Gold Rush

Narrator: NORTH IN THE KLONDIKE,

GOLD MINING HISTORY IS BEING REWRITTEN.

I CHRISTEN YOU "MINNIE'S A.T.M."

WHOO!

Narrator: TONY BEETS' 75-YEAR-OLD GOLD DREDGE

GOES TO WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE DECADES.

BUT WHEN TONY SURPRISES HIS CREW WITH A NEW DREDGE CAPTAIN...

GENE CHEESEMAN. HOW'S IT GOING, BUDDY?

...IT'S A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR THE MEN WHO BUILT IT.

GENE'S GOT IT MADE.

MIKE AND I PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR HIM.

GENE AIN'T GONNA BE MY BOSS.

Narrator: AND WHEN THE ANCIENT MINING MACHINE

PROVES TOO HARD TO HANDLE...

...SKEPTICS LIKE TODD HOFFMAN...

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH GOLD THIS DREDGE IS GONNA GET.

...LOOKED LIKE THEY JUST MIGHT BE PROVED RIGHT.

BUT IT'S DEFINITELY A TOURIST ATTRACTION.

MEANWHILE, 20-YEAR-OLD PARKER SCHNABEL

RACES 500 MILES WEST

WHEN HIS BELOVED GRANDPA IS MEDEVACED TO THE HOSPITAL...

...AS 95-YEAR-OLD JOHN SCHNABEL FACES EMERGENCY HEART SURGERY.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

LAST SEASON, TONY BEETS SHELLED OUT $1 MILLION

FOR A GOLD DREDGE BUILT IN 1938.

AFTER FIVE MONTHS OF BACKBREAKING WORK,

HE FINALLY GOT IT RUNNING.

NOW, HE'S DESPERATE TO CATCH GOLD

SO THE DREDGE CAN START PAYING FOR ITSELF.

HEY, TONY. WHAT'S UP?

HUH?

LIST IS GETTING SHORTER.

IT'S PRETTY CLOSE TO ACTUALLY JUST BEING OPERATIONAL HERE NOW.

WE UNDERSTAND YOUR DILEMMA, TONY. WE'RE TRYING.

Narrator: ALL OF LAST SEASON,

MACHINISTS JERRY RHODES AND MIKE KRISHER

PAINSTAKINGLY REBUILT THE DREDGE,

BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN FAST ENOUGH FOR TONY.

ONCE THE DREDGE IS AFLOAT,

ITS BUCKET LINE SHOULD CHEW

THROUGH 100 YARDS OF PAY DIRT AN HOUR.

THE PAY DIRT WILL THEN DROP INTO THE TROMMEL,

WHERE WATER WILL WASH ANY GOLD OFF THE ROCKS

AND DOWN INTO THE INTERNAL SLUICE BOX.

HISTORICALLY, DREDGES HAVE BEEN

INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT GOLD MINING MACHINES.

BUT UNTIL THIS ONE FLOATS,

IT'S JUST 350 TONS OF RUSTED METAL.

TONY RIPS INTO THE DAM,

WHICH IS HOLDING BACK 10 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER.

WHOA! IT'S COMING IN.

KEVIN, WE GOT A PROBLEM HERE.

WHOA. OH, CRAP.

Narrator: WITHIN MINUTES,

WATER FROM THE HOLDING POND SURROUNDS THE DREDGE.

GOT TO GET MIKE OUT OF HERE AND HIS TRUCK.

COOL. GONNA GET WET.

WATCH OUT. I'D GET OFF THE GROUND IF I WAS YOU GUYS.

THE WATER'S COMING UP PRETTY FAST.

I HOPE TONY KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING.

HE HASN'T THOUGHT.

SEE, HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THE RIGGING NOW?

THIS IS

I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS.

THE FORKLIFT IS DOWN HERE.

Rhodes: OH, REALLY?

YEAH.

I ALMOST GOT A LITTLE WET.

WATER'S GOING IN.

SHE'S CLIMBING FAST, ACTUALLY.

WELL, WE WANTED WATER.

NOW WE GOT TONS OF IT.

Narrator: WITH $1 MILLION AND HIS REPUTATION ON THE LINE,

TONY'S HIRED SOMEONE THAT HE BELIEVES WILL RUN THE DREDGE

BETTER THAN JERRY AND MIKE -- THE MEN WHO REBUILT IT.

PERMISSION TO COME ON?

FOR THE PAST TWO SEASONS,

GENE CHEESEMAN WAS PARKER SCHNABEL'S TRUSTED FOREMAN.

GENE PLAYED A VITAL ROLE

HELPING PARKER BANK OVER $4 MILLION IN GOLD.

THANK YOU, GENE.

BUT, TIRED OF ANSWERING TO A TEENAGE BOSS,

GENE QUIT.

I'M NOT GONNA TAKE ANY FROM THE LITTLE PUNK.

GENE CHEESEMAN. HOW'S IT GOING, BUDDY?

LET'S GO.

YEAH, I WORKED FOR GENE LAST YEAR

AT PARKER SCHNABEL'S SITE.

YOU DON'T AROUND WITH GENE.

LIKE, WE'RE GONNA GET A --

A BETTER TEAMWORK SCENARIO OUT OF GENE BEING HERE,

WHERE EVERYBODY CAN WORK A LITTLE MORE TOGETHER

INSTEAD OF INDEPENDENTLY

AND DOING WHATEVER THE THEY FEEL LIKE.

Narrator: BUT NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY TO HAVE A NEW BOSS.

HAVING ANOTHER BOSS TELLING US WHAT TO DO

IS NOT GONNA MOVE THIS ANY FASTER.

