Ice Road Truckers Totally Explained

Everything about Ice Road Truckers totally explained

Ice Road Truckers is a Canadian, documentary-style reality television series that debuted on The History Channel on June 17, 2007.

History

In 2000, The History Channel, as part of the Suicide Missions series, aired a 46-minute episode titled Ice Road Truckers. Based on the book Denison's Ice Road by Edith Iglauer, the episode detailed the treacherous job of driving trucks over frozen lakes, also known as ice roads, in Canada's Northwest Territories. After 2000, reruns of the documentary were aired as an episode of the series Modern Marvels instead. Under this banner, the Ice Road Truckers show garnered very good ratings.
In 2006, The History Channel hired Thom Beers, owner of Original Productions and executive producer of Deadliest Catch, to create a series based on the Ice Road Truckers episode. The series is also narrated by Beers. Shot in high definition (although the season ended before History HD was launched in the US), the show "charts two months in the lives of six extraordinary men who haul vital supplies to diamond mines over frozen lakes that double as roads". During the finale of the show's first season of 10 episodes, The History Channel aired a promo for season 2 which will begin airing in June 2008. Season 1 of Ice Road Truckers was shown on the British national commercial channel Five in February/March 2008.

Reception

The series' premiere was seen by 3.4 million viewers to become the most-watched original telecast in the History Channel's 12-year history at that time. Among critics, Adam Buckman of The New York Post said, "Everything about 'Ice Road Truckers' is astonishing". Virginia Heffernan of The New York Times said, "Watching these guys ... make their runs, it’s hard not to share in their cold, fatigue and horrible highway hypnosis, that existential recognition behind the wheel late at night that the pull of sleep and the pull of death are one and the same. ... [I]t gets right exactly what Deadliest Catch got right, namely that the leave-nothing-but-your-footprints, green kind of eco-travelers are too mellow and conscientious to be interesting to watch. Instead, the burly, bearded, swearing men who blow methyl hydrate into their own transmissions and welcome storms as breaks from boredom ... are much better television.". During 2007 the series has been shown in England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and various countries in Africa.
By series completion it was clear that the truck falling through the ice was only a special effect, a fact that caused some grumbling among the truckers. Still, the series is a rare occasion in reality television where the cast seem pleased with the outcome.

Cast

Hugh Rowland

A rough-around-the-edges 20-year veteran of ice-road trucking, Hugh is 50 years old and is based in Kelowna in southern British Columbia. He is known by the Ice Road trucking community as "The Polar Bear," which is a reference to his strong personality, bearish attitude, stamina and consistently high number of loads delivered per season. Hugh owns four trucks and drives one while the other three are manned by ice road rookies Drew Sherwood and Todd White, as well as friend and year-round employee Rick Yemm. Hugh's trucks all have the emblem R&R Hoe Service on the doors - the company Hugh owns in Kelowna (actually Winfield, BC).
During the course of the season, all three of Hugh's hired drivers end up prematurely leaving the ice road for reasons such as banishment for excessive speeding in Todd's case, to heated disagreements as to the working condition of Hugh's trucks in Rick's case. In Drew's case it was several break downs. Hugh's truck is called "The Crow's Nest" and is kept in good condition. On the other hand, Rick's truck has ongoing problems with its heater, and the trucks driven by Drew Sherwood and Todd White have a multitude of mechanical problems. After Drew's departure, Hugh hires a 4th driver named Danny Reese to drive the truck originally driven by Drew to finish the season. In the final episode of the first season, Hugh's luck finally runs out when his truck is sideswiped by another trucker on the ice road, knocking a driving axle off the chassis. He ends up finishing the season in the truck originally driven by Rick.

Rick Yemm

One of Hugh Rowland's employees, this brash, tattooed trucker, also from Kelowna, was in his second year as an Ice Road trucker. In 2006, Rick was one of the first truckers onto the Ice Road after it opened, when the sound of cracking ice was loudest. This stressful experience almost caused him to quit driving the Ice Road right then and there. He decided to continue, however, remarking "I was too stupid and too stubborn to quit".
During this season, the floor heater in his truck was malfunctioning. This was a major source of tension between Hugh, the truck's owner, and Rick, who expected Hugh to take care of the problem so that he could continue hauling loads without risking severe frostbite. Rick ultimately quit and returned home, feeling that his friend wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities to maintain the trucks.

