753 replies to this topic

[flagger]

The History Channel embarks upon an unparalleled adventure revealing the virtually unknown occupation of ice road trucking, considered to be one of the world's most dangerous jobs. ICE ROAD TRUCKERS charts two months in the lives of six extraordinary men who haul vital supplies to diamond mines over frozen lakes that double as roads. The livelihood of many depends on these tenuous roads, which through the years have been responsible for the deaths of dozens of men.

With one hand on the wheel and one on the door at all times, always prepared for the ice to give way under the weight of their trucks, these drivers put their lives and financial security of their families on the line in an exhilarating dash for cash. Beginning Sunday, June 17 at 10pm ET/PT, this adrenaline packed series reveals the raw, gripping quest of ice road truckers.

This is another series from Original Productions, which produces Deadliest Catch. Executive Producers for Original Productions are Thom Beers and Philip Segal.

I wonder who they will get as narrator.

[jmilazzo]

I looked in my guide last night but didn't have the title exactly right so didn't find it. I'll have to look again tonight. I'll set it up to tape the series. I passed on the information to my family as well, so there should be at least a few people who watch :-). Where does this show take place?

[ThatPoshGirl]

This is filmed in HD? Do they make HD film cameras? I thought digital cameras didn't work in cold weather.

[moosepants]

This could be interesting. I read an article in Maxim about these drivers, it was really well written.

[flagger]

It takes place in Canada. I know some body of water freezes over and there are these big rigs that haul supplies over the Ice Roads. I too read about them in Maxim. I saw on the A&E site that there is a DVD of a "Modern Marvels" show about them. With the team who is producing it, I expect it to be drama filled with TWOP snark-ready viewing.

They filmed this last season of DC with HD cameras and according to an article I read lost 60% of the production equipment to the ravages of the sea and the cold.

[AlmondEyes]

I knew there would be a thread here for this show. I'm completely on board for this one. Looks promising. And I can see the Deadliest Catch producer being involved with this. Because of the risk involved, these guys must make a ton of money.

[jmilazzo]

Well, that was pretty cool. At first, I wondered why they couldn't use a regular road in winter like they must use in other seasons & then we find out, there are no other roads! Then I thought it can't be that bad riding the ice back & forth because after all, they do it hundreds of times in a "season" & then they talk about the pressure wave & the ice cracking while they drive & we get to hear the sound of the ice while they drive on it. I think I'll watch the whole season :-). Recognized the Deadliest Catch map similarity -- "200 miles north of Yellowknife(?) is Alex ...", & the "leaderboard". Oh, who is narrating? It reminds me of the guy from Monster Garage.

The two rookies are a study in contrast. The older guy, Drew, does *not* respect the ice, or at least, didn't until he got stuck. I agreed with the guy who said Drew would not last the season. If he does, I don't think he'll be back for another. TJ, the 21-year old, seemed to better understand the risks & have a healthy fear for what ice trucking involves. Plus, he was funny :-). I also liked Jay, the 25-year old who's been doing this for 7 years. He, too, seemed pretty level-headed. I''d like to find out more about the mining operation. That's got to be a huge mine & I guess the miners live up there all year. One truck was bringing something like 9000 pounds of bunk beds? I forget the actual number, but damn, are the old ones worn out or are they hiring that many more people? Most of the truckers seemed personable enough, though Rick(?), who left the load UNSECURED, might need to stop thinking about beating his boss & start concentrating on the job. And I can't believe some of these guys have to *start* that road at 10:00 at night & drive all night long. And the NUNA or whatever people who do traffic control -- how do they keep up with all of that? Guys leaving the unloading sites at different times & all. And when Alex was broken down or when Rick was securing his load -- are they monitoring all of that & telling the people behind them to also slow down so they don't run into each other? Favorite line -- white(?) means we passed, pink means we're pregnant.

Overall, good show & I very much enjoyed it.

