to putting themselves and others in [Music] danger considering the beautiful scenery and its picture perfect scenes you can understand why people so often stop without thinking and everyone who has ever driven on the highway quickly forgets anything unpleasant and Raves only about its charm most tourists keep coming back hungry for adventure [Music] Street [Music] br it's hot unbearably hot today and I'm slowly getting tired I feel totally sick thinking about how much more driving I have to do xelo meanwhile has left the winding road behind him and he's getting closer to the town of shiik on a straight part of the highway [Music] experienced Highway drivers know all too well that stretches like this are not at all relaxing quite the opposite the rare opportunities to overtake are used here all too often for risky Maneuvers an alert glance in the wing mirror can be life-saving it's very difficult to drive here it's quite demanding it might be a straight stretch but as soon as the white line is interrupted drivers start tailgating behind me impatiently awaiting any opportunity to overtake and then they race off like crazy it isn't normal how they drive it's so reckless biggest problem on this road is this speeding the risky overtaking Maneuvers and of course the recklessness of some drivers here again two people died here as well something has happened at every one of these BS between 1995 and 2010 30,000 people lost their lives lives on Croatian roads almost half of them on this highway [Music] alone at least the police here are very much in evidence they carry out regular speed checks and alcohol tests at certain sections where drivers like to step on the gas as soon as police cars are visible drivers immediately slow down and take more [Music] care most accidents happen because of using inappropriate speed the problem with foreign tourists is also that they can't drive on our roads they're just used to motorways where the bends are very gentle and manageable so you can drive much faster it's often minor traffic offenses that can have tragic consequences making phone calls whilst driving and turning without looking have cost people their [Applause] lives I saw both arrows and thought it was allowed the two most common causes of traffic accidents are disregarding the right of way and unlawful turning this lady turned here from right to left across the solid line that is not allowed that often leads to Serious accidents local drivers are observed particularly closely the police patrol has just found a repeat offender whose driving license they have already taken away twice due to drink driving police officers risk their own lives in car chases on the highway today they don't have to race the offender gives up quickly everything's fine the driver's alcohol test shows no alcohol content in his breath and the data check shows that he has had his driving license back for a week hello hey hello hello Daddy boore yes oh no not now it's so hot and I can't right now how far is it where are you exactly say where you are there's a lot of traffic here I'm on the bridge now okay okay okay the ship andic bridge is not only a popular place for a photo opportunity it also offers the very Brave a special kind of kick all right I'll be there in 10 15 minutes okay all right [Music] okay my name is vetan I'm Lana hello Lana it's your first time [Music] okay three [Music] [Music] by shelo has no time to stay dibor his son-in-law has asked him to pick him up from the kurka waterfalls and take him home dalbor took a trip with his friends but has to leave early shelo didn't need to be convinced it's rare that he gets the opportunity to make a detour across the Nature Park the area is famous thanks to the cowboy movies that were filmed fed [Music] [Music] here how was it in Sri Venza don't ask did you sell anything hardly anything from the kirka waterfalls back to shiik the highway circles around the old Barack town in tight bands one of them is named after the owner of the house many cars have hurdled into here D this is the notorious Tara Bend where trucks have crashed down into people's Gardens and living rooms it's been made a bit safer but I still find it Eerie I always drive more slowly here so I don't fly out there have been fewer accidents since a protective Barry was put in place around the band but mid slab itch still Shivers every time he hears break squeal my kitchen is down there 10 m away this is where a truck flew off the Ben several years ago and tumbled down here there was a pile of gravel there at the time that the driver's cabin landed into thank goodness the end of the truck was around here and the end wheels of the trailer were still up on the highway Anita coko has also witnessed quite a lot here bad accidents were a part of her everyday life as a child there really have been a lot of accidents here we heard the clatter the screams then we heard the police coming the paramedics I saw the injured people lying in pools of blood it was terrible [Music] continuing southwards the highway runs through many small villages like a tightly stretched band there's a lot of congestion in summer when the tourists [Music] arrive I have to get back soon to get to an event I'll never get there like this sitting in a traffic jam at 40° is stressful and exhausting it doesn't even get any better when you leave the highway and go into the towns there are too many cars moving on streets that are far too narrow and so xelo is also so late for his next meeting for this trip he has only selected a few shops first he wants to test the chances for his business idea just before split nothing is moving on the Adriatic highway it's hopelessly overcrowded streams of tourists come upon tense locals who want to get moving quickly just like Marita bobrick who runs a small small grocery shop in kashta Lich