Posted on 07/01/2007 3:11:31 PM PDT by NewLand
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.
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.
The desolate white landscape stretches as far as the eye can see in a world where the land meets the sky at an invisible horizon, just miles from the Arctic Circle. The fascinating, yet little-known ice road trucking industry, stationed just outside of Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territory, is responsible for supporting the diamond mines there. Canada now stands as the third largest diamond producer in the world, housing an industry that rakes in $1.9 billion a year.
Each year, the many lakes of this region completely freeze over and engineers build an ice road over them that can withstand the weight of tractor trailers, hopefully. Jackknifing, breakdowns and accidents are commonplace. Last year, because of the effects of global warming, the ice road was closed early, leaving hundreds of tons of supplies stuck at the dispatch station. Since the terrain in this region is virtually impenetrable, and there are so few paved roads, the only way for supplies to reach the mines is by traveling over the ice road. The entire industry depends on the weather and the courage of the ice road truckers, who are willing to push themselves to the limit and who constantly hear the cracking of the ice right beneath their wheels.
It’s on RIGHT NOW on the Hx Channel
You’re right. It is the first season. I don’t know where I got the idea it was the second season.
I have grabbed a few minutes now and then.
I actually had heard of this kind of work years ago somewhere. I would definatly have a satellite phone with me for sure though. Maybe an ejection seat makes sense too!
awesome! don’t tell us what happens... :-O
I’ll have to get off this thread at 7:00 PM PDT. I don’t want to know what happens from an east coast freeper. :)
Go easy on these guys Prof, at least their not unionized! :-)
I'll never tell!
I’m trying to imagine what a union would demand...warmer ice roads maybe...
I’ll be there. I saw on one of the previews a rig breaking through the ice and thought: “NOW THAT IS SCARY!”
LOL! Whatever the union bosses could make money on, that's all they care about!
I might just watch it so see something — anything —that’s cooler than our current 111 degrees.
“Headed for the DeBeers mine this year. This is DeBeers first mine outside of South Africa. DeBeers controls the diamond market and I’m surprised they weren’t prevelant here.”
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Gimme your mailing address and I’ll send you my dog-eared copy of “Barren Lands,” by Kevin Krajick, 2001, all about the long fascinating hunt for diamonds in North America. It is chuck-full of diamond history but centers on two swashbuckling geologist/prospectors who hunted all over the continent for kimberlite pipe formations (all small percentage of which contain diamonds) and finally found what they sought in the Canadian tundra, kicking off the great nineties’ diamond rush. It’s a helluva story.
Among other colorful anecdotes, the book mentions some of their unconventional, not-too-terribly-legal soil sampling excursions on remote ranches in the Wyoming and Montana borderlands in the eighties, which I can’t help but think may form the factual nucleus of the (much-amplified) “Black Helicopter” legends of the not-so-old West.
I thought with all this hype, De Beers stock would go through the roof, but they’re not listed.
Heh! I could do the ice road once—if I got to carefully select the day of the trip. Wild horses, however, could not drag me onto a boat headed for the Bering Sea. I lived in Alaska for 8 years during and after pipeline construction. We would hear about lost fishing boats on what seemed like a very regular basis. I am a lily-livered coward when it comes to going out there.
De Beers is about as private a company as it gets!
Great choice! I'm certain you will enjoy it!
ps - great home page!
DeBeers is not just private, it’s secretive and deliberately obscure.
Can’t wait, sound great!
Driver-Tons-Estimated Cash
Alex....103...$11.2K
Rick.....66....$ 9.4K
Hugh...51....$ 9.2K
Drew...66....$ 8.6K
TJ.......53....$ 7.8K
Jay......82....$ 7.5K
I'm sure I will like it. It looks pretty scary for those drivers. I would never drive a big truck like that out onto the ice. I wouldn't even drive my SUV out on it. I don't have the best of luck. If there's a thin spot any where on it, I'd find it. LOL
ps - great home page!
Thanks! :)
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