Ice Road Truckers

Narrator: Now...

- Ready for this? Do or die, buddy.

Narrator: On the season finale...

Art: Whoa.

Narrator: of "Ice Road Truckers"...

- I just want to get out of there

before this road shuts down 100%.

Narrator: the driver's are giving it all they've got...

Holy crap.

Narrator: but with ice turning to mud...

- Another road is well past its due date.

Narrator: and stranded trucks...

I can't get out.

Narrator: the winter roads won't go...

Todd: Oh no.

Narrator: without a fight.

Todd: Holy (Bleep).

***

***

***

Narrator: It's the final countdown...

and the ice road truckers are scrambling

to get as many loads to as many destinations possible.

Steph: It's a race against the weather,

a race against time so we're gonna be coming back through

on some (bleep) hellish-hellish conditions.

Narrator: But for rookie, Steph Custance,

Steph: Oh (Bleep).

Narrator: her first full season has come to a screeching halt.

Aghhh!

Steph: (Bleep).

Narrator: Less than a mile ahead...

Step (radio) Okay, we are badly in the ditch.

Took out trees, the truck is done.

Narrator: Lisa Kelly's been leading the charge

to Bearskin with her own load.

Lisa: (radio) Hey, you're okay though, right, Steph?

Yeah, I'm okay.

Lisa: All right, Steph, I'm backing up to you.

Let me come look.

- Oh, eh, we didn't lose the load.

We are in the ditch.

***

Holy crap.

She is so far in.

Holy (bleep).

Okay, seriously like you missed a corner

or did it break your steering break?

- I-I don't think the steering broke.

I don't know it literally, all just happened so fast.

- I don't know if I can get you out of that.

Yeah um, so...

- What the-you have sticks in your hair.

I'm impressed.

Narrator: Lisa recently attempted a rescue like this...

- We're gonna make this one count, you ready?

Yep.

Narrator: but the outcome was not exactly what she wanted.

Lisa: Three-two-one.

Holy (Bleep).

Reno: Holy (Bleep).

Lisa: Oh my gosh!

There's absolutely zero ways

I'm getting you out of here. - Yeah, no.

I have no ideas on this one.

All right, well, I'll get this delivered,

get a loader heading your way

and hopefully you'll get picked up before then,

if not I'll be right along behind.

Narrator: Lisa has no choice but to continue on

and send heavy equipment to pull Steph from the woods.

Okay, well, see you later.

- All right see you later. - Thank you, Lisa.

Yep.

Well, that's that. There's nothing I can do.

Steph: Agh!

Lisa: The road is melting.

Time is of the essence right now.

You can tell why they shut the roads down after this.

'Cause stuff starts happening

where it's not worth it anymore.

And it ain't over yet

because I haven't even gotten to the delivery point yet.

So just one thing at a time.

Get this delivered and get someone headed her way.

Narrator: While Lisa goes in search of help...

220 miles away in Pikangikum...

- Well, it's a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be.

Which makes it a lot heavier than I thought it was gonna be.

Narrator: Art Burke's got a lot of weight on his shoulders.

Narrator: A day ago...

while headed home from what he thought

was his last delivery of the season...

Mark: (phone) I need to get this dozer out of Pikangikum.

- I thought I was going the (bleep) home.

Narrator: Art was sent back into battle to bring home

a bulldozer from Pikangikum.

The way the ice is and that,

might as well just drown me in Winnipeg

because I'm not gonna make it back with the (bleep) thing anyway.

I haven't hauled anything this heavy

over the ice like this... yet.

So this is gonna be a new experience, eh.

The dozer parts really irrelevant.

It's the (bleep) weight part that I'm concerned with right.

Narrator: Transporting a load this heavy late in the season

is a true gamble...

because the winter roads run mostly over muskeg,

a swampy mixture of water, vegetation and dirt.

When muskeg thaws it becomes the quick sand of the north,

swallowing heavy equipment which often must be abandoned.

- We're gonna sink in the road I'll guarantee ya that.

Pretty (bleep) up for a guy who thought he was going home.

Okay...

away we go.

Okay, we're off.

Well, I'll tell ya one thing,

come hell or high (bleep) water

I'm gettin' this mother thing out of here.

Narrator: 180 miles away

at Polar's satellite terminal in Pickle Lake...

Just Look at all these loads.

There's one-two-three-four five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-

eleven-twelve-thirteen fourteen-fifteen-sixteen-

seventeen loads sitting in here

that the communities might not get.

The winter roads are really warming up,

conditions are getting really, really bad right now.

But we made it this far, my golly,

we'll make one more last run, right.

This is the last load to Kasabonika.

This is it right here.

Narrator: A community needs this load of construction supplies...

- I just hope I can get it in and get it delivered.

Narrator: but Todd may be tempting fate.

To get there he'll have to survive 200 miles

of winding, hilly winter roads

rapidly approaching their expiration date.

Hang on. Jeez.

That's what you call an axel breaker right there.

She will bust your front end right off.

That right there is your proof that this season is over.

What the hell is this?

This is a nasty looking road.

***

Hang on.

***

Oh no.

***

Man, I killed the truck.

Narrator: In remote Ontario...

- I'm not backing down this one I'll tell ya that.

Narrator: Todd's falling behind.

Todd: Are you kiddin' me?

We're sliding backwards, hang on.

Holy (bleep).

Ohh. We just (bleep) slid all the way back

and almost got jackknifed.

That was (bleep) bad, buddy.

Oh my God, that pulled me right down the hill.

There was nothing I could do.

Luckily I got a stop before my trailer

went right over that (bleep) bank over there.

You can see behind me, you see this rut mark right here?

This is where somebody else unlike me

was not able to get their truck stopped coming down this hill.

And they-they slid all the way down the hill

and slid right off and slid right into the bush.

Whoever was stuck here was stuck here

till someone came and pulled them out.

We're gonna have to chain up right here.

There's no way of makin' it up this hill. Impossible.

Welcome to the (bleep) show.

All right, I'm gonna try to see

if I can back-back it up right here.

There ain't no way this things moving forward.

She's gonna take some speed, boys.

She's gonna take some speed.