narrator:
On the Western Hemisphere's
00:03
- You're going into the bush.
00:07
It's you against Mother Nature.
00:09
Mother Nature is unpredictable.
00:11
narrator: And the most
ambitious company on the ice
00:15
roads is Muskie Creek.
00:17
- My problem right
now is that we have
00:22
so much forecasted right
now and so many commitments.
00:23
I'm short on drivers.
00:27
We've got seven loads
to load tomorrow.
00:28
My name is Bill Danh.
00:31
And I'm the operations
manager here at Muskie Creek.
00:33
Apparently, there's an air
leak on the air tank.
00:36
Did anybody do
anything about it?
00:39
Our primary goal is to service
northern communities
00:41
via winter road access.
00:44
With about six weeks
of winter roads,
00:47
we have to slam these loads in
as quickly and as efficiently
00:50
Some of the communities
that we go to,
00:55
their only source to get
food, building materials,
00:56
It's crucial in that
short window that we have
01:04
we get as much freight
up into those communities
01:07
so that they can sustain
for the next year.
01:10
Nice to meet you, buddy.
- Nice to meet you.
01:18
- Yeah.
- Heard a lot about you.
01:20
And I come from
a little town called
01:25
Port Angeles, Washington.
01:26
After spending five, six years
up here being on the ice road,
01:32
you know, it becomes
a part of you.
01:35
I'm taking on this
challenge this year
01:38
because I have a chance
to actually make some money
01:39
and build a nest egg
back for me and my wife now
01:42
and buy my own big rig.
01:45
- Muskie Creek, we have
a very good reputation.
01:48
Whatever we commit
to, we fulfill.
01:50
We don't leave a load behind.
01:52
So Garden Hill is where
your load is going to be going.
01:54
- And then from there,
you're going to cross the ice.
01:58
Then you're going to travel
down here to St. Theresa Point.
02:00
That's going to be where I need
you to pick up the back-haul.
02:01
narrator: Todd's burning
800 miles to Garden Hill.
02:05
Then he's crossing Island
Lake to pick up his back-haul
02:07
in St. Theresa Point.
02:11
It's ready, secured, just
need a load of screw piles.
02:15
They go into the ground.
02:17
- You can't start the building
until those are in, right?
02:19
- There's a housing
shortage in Garden Hill.
02:20
So all loads, materials,
it's all critical.
02:22
- My biggest
concern is that he
02:27
may have lost his edge.
02:29
I really can't afford
any mistakes to happen.
02:31
- You know, I'm coming
up here with a super set
02:36
of skills that not a lot of
guys have.
02:39
I don't know if I've
got what it takes
02:45
anymore to do these roads.
02:47
But I'm going to hit it hard.
02:48
And I'm going to see if I can
make myself some good coin.
02:49
See if an old man's
still got what
02:54
it takes to get the job done.
02:56
- The road is
in rough, rough shape.
03:00
See, you can't see [bleep]
like that right here.
03:04
There's a lot of pieces
on here, heavy items.
03:07
If they fall off,
there's no way
03:10
I'm going to manually
and physically put
03:12
them back on my load.
03:14
It's getting a lot
worse now, buddy.
03:17
You feel that right there?
03:22
Yeah, yeah, that's--
that's getting rough.
03:25
And I have definitely
got something going
03:37
on with my load in the back.
03:39
The drill bit is
sticking out about a foot
03:41
on the passenger side.
03:43
Well, this is screwed.
03:55
This wood beam had slid
out of here almost a foot.
03:58
Here's a better visual.
04:02
The wood has slid this far.
04:04
Half the problem is
that it's so cold
04:06
and the deck is so slick,
and these pieces of wood
04:08
are just sliding
right on the deck.
04:10
If it pushes too hard and
slides with too much momentum
04:13
and busts these straps,
that whole thing's just going
04:16
to slide right off the side.
04:19
And this whole pallet
of these drill bits
04:20
are out in the middle
of the ice road.
04:22
Well, I got an idea in my head.
04:26
I don't know if it'll work.
04:28
But it sure is worth a try.
04:29
Whoa, you gotta love
the ice roads, right?
04:36
Now we can link these two
together so it's double-locked.
04:41
Pull the slack out.
04:46
Double-linked that.
04:59
In theory, as I'm
backing the truck up,
05:02
that chain is going
to come tight.
05:05
And it's going to pull
that load on the trailer.
05:06
That's what I'm
hoping will happen.
05:09
We're going to give her
hell and give her a try.
05:13
to slide tons of steel screw
piles back on his trailer.
05:18
- Oh, come on,
you son of a bitch.
05:21
It looks like it moved.
05:36
It slid right here.
05:41
This block-- see how far
that block is sticking out?
05:44
This block was sticking
clear out here.
05:45
So this whole thing is now
slid right back into position.
05:47
Now I'm going to re-rig it.
05:50
And I'm going to try to do
the same thing to the front
05:51
and get it pulled over.
05:53
Tell you what,
nothing like being in the bush
05:55
and figuring [bleep] out.
05:56
That's why I love
being on the ice roads.
05:58
All right, re-rigging.
06:02
We are back on the trailer.
06:41
That's what the ice roads
are all about, baby.
06:43
Figure [bleep] out,
and just get it done.
06:45
Get my load strapped
and head back on the road.
06:50
Mission accomplished, baby.
07:00
My load is nice
and straight back there.
07:03
I'm ready to put
some miles on here
07:05
and get this load
into Garden Hill.
07:07
Just another beautiful
day on the ice roads.
07:09
narrator: Approaching Island
Lake outside Garden Hill--
07:18
- The ice
crossing just opened up.
07:21
It's only open for light
traffic, which means that it's
07:23
not open for full weights yet.
07:26
- The ice is not as thick
as it's supposed to be.
07:28
I hope you have a will in place
set up for your family,
07:30
because most likely you
ain't making it home.
07:32
That's what could go wrong.
07:34
It's life and death up here.
07:35
I'm a little
concerned right now.
07:45
I'm not hearing a lot
of noise out of the ice.
07:48
The cracking of the ice
is always spooky.
07:54
But that's part
of the ice crossing.
07:55
You want to hear it cracking.
07:57
That actually means that the
ice is really, really strong.
07:59
When you can't hear any noise
at all, that's not a good sign.
08:02
I don't like that one
single bit, not at all.
08:09
narrator:
Cracking sounds indicate
08:13
the ice is flexing
to relieve stress
08:15
from the truck's weight.
08:17
If the ice is too thin or too
weak to flex under the stress,
08:20
it could shatter,
releasing Todd and his truck
08:24
into the clutches
of the deadly frigid depths.
08:28
Go get my next load
and turn and burn.
08:48
