All language subtitles for Ice.Road.Truckers.S03E12.Race.for.the.Finish.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: After 12 weeks
of battling North America's

deadliest passage--

[music playing]

TRUCKER: Oh, look at that, man.

Holy cow!

I'm trying to stop, I promise.

NARRATOR: The ice road
season is nearing an end.

That's when things
gets really dangerous.

[skid sound]

NARRATOR: There's
just a few days left--

I don't like this.

NARRATOR: Truckers face
deadly springtime conditions--

Sleet.

Sleet!

NARRATOR: --to haul the
last freight north--

Hopefully we can
get a few more in.

NARRATOR: --before all
the ice roads melt away.

It's going to get really bad.

[horn]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Spring's
unpredictable weather

has brought a sudden
storm and, with it,

high winds and
thick, heavy snow.

150 miles up the ice road, AlexDebogorski and convoy partner,

Ron Dubbs, are
pushing through hoping

to reach Coldfoot tonight.

ALEX: We've got 60 miles to go.

And it's been snowing for
the last 15 minutes or so.

The snow is melting on
the ground and on the road

because we're right
around the freezing mark.

And this is what makes
it kind of dangerous.

It's hard to see.

It's hard to tell
what's out there.

NARRATOR: As Alex
struggles to see the road,

Ron radios in with
even bigger troubles.

ALEX: Oh.

RON: I'm leaking oil
all over my turbo.

That's-- that's
what I was smelling.

It's spraying all
the way up here.

Here, up here?

RON: Yeah, it--
it's spraying out.

ALEX: Back here.

Seems to be really get--

RON: It-- so, it's
all over the place.

ALEX: Holy mackerel!

NARRATOR: The leak is coming
from a busted oil line.

RON: I can't run it like that.

It'll just pump oil out
all over the ground.

And I'd run out of oil.

Even though we only have
30 miles to Coldfoot,

I can't even run it that far.

I need to get
another braided line.

NARRATOR: Repairing
the truck will

have to wait until morning.

ALEX: Jack this thing in here.

But then I'll give you
a ride home to Coldfoot.

NARRATOR: It's an
unfortunate setback

that could cost Alex one of
his last loads on the ice.

I don't know how long it'llbe waiting for the part to come.

Time is money.

And it will probably
cost me some time too.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: As day
breaks in Fairbanks,

Lisa Kelly has
just been assigned

one of the last top-dollar
runs of the season.

LISA: I'm going to go over
and scale this, see how much I

weigh, and then get out of town.

Just drive straight to Prudhoe.

Let's just go.

NARRATOR: But as she
prepares to take off--

It still hasn't
stopped making noise yet?

NARRATOR: Lisa discovers a
problem with her trailer.

LISA: Why am I
losing all my air?

It's not--

NARRATOR: Without air pressure,the brakes won't release,

and the trailer won't budge.

I don't know.

I don't get it.

One of those days.

Can you tell?

Won't stop making
air leak sounds.

Please don't be frozen.

NARRATOR: Lisa tries thawing outthe lines with methyl hydrate,

which acts like an antifreeze.

LISA: I really
just want to leave.

I'm going to try this again.

Dumping it out.

NARRATOR: But the quick
fix isn't working.

[music playing]

And Lisa's chances of getting
another big load this season

are quickly fading.

Drop this one.

Get another load.

But I don't know what
they're going to give me

that's going to be interesting.

NARRATOR: She leaves the
broken trailer in the yard

and heads for dispatch.

[music playing]

Hey, it's Lisa.

MAN: Bad mood.

I'm not in a bad mood.
MAN: Ahh!

I'm just in--

I'll be so much happier when I'min the rolling down the road.

[inaudible]
LISA: I know.

- OK.
- Give me a load.

Let's go.

Please.

How about a van with
45,000 pounds of explosives?

You got to call
the state troopers

and let them know
you're on the road.

LISA: Are you serious?
- Oh, I'm quite serious.

You see that route plan?
LISA: Wow!

I've never done that.

Oh, yeah.