[heebiejeebie]

Drew's bravado was seriously annoying. Until he drove into the ditch. Anyone who gets up and leave sthe truck driving deserves to look a fool. I don't care how flat ans straight the "road" is.

The creaking ice freaked me out but not as much as the last leg of paved road they were driving on? The Ingrahmn (sp?) trail? I don't mind driving in bad conditions but I hate driving in even the slightedt bit of bad weather with traffic. Though replace traffic with creaking and cracking ice for four hours and I think I would be so white knuckled they would have to pry my hands from the steering wheel when I got to the mining camp.

I started late so I missed the pay. Did they say how much th epay per run? Was it also based on miles? Because a couple of the guys did not go as far but they are all counted as having 1 run. What's more, the young guy, Jay, who had the wide load? The implication was that he did more dangerous and tricky runs what with heavier and wide or more awkward loads.

The filming underwater is insane. I really thought it was some kind of gimmick or special effect and then they show the guy going down into the water.

The narrator drives me nuts though with his intonation. He reminds me of that sheriff who used to do that high speed chase show. God I hated him.

Still, this seems like a nice way to spend 10 pm on a sunday evening.

[LolaGeek]

I don't usually watch shows like this, but my husband and I got sucked in last night. Man, I was nervous just watching them drive! (I absolutely dread driving in any kind of snowy or icy conditions.)

I didn't catch any mention of specific dollar amounts, but they did say that the truckers can earn a year's pay during the 8-9 week season, so I guess that's a pretty sweet deal for them.

But really, isn't there any better way to get supplies up there? I'm sure they could fly some things, even the big things would probably fit in one of those military planes with the big hatch on the back (not sure what they're called). Or maybe it would make sense to build some sort of train tracks with pilings that go deep under the water somehow? As dangerous as driving the trucks is, it must also really suck to be stuck at the mines 43 weeks a year.

[peacefrog]

The subject matter really interests me. The way the show was done was completely like Deadliest Catch.

However the announcer kept reminding me of the Pee Wee Herman's voice over from Pee Wee's Big Adventure. You know when he is the extra in the movie about his life and he leans into the microphone and says "Paging Mr. Herman".

[AlmondEyes]

I also thought that the show had many Deadliest Catch elements - i.e., as someone pointed out, "200 miles north of Yellowknife, . . . "

What I missed is how far the truckers are from their destinations, and for how long they are driving on ice. I guess it varies, but the diamond mines seem to be a popular destination. Even if the distance is not very far, the fact that they make several trips back and forth increases the risk. Either way, I don't know whether it's worse to be the first truck out or the last.

I agree that the underwater cameras are pretty riveting.

I imagine that if (God forbid) the ice breaks at any point, that's the end of the ice road for the remainder of the season? I mean, how exactly do you get another paving crew out to fix that? They certainly couldn't drive there and place additional stress on the ice, no?

I know one thing for sure. No way in hell could I do that job.

[jmilazzo]

During one point in the show, they talked about a paving truck that sank 285 feet to the bottom & mentioned that it is so cold, the ice immediately begins to refreeze. Obviously, it would take some time for it to freeze to another 16 inches (16 inches! How can that little ice hold that much weight!) but I would guess they route the road a litte around the ice break until it does refreeze.

They mentioned for some of the trucks how far they were going. Alex, who was first out, had to go 300 miles which was almost the entire road. What boggled my mind was how long it took him to get even to the point where he first broke down. I think he was 200 miles up & had taken 13 hours to get there when his air thing gave him problems.

I, too, wondered about other ways to get the supplies but my guess is that the weight, the size (bulk), & the sheer amount of supplies bar any kind of flight. And it would probably be either fantastically expensive or maybe even impossible to build a road or railroad because of all the water & slushly land. They spend 10 million each year to build the ice road. There has to be a logistical reason for them not to build a permanent road.

