Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 8, Episode 1 - Wagers and Wars - full transcript

March 2017...

The conexpo equipment show,
Las vegas.

Congratulations Last year, man.

Thanks.
You got a hell of a lot of gold.

I heard you're just going
Right back into it?

I'm going to make
Another run at 5,000.

And according to math freddy's
Running, thinks he can do it.

According to the math
That you guys have told me.

Over the last seven years,

You should have
A billion dollars, todd.

It's the best ground
We've ever had.



That's what you said Last year.

Let's make it Official, then.

- What do you mean?
- Challenge me for 5,000.

Seriously? You told me last year.

You were going to beat
Tony and I combined.

So how'd that work out?

What are we wagering?

100 ounces?

That's like $100,000.

Are you in?

You'd do that?

Yeah, sure.

Happy to take your money.

- See you later.
- Good luck.



Every time that I've
Crashed in my life.

Is because I was arrogant.

You know what?
That kid is arrogant,

And I'm going to take him down
This year.

He's putting his money
Where his mouth is,

So I'm pretty
Surprised to see that,

But it doesn't make you
A good miner.

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.

This season right here,
This is ours.

We got our best pay dirt
That we've ever seen.

Right here in colorado,

And I think we can pull it off.
So do my guys.

We got the big guns coming in.

I got monster red.

I've got three wash plants,
Two claims,

And you know what?

Come hell or high water,

I'm going to beat
That kid, parker.

You know, if it was just
About beating todd this summer,

It'd be easy.

But he isn't my only battle.

This year, I'm going
To war on two fronts.

For four seasons, I've had
To answer to tony beets.

He's taken $2.5 million
In royalties from me.

Now I've got a plan
To buy my freedom,

A deal on new virgin ground.

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

In the klondike,

Parker schnabel
Assembles his crew.

For the first time this season.

At his indian river claim.

- How you guys doing?
- Good.

- Not bad.
- Good.

So, I'd like to just
Thank you guys for coming up.

And I'm really looking
Forward to this summer.

Mitch, last year, you were
Basically our only mechanic,

And so I'd like
To welcome mike back.

- Thanks for coming back.
- Yeah.

- Mikey.
- Back where you belong, buddy.

Well, it's good to be back
Working with you guys, you know?

That's good.

This winter, I ran into
Todd hoffman in vegas.

And of course, he was running
His mouth about this season,

As he always does every spring.

He ended up betting us
100 ounces of gold.

That he'd beat us.

- And you took that bet?
- Of course.

All we got to do is hope
He gets at least 100 ounces.

So he can pay us?

You can't
Underestimate him too much,

Because you never know
Where the gold is, right?

If you sluice enough dirt
In random spots.

Across the world,
Which it seems like he does,

Eventually, you will find
A pile of gold.

It's dirt.

Todd thinks he's going
To get 5,000 ounces.

I don't think he'll get anywhere
Close to that, honestly.

But we're sure as hell getting
5,000 ounces this summer.

Rick, that's going to mean.

At least 2,500 ounces
Out of big red.

That's twice
What we did last year.

Yeah, I mean, I don't want todd
Sluicing before us, really.

And big red's just got to
Turn on and never shut off.

Otherwise, there's no way
It's going to happen.

We'll need That head start.

Then we should just set up shop
Down here until you're sluicing.

I agree.

Todd may have started
A war here,

But we're going to finish it.

It's going to be A bloodbath.

It is.
I wouldn't want to go to battle.

With any other group of people.

- It's a good crew.
- Yeah.

Not a good looking crew.

- But we know how to work.
- Right.

- Let's go to war, boys.
- We're good!

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

We are going for
Our biggest season ever.

And it's just some
Extra pressure added on top.

With that bet
With todd, you know?

I'm kind of nervous about that,

Just because you never know.

You never know
Where the gold is.

I am not giving todd hoffman
100 ounces of my gold,

So we're going to war,

And we're going to kick his ass.

Coming up, guys.

Coming up!

2,000 miles south at
His sacramento mine in colorado,

Todd hoffman and crew.

Are racing to put
Monster red together.

And start sluicing.

I think we got a jump on parker.

We got the big guns.

We got here early.
We're going to get set up.

We're going to kick some ass.

Hey, freddy!

Hey, guys. Come on in. Kev?

Okay. You see This snow falling?

It's going to be falling
Like this when we leave.

We got five to six months, okay?

I believe we can get
5,000 ounces in one season.

You know
What it's like to come home.

And tell your family
And friends you didn't make it?

We're setting
The same goal, man.

We can't fail again.

