Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 7, Episode 1 - Miracle on the Mountain - full transcript

Parker: It's been 2 weeks.

But it still hasn't
really, um, hit me.

Been psyching myself up
for the day.

You know, it's a big day.

It's probably one of the
biggest
days in my life, so far.

My grandpa's always
told the story.

You know, he showed up
in haines at jones point.

And he'll leave there
at jones point.

So, um, that day's come.

The search for gold has always
meant everything to me.

This season's
gonna be different.



I lost my grandpa, the man
who taught me how to mine.

And honestly,

I don't know what it's
gonna be like without him.

Todd: This year, I'm taking
the biggest gamble of my life.

I'm asking my team to walk
away

from the guarantee
of millions of dollars

in the klondike in the hopes

that we can do
even better in oregon.

And it's all on me.

These guys have been
with me for years.

The trust they've put
in me is a privilege.

And let me tell you,
it's also a burden.

Any miner who tells you
they know for sure

what's in the ground



is either a liar or a fool.

Now, it's up to me
to deliver to my guys

to repay their loyalty

and get them gold.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

roger: Good afternoon,
everybody.

And our family, um, sincerely
thanks you all for coming.

I could look at my dad and
pull
the good things out of him.

And pulling those good things,

maybe look at just the great
things he brought for me,

I think my dad had a lot --

a long list of great things.

He showed compassion,
a lot more love.

He was a true christian.

He really was.

Parker: It's a lot bigger
than a funeral or...

...Or the 2 weeks that
he's been dead or any of that.

It's a lot bigger than that.

[ trumpet plays ]

narrator: April the 2nd, 2016,
the schnabel family gathers

to bid farewell
to john schnabel,

parker's grandpa and mentor.

[ gunshots ]

john: I'm proud of you.
You had a dream.

And you stayed with it
till you won it.

What more could I ask for?

Nothing.

Parker: I love you.

John: I love --
I love you, parker.

Parker: So I don't know
what that's gonna mean

for the next few months,
but...

...It's not gonna be fun.

I'm gonna miss you, grandpa.

Thank you for
everything you've done.

Nancy: He -- he's gonna have
to deal with grandpa

not coming up,

not planning to see grandpa.

That will be hard for him.

And, you know,
I think he's -- this --

this event today
is the preparation you need.

Tough day, tough day.

What's up, buddy?

You look good.

-So do you.
-Thanks.

Ness: I -- I mean,
at the end of the day,

it's just not gonna be
the same this year,

you know, with --
with john not being around.

But, you know, it's been
a rough year for all of us.

And -- and for all of us
to come here and --

and get together and, you
know,

celebrate john's life,
you know, hopefully it --

it gets us closer as a crew.

You know,
hopefully we can, you know,

put it all aside and do
what we do this summer and --

uh, and have
another killer season.

Narrator: The hoffman crew
has quit the klondike.

Last year was his most
successful season ever,

but todd has decided
to start from scratch

in his home state of oregon.

Todd: Hey, guys, we're coming
up the hill, last mile.

I love that we're in oregon.

This is where the whole dream
started for my dad and myself.

Hey, dad,
what do you think?

Jack: You know, todd,
this is like a dream come
true.

It's really gonna be
a blessing for everybody.

Last year,
we mined the klondike.

We got over
$3 million worth of gold.

I get it.
Todd wants to come home.

But there's no guarantees.

It's still a crapshoot.

Narrator: Todd is transporting
his entire operation

to the high bar mine
near baker city, oregon.

Gold was first discovered
in the area in 1861.

And fortunes were made

from the plentiful supply
of massive nuggets.

But nobody's ever
managed to set up

a full commercial operation
at the high bar.

Over 4,000 feet up
in the blue mountains,

the claim is dry.

And no water means
no wash plant.

But recently, the claim owners

discovered water further
down the mountain

and are now piping it up,

which means high bar mine
is open for business.

Last year,
when the hoffman crew scouted

the newly accessible claim...

Turin: We got something
to show you guys.

You have got
to be kidding me.

Jack: Big gold.

Look at that one.

It's one of the best
nuggets I've ever seen.

That's
jewelry-grade gold.

Narrator: Todd is betting
the farm on high bar nuggets.

Hey, guys, this is gonna be
our
promise land.

I tell you what,
um, it sure feels good.

So, you guys know that I made
a deal on the claim.

All this --
this whole mountaintop, okay?

But what I didn't tell you

is I leased that
million-dollar
wash plant right there.

And if we can get that
running,

we can have gold
one week from now.

And it's just set up?
We're ready to roll?

We got the claim,
and we got the plant.

But we got to get
this plant running.

I want gold in the box
in one week.

We need to figure out
what this thing does,

how many yards it runs.

Well, this plant has
definitely
got some different things.

I've never seen one
with this many conveyors.

And it's quite the setup.

Hey, freddy.

Monster red has twice
as many runs as this.

And they're bigger runs.

Why -- why is this
sluice box so small?

We're gonna have
to see what the deposit does,

but we got a nugget-trap
sluice
up here for this bigger gold.

Remember that gold we showed
you
from the test up here, logan?

Most of it's bigger.

This is the most important
sluice box on this plant.

Todd: Freddy,
what is that up there?

Got a rock scrubber --
blade mill up here, todd.

That means one thing --
clay.

Oh.

Must be
some gummy stuff.

That's not good.

What's clay do to gold?

It steals it.

Clay's a gold thief.

Hey, guys,
everybody come over here.

I got something to tell you.

What do you think?

-Looks good.
-How we looking?

I thought monster red was
a handful last year --

you know, a lot to watch
and maintain.

This is three
times the size.

Yeah, nine conveyors,

there's a lot of things
to go wrong.

Well, you know what --
there's a lot of things

that can go right.

I think we're just
set up the best this year.

And I feel better
about this year

probably more than
any year before.

Jack: You know what I like
about this property, todd,

is I've seen great, big
nuggets
that come out of here.

I don't see why
we're not gonna get them.

We're on a mountain
that's got nuggets, okay?

We've never even seen
nuggets like these.

These are -- these are
awesome.