You've got a little
map and everything.

If you deviate from this
route, and you go boom,

they'll be really
unhappy with you.

LISA: So you're counting on meto actually keep it on the road

today?

MAN: Yes, that would be,
uh, what we were hoping.

LISA: See you.

Have fun.

LISA: Thanks.

It's a cool van.

We gotta call the state troopersbefore we can leave to let them

know I'm on the road.
That's kind of scary.

They should know all the
time when I'm on the road.

[beep]

Watch me hook up to
it, and it explodes

as soon as I bang the king pin.

Kaboom!

End of my workday.

NARRATOR: The critical
load of explosives

will be used to break new
ground on the North Slope.

[explosion]

[beep]

Well, it didn't explode yet.

We're all right.

NARRATOR: After several
impressive runs this season,

including a set
of oversized tires

and a load of 80-foot
pipe, this run

is another giant step for Lisa
and one that will earn her

$1,700 if delivered
on time and intact.

If the rest goes
uneventful, we'll be good.

But I just have this
feeling that it won't.

[beep]

NARRATOR: 500 miles north
in Deadhorse, Hugh Rowland

hooks up to his 13th load.

HUGH: Yeah, I've got my load.

I got my paperwork.

I'm fueled up.

And, as usual, I'm
waiting on the fill billy.

Let's rock and roll, fill billy.

Yeah, let's blow it.

NARRATOR: Once again, he's
pulled half a run ahead

of his rival, Alex.

But it's a tight race.

And with the ice road
season in its final days,

every load could be their last.

HUGH: And that's a friendly
rivalry between me and Alex,

but he--

he'll concede.

I know he's going to
concede to me this year.

And he knows I passed
him a couple of times.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: With Alex
stuck in Coldfoot,

Hugh might just get the
chance he's looking for.

HUGH: I've got one more trip.

That's all we got.

NARRATOR: But with
500 miles still ahead,

anything could happen.

MAN [ON RADIO]: OK, we're doing.

10-4.

[horn]

NARRATOR: 250 miles south of
Hugh, the leader of the load

count, Jack Jesse, is
racing back to Fairbanks

for his next load.

How does the
hill look up there?

NARRATOR: But first, he must
climb Atigun Pass, the road's

deadliest stretch,
with an empty tanker.

OK.

All right, well, I'm coming up.

[music playing]

Climbing the north side of
the pass, heading back empty,

it's always a
pretty big challenge

to get an empty tanker up this
hill without spinning out.

NARRATOR: With little
weight over the drive axles,

it's extremely difficult
to maintain traction.

There's a lot of fluff going
on here, and I don't know.

I actually might
not make this one.

The problem is is when you
spin out and slide backwards.

That's when things
gets really dangerous.

[music playing]

You know, because you may notbe able to stop going backwards.

And that's really bad.

[music playing]

Feel us spinning?

That bounding is
because we're spinning.

Back out of it a little
bit, not too much.

Oh, god.

NARRATOR: Jack downshifts hopinga lower gear will stop him

from sliding.

That's going to take all
the torque off the motor.

MAN [ON RADIO]: [inaudible].

How you doing, bud?

Oh, don't do that.

NARRATOR: The truck
shudders to a halt,

leaving the Dalton ace
barely clinging to the ice

just 300 feet from the top.

[skid sound]

Come on.

Oh!

I'm almost to the top.

This is not my idea of fun.

Ah, [bleep].

Yeah, I didn't
make it here, guys.

Northbound lane is still open.

They can get around
if they need to.

MAN [ON RADIO]: OK.

NARRATOR: He can't move forward.

And backing down Atiguun
is not an option.

This is not my idea of fun.

NARRATOR: Fortunately,
a DOT plow

is working the road nearby.

Jack flags him down for a tow.

JACK: I got a
strap I'll put out.

MAN: OK.

Well, I'm going to
get a free tow today.

The state's going to
tow me up the hill.

NARRATOR: Jack attaches a tow
pin to the frame of his truck

and connects a heavy-duty
tow strap to the plow.