near split she drives along the stretch several times a day with deliverers did you just see who came shooting out from a side street there side streets join onto the highway all over that is a big problem it's supposed to be a fast road so there can't be a crossing every few meters you have to be permanently on edge you never know when someone will suddenly turn in from the side [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the road tempts you to drive quickly in the place is where it's well constructed car drivers can easily forget that there are houses fields and schools along here and that side streets join the road many people have lost their lives here including many children so desperate parents were searching for a safe way for their children to cross the road they found a solution for Andrea and his schoolmates underneath the road in a rainwater pipe [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this road is very dangerous in the past when there wasn't this ladder to the pipe someone always had to accompany us across the street our parents were always worried about us because children had been killed here on their way to school sometimes it takes half an hour until you can get across now with the ladder our parents are reassured they know that we can cross safely and now they let us go everywhere alone it isn't particularly Pleasant in the pipe there are snakes and rats but it's still better than walking across the highway there's nowhere to cross the street here it's unbelievable this road here isn't normal so much traffic such hustle and bustle it's unbelievable I don't want to live here it must be one of the most dangerous places in Croatia when I think about how many people have lost their lives here hopefully it'll get better when the new section is finished maybe it's not good here in order to make the highway safer there is constant construction work even in High season it's being improved in many places its tight bends are being straightened and the surface is being repaired in some places the road is built on such a slant into the hillside that in heavy rainfall it gets filled up and washed away by mudslides people are doing peace rate work in unbearable [Music] heat when this road was built in the 1960s it was an unimaginable feat of human muscle power today the highway is still considered to be a great technical Masterpiece engineer zco rusich was involved in its planning and supervision from the very beginning the construction was an unbelievable technical challenge it was only when we received Machinery from the Americans that it progressed more quickly until then we'd worked meter by meter over months and years mostly using our bare hands alone it was an incredible Act of strength it was all just rocks and Woodland here before look where The Rock was cut away here thousands of cubic meters of stone had to be carried away with bare hands but with the Machinery everything ran much more quickly people from all over Yugoslavia worked on the highway nobody asked if you were Bosnian Croatian or Serbian we all stuck together anyone would have given their life for someone else a great friendship United us that unfortunately no longer exists these days at the fruit stands in plugi the sellers still hope to do good business in the evening the sweet fruit from the nareta Delta is known throughout the whole of Croatia under abundant Sunshine the fruit ripens in fertile soil shelo is back home yanya his wife is already waiting for him at her stall hello how are you fine how was it difficult it was hot and busy there was a huge traffic jam between split and marcar it's unbelievable how some people speed and [Music] overtake today's journey is almost over for zelu and dalibor but the highway won't be quiet for a while yet even at night the traffic continues to move ceaselessly people are driving to the many clubs and bars along the [Music] road and some sparkling nights end in A Roadside [Music] ditch the next morning jelu and dalbar load up the estate car to continue the journey towards D brnik here I am put it in there is everything ready yep so I can go yes Drive slowly be careful and take care of yourself all [Music] right [Music] they drive crazily here people speed and overtake when my wife is at the stand I'm always scared that someone could run her over it has happened before that drivers have tried to get past other cars and have sped into the fruit stalls and flattened everything you risk your life even just standing next to the [Music] road accidents on the straight parts of the road usually end up being the deadliest as it's tempting to drive fast there it's often young people who are killed often it's down to alcohol stopping them seen clearly after night's out at the club it's the careless speeding and looking for an adrenaline kick that makes them put their own and others lives on the [Music] line Christina has been driving more carefully since her best friend pero lost his life in an accident she has s also had an accident a year ago that showed her just how quickly something like that can [Applause] happen it's been a warning for me after perro died I was scared and so were our friends who drive they say that they always think of perro when they step on the gas yes it's only when someone gets killed that we really become aware of how much we're risking Our Lives by [Music] speeding after the fertile fields of the neretva Delta the Highway dips down towards the [Applause] [Music] sea from here the road is open again for trucks branislav yovanovich has been a truck driver for over 30 years he transports goods between Italy and Montenegro he spends a lot of time on the highway and still gets annoyed at the behavior of other drivers when you're driving you need to concentrate and mustn't get distracted many drivers stick to the