North of Nightfall (2018) - full transcript

Hi, you've reached
Laura Thomson.

Please leave a message,
and I'll get back to you

as soon as I can.

Hi, Laura.
My name is Darren Berrecloth.

I saw your research up
by the North Pole.

It was super fascinating,
and I'm curious

if we'd be able to meet up.

I'd love to learn more
about the region.

I can't think
of a better guy

to kick off this competition.

Darren Berrecloth probably
has the most experience



of anybody out here.

Look at this.
Darren Berrecloth,

absolutely scorching
through the desert.

He's a guy who's pioneered
all these new zones.

Cam Zink.
This guy is one

of the biggest madmen
in the sport.

A rider historically known

to take gigantic steps
forward in progression.

Cameron Zink!

The biggest 360 drop in
the history of mountain biking.

- Oh!
- Yes. He pulled it off!

Back to the top
of the course.

This is Carson Storch,
the 23-year-old.

This kid,
he is here to stay



when it comes
to Rampage competition.

Carson Storch, it's time
to start looking at him

as a free rider,
not just a slopestyle athlete.

Our youngest competitor,
Tom van Steenbergen.

- There it is! Oh!
- No way!

Such a creative run.

This one could go down
in the history books.

- There it is.
- Oh, man.

He's going frontways.

Oh, no!

Tom is actually getting
to his feet.

As you guys know,

Zink and I have been scouring
the planet,

looking for the ultimate zone.

Two years ago, we stumbled
across some photos

that a scientist took
of a desert island

where you'd least expect it.

After a lot of research,
we're pretty darn certain

that we found the zone.

It's a heck of a long way to go.

This is where the North Pole is,

and we're going to be
hanging out

- on this island right here.
- That's crazy.

There's actually terrain
up there to ride

that's worthwhile,

and not only worthwhile,

but, like, might be some
of the best riding

I've ever done, ever.

It's just crazy how far it is.

Last summer, me and Zink
went up there and scouted it.

How long did it take you
to get up here?

- It took seven flights.
- Yeah, right?

You know, it's like,
that amount of travel,

you could pretty much fly
around the whole world.

Every day,
we'd get in the plane,

and then we would see
something, land,

unsuccessfully
get back in the plane,

and then just over,
and over, and over,

and we're just getting skunked.

- This place kind of sucks, hey?
- Yeah.

It looked a little rocky
from up in the plane,

but this is ridiculous.

Break out the shovels!

42 years,
and the first time.

Come on, Bill.

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

So, it's not like
the entire Arctic

is just this wonderland,
you know?

That's just one little zone.

Somewhere around here,
look for a landing site,

because I think this could
definitely be a location

where we come back to.

Me and Zink
came around this corner

with the plane, kind of
came around Buchanan Lake,

and our eyes
were initially drawn

to these big,
humongous faces,

and then we ended up landing
just below this picture.

These lines here,
these will definitely be,

you know,
on our biggest hit list.

This is everything
I ever dreamed of, in a line

and finding a zone to where
it's actually that big.

See, if this was
the bottom of the hill here,

at Rampage, Rampage line would
probably be around somewhere,

like, around here.

I firmly believe
that the sickest lines

on the planet are here.

That all sounds amazing,

but obviously, we're gonna
wanna push ourselves

and what if something
does happen, like we get hurt?

Ten hours till you get
to a decent hospital,

- you know, and...
- That's if you, like,

get lucky and you get, like,
a scheduled flight out.

Could be taking two, three days.

You just gotta find
that balance.

It's, like, how far
do you really wanna push it,

like, how far is worth it?

It's gonna be heavy emotionally,

even for you guys, I think,

and I'm sure
you can imagine for us

being away from wives and kids.

It's a whole 'nother level.

The scientist
who took the photos

of Axel Heiberg Island
is Dr. Laura Thomson,

and she's been kind enough
to join us and teach us

a little bit about the region.

My work
is based on glaciers

in the Canadian High Arctic.

The glacier below
that I'm showing

is called White Glacier,

and that's where
my work is based.

And that's just
one small glacier

on an island
with close to 2,000 glaciers.