If you read some of
the history on this place,

they took out nuggets
that were 100-ounces size.

You know, they're huge.

And you know what?

I got a good feeling about
this,
and I'm gonna throw out a
number

'cause I think it's possible.

I want 5,000 ounces.

5,000?

5,000 ounces.

We did 3,000 ounces.

I'm thinking 5,000
is within reach.

There's no overburden, guys.
Think about it.

And this
is unproven ground.

It's unproven to us.

We climbed the mountain.

Let's climb all the way
to the peak, right?

But I want to see a miracle
on this mountain.

I think
there's a chance, todd,

but you're on
a treasure hunt here.

Boy, here's to 5,000 ounces,
guys.

Dad, say a prayer, man.

Bring it in.

Jack: Heavenly father, we
thank
you for the opportunity

that you've given us here.

Lord, we ask that you
bring those, uh,

nuggets to the surface,

help us to run them
through our plant.

And we pray this in your name.
Amen.

-Amen.
-Amen. -Amen.

Todd:
Yeah, mining in oregon, boys.

208

minnie: Hey, how's it going?

Narrator: The beets family
has arrived in the klondike

for the start of their
mining season.

Tony: Go ahead.
There you go.

Nice to see you.

Same, same.

Not too bad.

What do we have
planned this summer?

Narrator: Tony's first dredge
is working so well,

this season,
he's taking on a massive,

new challenge --

bring a second dredge
back to life.

He needs his family
to keep getting gold

while he works on dredge two.

Tony's kids need to step up
like never before.

Do I at least
get to pick my own crew?

It's gonna be all girls.

Yeah.
You know what?

It'd probably be easier
on the equipment,

probably a hell of a lot
easier on the eyes.

Mike: See, when they're
in a good mood,

yeah, they are
'cause they're mellow.

But once they get in a bad
mood,
and that happens quite easily,

holy hell are they rough --
like twice as [bleep] bad.

Kevin: You want us to run
this,
let us [bleep] run it.

Don't fly in all huffy
and change [bleep]

[bleep] run it.
Just let us

monica: Let us do it.
Take a step back.

Oh, we know.
We know.

Yeah, there was
never any concern

about you not
letting us know.

It's gonna be a family effort.
Get on with it.

Deal with [bleep].
And let's just make it happen.

I mean, that's
all you can do, right?

Give it your 110%.

As a family, we can do it.
So let's do it.

And with that said, go to
work.

-Get out, get going.
-All right.

Tired
of [bleep] around.

-Bye.
-Yep.

Hi-ho, hi-ho

I have faith
in those kids, so...

Well, oh, yeah.

Narrator: Tony's got his work
cut out if he's going to get

this second dredge
catching gold this season.

But even getting to it
is a challenge.

Parker,
how you doing, son?

I've had better.

I lost a dad,
you lost a grandpa

all at the same time.

It's a good life we've had
and the number of years

we've had it.
-I know.

-You know?
-Yeah.

Death finally hits you.
It's sort of a new thing for
me.

I'm not too used to this.

But we both knew, parker,

it was gonna have
to come down at some time.

That's life, you know?

And I just hope that
you're okay with it.

Hopefully,
if you'll be strong,

then we'll all be strong
together as a family.

I'm all right.

I'll check in
with you tomorrow.

We'll see.
Okay, fella?

I'm glad you are.

Narrator: The day after
his grandpa's funeral,

parker takes the opportunity

to update chris
and rick on his plans

for the coming season.

Doumitt: Here we are.

Ness: What's up, buddy?

Parker: How are you?

I'm good, man.
Good to see you.

Parker,
how you doing, buddy?

Good.

Narrator: And there's
someone they need to meet.

It appears you
had a pretty nice winter.

Yeah, it was all right.

[ laughter ]

I don't know --
I don't know what the terms
are.

An item, is that what they --
are you guys an item now?

From australia -- you came
from australia to haines?

Yes, well,
so we met in australia,

and I think we just
instantly had this connection.

And we got along
really, really well.

And we spent some time
together back in australia.

And then he left
and came home.

He asked me to come over.

I didn't --
I didn't want to stop.

So I just really wanted
to be here to support you

and be here for you
and your family.

Yeah, no,
I'm glad you made it.

Yeah.

We'll be in dawson on Monday.

And we're gonna have
a pretty slow start.

So we'll just get
a couple of the dozers fired
up

and get some mud
cleared off and --

and just get things opened up
and get camp opened up.

And I've been designing
a new wash plant.

Yeah, I've been busy.

Is it a screen
or trommel you're getting?

Uh, it's a screen deck.

Narrator: Over the winter,

parker has been hard
at work designing

what he believes
is the ultimate wash plant.

Parker: So I --
I'm having them put...

Narrator: Although it's
smaller
than monster red,

parker and the design team
have been working hard

to make it leaner
and more efficient.

So it will need less manpower.

Parker: You can just
unhook it from the tray,

hook it up to the hydraulic
riffles and hit the winch,

and it'll lift that hydraulic
riffle up out of the way.

Falling asleep yet.
-Really?

Parker:
Thanks for coming, guys.

-My pleasure.
-I appreciate it.

All right, buddy.

Parker: Like, ashley
and I met traveling this
winter.

And it's really good
to have, um,

ashley and rick and chris
here.

You know, it was great.
It was great.

They're, uh, three of my
favorite people in the world.

Tony: Wow.

Narrator: It's 150 tons
heavier than his first dredge.

But tony plans to tear
this monster apart,

barge it nearly 100 miles
down the yukon river,

then transport
it 50 miles by road

to have the two dredging
side-by-side at eureka creek.

His aggressive goal,
have it up and running

by the end of the season.

Kevin: Watch out!

Narrator: But back
at eureka creek,

tony's son kevin

and dredge number
one are deep in trouble.

Narrator: Two days after
tony beets put his son kevin

in charge of the dredge,
disaster strikes.

Two hours south,
tony's dredge is sinking.

Kevin: Watch out!

Narrator: Kevin and his crew
are desperately

trying to save it
before tony finds out.

The dredge floats on empty
tanks called pontoons.