Alex Debogorski

A legend in the Ice Road trucking community, 2007 marked Debogorski's 26th year as an Ice Road trucker. Debogorski is the father of eleven children, has seven grandchildren, and is a year round resident of Yellowknife. As stated in the series, being that he's been a staple driving the ice roads, it's something of a good-luck charm for Alex to pull the first load over the ice roads at the beginning of every season. But in this season, as shown on TV, Alex has trouble with his brakes, which almost leaves him stranded in the cold.

Jay Westgard

Jay is also a year round resident of Yellowknife. Despite his relative youth, Westgard is considered by the Ice Road community as the most talented driver of his generation. Westgard is currently 25 years old. He began driving trucks at age 16, and owned his first truck by age 18; at the time of his introduction, Westgard had acquired a reputation as a driver who excels in hauling oversized loads. Because of his experience, he's entrusted with delivering some of the more demanding loads, such as a huge 48-ton ore scrubber. He also agrees to drive in a convoy (led by Mike Kimball) hauling vital jet fuel to remote Deline—a job most veterans would turn down because the trip is very risky.

T.J. Tilcox

A 21 year-old ice road rookie, Tilcox is vocal about how he hates the cold, the ice, and about being on the ice road for the experience, not the money. Tilcox has been trucking since age 16, and decided to try ice road trucking after seeing an advertisement in the paper. By his own admission, Tilcox is a "very nervous" person, a fact made evident by his inability to urinate during his drug screening.
A question posed early in the series is whether Tilcox has the ability to survive the cold should he become stranded. Early on he struggles with an older truck with no heat, but is fortunate when another driver decides not to finish the ice road season, granting Tilcox the use of his brand new Volvo truck leased to Trinity Transport. On his first run in the new truck, Tilcox gets in an accident before ever hitting the ice road due to the brake service line disconnecting from his trailer. Tilcox is ultimately cleared of responsibility and, after a delay to be reshuffled back into the queue, allowed back on the road.
After the accident Tilcox is injured while tying down a load, and several days later experiences severe abdominal pain which becomes so bad that he's to be flown out to receive medical care. Tilcox is able to return to the ice roads after being treated for his injuries. The expense of his treatment is highlighted on the show as a cause of concern for Tilcox. Ultimately, his insurance covers the twelve thousand dollar medical bill, although this isn't mentioned in the show. Despite his ordeals, Tilcox gains respect for the job and the people who do it, as well as self-satisfaction for having completed the entire season—a rare feat for a rookie. He leaves with the respect and admiration of his fellow ice road veterans. He is married

Drew Sherwood

Drew is a veteran trucker, but an Ice Road rookie. He joined Hugh Rowland’s team after answering an advertisement in the local newspaper. Early on, Drew expresses a high degree of confidence that he'll have no problems adjusting from highway to ice driving. Hugh considers Drew an arrogant rookie and a "one year driver". In the series premiere, Drew states "I have no intention of going into a ditch, bro", which is soon followed by getting stuck in a ditch, giving him a humbling lesson in how much respect the ice road demands.
Drew's hard luck unfortunately didn't stop here, and was plagued with a frustrating amount of mechanical problems. For starters, he loses his battery box and batteries (resulting in two days lost while a replacement box is fabricated on the spot), suffers a flat tire, and then experiences problems with his truck’s on-board computer that forces him to abandon a load on the roadside. Drew ends up driving the truck of expelled driver Todd White just to pick up where he left off, yet ends up suffering through problems in that truck as well. Hugh Rowland, the truck's owner, and Lee Parkenson, Hugh's mechanic, blamed many of these mechanical problems squarely on Drew himself. Drew ultimately decides enough is enough and leaves the ice roads to return home.

Supporting cast

Tom Tweed

Tom is a dispatcher for Tli Cho Landtran in Yellowknife.

Rick Fitch

Rick is a projects manager for Tli Cho Landtran, and is responsible for scheduling client loads. He is seen responding to several accidents in the series. Rick has been working on the ice road for over 20 years.

Ken Murray

Ken is an officer for Secure Check, the organization responsible for security and rules enforcement on the ice road. A first-time speeding ticket can result in a five-day suspension, while severe infractions (including excessive speed) can lead to a driver being banned for the rest of the season. Truck weights are also checked to make sure they won't over-stress the ice; a driver with an overweight truck can be fined several hundred dollars.