That way, we won't jerk
anything off when it goes bam.

Yeah.

[laughter]

OK, let's go to it.

MAN [ON RADIO]: Ready?

JACK: Yep, let's go.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The plow drags
Jack all the way to the top

of the pass.

JACK: This is actually
the steepest part.

These guys, they don't mind
helping out when we do this,

you know?

I mean, they were
working the hill.

Well, if anybody has
problems on a hill,

it's definitely going
to be an empty tanker.

Well, that ought
to be good there.

Now we'll just get out and
put everything back up,

thank these guys a lot,
and go on our merry way.

I hope I don't get
fired for this.

[laughter]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Well, if I had to spin out,
today was a beautiful day

to do it, a whole lot
better than the wind

blowing at 40 to 50 miles an
hour and dealing with that.

All right, let's get back
in the truck and keep going.

[music playing]

This time of year, it's
hard to read the roads

and the empty tankers.

Sometimes they're really tough.

You can do it a little faster.

But just like that, you get
a hill, you may not make it.

NARRATOR: 250 miles
south of Jack, Lisa Kelly

drops onto the ice road.

I got some
explosives on board.

I'm not sure exactly what
kind, just kinds that blow up,

I think.

The only thing that you can't
do around my load is smoke.

Nobody smoke around this load.

This is like tightest
and windiest part

of the whole road.

Just really good steep hills,
like down a steep hill,

up a steep hill.

NARRATOR: Up ahead is
Lisa's biggest challenge,

one of the steepest
grades on the road known

as 2 and 1/2 mile.

LISA: Northbound 2 and 1/2 mile.

Here's the hill
that always get me.

So we're going to play
a trick on the hill.

NARRATOR: Last week, Lisa
spun out on 2 and 1/2 mile--

Hold on, guys.

Spun out.

NARRATOR: --and had to back
all the way down the slope.

LISA: That's one of those
gears that I always miss.

And if I miss it, I spin.

NARRATOR: Now she has
a new plan of attack.

She hopes to avoid spinning
out by not shifting

in the middle of the hill.

I am definitely not
in the right gear yet.

That one right here [inaudible].

My foot's on it just
enough when climbing,

but not all the
way to the floor.

This is like, come on.

MAN [ON RADIO]: [inaudible]

[whistle]

There.

I'm at that critical moment.
Do you see that?

It was dropping.
And I turned off the fan.

And now we're picking up.

OK.

We got it.

Almost there.

Here we go.

Oh, we made it.

That proved to be a little morechallenging than I anticipated.

NARRATOR: Success
on the ice road

is largely a matter of
knowing when and how to pull

the right gear.

And this season, Lisa hastriumphed over many challenges.

Sticking in fourth,[inaudible] climb [inaudible]..

And that's the way she's done.

I think I'll do that every time.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: 400 miles north in
Deadhorse, rookie Tim Freeman

and veteran George Spears are
beginning their return trip

to Fairbanks.

GEORGE: It's about 10 o'clock
here, about 5 or 6 below zero.

Everything's going good.

TIM: George has got an empty.

I've got an empty with
just some pallets in it

just to get our
trailers back to town

so we can reload them
and send them back up.

NARRATOR: Tim has been running
with George all season.

But soon, it will be time for
him to strike out on his own.

GEORGE: Tim's
learning that truck.

It takes a while to get
adjusted to a truck to know.

you know, what it's boundaries
are, when it's going to spin,

when it's not going to spin.

As time goes by, he's
doing a real good job.

He's getting it all figured out.

My confidence has been really
good the last three runs.

But we'll see when we
get another storm just

how comfortable I really am.

NARRATOR: The brutal
weather this winter

has been a tough
initiation for the rookie.

Still coming, George.

I can't see a
[bleep] thing though.

NARRATOR: In less
than 10 runs, he's

been hit by four bad storms.

Just horrendous storms.

Oh, wow!

Look at that [bleep],,
man, holy cow.

NARRATOR: And the delays
have cost both Tim and George

serious time and money.