A leak has filled
half of them with water.

And one side of the dredge
now sits on the bottom

of the pond,
threatening permanent damage

to the dredge's generator
and electrics.

Water is pouring into
the pontoons faster

than the crew can pump it out.

Kevin: Oh [bleep] [bleep]

narrator: The dredge is
about to be totally submerged.

If it sinks, the damage will
be
so catastrophic

it could cost tony
millions of dollars.

This, uh,
has been an ongoing battle

for the last 20 hours or so.

Kevin went through
a 12-hour shift

last night fighting with it.

We came out today,
and it still wasn't floating.

So...

Kevin: We're gonna start
pumping our pond out.

Well, our plan is to drain
the pond as much as we can.

Narrator: Kevin's only hope --
open the water outlet

to drain the pond
before the dredge sinks.

But it's not working.

Kevin: I don't [bleep] get it.

The pond should be going down.

Narrator: Monica arrives
with more bad news.

Monica: Kevin!

Hi.

You look angry.

Tony's supposed to be coming
out
in the next little bit.

[bleep]

I opened up the outlet
culvert,
and [bleep] not going down.

It's almost
getting [bleep] deeper.

You've got
to be kidding me.

If the inlet pipe is open,

there's no way
the pond will drain.

'cause I had no conception
that
that was a thing.

Think you could
go close that?

This had better work.

For [bleep] sakes, kevin.

To lower the water level,

kevin has already opened
the drainage culvert.

What he didn't know

is that an inlet pipe
is still open

that's continually
filling up the pond.

Thought about how
the water was coming in.

There it was, wide open.

So that's so awesome.

Now, they should be able
to drop the water enough

to get all the water
out of the pontoons.

Somebody's got to save the
day.
And that was me today.

Narrator: Within an hour,
monica's fix starts to work.

The water is low enough
for the pumps

to empty the pontoons
and refloat the dredge.

We're just finishing up.

We can actually see the edge
of the pontoons now.

Narrator: The dredge
is safely out of the water.

[ groans ]

and kevin can finally go home
and get some rest.

She should be good
to go at this point.

I mean, I'd just be sitting
around waiting anyway,

so I might as well take a nap.

That's a lot of hours -- fun.

[ sighs ]

it's been a hell of a couple
of one or two hours here.

Which one?

Kevin's sleeping.

He was here till 11:00

well, we knew it was
coming from somewhere.

Narrator:
If the generator got wet,

starting it up could
create some fireworks.

Folster: I honestly don't know
what's gonna happen

when I turn this thing on.

So maybe don't be
standing in here

in case I do blow
some boxes off the wall.

[ generator sputtering ]

[ generator starts ]

sure is good to have
it up and running.

Actually, I didn't think
it was gonna fire up.

Narrator: On kevin's first
week
as dredge master,

his failure to check
the pontoons

has cost tony 20 hours
of running --

over $20,000
worth of lost gold.

At the high bar mine,
eastern oregon, the hoffman
crew

is ready to run nugget-rich
pay dirt on their new claim.

Todd: It's looking good.
Everything feels right.

We're early in the season.

And we're gonna
get a jump on parker.

And we're gonna get
a jump on the klondike.

This plant's got
a million different parts.

Hopefully we can, uh, fire it
up

and start firing up
each piece of this plant.

You got your radio, dave?

Yeah,
I'm ready here.

Okay, dave's in place.

And, uh, we're ready to go
if you want to try this --

this far conveyor.

Here we go.
It's time to go.

-Hey, todd.
-Yeah.

We got locks on here.
I can't fire it up.

What do you mean?

William and jarrod wirth's,
their locks are still on here.

Why in the hell
is there a lock on there?

Narrator: The hoffman crew is
ready to start the season,

but the claim owners
have locked them

out of the wash plant.

Hey, todd.

Todd: William, jarrod.

So we're locked out.
What's the scoop?

You know, william and I
are representing

the wirth family
and the high bar mine.

And this was
a humongous investment.

And because of that,

we have to work with you guys,
side-by-side, to protect that.

Are you guys
just gonna watch us,

or are you gonna work with us?

We'd like to work
with you.

Uh, my brother and I have been
running this place since 2014.

And one of the things
we bring to the table

is a knowledge
of this place.

We don't bring in employees
just willy-nilly, okay?

We're basically a family.

And we take it really
damn serious.

You know what
we believe in, okay?

You see --
you see our flags.

You know about our faith.

If you believe
in those same things,

I'm open to it.

If you can live
by our rules, you know,

we could sure use
your help.

Yeah, you bet.

You know, we'll start pulling
pay, start running stuff.

And we'll prove ourselves
to you that we're ready to go.

You got your keys
to those locks?

-We do.
-Okay.

Unlock that.

And welcome to 316 mining.
-All right.

-Excited to work with you
guys.
-Jarrod, william.

Let's go.
Let's get it started.

Narrator: Over 4,000 feet up
in the blue mountains,

the geology of high bar

is different to anything
the hoffmans have mined
before.

The gold was formed
in quartz veins.

Rivers eroded the ground,

exposing and breaking
off chunks of gold...

...And carrying them
downstream

to where the ground
flattened out.

Because the rivers
soon slowed,

the gold settled quickly,

leaving large nuggets
that have never been worn down

by further movement
or friction.

It's these nuggets that have
persuaded todd to abandon

the steady pay in the klondike

and risk everything
for a mountain of gold.

Jarrod:
Let's jump down in there,

and I'll kind of show you guys
what we're dealing with.

Let's do it.

You got good stuff
right here, the blonde --

nothing in this stuff,
in our experience.

And then what's
that down below?

Down below, it's really
impressive-looking.

It's alluring,
but there's nothing in it.

See, normally,
in the klondike, andy,

that would have been
awesome.

If we saw big rock like that
in the klondike, we'd be
elated.

And we'd be getting
good gold.

So it's gonna be a total
different learning curve here.

Let's get logan down here,

and let's take
our first load of pay.

Give me some.
-Let's do it.

Todd:
You want to know how I feel?

I feel unbelievable.

Let me tell you something.

