All language subtitles for Ice.Road.Truckers.S03E01.Deadliest.Ice.Road.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: At the top of theworld, there's a job only a few

would dare.

Last season, the
dash for the cash

was fought on the smooth playingfield of Canada's arctic ice.

This season, too old pros--

I came for the cash.

NARRATOR: --join four of
America's bravest truckers.

Come on, boys, saddle up.

Let's go.

NARRATOR: --to tackle the
continent's deadliest ice

passage.

Just when you thought
extreme trucking couldn't

get more dangerous--

The most dangerous
road I've ever been on.

They say she's a
treacherous one,

so I'm here to give her a shot.

NARRATOR: --"Ice Road
Truckers" take on Alaska.

[theme music]

Prudhoe Bay, Alaska,
on the Arctic Ocean,

holds the motherlode
of the 21st century--

oil pumped by the
billions of gallons

down the Trans-Alaskan pipelineto supply America's increasing

demand for energy.

The oil business is
obviously the bread and butter

of the state.

It's the lifeblood
in the state of Alaska.

NARRATOR: But there's only
one road to these riches.

And it's the most
fearsome on the planet.

This is the unpaved, ice-coatedtrack called the Dalton, better

known as the haul road.

It's an ice road of a deadlier
breed, where trucks smash head

on or fly off instead of
breaking through, averaging

a dead man for almost
every one of its 414 miles.

It's dangerous.

There's no two ways about it.

There's a lot of trucks that's
upside down up there to prove

it.

It's curve after curve
after uphill, downhill curve.

It's amazing.

NARRATOR: For an
ice road trucker,

this road is the
ultimate challenge,

because every mile through
the Alaskan wilderness

is met with a new and
unpredictable threat.

The gauntlet of terror begins
with a brutal initiation--

56 miles of icy hills
and sharp curves.

There's a white-knuckle stretchcalled the Roller Coaster

and a hairpin turn
whose name says it all.

Oh [bleep] corner.

[laughs] Oh [bleep].

NARRATOR: 250 miles in, themost feared enemy of the road--

4,700-foot Atigun Pass, whereavalanches strike at any moment

and bury truckers alive.

You can freeze to death
out there in half an hour.

NARRATOR: The final assault--

50 miles of windswept
ice called the bluffs,

where temperatures dive
to 70 below and the row

can suddenly vanish
in a total whiteout.

Can't see a [bleep] thing.

NARRATOR: And if the ice on the
Dalton Road doesn't kill you,

the final stretch over the
Arctic Ocean just might.

They say it's not if you
wreck, it's when you wreck.

You could easily die out there.

NARRATOR: The ice road
truckers' mission--

to haul more than 6,000 loads
from Fairbanks to Deadhorse,

the gateway to the
Prudhoe Bay oil fields.

And they have just
12 weeks to do it in.

It's such a deadly route
that they earn the equivalent

of combat pay--

$120,000 and up.

The more loads, the more cash.

That's the highest-paying
job there is.

They don't pay us this
good because it's easy.

The Girl Scouts are
not up there doing it.

NARRATOR: 24 hours before
the winter season begins,

Northern Lights
flare in the sky.

The ragged thunder of diesel
engines builds in the yard.

But the trucks are
at a standstill,

waiting for the last mile
of ice road to be built.

Time to go make an ice road.

NARRATOR: The Dalton
is paved with ice

because big rigs require
a smooth driving surface.

And no other material can hold
up to the extreme conditions.

An 8,500-gallon tanker unloads
water onto the road bed.

One mile of road, we basicallylay down 32,000 gallons

of water per mile.

NARRATOR: And then,
a grater does a pass

over the fast-freezing slush.

We've raised this road
surface almost two inches.

This here is two
inches of ice exactly.

NARRATOR: But the tradeoff
for an even surface of ice

is a road that can turn as
slick as a skating rink.

The trek north begins in
the city of Fairbanks.

Here in the yards of Carlile
Transportation Systems,

thousands of loads
are piling up.

The blue trucks of Carlile areone of the most familiar sights

of the Far North.

They move a third of thefreight that goes up the Dalton

and over the ice.

It's a challenging,
dangerous road.

And our goal in our company
is to run it 100% safely.

We've got a really big
season going on this winter.

It's the biggest one we've
had for about 10 years,

probably, this winter.

NARRATOR: With so
much freight to move,

dispatchers send out the word--

drivers wanted.