Last season,
Todd's 5,000ounce dream.

Was shattered in oregon.

3.55 ounces.

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

And his crew went into meltdown.

I need you guys to go
The next two weeks without pay.

You tell mindy
I'm not getting paid.

- Dave!
- No, no, no, no, no.

- No, no, no, no, no.
- Trey, trey!

- Stop. Stop.
- Stay back.

A lot of things
Happened last year,

But we actually have
A real chance here.

Of getting 5,000 ounces.

I believe it enough,

I got 100 ounces on it
With parker.

- How much?
- 100 ounces.

- That's like $100,000.
- That is.

He shook on it.

You know what? Here's why
We're going to get 5,000.

We're going to be
Running three plants...

Double trouble, got rusty red,

Then, we got
Monster freaking red.

We've never ran
Three plants before.

No one has.

Guys, we got
A real shot at this,

But everybody's got
To believe it, you know?

I know we can't go through
What we did last year,

But I do believe
That the ground is good.

I got 100 grand
On the line to parker,

And I don't want to hand
That kid anything, nothing.

Let's go beat him.

- Whoo!
- Yeah!

All right, men.
Let's get to work.

5,000 ounces is crazy.

You know, it's not
Just todd's journey.

It's all of our journey.

And todd does good, we do good.

Todd doesn't do good, it hurts.

Before todd and his crew
Can get any gold in the box,

They must finish assembling
The 50ton monster red.

Let's go.

We got some conveyors.

- Hey, dad?
- What?

Last year, you let me feed
Double trouble.

- Yeah.
- And I didn't mess anything up.

I put a lot of yards through it.
What are you getting at?

Well, I was wondering
If I could run

- monster red this year.
- Just feed it?

No, I want to run
The whole plant.

- You want to run the whole deal?
- Everything.

Since I've been 10 years old,

I've went mining with you
Every single summer.

Hunter has been
By his father's side.

Since todd's first goldmining
Season eight years ago.

We just kind of sit here
And, like,

Watch them move mud.

See that?

That's a piece of gold.

There's not many guys I've seen.

That has the finesse.

And the controls
That hunter has.

He's just a natural.

I know I have A lot to learn,

But I want to run
This wash plant,

And I know You underestimate me,

But I think I can do it.

If we don't get to 5,000,
It could be your fault.

Are you willing to take that
On your shoulders?

- Yeah.
- Because the bulk of our gold.

Is going to come off that plant.
You know that.

I know. I know it's not
Going to be easy,

And I want you
To give me a shot.

Well, how about two weeks?

I'll let you start out,
Run the plant for two weeks.

If you do good, you can have it
For the rest of the season.

If you don't,
I got to pull you off.

Okay.

I cannot play favorites
With you, okay?

Fine, okay, two weeks.
We have a deal?

You got a deal.

But I get To run it my way.

Okay.

Hunter's first job
In charge of monster red...

Fit the 12,000pound conveyor
To the wash plant.

Dad, up, up.

Wait, let's put
The tailings conveyor on,

Just see What it looks like.

We can do it however you want.
But...

Okay, let's take that one.
Hook me up.

But todd's already decided
How he wants it to go down.

Bring it center.

Right a bit.

That's the heavy end.

That's the heavy end.

We got the motor Right here.

Boom out. He's got to stick out.

One.

Really?

He does,

Everything he picks.

Hunter's on the ground
Trying to tell his dad.

What we need to do.
And, you know,

Todd has no idea,
So it's really difficult.

- Whoa. Hey, guys.
- Guys, get out of the way.

Man, they're.

It's really going To be tippy.

You're going to have to bring
Your stick in and curl out.

Otherwise, you're going
To hit the screen.

It won't fit.

Hey, watch this, not this.

I'm trying to tell you,
You're not going to fit.

What do you mean,
I'm not going to fit?

I got plenty of room
Here, don't I?

You're going to hit it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Dad!

Todd!

You got to be kidding me.

It's game on.

Dude, he got us...
This is the feed conveyor.

It doesn't even have
The impact bed on it.

Is that not even
The right conveyor?

No.

This is the wrong
Conveyor for this.

What?

Guess what?
This is the wrong conveyor.

They're both the same.

It won't work.

18yearold hunter's
First task running monster red.

Is to finish building it.

But todd is finding it hard
To hand over power.

Why are you laughing?

You act like you're a genius,
Like this is a great plan.

It's not going Together good.

You're 18 years old.

You know how many times
I've put this conveyor together?

A lot.

These conveyors Are identical.

The other one has
Way more impact rollers.

Down at the bottom.

Well, we can unbolt them
And take them off.