This is the very first load
of pay for morgan.

Generator coming on.

[ generator starts ]

everybody, clear!

-Ready?
-Going hot.

Cross conveyor going hot.

-Looks good.
-Hey, dave.

You want
to try the sand screw?

Yeah,
sand screw next.

Fire it up.

Yeah!

Screen going hot.

Come on, baby.
Come on, baby!

Come on, baby!
Yeah!

Whoo!
-Yeah!

We got a screen.

William,
both belts are open.

We're ready for water
when you are.

We got water, todd.

Kevin,
drop the first bucket.

Let's do this.

10-4.

There we go.

I think we're ready
to kick some ass.

So this is our place.

This is
all your place?

So this is all what
you did last season?

Yeah, and all
of that up there.

Wow.

That's impressive.

Yeah,
it's good to be back.

Narrator: Parker is returning
to scribner creek

with his new girlfriend,
ashley yule.

Parker:
Look at this rowdy bunch.

Hey,
how you been, buddy?

-Hey, kelly.
-How you doing, man?

-Good, how are you?
-How's it going?

-This is ashley.
-Hey, ashley, how are you?

Youle: Good, thanks.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.
-You, too.

-Glad you're here.
-Richard.

I'm ashley.
It's nice to meet you.

So parker, who's this?

She's my sister.

[ laughter ]

uh, we met in australia.

-Oh, fancy.
-Mm-hmm. -Nice.

Narrator: This year, to keep
his costs to a minimum,

parker has cut
his crew in half.

Yeah, this season,
this is it right here.

There's nine of us.

I mean, you know,
guys can have a big a crew

as they want and find
as much gold as they want.

That's now how much
they took home, right?

We've got a handful of guys
here -- lean and mean.

What we're gonna
do will be impressive

for the group of people we
have.

Blaschke:
So what's the game plan?

So this season, basically

the goal is the same
as it was last year --

3,000 ounces.

Woman: That's our goal
for this season?

Yep.

I was honestly
coming back thinking

we're shooting
for 5,000 at least.

Yeah, I didn't drive
2,500 miles to get 3,000
ounces.

I came up here
to make some money.

I always want to
go for more, too.

I do, but the royalties --

like, I've started
doing the math

on the last couple
hundred ounces we did.

At that point,
we're paying 25% royalty.

Narrator: Claim owner
tony beets has parker locked

into a tough royalty deal.

If he mines over 3,000 ounces,
tony's cut increases to 25%.

So, this season, I don't see
us
going for more than that.

-More than 3,000?
-No.

But honestly,
it'll be more of a [bleep]

fight this season
doing 3,000 ounces

than it was last season
because we've got half the
crew.

And I didn't think that I'd
get
this kickback from you guys.

I certainly get where
you're coming from.

Economically,
it's a smart move,

but it's just not
what I expected to hear.

All we've ever done
is go bigger.

Well, we proved
ourselves last season.

The last thing I want
is an issue with you guys,

but I can't say that we're
gonna
try to do 5,000 ounces

because at 5,000 ounces,
we're giving tony beets,

like, $1.5 million.

And I cannot afford
to do that.

Narrator: Parker's mining plan
this season?

Expand the creek diversion
cut another 450 feet

while also extending

last season's
gold-rich boundary cut.

Eventually, these will meet,

creating one giant
cut covering 70 acres,

the equivalent of around
50 football fields.

But he's determined to keep
his costs to a minimum

and pay tony as little
royalty as possible.

Ness: Well, I think the guys
are pretty surprised by

the target this year, you
know?

3,000 ounces is less --

less than what we did last
year,
you know?

All we've ever done
is get better, get bigger.

Um, and it's --
to have parker throw out

a pretty uninspiring goal

for the season
is pretty surprising.

Parker: I think a lot of
people
are wondering

how our mind and our methods

and me will be affected
by my grandpa dying.

You know, he died at 96

with a great head
on his shoulders.

I'm trying not to be too sad
about it, you know?

Like, sure, more years
would have been good.

But -- whoa.

[bleep] [bleep]

whoa.

Whoa.

[bleep]

[bleep]

well, now.

Rick, you got a copy?

Narrator: Within hours
of starting to mine,

parker schnabel
has his 85-ton dozer stranded

at a 40-degree angle.

Yes, sir.
Go for rick.

Parker: Yeah,
I'm stuck pretty bad.

I'll need --
I'll need you to come up here

and bring the 460.

All right,
I'll head back.

Oh, boy.

It's a whole lot
of weight teetering there.

You think I'm pulling
that out with this?

I was thinking we just
dig this out right here.

Once you get this dug out,
I should be able to back down.

All right.

If I'd tried to get it out,
I would have tipped it over.

All right.

There's no hope
of getting out forward.

So rick's just gonna dig out

underneath this track
on the high side

and try to get us a spot
where it levels out

and I can back up out of
there.

Yeah, I'm trying to get all
the
dirt out from underneath it

that I can so he's got
a straight shot back.

I don't know if this
is gonna work or not,

but we're gonna get him
in the best possible position.

Good job, rick.
That looks good.

It's about the best I can do.
You want to give her hell?

Seat belt.

Oh, yeah, perfect.

Come on, come on.
Come down.

Come down.

[bleep]

[ chuckles ]

thanks.

You're welcome, man.

You should have seen it
from back here.

You were so high up.

That track must have been
eight feet in the air.

[bleep]

[ chuckles ]

narrator: Parker can return
to opening new ground

while rick digs a test hole
in the old boundary cut.

Ness:
Bingo, there it is.

That's it right there.

Blaschke: What do you got?

Dude, so I dug a hole right
on the edge here,

and there's some big pieces
in there.

Oh, yeah.

We couldn't ask for a better
situation, you know?

Thawed, really good pay.

If we're only going
for 3,000 ounces,

we're [bleep] gonna be here
for a month and be gone.

Perfect scenario, man,
to just go for it.

Go big, right?

I know parker's got a lot
of things on his mind --

all the stuff that happened
over the winter.

But I think his grandpa would
say, "go for it."

now if there's that
much gold in that pan,

think about what's
in that cut out there.