Heads up.

GEORGE: This trip here
is going to make up

for some of the real bad ones
we've had in the last month

or so.

Hopefully, we can get a few
more in before the springtime

arrives.

So we'll just roll up the
road, take it as it comes.

NARRATOR: 250 miles to the
south, another spring storm

is blowing through.

It's nice and
pleasant out today.

NARRATOR: And Alex
and Ron have returned

to the side of the road with
parts to fix the oil leak.

ALEX: Look at that.

Perfect.

RON: We got the big hammer
here in case we can't get it

with the wrench.

Finishing now, yeah.

Yep.

RON: Very tight down there.

NARRATOR: They're pushing
to get back on the road

before the storm gets any worse.

Truckers do the best
work in tight places.

NARRATOR: Ron disconnects
the damaged line.

There's a little
hole right here, Alex.

Here's this little
tiny hole right here.

ALEX: Well--

RON: That little tiny hole.

ALEX: [inaudible] 60, 70.

RON: Yeah, just make sure
we got the right one.

You want to hand that to me?

Ah, let's see here.

Let me tighten this one up
a little bit here on top

till we get it almost snug.

[hammering]

ALEX: Start it up and see if
it sprays in all directions.

All right, Alex.

You ready?

ALEX: Yeah, go ahead.

[beep]

OK.

So far, so good.

Wasn't too bad.

NARRATOR: Back on the road,
they pushed through the storm,

eager to make up for lost time.

Yeah, I think it's going
to get a little stormier

before it'll get better.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: 160 miles
south of Deadhorse--

--Tim and George are
racing back to Fairbanks

hoping to pick up one of the
last loads of this season.

Rick, you come across
any [inaudible] yet?

NARRATOR: But the road ahead
is getting worse as today's

fierce storm gathers strength.

As they start the
4,700-foot climb,

visibility drops to
less than 20 feet.

GEORGE [ON RADIO]: Tim, how's
everything going back there?

There's some bad places where
you can't see nothing, so--

Just spun a little bit,
even with the chains on.

NARRATOR: The storm grows
more intense with every mile.

30 years on this road really
qualifies Georgie as the judge

over the rest of us guys.

I trust his decision.

I'm right behind him,
whatever he thinks.

NARRATOR: George decides to
push on towards the summit.

GEORGE: This winter
has just been--

you can't-- just you can't evenpredict what's going to happen.

Seen it like this a long time.

It's just really unpredictable.

NARRATOR: On their descent,
the snow lightens up

and visibility improves.

TIM: You're always taking a
gamble on the weather up here.

You know, uh, just a
gamble the whole way,

just the luck of the draw.

NARRATOR: As Tim
prepares to run alone,

the unforgiving weather
has him wondering

if it's all worth the effort.

TIM: No piece of freight isworth your life, stuck out here

in a snowdrift somewhere
wondering when the blow is

going to happen.

NARRATOR: 78 miles south
at the Coldfoot truck stop,

two Canadian rivals are
taking shelter from the storm.

--a seat.

Yeah, how have
thing's been going?

Well, I can--

just travelling [inaudible].

Yeah, I didn't finish my
education program with you

last year.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: These two
may be old friends.

But they're in Alaska to see
who can turn the most loads.

And at the moment, Hugh
is ahead, 12 loads to 11.

How many loads you got now?

Well, I can't tell you.

[laughter]

You can't tell me.

HUGH: Yeah, Alex asked
me how many loads I have.

And I said, you know
I can't tell you that.

I said, you'll start losing
beauty sleep over that.

And you need your beauty sleep.

So, yeah, I just told
him I couldn't tell him

that for sure.

- You're still being trained?
- Yeah.

[laughter]

He won't let me pass
him on the hills.

He won't let you pass him?

[laughter]

No.

So when did you start to lead?

Well, like he said,
I led a couple times,

and he couldn't keep up.
So--

[laughter]

So I just stay behind now.

And then that way, I
stay out of trouble.

I think Hugh is getting worse.

I'm not sure why he just
can't sit still at all.