The geology of Axel
is really diverse

across the whole island.

The region that you'll be in

is going to be a lot
of sandstones and shales.

Do you know if there's
gypsum up there?

Because I remember that's a...
that's a random thing

we look for in Utah
for, like, zones.

If there's a gypsum mine

- that makes drywall...
- Yeah.

...it means there's
usually good dirt.

I totally didn't expect
that question,

but it's perfect
because Axel Heiberg

- is known for its gypsum domes.
- Crazy.

Yeah,
you can almost predict

where the good terrain
will be...

- Yeah.
- ...relative to

where the glaciers are

and what the geology is.

So, our work is based
in this area here.

This is Expedition Fjord.

And you guys will be cycling

in some canyon lands over here.

So what's your take
on us taking bikes

up to the North Pole?

I think it's a great idea.

I think that if you wanted
to set up

a long-term bike highway,

I might take some issue
with that,

because the tundra
is quite sensitive,

but also, I think,
especially if you're going down

towards...
or just in little chutes,

erosion is happening
there anyways.

So, how can we
bring back a bigger goal

in terms of, like,
bringing awareness?

I think it's really great
to be able to share

the Arctic with more people,

because it is really remote,
and it is really isolated,

and it is the location of the
greatest changes we're seeing

as a response
to climate change,

and so just to open
everyone's eyes to this,

I think, is really important.

Axel Heiberg Island.

Beautiful, hostile,

and devoid of human life.

How does a landscape like this
come to be?

What chain of events
have led to a desert

this close to the North Pole?

To answer these questions,

there's a story
I have to tell you.

And like most origin stories,

this one starts with an ending.

4.5 billion years ago,

Earth collided with a smaller
planet called Theia.

Theia was destroyed,
and our moon was formed

from the rubble
of the collision.

But more importantly
to our story,

it knocked Earth
23.5 degrees off its axis.

Way back then,
our planet was just water,

but as time passed,
continents emerged,

including our island.

Over billions of years,
she transformed,

moving through five Ice Ages
and 11 supercontinents,

including the most recent,
Pangaea.

As Pangaea broke apart,

our island began
her journey north.

Today, she finds herself
near the North Pole.

With the Earth's tilted axis,

the land falls
into complete darkness

four months per year.

The frigid temperatures cause
the ocean around her to freeze,

limiting the amount
of precipitation.

The result: A desert island
on top of the world,

4.5 billion years
in the making,

just waiting to be explored.

So, we're about
a month away from the Arctic,

and we decided to meet up
here on the island

to just see how the crew
jives together and whatnot.

You got it,
same speed, same pop.

You're not gonna over-rotate.

No.

- Hey, Zink.
- Got it.

Yeah. Oh.

Yeah.

Oh. Yo.

Yeah.

You all right?

- Yeah.
- Whoo.

- You got it.
- Yeah, Tom.

Oh, dude, that was so close.

- Yeah.
- What happened?

You, like, gave a good snap,
but then you... by snapping,

you got so open,
so then it stalled, you know?

Like, you get back
and push your legs out,

but you don't need to do this,
you know?

You literally,
like, were like this.

It's just your body positioning
when you landed.

Yeah.

The slopestyle
scene right now

is infested with a million kids

that can do a million tricks,

but as far as big
mountain riding,

there's only a few select
riders that are hungry

and willing to go for it.

Yeah, Tom Tom.

- You got it.
- Yeah, Tom.

Second gainer!

Tom and Carson
were my two favorites

to bring on this trip
just because they really

are the future
of big mountain riding.

Yeah!

These are gonna be
the two young guys

that pretty much take our place

in pushing the limits
on the mountains.

Yeah.

So, there's this
little lake up here

that we're gonna go camping at.

We're gonna stay in tents
at this lake.

Isn't that cool-looking?

Look at how far it is
away from home.

Dad, you've been here...

- Uh-hmm.
- ...with your friends?

Yup. We went...
I went there with some...

What kind of friends?

The Claw.

He's a mystical creature.

Oh, look at you.
Big time for walking.

So, how many days
of travel will that take?

- Two and a half days.
- Lovely.