Are you me?

Rather than move it,

Todd wants to rebuild
The conveyor.

Todd wants this conveyor,

So we're going to
Go ahead and do it.

He's the boss, so if
That's what he wants,

That's what we're going to do.

You know, this is
The start to the season.

And if this is any
Kind of glimpse.

Of what it's going to be like,
It's going to be real difficult.

Hey, listen. You might be good
At eating burgers,

But you're not good at putting
Wash plants together, okay?

You were going to put me
In charge of this plant.

We made a deal.

And I think it should be set up
With that conveyor here.

And you weren't listening

- to a single thing I said today.
- You know what, dude?

You could be putting us
A day behind running.

- Me?
- Yeah.

You're putting us a day
Behind running

'cause you want
To change the rollers.

It's not super fast.

- It's easy.
- It's hard to change them.

Shut up And let me talk, okay?

I did put you in charge,

And I will
Switch out the conveyor,

If that's what
You want to do, okay?

- That's what I want to do.
- Okay.

That's what I wanted
To do earlier.

If I'm in charge, then I want
To put andy in there,

'cause I know we have trouble
Working together.

'Cause I just want to get
This thing running.

You want me off? Fine.

But if we don't get
Set up quick,

And we don't get the gold,
You're off this plant.

For just a quick minute,

He actually reminded me of me.

And I don't know
If that's good or bad.

It's always hard to hand
Over power from father to a son.

And you know what?

You know what? Maybe it's time.

I'm getting fat and old,

And he's 18 years old.

He's ready to kick ass, I guess.

It's hard telling my dad that,

But I just need to get
This plant going,

So that's all it is.

We do it right because
We do it twice around here.

Let's go.

Hunter brings in
Lead operator andy spinks.

To lift in the right conveyor
For the tailings.

We're just going to get
Some tension on it.

So we can get These legs out.

Watch yourself over there.

- Hey, hey, hey.
- Here we go, andy.

I know it's going to swing
Like a

Looks good so far.

Up, up.

- Hunter!
- Whoa!

Thurber, look out!

Rick!

The long chain on the
Excavator's bucket has slipped.

Andy quickly gains back control,

And places the conveyor
Next to monster red.

Are you okay other there,
Thurber?

- Yep.
- Pretty scary.

I thought
It was coming down, but...

The chain still held it,

And everybody's okay.

So, we got the right conveyor
In the right place.

Now we just have to get it
Up on the stand.

Once the crew sets the conveyor,

Monster red
Will be ready to sluice.

Hunter has completed
His first challenge...

Without todd.

Sometimes you just need
A break from your dad.

Yeah. I know He's just excited.

And wants to get this done,
And he doesn't want to,

I don't know, take any direction
From anybody on the ground,

But I don't know.

It doesn't get any better, man.
My dad's 64 years old,

And he still does
The same thing to me, too.

So just deal with it.
It's your dad.

You got to love him.

Sometimes you just need,
You know, some time apart,

And do your own thing.

- But we did good.
- Yep.

Let's get some bolts.

North in the klondike,

Parker's crew is running
Neckandneck with todd,

24 hours away from
Starting up their wash plant,

Big red.

We're running low yardage,
130 yards an hour.

If we fall behind,
We just ain't going to be able.

To play catchup.
So we're doing everything we can.

To make sure big red
Is ready to run.

Unlike todd, parker's game plan.

To deliver 5,000 ounces.

Relies on just two wash plants.

In the creek cut,

Sluicifer will run
280 yards of dirt an hour.

2 miles downstream
At indian river,

Big red runs
Less than half the dirt,

So the crew
Needs to get it running.

As soon as possible.

All they have to do
Is move it nearer to the cut.

We're going to move
Big red 400 feet that way,

Closer to the cut
That we're mining this season.

Bingobango.
We'll be sluicing tomorrow.

And now it's time
For me to get busy.

Nobody walks on "Gold rush."

Just rigging up.

Should we carefully yank
This thing out of the dirt?

Everything's disconnected.
You're pretty much ready to go.

- Awesome.
- It's a good day.

I'm not on the hoffman claim.

I don't know if they're
Sluicing or not, but...

I'd bet money
We're going to beat them.

You're set, rick.
Let's let her rip.

- Try to lift her up a bit.
- Yeah, give it some height.

Little more.

Ho!

Am I maxed out on the boom?

Probably.

It just ain't going to move.

Do you think
It's froze in there?

Just solid.

Yeah, that's pretty bad.

Last season,
Parker and rick ran big red.

Until it froze solid.

Let's shut her down
And put her to bed.

