24 August, 2008

Although this says episode 13, it is actually episode 12, "The Big Thaw." Warming temperatures are causing overflows all over the ice road, and with water rushing through cracks in the ice, hauling loads just got a lot more dangerous. Jody and Brett take on the challenge of removing the 66-ton derrick from the Langley site. The massive rig will have to be "two-trucked;" one truck will make the entire journey traveling backwards. Although maintenance crews create a detour around the overflow, Jody and Brett still need the help of a pilot car to navigate their double load along its winding turns. Forced to wait for the pilot car to arrive, the truckers sit with 200,000 pounds of dead weight on weakened ice, with freezing ocean water below. Hugh is hauling one of the only standard-sized loads of the day, so while everyone else is stuck driving at 15 mph, the Polar Bear is running full steam ahead. Unencumbered by speed restrictions, Hugh is trying to use his last few days in the Arctic to secure his reputation as the only Southern driver who has what it takes to make it in the North.

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