He's got ants in pants.

I don't know.

Maybe he has a tapeworm.

I really don't know
what's driving him.

[laughter]

Anyway, I'm going
to get out of here.

[inaudible]

- Yeah, we got to get going too.- All right.

[chink glasses]
Talk to you later.

[inaudible]

Yeah.

NARRATOR: As Hugh and Phil pushthrough the storm on their way

to Fairbanks, Alex and
Ron brace themselves

for a treacherous
run up Atigun Pass--

[music playing]

--where the summit is still
being pummeled by snow.

ALEX: It's fairly slippery.

I don't think anybody
is taking any chances.

We're all chaining up.

[music playing]

OK, other side.

NARRATOR: Chaining up has cost
Alex a lot of precious time

this season--

--and caused one driver
to leave him behind.

But as this season
comes to an end,

it appears Alex
is becoming a pro.

All right.

That's a first.

I guess we can leave any
time you like there, Ron.

RON [ON RADIO]: All
right, here we go.

[music playing]

Well, we're chained
up and in gear.

Well, we're approaching
Atigun Pass northbound.

This is sort of a new test for
us here because, like I say,

it's snowing.

The road is-- it's ice covered.

It's fairly warm.

And it's slippery.

It makes it hard to steer.

A beautiful day for a penguin.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: As Alex begins the
climb, the weather closes in.

ALEX: It's so white, you
can't hardly tell the--

tell whether it's
snowing or not.

I think we got a
little bit of snowfall.

It looks like more like fog now.

I think we're going to get intosome fog going over the pass.

[crunching]

It's pretty bad.

What a mess.

The grader doesn't seem to havebeen down here for a while.

So--

[bleep]

We only have one lane open.

So we can't-- if anybody
comes roaring up the hill,

my right side here
hasn't been cleaned.

It looks like there's about 6
inches of snow sitting there.

So there's only one lane.

[music playing]

[bleep] like this.

It's hard to tell
what's happening.

NARRATOR: As Alex Debogorski
climbs the infamous Atigun

Pass, he's hit by a
terrible spring storm.

[bleep]

I don't like this.

So I don't know the road.

That's the problem.

If I knew the road,
I'd just let it roll.

But I'm not sure what's
around that corner.

[bleep]

Can't tell where
we are on the hill

if we're going to make
it to the top or not.

[music playing]

MAN [ON RADIO]:
[inaudible] down the hill.

How you doing there, Alex?

So far, so good.

MAN [ON RADIO]: [inaudible]

NARRATOR: He finally
reaches the top.

But his troubles
are far from over.

It's messy.

NARRATOR: Conditions
downhill are even worse.

ALEX: It's varying
degrees of slipperiness.

You don't want to apply the
brakes very hard or else

we go into toboggan mode.

Let's not fall
off the road here.

NARRATOR: At last, Alex and Rondescend onto the North Slope.

Well, that's been
a real workout.

Holy mackerel.

[horn]

NARRATOR: 100 miles
south of Alex--

[horn]

--Hugh and convoy partner Phil
are making good time moving

south through the storm.

Sleet!

Sleet!

NARRATOR: Until it turns into
a dangerous mixture of snow

and sleet.

[music playing]

They're already saying there's4 inches on the Beaver Slide,

means she's starting
to stick now.

About 2 more degrees, this
little wet drizzle of snow

will turn [bleep]
into a sheet of ice.

And then the fun begins.

We could off on that
side of the cliff

or against the
rocks on this side.

Ain't Mother Nature grand?

As long as we make it over the
Beaver Slide without getting

killed.

NARRATOR: The Beaver
Slide is one of the most

notorious slopes on the Dalton.

Southbound, it's 2
miles straight uphill.

There we go.

[horn]

It is [bleep] glare ice.

NARRATOR: Momentum is key
to making it to the top.

[horn]

Halfway up the climb,
Hugh hits the right gear.

But he can't find
enough traction.

HUGH: Listen.

[bleep] slicker than
snot on a chicken's lip.