How long
are you gonna be gone?

I think it's, like,
almost a month.

So, are you... are you nervous...

- A little bit.
- ...about this trip?

Yeah, a little bit.

But I also know
it's the trip of a lifetime,

and I never will get the chance
to go up there again.

Say bye-bye.

How will I get a hold
of you if I need to?

Oh, I'm in reach.

You'll be able
to talk to me on that.

So, will you guys be
alone up there or...?

No, we'll have
some guides up there,

and we'll be working
with the Inuit.

- Such an opportunity.
- Yeah.

Going on a trip
with Zink and Claw

is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.

- Yeah.
- But also a lot of pressure

that you're putting on yourself.

We're gonna fly
commercial to Yellowknife.

- Okay.
- And then we charter

a plane.

We'll kind of, like,
island-hop.

Total weight of the freight
is 4,025 pounds.

Hi, sweetheart.
I'm gonna miss you.

Bye, Daddy.

Well, that was super easy, huh?

- Autopilot?
- Selected.

- Hydraulics?
- Check.

- Flaps?
- Check.

Wind 3-6-0, 14, due south.

So, what happens
if you get hurt? Who's there?

Who's... how far away?

We'll have a doctor
with us the whole trip.

He's pretty much just gonna be
in charge of safety,

and we're in good hands.

10-82 is down up there.

You guys can get off
whenever you're ready.

The flight is complete.

- Oh, yeah.
- Feels like winter.

It's cold.

Arctic summer.

And I think
it's a 3 to 4-hour flight

to where we're actually
gonna camp.

Bags up front,
seats in the middle.

There's only like
a month of the year

that you can go up there and
have no snow, and have light.

Gotta be now or never.

The human obsession
with exploration

is nothing new,

even in the Arctic.

900 years ago,
the Thule people

became the first
and only human inhabitants

of Axel Heiberg Island.

They thrived for 200 years
until the Little Ice Age

enveloped the Arctic,

leaving it uninhabited
to this day.

Uninhabited but not unexplored.

In 1895,
Captain Sir John Franklin

led two large ships
with 129 men

to find a route
through the Northwest Passage.

They were never
heard from again.

But Franklin's courage inspired
a new round of explorers.

In 1899,
Otto Sverdrup and his crew

set out to map the High Arctic.

They spent three dark winters
frozen in the ice,

and four summers mapping
160,000 square kilometers

by dogsled.

They rediscovered the island,
and named it Axel Heiberg

after a brewer who sponsored
the expedition.

They left the island
with a name,

but still no human inhabitants.

Oh!

Oh, my God!

So crazy. It's just endless.

This is unreal.

Yeah.

Even, like, right there.

Looking out of the window,
it just looks like Utah

in the winter, but...

literally five times the size.

Look over to the left, guys.

Where?

Down there.

Sick how the glaciers
almost look alive.

This is insane.

Wow. We're alive.

- Oh, yeah, dude.
- Wow.

That was insane.

Holy...

So, just quickly,

we're gonna go over a couple
of things for safety.

I have my shotgun.

Apak has his rifle.

Apak is from Arctic Bay.

He's gonna be responsible
for all our safety

and make sure we respect
this land, too.

Of course, we are
in polar bear country.

We're gonna have a bear fence
around the camp.

You have to be careful
with the fence.

- Do not go and...
- Yeah.

We're just gonna have
the fence up

while we're all trying
to catch some sleep

just so everybody
can get a good night's rest.

Just be mindful of it,
if you wake up

in the middle of the night.

If you pee on the fence,

you'll be the siren.

Your bathroom's
gonna be here.

We have to really take care
of all our...

Pack in what you pack out?

Yeah.
So, human waste all packed up.

We're just gonna try
to keep a neat, tidy camp,

and have a lot of fun
while we're here.

First couple days

we just spent scoping
around camp,

and it's a crazy feeling
to be the only humans

on this whole island.

Dude, how sick does that look?

It looks awesome, actually.

Oh, that would be epic.

Yeah. Those ones
are legendary, dude.

Cross,
and then drop back in,

and then traverse
over to where Claw is.

Yeah, you could go here
or start over there.