3,000 ounces --
that's like a warm-up lap.

We're all ready to go get it.

This is the season we go big
and set some records.

We just got to convince
parker.

Spinks: Things are going good,
trucks are running,

equipment's running,
dirt's coming out of the
ground.

So hopefully
there's gold in it.

Narrator: Less than a week
after arriving,

the hoffman crew is
already running pay dirt.

Todd is gambling everything
on the search

for the legendary
high bar nuggets.

You can't succeed if
you're afraid of failure.

You have to risk
to have a big reward.

Sometimes you got to shoot
for the moon.

Narrator: To help him achieve
his massive 5,000-ounce goal,

todd has leased this
million-dollar wash plant

specifically designed to cope

with the difficult mining
conditions at high bar.

The ground contains heavy
clay,

so the pay dirt passes
first through a blade mill.

Paddles on a shaft agitate
the material

to help the water
wash the clay off the rocks.

The gold-rich gravel
can then pass into a sluice
box,

which traps the nuggets.

The remaining material
goes on through a shaker deck

and into the lower sluices

that catch all
the remaining fine gold.

What do you think
overall?

So far, it looks like
it's running good.

Tell you what,
let's do a shutdown.

You want
the bypass valves open?

Todd has put
his reputation on the line.

At the end of their
first full day's work,

he stops to see if they're
on track for 5,000 ounces.

There's nothing
up here.

What do you think?

Jarrod: I mean, there's
definitely gold in there.

Everything up here's
gonna have gold in it

no matter what you run --
good, bad, or indifferent.

On a good day, though,
top to bottom,

it'll be nothing but yellow.

I see some down here.

Turin: Yeah,
there's gold in there.

And it's --
it's sunk down in there.

But I don't see
a whole lot of it.

Maybe it'll add up.

Guys, pull the mat.
Let's see what we got.

Into a tub, then we wash
the whole thing out.

Narrator: The mats go down
to the gold shack

for the first
cleanup of the season.

Time to fire it up,
jack.

Here we go.

You know, it's, uh, high
hopes.
And it's called the high bar.

So, uh, todd lifted
the bar pretty high.

Let's see if we can reach it.

Narrator: Last year...

That's the biggest nugget
I think I've ever seen.

...The hoffmans ran a 100-yard
test at high bar...

Holy mackerel.

Listen.

-I love the sound of that.
-That is awesome.

Narrator:
...With impressive results.

-1.7 ounces.
-Per 100 yards.

-Yeah.
-Oh, man.

-Whoo!
-That is great.

Look at that.
-That's pretty dang good,
hoff.

Narrator:
Now, they're cleaning up

2,000 yards of dirt.

The total should be
around 35 ounces.

Thurber:
Nicole is back here.

She's picking up
the big nuggets.

They're corn
flake-size nuggets.

They move real easy
'cause they're so big

but not that much
weight to them.

So we want to catch all of it,

and, uh, she's grabbing it
before it takes off.

All right,
let's see it.

I want to see
the first nugget.

Jack: You ready?

Little shake so we can...

3.55 ounces.

-That's it.
-That's it.

Where's the rest of it?

I wish there was more.

Well, listen --
it's our first cleanup.

Nobody panic.

It's not what I
was expecting, todd.

That's, uh -- it's not good.

We know that.

You know, we got 1.7 ounces
on our test last year.

There's got to be
gold there somewhere.

3.55 ounces
is fricking horrible.

That should have been
full of nuggets.

It should have been
30 to 40 ounces.

So I don't know
what's going on.

This might be a harder
treasure hunt than we thought.

Parker: Right now,
the crew's in the boundary
cut.

You know, we had really good
gold in there last year.

Narrator:
At scribner creek,

parker starts
his second week of mining.

At the same time,
we want to get this creek cut,

sorted out, because it's got
good gold in it, too.

Got the pond drained out.

Got good thaw going.

It's a nice, warm, early
spring.

Oh.

Looks like tony is here.

Looks like we're heading
for our first battle with
tony.

Uh, I don't know.

I hope he's, uh, reasonable.

But we've seen him
both ways, right?

He can be very accommodating

or completely unrealistic.

Mr. Beets!

Good, how are you?

Good to see you, tony.

Thanks.

I mean,
what more can you ask for?

He had a lot of good years.

And I got to see him
in his --

at his birthday there
a month before he died.

And it was a ton of fun,
you know? We had a great time.

Yeah, no kidding.

Yeah, trying to.

This cut's
thawing out nicely.

So get her --
get her thawing

and get things
opened up here.

Uh, right now we're
just shooting for 3,000.

Just 'cause of
the royalty rates and this --

the fighting for it and not
really making any off of it.

Narrator:
Tony's royalty increases to
25%

as soon as parker
hits 3,000 ounces.

And with his massive
overheads,

there's little left for
profit.

We work 6 hours a day
for tony beets at that point.

We've had this conversation
a lot of times before.

And I'd love to do more
ounces.
I'd love to push harder.

But with the royalties
the way they are, I can't.

Lower your royalty
rates a little.

You could probably get
a little more money in.

There's mountains of ground
to be mined here,

so something's
gonna have to happen.

Wow.

We've got our problems.

Parker: I don't like
having clipped wings,

but the more we make,
the more we work for tony
beets.

It just ain't cool.

I want to be working
for parker [bleep] schnabel.

Kevin: And off we go.

Narrator:
Down at eureka creek,

kevin is back on the dredge,

determined to redeem himself.

It's time to step up.

Let's make this [bleep] work.

Come on, girls, are you gonna
kick ass this summer?

Narrator: Monica has brought
in
her all-girl rock truck crew

to help strip the overburden
ahead of the bucket line.

Monica: All of us here,
we all grew up in the yukon.

We're all around
the same age.

These girls are
doing really good.

I'm really happy.

And I think we can
really show everybody

that us women can do the job
just as well as any man can.

What the [bleep]

narrator: Up on the dredge,
kevin has struck a problem.

Can you see what's
in those buckets,

'cause I can't see [bleep]

narrator:
The bucket line is bouncing.