NARRATOR: Hugh attempts
a new strategy.

Zigzag up that
hill just to make it.

NARRATOR: Snake back and forth
across both lanes in order

to find something for
his tires to grip.

Come on, baby.

I need some snow.
Come on.

Come on.

I got one wheel in the
middle where everybody hasn't

been driving and one on--

on the outside.

If worse comes to worse,
grab your ass with both hands

and hang on.

That's all we can do.

[music playing]

Come on, baby.

NARRATOR: Finally,
Hugh crests the top.

HUGH: Well, it just gives
us some traction because now

you're not pulling straight up.

The truck doesn't
have to work so hard.

So it just [bleep] gets some
snow off the side and it's

off the middle and
made it into the dock.

Yeah, you betcha.

Not a problem.

Yee haw!

NARRATOR: Back at the
base of Atigun Pass,

Lisa Kelly is the next
to make the climb.

And she's hauling 45,000
pounds of explosives.

Try not to blow anything up.

But we gotta get over Atigun.

It's predictable that Atigun
is very unpredictable.

If you want to venture a
guess, guess that Atigun

is going to be crazy.

[laughter]

It's blowing down
here, but not too bad.

It should still be open if downhere is anything to go by up

there, which it isn't.

They're nothing alike.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: As Lisa begins the
ascent, the winds pick up

and snow starts to
collect on the road.

It's already built up
along that guardrail.

It's almost over the edge
of the guardrail already.

It's really deep here.

[crunching]

You just can't see
that well down here.

It's going to get really bad.

NARRATOR: Snow on
top of slick ice

is a deadly combination
that can easily

send a trucker over the edge.

[crash]

LISA: The truck is
saying, I want to slip.

And I'm saying no.

Get sure footing.

We have a mountain
goat here, right?

You got to keep--
keep the traction.

You don't want to spin.

[crunching]

So far, so good.

I haven't slipped yet.

And we're almost over,
almost to the top.

There we go.

OK, northbound over the top.

Atigun is my last
obstacle that I have

to jump just to get to Prudhoe.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: 195 miles
south of Lisa, Jack Jesse

is closing in on Fairbanks.

You know this heading
south on this road

is actually tougher
than going north.

Unfortunately, you know, I
don't know how it works out.

You start from point A. You go
to point B. From B back to A

should be the same elevations,
but the hills are just longer

and bigger heading south.

NARRATOR: But one of the
biggest southbound challenges

is man-made the steep 6% grade
of the Yukon River Bridge.

JACK: That could
be an issue today.

There won't be anybody to
pull me up that one, so--

NARRATOR: The south
end of the bridge

is nearly 100 feet higher
than the north end.

With the snow that's
been falling all day,

this is one of the most
dangerous slopes on the haul

road.

JACK: But an empty
tanker, again,

going up these long hills
should be a little tough, so--

NARRATOR: A spin out here
could launch Jack's truck

off the bridge [crash] and sendhim crashing through the river

ice over 100 feet below.

[crash]

Southbound,
Yukon River Bridge.

It can be pretty slick
sometimes in the winter.

I remember when they first
put this wood decking they got

on this bridge here, it can
be pretty slick sometimes

in the winter.

NARRATOR: Jack hits the bridge
at close to 55 miles per hour,

counting on momentum
to get him across.

JACK: That's kind of strange.

NARRATOR: But almostimmediately, he loses traction.

Oh, there we go
spinning already.

Spinning again.

This thing is slick.

Holy [bleep]!

If it weren't for
the momentum I had,

I don't think I would make it.

Son of a [bleep].

What the [bleep]?

NARRATOR: Jack
downshifts and picks up

some much-needed traction.

Wow!

Be glad to get back on the ice.

Hell, there was
more traction there.

And there we go.

Traction.

[chuckle]

Good thing I did hit
that at a decent speed.

Trying to hit that
thing at a slower speed,

I wouldn't have made it.

NARRATOR: As night falls,
Jack forges ahead to Fairbanks

with just 130 miles to go.

JACK: All you need to know is
the road's slick right now.