Lee Parkinson

Lee operates a garage in Yellowknife, and is often seen fixing Hugh Rowland's trucks. The busiest mechanic in the north with his partner Mark.

Todd White

Todd (aka Chains) worked for Hugh Rowland, comes from the eastern coast Canada and is a self proclaimed trucker and singer. He responded to an ad that Hugh placed, and was hired as part of his crew after a seven year absence from ice road trucking. One of the main reasons Todd returned to ice road trucking was the need for $20,000 to repair his own truck. Todd was banned from ice road trucking after a speeding violation where he was clocked at 63 in a 40 km/h zone. Todd appealed, claiming that he missed a speed limit sign, but his appeal was denied. After Todd left, Drew drove his truck.

Danny Reese

Shortly after Drew's departure, Hugh hired Danny to take over the truck vacated by Drew after it had finally received a new ECM. Danny quickly noticed that the truck "had its quirks," which included problems with the truck's turbo similar to those experienced with this truck by Drew.

Neil McDougall

Safety and Compliance Supervisor with Tli Cho Landtran. His job is to set up and hire all the drivers and trucks for the winter road and also to monitor and police the drivers on the road so that rules are not violated and that the truckers are not kicked off the road.

Episodes

Ready to Roll

The series premiere, which aired June 17, 2007. Six ice road truckers are introduced, and ice road truckers are described as men driving eighteen wheelers who haul equipment and supplies from Yellowknife, Canada, across a temporary road comprised of portages and frozen lakes, the destination being one of three diamond mines northeast of Yellowknife. Nuna Logistics construction crews began by defining and strengthening a highway that crosses permafrost and frozen lakes. When the ice over the frozen lakes reaches a thickness considered to be safe, the road is officially opened, and the truckers (beginning with Alex, who as stated above hauls the first load as a "good-luck charm") begin carrying loads across what is considered to be the most dangerous road in the world. Highlights include: Drew going into a ditch (although that wasn't his truck pictured and he did not, in fact, go into a ditch; rather he put a tire off in a snowbank) and T.J. making his first ice road run. At the end of the episode, the load count was as follows:

The Count	Rick	Alex	Hugh	TJ	Jay	Drew
Loads	1	1	1	1	1	1

Destination: Diamond Mine

This episode premiered June 24, 2007. The road is stopped due to a traffic jam. Jay hauls a 17-ton water tank, while Hugh and Rick begin a season-long competition to see who can achieve the highest load count. Hugh and Rick deal with mechanical issues and T.J. loses the heat in his truck. At the end of the episode, the load count was shown, now with a tally of cash earned. The load count was as follows:

The Count	Alex	Rick	Hugh	TJ	Jay	Drew
Tons	103	82	51	67	66	53
Estimated Cash	11.2K	8.6K	7.5K	9.2K	9.4K	7.8K

Dash for the Cash

This episode first aired July 1, 2007. The road is closed due to a strong Arctic storm. Also, Alex transports a desperately-needed piece of equipment to the mine; a 44,000-pound diamond-ore crusher.

The Count	Alex	Rick	Hugh	Drew	TJ	Jay
Tons	125	110	87	86	65	60
Estimated Cash	13K	11.8K	10.2K	9.2K	10K	10K

The Big Chill

This episode premiered July 8, 2007. On the 18th day of the season a 50-ton fuel tanker flips over at the start of the ice road. Jay hauls three giant water purifiers to the De Beers diamond mine. Drew gets back out from the garage, while fellow rookie TJ weatherproofs his truck with duct tape.

The Count	Alex	Hugh	Rick	TJ	Drew	Jay
Tons	176	163	140	122	60	97
Estimated Cash	16.2K	15.6K	14.4K	12.2K	10.2K	10K

Midseason Mayhem

The fifth episode premiered on July 15, 2007. The season is half way over, with 4,000 loads taken but with 6,000 to go. Reckless speeding has led to blowouts on the ice road. More than one driver faces harsh repercussions after being caught speeding - Todd is banned from the ice road after he's clocked going 23 km/h (about 14 mph) over the speed limit. A fuel tanker flip on the Ingraham Trail not only blocks traffic but also threatens the Yellowknife River with fuel spillage. T.J. leaves the yard with a new rig, and almost immediately has an accident when, after he left the yard, his trailer service line (blue) gladhand was knocked off by a loose box on the catwalk, leaving him with no trailer brakes. Drew ends up in the shop again, due to breakdowns.