Looking up to Darren
and Cam for so long,

and, yeah, it doesn't really
make sense to me,

like, how they chose me
and Tom.

Let's draw a little map out.

So, basically,
Buchanan Lake's like this,

and that is pretty much
due north.

Base camp's right here.

And then we have
our corner chutes here.

Just the way they pick lines,

it's pretty inspiring.

This is definitely doable.
It's just heavy.

It doesn't matter
how good at tricks you are

or how big you can go.

Out here, it's all
about the experience,

and it's something
that they have,

so my goal is to take
their experience

and try and learn from it.

This one is kind of the...

I think that's
the end-all-be-all

as far as what
we came here for.

Claw and Zink,
they scouted

these huge lines
along the lake.

It's definitely been
in their thoughts

for the past year.

Here, this looks...

Way better than over there.

I think we looked at this one
on the map and it's 2,500 feet.

And it's just gonna be
so bitchin'.

So what do we want
to call this one?

Let's call it
the Drag Strip.

Same with Claw,
he found a line

that was right across
the lake from that.

I personally
really love this one

that goes into that chute

on the back side of Buchanan.

- It's a massive freaking slope.
- It's big.

It's kind of the pinnacle
of our imagination

as far as what
we came here to do.

It wasn't very rideable.

Like, for them
to just be thinking

about a line like that,

just massive lines, too.

Like, probably the biggest
lines anyone's ever ridden

on a mountain bike.

Yeah.
There's a lot more to learn.

Yeah, I think
just get into it tomorrow,

start riding stuff
and build it up, and then,

work towards the bigger lines.

- All right, boys.
- All right.

- In, boys.
- Epic time.

Yeah, boys.

Let's do it.

Oh, yeah.

It doesn't get
any more fun than that.

Yeah, boys.

It's honestly more fun
than snowboarding

down a fresh face.

Totally.

That was so cool
right there.

Yeah, I literally
feel like I'm skiing.

Oh, yeah.

I'm going down!

Oh, yeah, boy.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

What?

It's a little soft here.

It feels like a snowbank.

Get lost.

Yeah.

Just wanted
to have a quick talk

about safety with you, guys.

It's a small team, we're really
remote, so we're gonna rely

on everyone to pitch in
and help out.

Closest hospital
would be in Iqaluit,

which is probably
a 12-hour flight,

under ideal circumstances,

so it's really super-remote
up here.

This is, by far,
the biggest first-aid kit

I've ever assembled.

These are needles and syringes,
defibrillator.

We brought oxygen,
all the IV supplies.

So it'd be good to know, for me,

just what you guys
have dealt with

in the past,
in terms of injuries.

Yeah, where do I start?
You know, ankles, legs, wrists.

Tore my ACL.

I have plates
in my both my collarbone.

I had a pneumothorax,
which almost killed me.

Broke my wrist once.

Couple broken backs.

PCL, meniscus.

Tibia, as well.

Yeah.

Not bad.

No. Then we got Zink.

Zink, you've probably
had one injury...

I've never been...
never been hurt.

- Never been injured?
- No.

This is all new to me.

Yeah, I've been
through the ringer.

And it's from broken feet
to broken legs,

and compartment syndrome
in my leg,

and a fasciotomy,
and six knee surgeries,

and plenty of other
random injuries,

but I was always fortunate

with never having shoulder
problems my whole life,

but then this past year,
I dislocated both of them,

so, kind of my Achilles heel
lately.

Ayla's keeping me safe.
She made this bracelet for me.

Best friend bracelet,
said it's gonna keep me safe.

No way.

You'd feel
a lot better if you got hurt

on a big line here
rather than a jump

that you could
have built anywhere.

- Yeah.
- So you might as well

get some real stuff
in the bag.

It's what we came here to do.

We end up going
for this line we dubbed

the Oso Negro
just because we wanted

to kind of get a feel
for the dirt.

We hiked a long way,
if you look down.

Oh, yeah, rock and roll.

Nice.

Right down there,
there's like a light brown hump.

Don't go left
right there, because that,

- like, is a cliff.
- Yeah, it sucks you in.