That's all you need to know.

I don't think winter's
over quite yet.

You know, we all
got spring fever.

And winter is going to bearound for a little bit longer.

Just outside of
Deadhorse, Lisa Kelly

wraps up one of her most
dangerous runs of the season.

LISA: Yeah, we're still--

I'm still trucking.

We haven't blown up.

NARRATOR: She made it to
the end of the haul road

with a load of explosives.

[music playing]

[air escape]

LISA: Yeah, I was just being
real careful not to go off

the road with it, not to
hit anything, or get rear

ended, or rear end someone.

Yep, didn't blow anything up.

[chuckle]

Oh, I feel old after that trip.

I just aged 10 years
after that one.

NARRATOR: But the
season isn't over yet.

Tomorrow, Lisa will be gunning
again for another load.

LISA: Well, the season has
been so crazy this year.

There's no rest for me.

[chuckle]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: The next
day, Tim and George

are closing in on Fairbanks.

Southbound and down.

GEORGE: Tim's right behind me.

We're going to be headed
for Fairbanks here.

We're looking good.

NARRATOR: After 10
trips together--

TIM: Look at that
[bleep] man, holy cow!

NARRATOR: --through the
season's worst weather--

[bleep].

I couldn't see nothing there.

NARRATOR: --the time is near
for the rookie to run solo.

Tim keeps working his way up.

He's doing a great job.

And, uh, I really feel
confident in him right now.

I-- I just think he'll be
ready to go and get her

done by himself.

TIM: So I'm confident.

If you want me to go alone,
I mean, I'll go alone,

no problem, but--

until George kicks me
off, I'll stick with that.

He's not going to be up
here for much longer.

NARRATOR: George plans on
retiring after this season.

GEORGE: I feel very fortunate.

I still wouldn't
trade it for anything.

You know, it's time to move on.

TIM: We're really
going to miss him.

No doubt about it.

Everybody's uncle,
Georgie Spears.

NARRATOR: But George is
pushing for at least one more

run up the ice road before
cashing in for good.

GEORGE: Yeah, it
ain't over yet boys.

We're going to try to go
again tomorrow and make

another good trip.

NARRATOR: As Tim and George
pull into the Carlile yard,

they complete what could
be their last run together

this season.

TIM: George is a great teacher.

I'm just trying to soak
up as much knowledge

as I can from him before
I go out there on my own.

He's really been good, good
to me, good-- good teacher.

I couldn't have learned from
anybody better than George

here.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: 500 miles
north, Alex and Ron

are nearing the end
of their latest trial.

ALEX: Well, a dull, nice road
showed some of its temperament

today.

We-- we had snow.

We had a little bit of wind.

We had ice.

We had a little
bit of everything.

NARRATOR: Alex
pulls into Deadhorse

with his 12th load
of this season

and high hopes of
getting in one last run

before the ice
roads all melt away.

ALEX: We're going to try to
make it back to Fairbanks

tomorrow, I guess, eh?

If-- if we get
out of here early,

we've got a good
shot at doing that.

NARRATOR: For the moment,
Alex has pulled even again

with rival Hugh Rowland.

And with mere days
left on this road,

Jack Jesse is the
clear frontrunner.

But for the rest, it's a
battle to the bitter end

to see how many loads they
can claim on North America's

deadliest ice road.

HUGH: Drop the
load, grab one more,

and that's the last one on the
season, turn and burn, baby,

turn and burn.

Woo hoo!

[horn]

Ka-ching!
Ka-ching!

Dash for the cash.

[horn]

Bet you I made more
money than that [bleep]..

We have another complication.

GEORGE: My last winter, and
it wants to kick my butt

on the way out the door.

TIM: I knew the road
was going to get rough.

But it's rough,
a son of a bitch.

LISA: It was kind of scary to
discover I didn't have brakes

all of a sudden.

TRUCKER: There is
a bear in the way.

And it has the ice road closed.

HUGH: Everything's
about as [bleep]

as you can get unless
they been in [inaudible]..