The Count	Alex	Hugh	Jay	Rick	Drew	TJ
Tons	262	214	202	177	173	127
Estimated Cash	21.2K	20.4K	17.2K	16.8K	15.4K	13.4K

Driving on Thin Ice

This episode premiered on July 22, 2007 and was the sixth episode this season. Jay takes a 95,000-pound diamond ore scrubber to the De Beers mine, the scrubber had to be delivered or else the mine couldn't go into operation in the fall. TJ's accident from the last episode was investigated, and emergency crews responded to a truck that partially went through the ice.

The Count	Alex	Hugh	Rick	Jay	Drew	TJ
Tons	346	254	249	242	216	198
Estimated Cash	26.0K	23.6K	22.8K	20.2K	16.2K	15.4K

The Rookie Challenge

This episode premiered on July 29, 2007. Alex makes a run over a new road to return a mobile housing unit to Yellowknife, and is temporarily stranded when his truck loses traction on loose snow while trying to climb a hill. Drew faces more challenges when his truck runs out of diesel fuel. Despite being refueled, the lines freeze and Drew is forced to wait in his hotel room while they thaw in the garage. After being convinced by his wife to keep trying, he attempts to make another run, but the brakes on his trailer lock up. Drew switches to another trailer, but the brakes on the new one fail too, costing him another day. The final straw is a coolant leak from the radiator. After being told it would take 1-2 days for repairs due to no room in the shop, Drew makes the decision to return home. He receives his pay from Hugh and turns in his driver number. Hugh on the other hand nearly misses a run due to a flat tire discovered during an oil change, but is able to get a replacement and hits the road. T.J. requests medical assistance as the conditions from his injury worsen, requiring him to be flown from the Dome Lake Camp back to Yellowknife for treatment. Following his release from the hospital, T.J. passes a physical to allow him back on the roads.

The Count	Alex	Hugh	Jay	Rick	TJ	Drew
Tons	412	376	333	329	220	313
Estimated Cash	31.0K	29.4K	28.0K	25.0K	19.0K	18.4K

Into the Whiteout

This episode premiered on August 5, 2007. There are still thousands of loads to be delivered to the various mines, but the end of the season is in sight. Complicating matters is the fact that an Arctic storm is bearing down on northwestern Canada. Because of storm, special permission is granted allowing five trucks to head to the mines instead of the usual four. Drivers Alex, Jay, Rick, T.J., and newcomer Cody form up in this special convoy. At a rest stop, T.J. oversleeps and the convoy continues on without him. T.J. later leaves with another driver from the company he was driving for. The four remaining drivers head north to the mines, arriving just as the storm comes in, and are forced to stay at the mines because the ice roads have been closed down. During the storm, three drivers - including T.J. - go missing. It is later learned that T.J. had stopped at a portage and waited out the storm there. Meanwhile, Hugh brings his friend Danny to drive Drew's truck after Drew quit. Danny doesn't get very far before the truck has further problems, including very little turbo power and an overheating engine. Although Drew made the decision to leave, Hugh claims repeatedly that he was fired.

The Count	Alex	Hugh	Rick	Jay	TJ	Drew (Resigned)
Tons	440	418	368	344	233	363
Estimated Cash	32.6K	30.8K	30.5K	26.6K	20.0K	19.0K

The Big Melt

This episode premiered on August 12, 2007. In The Big Melt, the season is starting to wind down as spring inches nearer and the ice covering the lakes begins to melt. There is a push to get vital loads up to the mines before the ice roads melt. Alex takes a housing unit over an ice road to a closed mine in the process of being cleaned up. Jay participates in a special convoy, lead by Mike Kimball, to the remote village of Deline with vital supplies - facing a number of challenges throughout the trip. After the first trailer he takes causes him to be overweight, he switches loads with another driver (Kimball) with a lighter truck. Then one of the trucks in the convoy has a fuel tank that comes loose, gets stuck underneath the truck, and is punctured when it hits the ground. This forces the convoy to stop to clean up the spill as best they can, and to remove the tank from underneath his truck. Rick confronts Hugh about the issues he's having with his rig - specifically the non-functional heaters, and decides that the time has come for him to leave the ice road as well. Rick hopes that he can continue being friends with Hugh, but states that he'd never work for the man again. A new leader in the "dash for the cash" appears, Hugh has overtaken Alex in the money count.