We're just swamped
with business.

We just don't have
enough drivers right now

to get on the road.

We're basically looking
for anyone that's

capable of running the Dalton.

We've got a couple of leads
on bringing some drivers out

of Canada right now that
are going to help us.

NARRATOR: Across
town in Fairbanks,

the Canadian invasion
has already begun.

[western music]

Yee-haw, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Dalton Highway, here I come.

NARRATOR: Hugh "The Polar Bear"
Rowland has conquered just

about every ice road in Canada.

Now he's on the prowl stateside.

HUGH ROWLAND: Everybody
knows polar bears have

the right of way.

NARRATOR: And he's not alone.

ALEX DEBOGORSKI: Good
morning, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Looks like it's going
to be a nice morning.

All I need is a truck, a
load, a map, and the Dalton.

Lord, go with me.

NARRATOR: Alex and Hugh have a
combined 60 years' experience

as ice road truckers.

But they've never seenanything like the extreme hills

and curves of the Dalton.

They know the legend.

Now, they're here to drive it.

You spin out on
one of these hills,

and she's a long
way to the bottom,

and you're upside down by
the time you get there.

That's for sure.

NARRATOR: Finally, opening
day of the ice road season.

[engines roaring]

The 500-mile race to
the oil fields is on.

[dramatic music]

[horns honking]

One of Carlile's top
drivers, Jack Jessee,

is chosen to move the first
heavy load of the season.

In Alaska, there
are truck drivers,

and then there are heavy haulerswho move anything oversized

or overweight.

They put it on the trailer.

They tell me to get
it there safely.

I get it there.

NARRATOR: 20 feet
long, 18 feet high--

the massive modular,
or MOD, is a structure

used to house heavy equipment.

This load will hang so
far into the oncoming lane

that it's at high risk
for a head-on collision.

To run interference, Jack
commands a small fleet

of three pilot cars.

There's going to be some
spots where I'm really going

to have to slow down
to go through some

of the things like this.

That loaded, it will
be all kinds of--

all kinds of weird stuff.

NARRATOR: Jack's convoy
is first out of the gate.

Priority-- critical.

You know, a heavy haul driver
has a lot more responsibility.

They may have a module
worth $10, $12 million.

And a lot of times, there
might be a work crew

of maybe 20 or 30 guys
waiting on that to show up.

NARRATOR: The MOD
has to reach an oil

rig in less than 48 hours to
keep production on schedule.

The express mission will
take Jack over 414 miles

of steep mountain ice.

And if that doesn't
take him down,

he'll face the final stretch
over a frozen Arctic Ocean.

Virginia-born, college-educated,Jack found his calling

on the haul road.

JACK JESSEE: It's
a freedom thing--

you know, an Easy Rider, get
on the motorcycle and go.

You're just doing it in a truck.

When you're driving a truck, itkind of gets into your blood.

You hate it sometimes, and
sometimes you just love it

to death.

NARRATOR: Now that he's at
the very top of the game,

he aims to stay there.

JACK JESSEE: My goal for this
year is to survive the year,

make a living for my family,
be around to do it next year,

and keep doing it.

I'm doing a job
that I love to do.

NARRATOR: 70 miles
north of Fairbanks,

the pavement drops off and
the solid ice of the haul road

begins.

The road narrows.

Jack's pilot car drivers
begin their vigilant watch

for oncoming traffic.

JACK JESSEE: There's a pretty
high level of trust going on

with the pilot cars.

You know, I mean,
they're my eyes--

they're my ears out ahead of me.

There's spots that I
can't meet anybody.

NARRATOR: Almost immediately,
the great ascent begins.

Jack hits the first hill of
the trip, called 2 and 1/2

Mile, with a steep
grade of eight degrees.

To climb it, a heavy hauler
needs plenty of momentum,

but not so much speed
that he can't stop.

When you're that heavy, it
takes a long distance to stop.

It's like a train.

NARRATOR: Jack slowly inches his
way to the top, tires holding

on the ice.

But this is just the
first of many hurdles.

The monstrous Roller
Coaster is dead ahead.

Back at Carlile, the
American veteran of the ice

rolls in to begin his 30th
and final year on the road.

George Spears started
driving the haul road

because it's the closest
thing he could find to combat.

Veterans like myself seekout something that's dangerous,

something that's right
on the edge like that.

People ask what's worse--

you crash into another
truck or go off a cliff.