WE ALL KNOW OUR JOBS ON HERE.

WE NEEDED HELP LAST YEAR IN CLEAR CREEK.

MIKE AND I TOOK THIS THING APART

BY OURSELVES PRETTY MUCH.

SO GENE'S GOT IT MADE.

MIKE AND I PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR HIM.

I'M JUST GONNA TALK TO EVERYBODY FOR A MINUTE HERE.

Beaudry: COOL.

IS EVERYBODY... Y'ALL READY?

'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN.

PERFECT.

OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO TALK TO YOU GUYS FOR A MINUTE.

FIRST OF ALL,

I'M EXCITED TO COME WORK ON THIS PROJECT WITH ALL YOU GUYS.

I'M NOT HERE TO STEAL ANYBODY'S GLORY, THUNDER.

EVERYBODY'S BUSTED THEIR ASS TO DO THIS.

WE GOT NO PROBLEM, GENE.

WELL, THAT'S -- THAT'S GREAT. I'M JUST, UH...

-WE NEVER HAVE, OKAY? -GLAD YOU'RE ON BOARD, GENE.

WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE.

YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.

AND I'M NOT GONNA COME IN HERE AND START BARKING ORDERS.

I JUST WANT TO GET THIS THING DIGGING AND FINDING SOME GOLD.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT EVERYBODY'S ROLE IS

AND JOB, WHO'S BEEN DOING WHAT.

WELL, WE ALL JUST KIND OF GO AROUND

AND DO WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE DONE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST... MM-HMM.

WELL, TONY WANTS ME TO COME HERE AND PUSH IT ALONG.

I WANT TO GET THE THING RUNNING.

OKAY.

GENE AIN'T GONNA BE MY BOSS.

WHY SHOULD HE COME OVER AND START

RIGHT IN THE END OF THE PROJECT AND SAY, "HEY, THIS IS MINE.

GET TO WORK"?

NO. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

Parker: MY GRANDPA GOT MEDEVACED TO ANCHORAGE LAST NIGHT

WITH HEART ISSUES.

NOBODY'S HEARD FROM HIM IN A LITTLE BIT.

IT'S NOT GOOD.

20-YEAR-OLD PARKER SCHNABEL RACES OVER 500 MILES

TO BE WITH HIS BELOVED GRANDPA, JOHN.

Parker: HIS HEART RATE WAS, LIKE, 35 OR 40.

THE DOCTORS WERE PRETTY SURPRISED

THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE A HEART ATTACK.

Narrator: JUST THREE WEEKS AGO,

PARKER LEFT HIS FAMILY IN HAINES, ALASKA.

SAYING GOODBYE TO HIS 95-YEAR-OLD GRANDPA,

WHO'S ALREADY HAD TWO HEART OPERATIONS,

WAS ESPECIALLY HARD.

GRANDPA.

HUH?

I LOVE YOU.

I KNOW YOU DO, AND I LOVE YOU, TOO.

BYE. TAKE CARE.

BY THE TIME PARKER ARRIVES AT THE HOSPITAL,

JOHN IS ALREADY BEING PREPPED FOR SURGERY.

CARDIOLOGIST DR. YEE MING WU

UPDATES PARKER ON HIS GRANDPA'S CONDITION.

OKAY.

NICE.

Narrator: IT'S THE FIRST DAY ON THE JOB

FOR NEW DREDGE MASTER GENE CHEESEMAN

AND HIS DOG, PUCK.

Cheeseman: HEY. COME HERE.

OH, I DON'T KNOW. THERE'S ALWAYS CHALLENGES TO EVERYTHING.

YOU KNOW, IT'S...

BIG THING FOR ME IS JUST NEVER BEING AROUND ONE,

YOU KNOW, NOT KNOWING EXACTLY HOW THINGS ARE GONNA WORK.

SO IT'S A LEARNING CURVE.

Narrator: GENE'S AN EXPERT AT MOVING DIRT,

BUT HE'S NEVER RUN A DREDGE.

SO TONY'S BROUGHT IN GORDON MARTIN,

WHO WAS A WINCHMAN WHEN TONY'S DREDGE

WAS LAST AFLOAT IN THE 1980s.

IT WAS A HIGHLY-SKILLED JOB,

MANEUVERING THE DREDGE IN ITS POND

TO MAXIMIZE THE GOLD HAUL.

Martin: OH, IT'D BE ABOUT 30 YEARS NOW I GUESS SINCE I WAS ON HERE.

QUITE SOMETHING.

I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THEM TURNING AGAIN.

YEAH, THIS PARTICULAR DREDGE AT ONE TIME

WAS THE MOST EFFICIENT GOLD RECOVERY UNIT IN CANADA.

Rhodes: HOW MUCH GOLD DID YOU SEE?

Martin: YOU'D JUST REACH IN THERE WITH YOUR HAND

AND PICK IT UP LIKE A HANDFUL OF LEAVES.

REALLY? YEAH.

Narrator: GORDON WILL TRAIN JERRY AND MIKE

TO BE WINCHMEN,

RESPONSIBLE FOR OPERATING THE DREDGE.

BUT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME

SINCE GORDON LAST RAN THIS MASSIVE MACHINE.

AND THE BRAKES WOULD JUST BE LEFT OFF, RIGHT?

YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO OPERATE THE BRAKES

ON THE FRONT WINCHES. Martin: NO.

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT

IF YOU...

MM-HMM.

BUT THEY'RE BOTH ON NOW.

NO. THIS IS OFF.

THIS ONE'S OFF. YOU GOT THIS ONE ON.

AND THIS IS OFF. MM-HMM.

YEAH. YEP.