And the buckets
are coming up empty.

Kevin:
I don't like this.

This really isn't [bleep]
good.

What the [bleep]

[ creaking, groaning ]

shut her off.

Stop!

[bleep] [bleep]

narrator: The dredge usually
mines fractured bedrock.

But it's hit a solid ridge
of unfractured material

that the bucket line
can't break through,

preventing it from reaching
the gold-rich pay dirt beyond.

Kevin takes a chance.

He'll try and smash his way
through the obstruction.

You've got to be
kidding me.

Man: Well,
better radio monica.

Yeah.
Oh, yeah.

The dredge is having
a hard time chewing through
it.

It's all solid.

So monica's going to take
the volvo ho

and dig out a chunk
of bedrock we got there.

She's gonna, hopefully,
pull that out for me.

Well, right now,
monica's just scraping

where we've been dredging,

trying to break up all that
bedrocky [bleep] there,

at least make it
into manageable chunks.

Hopefully, I can rip it up

and make it more of a smooth
ride for the boys.

[ sighs ]

holy [bleep]

no way.

What do you think?

Um, I can't really
work through it.

It's [bleep] bedrock.

Pretty much.

I'm not gonna try
and chew through it anymore.

[bleep] so...
Just, you know,

narrator: Kevin's new plan --
flood the pond.

The higher water level
should allow the dredge to
float

right over the obstruction.

Inlet valve.

In comes the water.

That'll raise the dredge up,

and we can get over
that [bleep] bedrock.

Narrator: But as the water
level rises, it causes

a serious problem
for monica's crew.

Monica: You [bleep]
out of here.

Just [bleep] go,
go, go, go.

Not happy about the water
because the water needs to be,

like, four feet lower
than it is.

Trucks are getting
stuck in it,

and that just makes
the whole stripping situation

a [bleep] show.

Narrator: At eureka creek,
kevin is flooding the pond

to float the dredge
over a bedrock obstruction.

You, out the [bleep] way.

[ groans ]

[bleep] go, go for a loop.

Go.

Tell her to [bleep] go.

[ engine revving ]

klubi:
The ground is too soft.

[bleep] kidding me?

I mean, all the water's
kind of seeping down.

Like, if we dug down
three more feet,

it would all just flood out.

So it's just too soft
for the trucks.

Narrator: Mechanic mike
beaudry
brings in the 360 excavator

to rescue the rock truck.

Looks like jell-o
in there.

The fully loaded
rock truck weighs 75 tons.

There you go.
Back in action.

Narrator:
The water level in the pond

is finally high enough
for the dredge

to get over the bedrock ridge.

There we go.

We're back in business.

That should be good.

All right.

Tony: Wow.

Kevin: What?

Well, if we don't
have this much water,

we're digging about
6-plus feet of bedrock.

Okay.

Uh, no,
but we'll do it anyways.

Kevin: Tony's reaction like
it usually is,

and now he's gonna go out
in a big old huff

and have a big,
old union meeting.

[ mumbles ]

and then we're gonna keep
on doing what we're doing,

because he doesn't
got a [bleep] clue.

Not a great start
for him letting us run

our own [bleep] thing, is it?

Narrator:
At the high bar mine,

the hoffman crew is
working at full throttle.

Washing in rocks.
That means we're getting gold.

Narrator:
And despite a poor cleanup

on their first day of mining,

hopes are high
for the new ground.

Spinks:
So, up in the klondike,

you start stripping
ground in April.

You've got to go down
20 feet of mud -- of frozen
mud.

And then in about June,
you start running pay dirt.

Pierce: One really awesome
part about mining

at the high bar here in oregon

is that this gold
is very coarse,

where, at mckinnon creek,
it is was just powder.

We were chasing dust.

Here, we're actually
on a treasure hunt.

Narrator:
The crew has run for two days

since the disappointing
gold weigh.

Shut it down.

And they're anxious
to spot-check the sluices

for signs of nuggets
and fine gold.

Dodge: I'm not seeing much
for gold down here,

which is telling me
there's not much gold

in material
we're running right now.

I'd sure like to see
some gold, not rocks.

This is crap.
Something's got to change.

Todd: I should go
and speak to the wirths.

Things got to improve.
We got to start finding gold.

We got to keep the morale up,

but right now,
things aren't looking real
good.

Todd:
Definitely not a good start.

And I'll tell you what,
right now,

I'm not gonna get 500 ounces,
let alone 5,000.

Then the joke's on todd.

Yeah,
we're not doing good.

Jarrod:
Yeah, we know.

And now I'm starting to wonder
if I made a big, huge mistake.

My advice would be
stay in this cut.

You know, don't panic.

Stay up here.

William:
The problem with high bar

is that you have deposits
all over the place.

So, yeah, you're gonna
have your crappy days.

You're gonna have days where
you look in the nugget trap

and there's nothing.

But you're gonna have
really hot days

where you look
in the nugget trap,

and you're gonna pull
80 ounces.

I wouldn't panic.

I would just try and hold out
for at least

a few more days...
-Yeah.

...Right here in this cut
and see how it goes.

Narrator: The patchy deposits
of gold nuggets result

from a unique combination
of events.

Millions of years ago,

a series of small streams
carried gold-rich gravel

down the mountainside.

Tectonic uplift started
pushing the area up

until it cut off
the water supply and,

with it, the gold,

leaving only isolated
pockets of nuggets.

Out of this cut that
we're standing in right here,

this is some of the stuff
that we've pulled.

Todd:
God, it's so pretty.

It's chunky.
You know, you hit --

you hit these really rich
deposits every now and then.

But you're gonna hit
quite a few of them.

I don't want to lose hard,
but I tell you what --

you know, we're not used to
not
seeing something in the box.

You know?

You got it?
-Got it.

I say we've only given
this cut 3 days

I say we keep on pushing
for at least a week.

And after a week,
we'll analyze it and then
decide

whether we should move or not.

What I don't want
is my guys to lose heart.

I can handle just
about anything.

But, uh, when I look
in my guys' eyes,

and they stop believing,
that's when we got troubles.