But there is... one of them
is better than the other...

I'll follow you, guys.

Oh.

Watch out for rocks.
Right behind you.

What's that?
Oh, shit.

Watch out, watch out.

- Not the best dirt.
- No.

Well, the dirt is nice.

There's just
too much rock, still.

I think we should
just go down slow to that

and just see what's over that.

Or we can go
hard right, too.

Pretty sure...

I can't remember.

Yeah,
I think that's the good one,

right in the middle.

Oh, what the hell?

Definitely not this one.

Yeah, I was saying
right there.

Oh, shit.

Oh, God.
See you down there.

Oh, shit.

You all right?

That's fucking stupid.

You okay?

You break anything
or you just choked?

No, I'm good.

Like, you break your
bike, or are you just choked?

Oh, no, no,
my bike's broken.

That's why I'm choked.

What's wrong with it?

My brake line.

That's kind of depressing, man.

After riding this line,

and realizing the dirt
isn't consistent,

I'm not very confident that
we're gonna be able to ride

any of the big lines
that we came here for.

By the time we got back,
it was like midnight.

It's definitely weird.

The sun doesn't go anywhere.
It just goes in circles.

It's funny, it's like
a sundial on the sky.

I've been struggling with it.

- Have you?
- Yeah, dude.

I got my, like, eye mask,

and then I have my buff
over the top of that.

It's tough,
but it's also pretty sweet

because you can get
a lot done in a day.

We're here
playing horseshoes.

Exactly.

Yo, get out of your tent, dude.

A little bit.

Axel Heiberg
is home to one of our planet's

harshest ecosystems.

From October
through February,

the island falls
into total darkness.

And winter temperatures
reach as low

as minus 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite these conditions,

life has evolved and flourished

in this no man's land.

Although most of the Arctic
is flat tundra,

Axel Heiberg is unique
for its large mountains,

resulting in the island's
almost 2,000 glaciers.

This ancient ice drew in
a new generation of explorers.

In 1959,
glaciologist Fritz Müller

found the island
ideal for his studies.

In 1960, Müller and his team

built a semi-permanent
structure

at the base of White Glacier.

His team returned every year
for over two decades.

Before his death,
he passed his findings

on to another glaciologist,

who passed them onto another,

who passed them on
to Dr. Laura Thomson,

who has returned
to study the glacier

every summer
for the past nine years,

resulting in one
of the oldest glacier records

in the High Arctic.

What is up?

- Hey, how's it going?
- Cameron.

- Good to see you.
- Hi, I'm Dorota.

- Darren.
- Hi, I'm Dorota.

- Hi, nice to see you again.
- Yeah, you, too.

- Welcome.
- This is home, huh?

Yeah, this is home.

Have you visibly seen
the glaciers receding?

Mm-hm. You see all that
kind of debris gravel material.

That's where the glacier
was in 1960.

And that was actually
the largest

that glacier ever was,

since the last Ice Age.

So all the retreat
that's happened

has really happened
in the last 50-something years.

All of our data goes to

the World Glacier
Monitoring Service,

and that's part
of the United Nations

Environment Monitoring Program.

On White Glacier,
I have three GPS stations,

so what I'm measuring,
actually,

is how fast the glacier
is moving.

And how fast
are we moving right now?

It's about 30 meters a year.

So, this helps us predict

kind of what future glacier
response will be,

what future sea level rise
will be.

The Canadian High Arctic

is essentially
the area of Western Europe.

Simply because
it's the largest area of ice

outside of Greenland
and Antarctica,

it's actually the world's
largest contributor

to sea level rise
from glaciers and ice caps.

Your guys' base
has been here for 57 years?

Yeah, it's pretty amazing.

It's like one
of the oldest Arctic camps.

The retreat
that we're seeing now

is due to climate conditions
about 40 years ago,

we think, for White Glacier.

So if we were to stop
the warming

and melt that's happening now,

the glacier would still retreat
for at least another 40 years.

It's a complicated system,

and it's important
that we have...

- Understand all of it.
- ...people on it.

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

If you had a message,
what would it be

after all your years
of studying these glaciers?