I just as soon not do
either one of them.

NARRATOR: In fact, he's done
both, including flipping

his truck over a cliff.

Boom, boom, boom-- went
bounding over the hill,

rolled over twice.

I walked out the windshield.

It happens real fast up there.

I don't care how
good a driver you are

or what, if you don't have a
good respect for that road,

sooner or later, it'll
reach out and grab you.

NARRATOR: The list of
fallen drivers is long.

At the last truck stop
before the Dalton begins

stands a memorial.

And many of George's friends'
names are on the wall.

GEORGE SPEARS: There's my
good friend, Dale Harris.

We called him Spud.

He was just an outgoing guy.

He was just a lot
of fun be around.

And he's been sorely missed.

NARRATOR: It was
just last winter

that Dale was driving south
on a long, winding hill.

He was only 60 miles from home,rounding a blind curve, when

headlights stabbed
the darkness ahead.

This is the haul road's
greatest danger--

two big rigs meeting suddenly
on a narrow stretch of ice.

The oncoming truck,
loaded with cement,

jackknifed as it approached.

The heavy trailer
drifted into Dale's lane.

It was an accident.

It was an accident.

It was a trucker's worst
nightmare on both sides.

GEORGE SPEARS: Because
he was about my age.

He was about ready to
retire, same as I am.

So it's a shame to go that
long and then not make it.

NARRATOR: Fairbanks, Alaska,
January 20, opening day

of the ice road season
and day one on the job

for haul road
rookie Tim Freeman.

I'm all nervous.

Well, I've listened to
people talk about the Dalton

all my life.

NARRATOR: A fourth-generation
driver from Minnesota, Tim

is here for trucking's ultimatechallenge and biggest payday.

Make some of that money.

[laughs] I just feel confident
because I was trained

by my father, who's been
around trucks 51 years

he's been alive.

I taught Tim how to drive.

I'd say anybody that
starts out running

that road is under pressure.

The minute you're not
nervous up there, you better

start looking for something elseto do is the way I look at it.

NARRATOR: Before Tim Senior
sent his son to the ice roads,

he enlisted an old
friend as his mentor.

TIM FREEMAN, JR: Scrap
Iron Georgie Spears--

[laughter]

--George is a good
family friend.

He is a case too.

I love that guy.

NARRATOR: But the haul
road breaks rookie drivers.

This is bad.

NARRATOR: And if Tim's going
to succeed on this road,

he's got to show
something special.

TIM FREEMAN, JR:
There is no guarantee.

All I can do is hope.

I'm ready to go truckin', man.

NARRATOR: Over in
the Carlile shop,

Tim's truck is being refitted
with a set of arctic armor.

It's the first
and essential step

to surviving the
punishing road ahead.

These trucks have what you
would call an arctic package

from the factory.

But their version of arctic
and our version of arctic

up here are two
different things.

We're going to start off
wrapping these lines here

so that we can keep this
power steering warm.

The cold that we
deal with up here,

you probably don't see 60 or
70 below down in the States.

NARRATOR: In this kind of
cold, just about every fluid

could freeze solid.

JARID LANE: Once
you get up there

in that wind and
that cold weather,

you can't steer this truck.

The fluid becomes so thick
that it will not turn.

NARRATOR: If brakes aren't
protected from the elements,

they can lock up
without warning.

JARID LANE: They're
packed with ice.

Well, then you go to
step on your brakes,

and you don't have brakes.

NARRATOR: Jarid rebuilds the
brake assembly with heavy duty

bushings to prevent ice
from building up inside.

Weather-beaten batteries
need replacing.

And finally, the engine
needs protecting.

This will actually
keep the truck warm so

that the driver is
not freezing to death

while he's driving
down the road.

NARRATOR: 150 miles north
is heavy hauler Jack Jessee,

just entering a set of dips
like nothing else on Earth.

OK, so we're dropping
down in the roller coaster.

[radio chatter]

NARRATOR: These are thetreacherous coils of ice called

the roller coaster.

JACK JESSEE: Oh,
you're [bleep] me.

NARRATOR: Just ahead, a
trucker is in serious trouble.

I've seen more than one guy
slide backwards on this hill.

NARRATOR: The truck spun
out in front of Jack,

making it easier for
him to do the same.

When tires spin out on the ice,they act like polishing wheels,

making the surface evenslicker for the next truck that

comes along.