They're not there yet,

but I want to make
sure that we can --

we got to hit gold
pretty quick.

-Yeah.
-You know?

-We're gonna hit big gold.
-Yeah.

So I think
just keep hope.

We'll keep
pushing along.

And, uh, you know,
we're gonna have a day

where it's gonna --
everything's gonna change.

Let's, uh, get on our knees
and say a little prayer, too.

You know what I mean?
-Yeah, you bet.

A lot of it's faith.

1074

[ horn blares ]

narrator:
Six months after parker first

commissioned his brand-new
wash plant,

finally, it arrives
at the claim.

Built to his own spec
and costing $600,000,

parker's gambling
his whole season

on an untested design.

Parker: There she is.

Oh, yeah.

[ horn blares ]

doesn't that just look sexy?

[bleep] yeah.

This thing's beautiful.

I love the color scheme.

It looks badass.

Man, I like it

yeah, it's sweet.

It's bitching.

-It's nice and compact.
-Yeah.

I like that it's nice
and new.

That's the best part.

Parker:
It's like our first new car.

Blaschke: Yeah.

Ness: It's gonna be
a shame to run dirt through
it.

I think we might just set it
up
and just look at it every day

party next to it?

Yeah, we'll just party
next to it.

Yeah, I mean, this is
a big day for us.

It's probably the biggest day

that we've ever had
in the yukon.

You know?

It's the first brand-new
plant we've had.

We've never had
anything like this.

All we've had is
a bunch of hand-me-downs.

And, uh, this is
our chance right here

at having the best season yet.

Yeah, I kind of wish my
grandpa
was here to see this, you
know?

It's a pretty impressive,
big plant.

Man, we've been
waiting for something like
this

for a few years now.

A lot of the money
that we've made has gone

into this plant --
almost all of it.

And, uh, now it's time
for it to make it back.

And it's gonna find us
a lot of [bleep] gold.

Narrator:
Now, the crew has to unload

the 90,000-pound wash plant...

Easy, tyson.
Slow up a little bit.

Yeah, that's good.

Narrator:
...And haul it into position,

close to the new pay piles.

Parker: For some reason,
I'm incredibly nervous today.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

Like, super uneasy.

Well,
I guess this is it, huh?

[ groans ]

you think that thing's
gonna pull that thing?

One machine all the way.
This is 700.

-That's a lot of faith, rick.
-Yep.

Narrator: Rick has to drag
the 70-foot wash plant

along a narrow path
onto the elevated pad,

which has a sheer
drop on either side...

...Then rotate the massive
machine 90 degrees,

leaving the sluices hanging
over a 40-foot drop.

Let's do it.

Don't drop it!

No problem.

[ chuckles ]

wheelie time.

Whoo!

Rick,
that is not okay.

That conveyor's moving like
five
feet back and forth.

Narrator: The most vulnerable
part of the wash plant

is the 53-foot tailings
conveyor

that sticks
out unprotected at the back.

Easy, rick.

Rick!

Holy [bleep]

what?

It's waving
all over the place.

Oh, gotcha.
Sorry.

Parker: Rick's a little
aggressive there, you know?

And this is our first
time moving the thing.

You'd think he'd take it
a little easy.

You start trying
to rush stuff like that,

that's when you make mistakes.

Narrator: Next,
the most difficult part --

spin the plant 90 degrees
so the sluices

and tailings conveyor
hang over the void.

You ready?

If rick gets this wrong,

parker's $600,000 wash plant
could be destroyed.

Parker: Easy, easy,
easy, easy.

Nope.
That's probably pretty close.

Maybe start swinging
it back this way.

Whoa, rick.

Ness:
What's going on now?

It's lefting pretty good.

This is so screwed.

Narrator: The ground is
slipping out from under him.

Rick is forced to stop.
-Wow.

That's just a [bleep] sheer
drop right there.

Parker: I was thinking
that I could just drag it

with the ho.

Narrator: Parker comes up
with a solution.

Ness: I'm just gonna try to
move
this thing straight forward

about six feet.

Narrator: He positions himself

right in the firing line

beneath the plant
to inch it into place.

You should have a lot
of leverage sitting like that.

You should be able
to pull it forward no problem.

You'd think so.

Let's give it a try.

I don't want to stand
by that [bleep] chain.

Yep, yep.

She's a-moving.

Oh [bleep]

and I thought that
chain was gonna go.

There it goes.

[bleep] so close --
2 or 3 feet.

We need one
more [bleep] shackle.

Why do we have 3 shackles
on this whole [bleep] site.

Narrator:
Rick replaces the shackle.

And it's round two.

How far off are we?

One more little bit.

Go another 6 inches?

Yeah.

Narrator: After six hours,

parker's wash plant
is finally in position.

It is showtime.

Hopefully, this thing runs
as good as it looks.

Well, here's the moment
of truth.

Let's fire it up.

Go.

-Oh, that's smooth.
-Oh, that's nice and smooth.

You guys ready
for some dirt?

Yeah.

Light her up
with some dirt, tyson.

Yes, sir.

Ness: We got the first
dirt of the season heading

in to our brand-new
wash plant.

[ laughter ]
whoo!

-Shaking its first rock.
-It looks good.

Good job, man!
Hey!

Our season starts now!

Here we go.

Time to make some money.

Parker:
You got to be kidding me.

Narrator: At scribner creek,
parker's crew is struggling

to keep up the pace.

Mechanic mitch is attempting

to fix a leaking radiator.

We've got a, uh, coolant leak
on one of our 40s here.

What I did is went down
to the kitchen and grabbed,

uh, just some pepper
right off the dinner table.

And, uh, I'm gonna throw
that in the radiator.

Something gene taught me
a long time ago.

We're gonna give it a try.

I mean, out here, if you can
keep things running,

that's the difference of
having
a good season or not.

So, as you see, I mean,
just as the pepper gets wet,

you already see it's all
sticking together on my
fingers.

And, well, that's kind of
what it does

in the cooling system.

Hopefully, it works good
enough
to keep this truck running.

Go ahead and run it for
awhile.
Just keep an eye on it.