Yeah. I would like to emphasize
the importance of the North,

and the fact that

we have the most ice
out of any country,

except Denmark,
which has Greenland.

And it's so understudied.

It's our responsibility
to be stewards

of the ice that we have.

For us to get a glimpse
of the hard work

that these individuals put into

doing all the research
for these glaciers,

and better understanding
global climate,

and ice levels,

and really what's going on
up here is pretty insane.

You can't help
but respect this place.

Let's eat, let's eat.
How do you pick them?

Can you eat the stem, too?

- Cool.
- Oh, these are

delicious.

Good snack.

- Can I eat the back?
- They're good.

It is blueberry-ish, huh?

Yeah. Blueberry for sure.

Yeah.

The Arctic is definitely
one of the most epic places

I've ever been.

It's hard to put in words.

It really strikes hard,
the fact that the Arctic

is just so unknown.

There's something
different about the Arctic,

just being above the tree line

and seeing the raw land

and glaciers incising into it.

The landscapes
that we now see

covered with beautiful trees,

that came from glaciers,

and you can see that
in action now in the Arctic.

So, it's a great...

it's a great classroom

for understanding our Earth.

The landscape
of the Arctic is just...

you gotta see it to believe it.

It's just surreal.

Yeah. It's a dream come true
to explore a zone like this.

Yeah, dude, get it.

This place definitely
makes you feel very small.

Yeah, Tom!

All right, good.

Yeah!

That was super fun.

You gotta go up.

Yeah. That was awesome.

Yeah. Great.

- It worked.
- Sick, dude.

Yeah.

- Boys, dinner time.
- Yeah. Let's do it.

Like 4:00 in the morning
dinner time.

Yeah.

Time to eat.

How many days
have we been here?

I lost count
because it's not really

technically a day.

Because a day really consists

of like morning, nightfall.

There's no nightfall.
It's just straight...

This is just
the endless day.

Nothing like
dehydrated meat

and potatoes,

brought back to life by water.

I think it's brought back

to life by hot sauce.

When we first laid eyes
on this area,

Zink first saw the Drag Strip.

That line has been
on my mind since last year,

and then it was my main goal

and focus since we set up camp.

Keep me safe, Ayla.

Back to the good stuff.

There we go.

Oh, my God.

So pumped.

Give me a high-five, Apak.

- That was awesome.
- You, too.

Oh, my God.

That was awesome.

Oh,

that literally makes
the whole trip

worthwhile, man.

That was the...
that was the one.

Yeah, buddy.

That was dope.

Yeah, dawg.

Zink van Steenbergen,

click... creek crossing.

- Click clossing.
- Click cross.

- All right.
- Pop a wheelie.

Let's do it.

No, I can't.

We're soaked.
That was so deep.

- Nice.
- It was still fun.

Zink is obviously a legend,

and he's sick to work with,

and we found, actually,

a lot of similar things,

like the step downs.

I think it's the hardest
thing, what we do,

blind takeoffs
and speed judging.

Are you thinking
you can roll in from here?

I'm gonna brake
to that second roll

and then let it go.

- That's all pretty good.
- That was style, dude.

You usually go a little
bit further on flips

because, like,
you know what I mean?

You're not, like,
going up further

and losing distance
like a dirt jump, you know?

You're, like, pulling up
and carrying out.

Carson can train us into it.

No matter how many times
we do it,

it's always still
nerve-wracking.

Like the first monkey
shot into space.

Carson, you ready?

- Yeah.
- All right.

Drop it in five.

All right, man.
See you down at the bottom.

Yeah, dudes!

Oh, my God!

Oh, fuck.

My shoulder's out.

- Your shoulder?
- Yeah.

- Which one?
- The left one.

It's just gonna feel intense
for a second once it slides in.

Come on.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

That was disgusting, dude.

That was fucking gnarly.

Oh, God.

This was supposed
to be the easy part.

We were supposed to get
to the hard stuff tomorrow.

Always glad when your head
isn't hurt, you know.

- Uh-hmm.
- Shoulders can heal,

but your brain
doesn't really work like that.

Bummer.

Yeah.