That's something
I call-- you know,

we all call breaking loose
up here or wiping your feet.

But if we're to get in his
marks where he spun his tires,

I could easily spin mine
and actually spin out

in the same place.

So I got to be sure not to be
in the same place that he was.

NARRATOR: Jack
slows down to make

sure the driver's been rescued.

JACK JESSEE: It may
be him this trip,

and it may be me the next trip.

NARRATOR: But it cost
him precious momentum

for getting up the hill.

Suddenly, he loses traction.

[tires whirring]

Then Jack's tires start slipping
with 32,0000 pounds dragging

him down.

JACK JESSEE: Most
of our biggest fear

would be sliding backwards
because you have no control.

And then all of a sudden you
start spinning your tires,

and you stop.

And instantaneously, you
start sliding backwards.

And there isn't a
thing you can do--

just hold on for
the ride, I guess.

Well, looks like we
just broke loose.

NARRATOR: Jack
backs off the power

to stop his wheels
from spinning, then

precisely feathers the throttleto keep just enough forward

momentum.

[engine roaring, tires whirring]

He gives it all
the power he dares.

And his tires grip the ice
just enough to keep climbing.

Nice and easy-- we'll just
nurse this truck right over

the top.

NARRATOR: And finally, he rounds
the top of the roller coaster.

[laughs]

NARRATOR: But yet another
terror of the haul road

lies dead ahead--

Avalanche Alley.

Day two of the ice road season,
high in the Brooks Mountain

Range, a fresh new snow has
created a whole new danger

of avalanches.

[laughs] 17 inches of new
snow is what I'm looking at.

Once the wind hits
this stuff, it's

just going to turn to
rock-hard avalanches.

NARRATOR: At 4,700
feet, Atigun Pass

is both the midpoint
and highest reach

of the haul road, the
Avalanche Alley of the north.

If we do not shoot
this down, very likely

there would be trucks hit and
trapped and maybe even knocked

over the guardrail and
down into the canyon.

NARRATOR: Avalanche
control expert Reid Bahnson

and his crew set out to defusethe danger with a very big gun.

The weapon is a Korean
War era recoilless rifle.

It fires shells packed
with eight pounds of TNT.

Conditions are near whiteout.

REID BAHNSON: With the lack
of visibility we have today,

we're going to have to
blind fire the weapon.

If we get a break,
we use the sight.

It's a lot more fun.

Is the road closed?

CREW: Road's closed.

REID BAHNSON:
Clear to the front.

CREW: Clear to the rear.

REID BAHNSON: Reload track 305.

All clear.

Ready to fire.

Fire!

[gunshot]

NARRATOR: The rifle has
no recoil because it vents

the explosion out the rear of
the gun in a ball of flame.

Powder!

[gunshot]

NARRATOR: When the shell
hits, the TNT detonates.

REID BAHNSON: Report!

NARRATOR: And invisible in the
whiteout, a tsunami of snow

rumbles down the mountain.

All clear.

Ready to fire.

REID BAHNSON: Fire!

[gunshot]

Report!

[gunshot]

Report!

We're good.

We caused three pretty
good-sized avalanches.

NARRATOR: With three big slidesdown, the pass can reopen.

The big rigs can get through.

But the danger is far from over.

On the haul road, like
wrecks and breakdowns,

avalanches are inevitable.

In Fairbanks, rookie Tim
Freeman gets his first chance

to drive the haul
road, provided he

runs with his mentor and
family friend George Spears.

TIM FREEMAN, JR: Yeah, I'mnervous about running up there.

There's lots of
hazards in the way.

I'm most nervous
about the hills.

[dramatic music]

[horn honks]

NARRATOR: George is hauling
13 tons of ThermaSteel panels,

enough to build five
heat-efficient houses

for the oil workers
in Prudhoe Bay.

Behind him, Tim pulls
a typical rookie load--

25,000 pounds of canned food,
which is difficult to damage.

Headed to Prudhoe
for my first trip,

something I've been waiting
to do since I started driving

a truck.

All right, George, no sweat.

NARRATOR: Tim first has to
navigate a 75-mile stretch

of icy curves before the
pavement ends and the Dalton

itself begins.

GEORGE SPEARS: There arepretty steep grades along here.

If it doesn't get you spinning
out going up the hill,

you're sliding off
the other side.

Yeah, that's a son
of a bitch, that hill.

I think I just slipped a
little bit on that last hill.