rules but unfortunately there are just as many who don't for example I can overtake here because from here I have a good view of the traffic but others still overtake even though they can't see properly look here if I hadn't put the indicator on now he would have overtaken me even with this oncoming traffic here you're allowed to drive 70 so why do people have to drive 80 or 90 why since the Yugoslavia War the highway has passed through four countries IIA Croatia Montenegro and Bosnia andoa from naom there's a 7 kilm long section that is part of Bosnia and OVA so two border crossings interrupt the Croatian Coastline in close succession hello thank you goodbye it's annoying that I constantly have to show my papers when I leave my country here and travel 7 s kilometers back into it it's absd hopefully that won't be NE anymore when the new bridge at neam will join Croatia to Croatia terit there are still 60 kilometers to go to De brnik shelo has already spent the whole journey looking forward to fresh oysters from the Bay of Marley ston which are famous all over the [Music] country hello hello yes please how's the traffic at the moment terrible and frightening do people always drive so fast here yes terrible aren't you scared to be here of course two days ago two people drove into each other a girl from neon there was an accident here yes by the Rocks over there people always speed here convoys that forming big convoys so big that you get a headache from all the noise we've put these wide Concrete ballards in place as protection as a car raced into here 3 years [Music] ago while some people fear the dangers of the highway others see it as a challenge many tourists have the courage to cycle on the highway they want to experience the Magnificent landscape with all their senses but the Heat and intense traffic demand complete concentration and the rest areas are the best places to enjoy the landscape anyway even if you're on a [Music] bike zelko has reached Dubrovnik the most beautiful town on the Adriatic is a tourist magnet for George Bernard Shaw it was even Paradise on Earth up on a cliff with waves lapping on three sides and surrounded by a mighty defensive wall Dubrovnik continues to Captivate all its visitors shelo has made contact with two shops and is's hoping that its owners like his Specialty Products he would also like to be strolling through the narrow Alleyways enjoying the grand beauty of medieval buildings but he has to keep going the highway is vital for the livelihood of people along the coast without it we would be living under the kind of Standards we did 30 years ago this road has taken many lives but it has also ensured the survival of many giving them the opportunity to make a living from and the foreign guests who drove on the highway were always aware of how unpredictable and dangerous it is and they came anyway just before Montenegro an accident has happened so some young Czech tourists wanted to get back to the hotel quickly after their trip to the beach and simply turned around in front of a band even though there was a solid line on the road the oncoming motorcyclist saw them too late and couldn't avoid them miraculously he managed to avoid injury despite the severity of the Collision this was one of the many operations for the police on this day they're pleased that nobody is injured and are once more astounded to see the kind of rash driving Maneuvers that some drivers are capable of irresponsible drivers like these who don't stick to the rules do annoy me most accidents happen in the High season in July and August sometimes entire families lose their lives the highway leaves Croatia 45 kilometers south of Dubrovnik and continues through Montenegro since this section is part of the well-known smuggling routs there are strict Customs checks as a result there can be long delays I'm driving through Montenegro for the first time now for me it's a real Adventure I don't know the road I'm also quite tired but I like it a lot here this Bay is so beautiful I can hardly believe that right now I'm driving through one of the most beautiful bays in the Mediterranean the Bay of cotor it's so beautiful it's Heavenly a real gift of [Music] [Music] nature although the Customs regulations make it difficult to export his Goods to Montenegro shelo still wants to try he knows that many Rich Russian tourists go on holiday to CTO and budva two shops have already shown their interest as in Croatia the highway in Montenegro passes through beautiful landscapes here too this is both a travel route and a Town Road you need to be skilled at the wheel and have patience to drive here the highways close proximity to the sea that make makes it so attractive is also its biggest problem in some places it's built so close to the beaches and the Waterfront that beach life sometimes takes place on the road [Applause] itself [Music] [Music] the highway is like a woman beautiful unpredictable seductive and some how also irresistible she seduces you into doing stupid things and then when you least expect it she gets back at you I advise everyone who drives on the highway to have patience patience and even more patience although the new bypasses are supposed to help alleviate the strain on the highway it is still overloaded a trip along the highway simply a must for any visit to the Adriatic despite all its dangers it's a unique experience to drive on one of the most beautiful roads in the [Music] world

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,523,348

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, deadliest journeys, most dangerous roads Burundi, deadliest roads Burundi, dangerous Burundi, deadliest journeys Burundi, hot roads, Burundi, Mali, Bolivia, Canada

Id: yuwwa1SKpIM

Length: 165min 57sec (9957 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 12 2023