Our job is to just
get gnarlier and gnarlier,

but I've done bigger flips
than that,

like, eight years ago.

I mean, it's just...

been gnarly for a long time.

We have five days left,

and we've been
battling weather,

stuck in tents
for a couple days.

We got a lot of stuff on our
plate that we've scoped out,

and I mean, for me, you know,

being able to get
the dream shoot in the bag

is my biggest goal, and I still
haven't got that yet.

And the weather forecast
is not looking very good.

Yeah, I'm thinking about
starting on the horizon

- right there.
- That looks good.

Yeah.
And then it's pretty long,

and then it rolls down again.

Then that point
that's coming out

of the rocky kind of cliff line
right there.

And then it'll kind of feed me

into a little point.

It'll be like a drop
onto a rock slab.

Yeah.
Just watch the wind.

- Yeah.
- All morning long,

and usually it tends to blow
one way in the afternoon.

If you hit it in the afternoon,
you should be good.

- Yeah. For sure.
- Yeah.

Afternoon as in, like,

- 2:00 a.m. for us, 3:00 a.m.?
- Like... Yeah. Midnight.

- Midnight sun.
- Yeah.

Get it?

Are you all right, Tom?

I'm good.
I just broke my helmet.

I'm gonna try
and make my way down.

That hurt.

You all right?

I think so, yeah.

No headache or anything.

Your back hurt?

Yeah. I just scraped it.

I actually brought
a spare helmet for this reason.

All right. I'll see you
at the bottom again.

Yeah, man, you got it.

I am in position.

Yes, sir, man, you got it.

Oh, yeah.

He's got this.

He's got this.

Okay.
Droppin' in three, two, one.

Yeah, Tom.

He's gonna get it.

Come on, Tommy boy.

Come on, buddy.

I'm gonna give you
three words to remember:

Green, hope, and taxi.

Green, hope, and taxi.
Remember those?

He's still
sitting there.

Shit.

How's Tom doing, Doctor?

You okay?

Yeah.
I just felt out of it,

and I kind of, like, I didn't
remember what happened.

So, I didn't really know
what to improve.

Oh, yeah. I got you.

- Just winging it.
- Yeah, I shouldn't have

done that.

And we're just gonna
move your eyes.

Just don't move your head.

I'm just looking
at your eye movements,

just to make sure
they're smooth.

Two helmets, two runs.

It's weird. I just...

I don't remember
what I did off the lip,

but everything before,
I remember.

I felt fine walking down
the rest of the way,

and then...

I think you rode down.

Oh, yeah. I rode down.

Yeah.

What are the three words,
do you remember?

Green, hope, taxi.

- Nice.
- Uh-hmm.

Yeah, does that hurt?

- No.
- Okay. Good.

Well, I had to...

It's like, "Hurt?'

What was that?

A couple times,
but yeah... no.

So, yeah. Two...
Two pretty big head bonks,

and we... you know,
we'd call this a concussion

just based on your symptoms.

And probably not a great idea
to keep riding.

I feel fine,
like, I wanna ride more,

but it's obviously...
I don't know.

It's a tough call man.

- Yeah, it is.
- It's the...

it's the hardest position
to be in,

especially on a trip

where you're not gonna ever

come back here,
but you're gonna have

a long, long life
ahead of you, you know?

And the brain's the one thing
that doesn't heal.

Like, bones heal stronger,

and ligaments come back,
you know.

But your brain
doesn't come back and have...

I've had some of the proudest
moments of my life,

let alone career,
after a big crash,

but one of the biggest ones,
in 2010,

like, looking back on it,
I probably shouldn't have rode.

And you win Best Trick
and Rampage that year?

Mm-hm. And the...
and the World Tour.

- No way. Holy shit.
- Yeah.

It was one of the best days
of my life

but I probably would've
taken it back and not ridden

knowing that I'd hit
my head so hard

and just the gravity
of Second-impact syndrome.

You just have to always
take a step back

from the pressure and...
pressure from sponsors,

and pressure from whoever,
and just do

what's right for you,
and look at the bigger picture,

which is always hard
when you're in it, you know?

And it might seem like this
is the pinnacle of your career,

but I think you're gonna have
a lot more heights

than just this, you know?