NARRATOR: Tim feels the rearend of his truck losing contact

with the road, which is usuallythe last feeling a driver gets

before he goes off the edge.

Back in Fairbanks,
Hugh Rowland reports

to Carlile Transportation to
take on America's ice road.

HUGH ROWLAND: They say
she's the road from hell.

So I'm here to give her a shot,take a little American money

home with me.

NARRATOR: On the
Canadian ice roads,

he's the one and
only Polar Bear--

first in hauling freight,
first in moneymaking,

last in humility.

Walk tall.

Carry a big stick.

The ice road trucker with
the bigger stick wins.

NARRATOR: But on American
soil, the Polar Bear

is just another rookie.

But before he can be trusted
in the Alaskan wilderness,

he has to prove himself
on a video game.

ROBERTA KLEMA: So
this is a simulator.

We're going to get this crankedup and let you see what it's

like to drive the Alaska roads.

All right?

So if I can get you to
put your seat belt on,

and whenever you're comfortable,go ahead and start it up,

and let's roll.

[buzzing]

HUGH ROWLAND: Ready
to go, nobody coming

through the intersection.

NARRATOR: The instructor
tests Hugh's driving skills

on varying terrain
and how quickly he

can react to sudden obstacles.

[laughs]

I tipped it over.

ROBERTA KLEMA: You
did tip it over.

HUGH ROWLAND: Roberta'sprobably messing with the storms

out there.

I blew out your
left steer tire--

left steer tire.

You noticed you had yourtrailer swinging back and forth.

NARRATOR: Hugh narrowly
passes the exam.

He walks away from this wreck.

But if this happens
on the Dalton,

he might not be so lucky.

230 miles north is the shelf,
a narrow high-walled passage

cut into the mountainside,notorious for causing rollovers

and head-ons.

It's dangerous for any
two trucks to meet here.

And Jack Jessee approaches
it with the widest load

on the road--

an 18-foot modular.

PILOT DRIVER [ON
RADIO]: There you go.

[radio chatter]

NARRATOR: Oncoming trucks clear
his rig with as little as six

inches to spare.

Got a little snug
there, wasn't it, Todd?

NARRATOR: But there's an even
more dangerous stretch just 50

miles ahead, at
4,700-foot Atigun Pass.

It's starting to
blow or something?

NARRATOR: When high winds
blow through this terrain,

avalanches follow.

JACK JESSEE: What
happened up here?

Avalanche?

Or they're just
cleaning the road?

PILOT DRIVER [ON RADIO]:
They had an avalanche.

[inaudible] you'll be
able to fit between there.

It's up higher than my truck.

When did that
avalanche happen?

Just a little bit ago?

PILOT DRIVER [ON RADIO]: Itmust have happened pretty fresh.

NARRATOR: Minutes ago, an
avalanche tore down the pass

and buried the road
ahead in 12 feet of snow.

PILOT DRIVER [ON
RADIO]: Yeah, if you

copy, we need to hang tight
here on the chain up there.

It's definitely going
to be cleaned out.

It's too narrow for us to
get through there right now.

Oh, lovely.

NARRATOR: Jack narrowly
escaped being buried.

He pulls over to wait for
the plows to clear the way.

Every minute the load waits,
an oil rig crew sits idle.

Yet Jack still faces the heart
of Alaska's Avalanche Alley.

I don't know if I'd want
to go up there, you know?

When one avalanche
falls, there's

a good chance there's
going to be more of them.

NARRATOR: On
4,700-foot Atigun Pass,

the highest point of the Dalton,the road suddenly disappeared

under a 12-foot wave of snow.

Heavy hauler Jack
Jessee and his convoy

just missed getting
hit by the avalanche.

Then they were delayed for
two hours by the cleanup,

losing money as the
load stands idle.

Finally, some good news.

PILOT DRIVER [ON RADIO]:
Yes, you're good to go now.

Jack, did you copy that?

Yeah, yeah, I'm moving.

Well anyway, they got theavalanche cleared enough for me

to go through.

Well, this right here's
where the avalanche was.

You know, that'll stop a truck.

OK, guys.

Watch out for any
more avalanches here.

We don't want to get
caught in one today.

PILOT DRIVER [ON
RADIO]: All right.

Here we go.

So we made it up and over the
pass, through the avalanche,

and down the other side.

NARRATOR: After
the pass, the road

descends to the open
tundra of the north slope.