[LolaGeek]

What boggled my mind was how long it took him to get even to the point where he first broke down. I think he was 200 miles up & had taken 13 hours to get there when his air thing gave him problems.

I think it's because they have to drive so slowly to avoid catching up to that wave the trucks create in front of them, since that's what really causes crashes. My husband noted that it's 350 miles from our house to the place we vacation each summer, and we can get down there in ≤6 hours.

[jmilazzo]

I agree 100% -- the slow driving causes it to take forever to get where they are going. I should have phrased it better -- it boggles my mind the amount of time it does take. I knew it was slow going, but damn! 200 miles in 13 hours. What does that work out to be?

ETA, thanks, LolaGeek, for the calculation. I'm pretty sure I heard on the show that he had gone 200 miles in 13 hours but I could be mistaken.

Edited by jmilazzo, Jun 18, 2007 @ 2:27 PM.

[LolaGeek]

200 miles in 13 hours. What does that work out to be?

...That's a little more than 15 MPH. Geez.

[CrazyDog]

I don't usually watch shows like this, but my husband and I got sucked in last night. Man, I was nervous just watching them drive! (I absolutely dread driving in any kind of snowy or icy conditions.)

This isn't my usual kind of show either, but I got totally sucked in during the 2 AM rerun this morning. Those guys are nuts, in a good way. The sound of the ice cracking was so freaky!

I especially liked the younger guys -- Jay, and the 21-yr old rookie. He handled the white out pretty darn well.

That's a little more than 15 MPH. Geez.

Wow. I can't even imagine how monotonous but draining those trips are. I wonder how much time they take between trips. And did they say about how many trips someone will make per season?

[Hailey]

This could be interesting. I read an article in Maxim about these drivers, it was really well written.

I remembered the exact same article. I too thought it was well written and extremely interesting. I may have to watch this show because I can't imagine doing something like this for a living. No way the pay would ever be high enough for me to risk my life and lose my mind.

Edited by Hailey, Jun 18, 2007 @ 4:46 PM.

[LolaGeek]

I read somewhere else on the net that they earn $75,000 during the ice road season. On the show they mentioned that the drivers can earn a year's wages, so imagine if they did the ice roads and regular driving the rest of the year.

[AcheronBlue]

My hubby is an over the road driver, so I waited until he was home to watch the show.

Wow. I would love to hang out with those guys. They all seem to have such a great sense of humor - "if it's pink, I'm pregnant"

I had to laugh at the look of absolute horror on my hubby's face as we watched Drew walk around the cab of his truck to get more coffee. How many others thought he was on his porta-potty when he went into the ditch?

Love the two young guys. I guess all you need is the equipment, driver's license and clean drug test to sign up. If Jay has been doing this for 7 years, then he was only 18 when he started. Must be a lot easier to get trucking jobs in Northern Canada. Around here (Penna) it is very difficult to get your CDL and hired at that age because of the lack of experience/clean driving record.

I have the same questions as everyone else, and I hope these are answered:

How many trips do they make per season?
Is pay based on weight & miles traveled?
What do you do when someone is coming the other way on the ice?
Do they haul stuff back from the mining camps or do they deadhead back to Yellowknife?
Does anyone wear gloves in Canada? (It was 40 below and that one guy was securing his load in a t-shirt!)


Edited to add: Does everyone have an Irish accent with a Canadian "eh?" thrown onto the end?

Edited by AcheronBlue, Jun 20, 2007 @ 12:29 PM.

[NYTeacher]

I watched this show because we saw an ad for it before seeing "Knocked Up" at a movie theater. Normally I hate movie theater ads, but I had read about this road (I don't think it was in Maxim) years ago and I was excited to see the show.

I couldn't believe how nervewracking it looked. It seemed so easy to go off "road" in those white out conditions.

When we saw them loading the wide load my husband and I started cracking up--didn't it seem like they were almost playing a game of "one-up"? Well, that driver survived--how about we put on a wide load and see if that will crack the ice?