Hopefully that'll
slow down the leak.

Narrator: At eureka creek,

it's two weeks since kevin
took charge of the dredge.

Up to 100.

Now, tony has arrived for the
first cleanup of the season.

It's a major test of kevin's
role as dredge master.

Kevin:
That looks okay to me.

Man:
Kevin, how's it going?

It's going like usual --
slow.

But at the end of the day,
it's been encouraging,

considering it's only 100
hours
on these mats.

So...

Narrator: The moment of truth.

Kevin: Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.

When you did
the cleanups?

There you go.
That's a little [bleep]
better.

Uh, we need 163 more
ounces to pay for the dredge.

So -- for last year.

-One.
-That's good.

2, 80, 90, 100,

10, 20, 30, 160,

161, 162, 160 -- stop.

The dredge
is paid off right there.

And that is mine
because you can't spend it.

-Come on.
-Unh-unh.

Narrator: From now on,
all the gold caught

by the $1-million dredge is
profit.

Do it.

190, 200,

254, 55, 56, 57.

258.5.

-That's amazing.
-Huh?

Narrator: Even with all
the setbacks, in two weeks,

kevin's captured
$310,000 worth of gold --

on a par with the dredge's
best cleanup last year.

It looks really good.

See?
I told you so.

Just leave us be
and let us get [bleep] to it.

I think he's whining.

Monica:
I think he needs some cheese.

Jarrod:
I won't give up on todd.

We're all gonna give
this 150% effort.

We knew that the challenges
would be different,

but there's not gold here.

I think we're up [bleep] creek
without a paddle.

Narrator: The hoffman crew
has run pay dirt

for five straight days
in their quest

for high bar's elusive
nuggets.

Spinks: We're all pretty
excited
about coming back to oregon.

The problem is is
there's no rhyme or reason

to where the gold is.

Narrator: After producing
only 3.55 ounces of gold

on the first day...
-Shut it down.

Narrator: ...The hoffman crew
is about to find out

if high bar can deliver
on its promise.

Todd: We want all these mats
out of here all the way down,

because I'll tell you what,
we need something good.

One, two, three.

[ engine starts ]

narrator:
They've managed to run more

than 10,000 yards
of high bar pay dirt.

Thurber: So far,
it's slow but steady.

So, uh, showing signs of gold.

-Hey.
-How we doing?

I just got it
right out.

Oh, yeah.

All right,
let's see how much we got.

All right.

Narrator: To hit his
5,000-ounce season goal,

todd needs around
250 ounces every week.

Yeah, it sure doesn't
look like a whole lot, dad.

No, for what we been
running, it isn't.

35 on the money
right there.

Narrator: 35 ounces is less
than
15% of what they're hoping
for.

It doesn't even
cover running costs.

It is what it is.

It's 35,
and that's just not enough.

This is not working.

Well, that's what
we used to get in a day.

No, todd.

We got almost twice
that in a day.

I don't want to panic,
but I'm pissed.

You know?

I was expecting
a whole lot more.

Why don't we, uh, go up there
and have a talk with the guys?

-I'll come with you.
-Okay.

All right.

Turin: What do you think?
That cleanup didn't very good.

Jarrod:
Didn't look good at all.

Todd: So we got 35 ounces
out of all we ran.

What's been coming down
to the gold room,

it's not enough,
you know?

It's not working out.

Something's wrong.

This stuff is
the right material.

It just doesn't have
any gold in it.

And it's what they
been telling us

that we got to send
to the plant.

There's no sense
in going in the hole.

At some point,
if it doesn't improve --

I mean, we're with you,
but it's costing a lot of
money.

We were looking
for a miracle on a mountain.

Now we really need one, man.

We need a miracle.

-Yep.
-I don't know.

I just don't think that
this is why we're here.

I think --
I think there's something

better's gonna happen, I hope.

You know what, we've had our
backs against the wall before.

We didn't do very good
in the jungle,

and we might get out ass
kicked again this year.

But I'll tell you what,

we're not gonna go down
without a fight.

Dad.

Heavenly father,
we ask that you would, uh,

give us a miracle
right now.

Uh, right now, we're asking
for what we think is
impossible.

But with you,
it's possible.

So, that's what
we pray for.

And we pray
for a lot of gold.

And, lord, we ask that you do
it
in a most, uh, rapid way.

We pray this
in your name, amen.

-Amen.
-Amen.

Todd: I love you, guys.

Don't [bleep] do
that again.

Ness: Shut it down!

Narrator: On the all-new
season
of "gold rush"...

Watch out!

Damn it!

Narrator: ...Gold mining
legend
tony beets...

...Is relying on his family...

[bleep]

no one can push
your buttons like family can.

Narrator:
...To expand his viking
fleet...

Minnie: It looks like
a piece of [bleep]

there's a lot more
that can go wrong on the
water.

Narrator:
...And double down on the
gold.

If it's in the ground,
I can get it out of there.

Narrator: Parker schnabel
confronts a world of changes.

Parker: Oh [bleep]

todd: Think you've
achieved everything?

I just got finished
burying my grandpa.

You don't need to tell
me [bleep] like that.

Narrator: But the 21-year-old
mine boss...

Great start, huh?

Narrator : ...Has a new woman
in his life...

I'm loving it.

She's just such
a good rock truck driver.

Got to put a ring on that.

Narrator:
...A brand-new wash plant...

Sluicifer!

Now that we're running dirt,

we're not gonna stop
for the next three months.

Narrator: ...And he's
expanding
his empire.

We're starting
a second operation.

Got my own operation,

and, uh, I couldn't
be more excited.

Narrator: Todd hoffman
is risking everything...

Todd: My future isn't
in the klondike.

Narrator:
...For a mountain of gold.

Todd: It's one of the best
nuggets I've ever seen.

Narrator: But this season...

-Oh, no!
-Hunter, you okay?

Narrator: ..Goes from bad...

Todd: Hey, hey, hey!

Narrator: ...To worse.

Turin: I love you
like a brother.

I'm done.

Enough is enough.
I'm finished.

Todd: I've lost several
$100,000 and my friends.

We got to shut down.