The Count	Hugh	Alex	Jay	TJ	Rick (Resigned)	Drew (Resigned)
Tons	572	498	440	288	369	363
Estimated Cash	42.8K	41.4K	39.5K	29.0K	28.0K	19.0K

The Final Run

This episode, which is the final episode in season one, premiered on August 19, 2007. The ice covering the lakes continues to melt as warmer weather finally arrives, and the ice road season winds down. Hugh is involved in an accident when he's sideswiped by another truck. Not only is his truck crippled by the accident, but one of the bags of ammonium nitrate he was carrying begins leaking on to the ice - which melts the ice at an even faster rate. Hugh and ice road maintenance crews work to contain the spill and clean the ammonium nitrate off the road. Another truck takes the load north while Hugh returns to Yellowknife (Hugh got credit for this load although he failed to take it all the way to its destination). Jay takes an underground rock truck north to the Fortune mine. Trying to climb a steep hill, he becomes stuck, due to the way the load sits on his truck, but fortunately there's a bulldozer on site to pull him the rest of the way. After reaching the mine and unloading the rock truck, Jay heads home for the season. Hugh manages to get one of his other trucks working, and takes a final load north. Alex convinces officials to allow him to take a light load north on his own; it turns out to be his final load of the season, as the road is closed soon afterwards. And a raven, sacred to the north, flies by TJ for a second time as he takes his final load north, capping a remarkable rookie season. The season turns out to be one of the most successful seasons so far, with 10,922 loads totaling 331,000 tonnes (730 million pounds, or 365,000 U.S. tons) delivered.

The Count	Hugh	Alex	Jay	TJ	Rick (Resigned)	Drew (Resigned)
Tons	722	648	542	374	369	363
Estimated Cash	58.4K	57.0K	57.5K	37.0K	28.0K	19.0K
Loads	37	36	35	23	19	13

Specials

Three additional one-hour specials have been produced. Then and Now premiered on August 26, 2007 and provided a look into the development and future of Canada's ice roads. Clips from season 1 were featured, as well as further commentary from Hugh, Alex, and road pioneer John Denison. Off the Ice premiered on September 2, 2007, bringing all six truckers together for a chance to express their thoughts about the job and each other. On the Edge premiered on September 9, 2007, continuing the discussion and exploring the truckers' lives during the off season.

Ice road route, stops and destinations

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Loads are assigned here.

Lockhart Lake Rest Stop

De Beers Snap Lake Diamond Mine ~200 km Northeast of Yellowknife.

Diavik Diamond Mine ~300 km North of Yellowknife

BHP Ekati Diamond Mine ~300 km Northeast of Yellowknife -Last Stop on the Ice Road

Colomac Mine - a closed gold mine that was recently cleaned up due to the risk the mine’s toxic materials presented to the environment. Now that the cleanup is finished, truckers (including Alex) are being called in to haul away equipment.

Tundra Mine - a gold mine that stopped production in 1968 and is now undergoing environmental cleanup. Equipment from the Colomac Mine is being transferred here to assist workers with the cleanup.

Deline, Northwest Territories - a small village, on the shore of the Great Bear Lake, that depends on jet fuel shipments over the ice road to keep its airport operating

Season 2

At the end of "The Final Run", it was announced that there will be another season of the program. It was stated as "Coming soon" though it'll take the 2008 winter season to film new episodes.
The mining companies that owned the road where the first season was filmed felt that the show portrayed the road in a negative fashion. They felt that the show depicted drivers as cowboys making a mad dash for money and taking excessive risks to do so. Also the companies felt that the cameras and filming created distractions for the drivers. As a result the owners decided not to participate in future seasons of the show. A new rule for the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Roads was enacted for the 2008 season prohibiting commercial, media, video or rolling film cameras either inside or attached to the outside of vehicle. The show's producers have said that they've located an alternate ice road and that there will be a second season of the show.
A HistoryChannel.com Blog indicates that Season 2 is based out of Inuvik, N.W.T. A CBC North story indicates that season 2 episodes occur on the Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.. Four drivers from season 1--Alex, Hugh, Drew, Rick--are involved in the second season, which is scheduled to premiere on June 8, 2008.

Feature film

In 2008, Twentieth Century Fox acquired rights from the History Channel to create a scripted, theatrical action film based on the series.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Ice Road Truckers'.

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