Here there's yet another
prevailing danger.

Mother Nature is starting to
pick her fury back up again up

north.

NARRATOR: The high winds
of the polar region blast

across the ice without a treeor a mountain to slow them down,

hitting a big square load like
Jack's with terrifying force.

It could just blow the
truck sideways and, you know,

push me off the road.

NARRATOR: One of the most
dreaded hazards of the haul

road is a whiteout, what
Alaskans call a blow.

And Jack has just driven into
a blinding, howling blow.

These conditions cause
head-on collisions.

Or you can drive off the
road without knowing it

and be buried alive by the snow.

JACK JESSEE: And your motor's
going to plug up here.

The air cleaner's
going to plug up.

Your motor is going to die.

You're out here so far
in such bad weather

that nobody's really going
to be able to get to you.

NARRATOR: Phase 3 means it'stoo dangerous for even emergency

crews.

Truckers are now
completely on their own.

Back at Carlile,
Alex Debogorski gets

ready for his first
Alaskan challenge.

I've never really
been tested by somebody.

I got my license out of
a popcorn box years ago.

NARRATOR: Last year, his run wascut short when he was suddenly

stricken with heart trouble.

This year, he's setting out to
make a comeback on a road even

more dangerous than the last.

HUGH ROWLAND: Yeah, I
think Alex has something

to prove to himself, not
only to anybody else.

He's back.

He's full of piss and vinegar.

He's going to get at it.

NARRATOR: To pursue
Alaska's big paycheck,

Alex left his family of 11children and nine grandchildren

behind in Yellowknife, Canada.

It was nice sometimes.

Yeah, but I don't want
you to go on the ice road.

He's never driven
this road before.

And we hear it's quite
a dangerous road.

And of course, I always
worry about his health.

But we're just going to pray
that everything goes well

and God always looks after us.

ALEX DEBOGORSKI: Give us
direction and guidance.

Protect us from evil and harm.

NARRATOR: With his
family's blessing,

Alex is a rookie all over again.

But can he make it through
five minutes on the haul road

simulator?

Run over the lawn.

NARRATOR: He's off
to a bad start.

ALEX DEBOGORSKI: I started offwith the truck being turned all

the way to the right.

And so when I put it to gear,
the truck just sort of drove

right up on the lawn.

So I ran over about
an acre of lawn

before I got back
down on the road.

NARRATOR: Getting out of
town is the biggest hurdle.

Get your ass out
of the way, OK?

NARRATOR: On the snowy curves
of the Dalton, Alex excels--

ROBERTA KLEMA: There you go.

Perfect.

NARRATOR: --and
passes like a pro.

ALEX DEBOGORSKI:
Made me seasick.

And I just got to drive this
thing all over the place.

But it went all right.

ROBERTA KLEMA: Good job.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: 50 miles
north of Fairbanks

is rookie Tim Freeman, who'shaving trouble with his truck's

rear end.

I'm just trying to
concentrate on this,

see if it'll do it again.

NARRATOR: The drive
wheels of his cab

are hopping off the road
and skidding sideways.

And he's still on the pavement.

TIM FREEMAN, JR:
I'm feeling a hop.

Yeah, there's [inaudible]
back there and hop.

NARRATOR: The rear end was
just rebuilt on the truck.

And either the mechanic made amistake or Tim's got a bad case

of rookie nerves.

TIM FREEMAN, JR: I'd like
to get one more good pull,

make sure I'm not
imagining this.

NARRATOR: Either way, his mentorand lead driver, George Spears,

is not taking a chance
on Tim's safety.

Yeah, something's
jumping back there, George.

Ah, [bleep].

NARRATOR: Eight miles
from the Dalton,

and his dream of
driving the haul road,

Tim decides that his truck isdangerously unfit for the trip.

Yeah, I'm bummed about it.

I'm finally up
here and doing it.

Now I have to go back
to town, won't even

make it to the Dalton Highway.

This sucks.

GEORGE SPEARS: I know it.

Those guys from Minnesota, man,
they're rough on equipment,

aren't they?

All OK, buddy.

All right, George.

Nice working with you.

I sure hope they fire you
when you get back to town.

[laughs]

NARRATOR: George
Spears will have

to continue north by himself,
while Tim abandons his load

and turns back for Fairbanks.

TIM FREEMAN, JR: I'm going
to turn around and drop

this trailer here.

And bring it back to
town, get her fixed

and try her another day.