[snowbunny54]

We, here in Alaska, have ice roads, too. After all, there are only 3 highways in all of Alaska! You cannot even drive to the state capital of Juneau because there are not any roads there (in any season). Now with this program more people can understand why we need and use ice roads.

[windspinner]

meh. I watched the show, but about halfway through I realized that the perils I faced as a woman delivering newspapers all night long alone on a rural route in winter storms was about as dangerous as these guys hauling their load on an ice road.

Icy windswept, unplowed country roads, mechanical breakdowns, and risking a wipeout on ice every time i had to brake for 200 stops a night along with dodging drunks made this show looks like a stroll in the park. Just wasn't impressed.

Yeah, the wave thing and white outs looked like a pain, but otherwise, just a long, lonely, slow haul. The possibility that something *might* happen, just like I ran the possibility of meeting a psycho on a lonely country road in a car bloated with newspapers.

I may be more impressed as the show goes on, and it was interesting.

I didn't understand or missed why the stuff couldn't be sent up the waterway before it froze?

Edited by windspinner, Jun 23, 2007 @ 2:00 AM.

[MrPapercut]

For me, it's the ever-present possibility of plunging into a frigid, watery grave that has me cringing every time the ice cracks a little.

I love this show. First, because it starts off in Yellowknife, a city that this Southern Californian finds perversely fascinating. Second, because these guys' accents are adorable and weirdly sexy. Third, because when I go to my job in the morning I can reasonably assume that I'll come home from it at night (unless I choke to death on a Cheeto while keyboarding) and I have enormous respect for people who live with the chance that they won't.

[Keupi]

I caught one of the re-runs and loved it. Reminded me of my Dad's family who lived and worked the coal mines. Another job where you never know if you're coming home at the end of the day.

I guess that's the overall reason why I like it so much. Definitely a must-see for me on Sunday nights!!

[The Harlequin]

I'm another one who doesn't usually watch shows like this (I could never get into Deadliest Catch, for some reason), but I liked this show.

Rick(?), who left the load UNSECURED, might need to stop thinking about beating his boss & start concentrating on the job.

Rick's a tool. How the hell do you not even secure your load? That's the whole point of the damn trip. Plus, his boss Hugh mentioned that Rick left him and his crew hanging the previous year when he chickened out and blew off some trips.

Also, did anyone else think it was a little unfair that poor rookie TJ not only got the long trip but also had to leave late at night during a white-out, while the more experienced Jay got a shorter trip and a police escort with flashing lights? Granted, Jay's load was heavier and riskier, but jeez, way to haze the new guy.

[jmilazzo]

Was Jay's escort for the whole trip or just for the part (that whatever Trail) that is still on land so other vehicles might be using it.

[Quacktatty]

Jay's escort was just for the paved road portion of his journey. They had to close the whole road down because the load was so wide. Not too much of a worry about traffic once he hits the Ice Road - although I still wouldn't want to be in his shoes!!!

[leaven]

I thought it was a pretty good show, but it seemed to me to be more appropriate for a special. I'm not sure how well it will do a few episodes in without getting too repetitive. I'm definitely giving it another go, though.

[bubsy]

My husband is from Yellowknife so I was excited to see the show, and my BIL was an electrician when the Diamond mine stuff (not sure details) was built.

It was more exciting than I actually thought it would be. I liked all of Tj's "Holy geez" and they certainly didn't allow him to ease into the job.

The guy with his coffee and toilet and the guy who didn't bother to secure his load? both douchebags.

[lambie]

I thought the show was interesting and it's good for us white collar folks to know jobs like this exist. It just bothers me that these guys are potentially risking their lives (and others, ie the rescue divers) so De Beers can hawk another few princess cut diamonds to entitled bridezillas. Sure, 75K in 2 months is good scratch but they'd have to make that trip 50 times to earn that.