- You have...
- Yeah.

You can go home,
and then regroup,

and then you're just
gonna keep elevating.

You're just still
on the climb up, man.

- Yup.
- You'll be...

You'll be back.

We won't be back here,
but you'll be back.

Go ahead, bud.

Just so you know,
the Dream Chute

proper itself
is totally in shadow.

Oh, yeah.
I figured as much.

Cool.

Seeing a line
that big and that ominous,

it just left an imprint
in my memory,

and I just can't shake it.

Nasty.
I'm going down there.

It looks rideable,
probably.

Make a bet.

Oh, shit.

Lots of rock.

Sketchy.

All right.

Here we go.

It's a pretty surreal feeling

getting a line
you've been obsessed with

for over a year.

Man, I'm at the bottom!

I've been chasing these lines
for almost two decades...

and that was hands down
the biggest line

I've ever ridden.

What a journey.

It was worth coming
to the ends of Earth for it.

For sure.

What food
are you gonna buy first

when you get back
to civilization?

Vegetables.

- Burrito.
- Nerd.

Fine.

Definitely one
of the best trips

I've ever been on,

if not the best trip
I've ever been on.

Hell of...
Hell of a lot better

than an FMB Silver event, huh?

Yup.

I definitely
feel grateful

to be on these trips.

It's cool to see
the way you guys

pick out lines and, you know,

just kind of view the terrain,

and I think this trip,

I've learned so much.

We're obviously
not done by any means,

but I'm just stoked
to have you guys here

and essentially
carry on the torch.

Hopefully guys
like yourself

take what we've learned

throughout, I mean,
camps, careers, you know,

riding this kind of stuff.

Hopefully, you guys take that
and, you know,

take it to the next level.

Oh, there he is.

- Here it is.
- Oh, yeah, baby.

- Touchdown.
- Yeah.

We're going home, boys.

Hurting but happy.

A little...

A little broken but not beaten.

Though we have learned much

from her past,

the future remains

the Arctic's biggest mystery.

Throughout our history,

the only constant
has been change.

But it's the speed
at which change is occurring

that creates
these massive unknowns.

Human impact on our planet

is causing global temperatures

to rise 10 times faster

than any time
in recorded history.

In the last 40 years,

the Arctic has lost
more sea ice

than a landmass
the size of Mexico.

As the darker land
and ocean surfaces

become exposed,

more sunlight gets absorbed,

causing the Arctic to warm
at double the global average,

making what was once
unreachable reachable.

In 2016,

the first crew ship traversed
the Northwest Passage,

the same route
that took the lives

of the Franklin expedition
121 years earlier.

With the passage open,

foreign cargo ships now seek it

as a shorter alternative
to the Panama Canal.

The eight countries sharing
Arctic borders

and now torn
between conservation

and exploitation of the newly
accessible resources.

The disappearing ice
also leaves the Arctic exposed

to gas and oil exploration,

and animals
who have uniquely evolved

over hundreds
of thousands of years

to thrive in this environment

now race to adapt.

A region that was once
one of the Earth's most hostile

is rapidly transforming

into one
of its most vulnerable.

Go see him.
Go see him.

Hi, munchkin.

A trip like this
is encompassing

everything
that I've done as a...

as a human, as a rider.

I wanna lead by example,
and I wanna show my kids,

don't ever try to compare
yourself to anyone else

or try to be as good
as the next guy,

because then you're just
limited by the next guy.

Look for something new,
look beyond the next horizon,

and this sport is what I've
devoted most of my life to,

and I care about it so much
and I'm doing everything I can

to contribute
to making it better

and paving the way for people

to come up and enjoy it
the way I have.

- Hi. Hi, Isabelle.
- Come on.

- Hey, Bella. Hey.
- Come on.

Hey.

Some people think
that achieving a goal

is a curse in some ways,

because once the goal
is achieved,

what comes next?

You just have to keep learning
from every adventure,

every success,

and more importantly,
every failure.

The biggest lesson I learned
from this trip

was that as we pass the torch
to the next generation,

it's up to us to make sure
it's still learning.