NARRATOR: 62 miles south of
Prudhoe Bay and the entrance

to the ice road, Jack Jessee
is trapped by bad weather.

Just up the road is a phase
3 whiteout-- conditions so

extreme that emergency
crews can't drive,

much less Jack and his
high-priority load.

He's parked on the open tundra
until the wind dies down,

which can take days and cause
him to miss his deadline.

No horsing around here.

We got work to do.

JACK JESSEE: We're going tohunker in and sit this one out.

There's no need for us to go
in and get into that mess.

Can't see 10 feet
between us to begin with.

JACK JESSEE: Yeah,
pretty well stuck here.

See you in the morning.

We'll figure it out then.

NARRATOR: As day two of the ice
road season comes to an end,

so does a rookie's first attemptat driving the haul road.

I called my dad right before
we pulled out of the yard

and asked him for any
last-minute advice.

He said, don't [bleep] up.

[laughs]

NARRATOR: Tim Freeman returns to
the Carlile yard in Fairbanks,

defeated.

Hey, Dad.

What's happening?

NARRATOR: As he breaks
the news to his father,

he wonders if he
made the right call

or possibly caved
under pressure.

TIM FREEMAN, SR [ON
PHONE]: Well, sure.

Yeah, absolutely
there's pressure on you.

If you screw up, you're going tohear about it for a long time.

So you don't want to screw up.
- Yeah.

TIM FREEMAN, SR [ON
PHONE]: Be a professional

when you're behind the wheel.

All right, Dad.

I'll talk to you tomorrow then.

Goodnight.

NARRATOR: Turning back on
your first run is bad enough.

But 225 miles
north on the shelf,

another rookie's trip
comes to a far worse end.

MAN [ON RADIO]: Some tanker
went off the road up here.

Oh, there he is.

NARRATOR: Rescuers
rushed to the scene

and arrived braced
for the worst.

You all right?

- Yeah.
- Not hurt or anything?

BRUCE CARL: No.

Have the men at
medical check you out

if you want to go
up to pump four.

BRUCE CARL: No, I'm all right.
- OK.

NARRATOR: The
driver, Bruce Carl,

is shaken but manages to
climb out of the wreck.

He's got years of
trucking experience.

But this was his first
attempt on the ice.

BRUCE CARL: You know
it hurts your pride.

Ain't no way around that.

I know I made a mistake.

NARRATOR: One mistake on
this route is all it takes.

I reached up to grab
something off the dash,

and I got too close to the edge.

NARRATOR: In the instant
that Bruce reached over,

his front right wheel
caught the edge of the road.

The whole truck followed
as it flipped onto its side

and slid into the ditch.

I wasn't going but
about 25 mile an hour.

But once it grabbed and
started, I couldn't stop it.

This road is no joke.

It can get you.

And today was my day.

NARRATOR: Prudhoe Bay,
Alaska, land's end--

but the beginning of the ocean
ice road for Jack Jessee.

In the 500 miles from Fairbanks,the most dangerous road

in North America threw
everything it had at Jack.

He just missed getting
hit by an avalanche,

then was stranded in
a massive whiteout.

But now comes the danger that
deeply haunts every driver--

the possibility of
breaking through the ice.

36 miles northwest
of Prudhoe, Jack

arrives at the oil fieldoperated by the Italian company

known as Eni.

JACK JESSEE: This
is just about--

it's one of the most northern
parts you can actually

drive to.

This oil rig we're going to
right here is actually just--

it's right on the sea,
the Arctic sea up here.

NARRATOR: He eases his rig
onto the ocean ice road.

[crackling]

The Arctic ice cracks as
it flexes with the weight

of Jack's truck.

JACK JESSEE: It's got
really big cracks in it

because ice changes
with the temperature.

The colder it gets,
the ice shrinks more

and actually creates
its own cracks that way.

NARRATOR: With 48 hours and
almost 600 white-knuckle miles

behind him, Jack arrives
on time at the oil rig.

[horn honks]

JACK JESSEE: And here we are.

60 miles west and north
of Prudhoe Bay right now,

out in the middle
of the oil field.

If the oil industry wasn't
up here digging holes

in the ground
trying to find oil,

you know, the Dalton
Highway wouldn't be there.

My job wouldn't be there.

And I would wouldn't have the
experiences up on this road

that I have, some of the mostamazing views I've ever seen.

You know, it's been a
great experience for me.