Six months later,

Big red is still locked
In the icy ground.

If we try ripping through
The ice, we could break it.

We're going to have
To dig it out or something.

Bring it out more.

There you go. Down.

I don't like sitting and waiting
To try and dig this thing out,

But I really don't
Want to damage it.

To avoid breaking the
Plant, the crew digs a trench.

To get to the frozen ground
Beneath big red.

- Is it frozen in there?
- Yeah, it is.

Well, this is don't
Help our situation, does it?

No.

Can't even get it to budge.

- What a pain in the ass.
- Yes, sir.

We're definitely in a hurry
To get sluicing here.

We want to beat
The hoffmans to it.

If we break something
On big red,

If we don't have the parts here,

Then we could be waiting a few
Days to get it up and running.

We don't want that.

Seems like we get bigger and
Bigger machines every year,

And it always ends up coming
Back to a guy and a shovel.

Get that front end washed out.

Let's do it.

It's starting to take time
I don't have.

Should we give it Another yank?

Be real easy with her, man,
'cause I don't know

- what it's going to do.
- Yeah.

Tyson's going to give it a push.
What we don't want to do here.

Is just fold these in the center.

Like a big taco shell.

Let's see What you got, rick!

Come on, baby.

Nice and easy, tyson.

Go up with it a bit.

Really?

If I pull this thing any harder,

It's going to Rip in half.

Keep bouncing it.

There you go.

It's solid in the back.

Two excavators,
Weighing 130 tons.

And running 750 horsepower,

Can't free big red from the ice.

Every day they don't sluice.

Could give todd hoffman
A crucial head start.

I don't know if he can
Dig that out, honestly.

Plant's frozen.

Parker's crew is four
Hours into a desperate battle.

To free their icebound
Wash plant, big red...

Froze up.

So they can start sluicing.

Before todd hoffman.

Every hour this takes.

Is potentially
Another hour head start.

That todd hoffman gets, right?

Do you have any big bars?

Nothing that will Do any damage.

No, not through that.

That's like concrete In there.

This ain't going
Too well, is it?

Man, I can barely
Scratch this stuff.

This is like it's been here
For a million years.

Is there anything else we can
Do? Do you let it thaw?

No, we don't have time
For that right?

Grab a tiger torch and just
Lay them both right there.

The last resort,

Two propane flame tiger torches.

Water power, fire power...
I guarantee the hoffmans.

Aren't dealing with this
In colorado.

They're probably just worried
About what's for dinner.

Try to get that heat
Under there.

Yeah, it's frozen in
Pretty good.

Let me give One more yank on it.

I'm just worried about
Twisting things.

- Yeah.
- You're clear now.

- Go ahead, rick.
- All righty.

Come on. Let's go.

Whoa, whoa!

Yeah.

Whoa.

After six hours
In the frozen dirt...

whoo!

Out of its tomb.

Big red is finally free.

You, frost!

Yeah!

Rick drags the wash plant
400 feet down the cut.

Can you give me
Just a little more lift?

There you go. Now walk with it.

A full day lost,

But one step closer to sluicing.

Right here. We're fine, right?

That's how you move
A wash plant, boys.

Now we just got to put it
Together, get it going.

Good job, guys.
First battle down,

- but it's a long war.
- This battle with the hoffmans,

It's going to be like
Kicking a puppy.

I mean, we whooped his ass
Four years in a row.

No one kicks our puppy!

Tony beets
Is back in the klondike,

Heading to home base.

Tony owns the only working
Dredge in the klondike.

Last year, he bought a second
For $1 million...

And spent all season
Building a barge.

With his foreman,
Gene cheeseman,

To transport it
100 miles down river.

Finish getting everything hooked
Up and get it in the water.

But he failed to get the permit
He needed to move the dredge.

- Hello.
- Hi, guys.

Hi, brother.

Now he's called
His family together.

To set their mission
For the season.

Why not?

So what are you going to do now?
Do you have a plan b?

To move dredge two,
Tony's placing all his bets.

On a man who already
Has a day job,

Local mining legend
Sheamus christie.

So, tony, exactly how far out
Is it located from town,

This dredge?

100 miles.

I'm just coming to have a look.
I'm not committing to anything.

There it is, todd... fort knox.

Sheamus was the master
Mechanic and fabricator.

Behind the 75ton wash plant.

Fort knox.

I personally think this is the
Best wash plant in the klondike.

The scale of that
Is quite intimidating.

And he's helped klondike miners.

Move massive equipment
For years.

Ooh.

Yeah!

Good job, sheamus!

All in a day's work.

But even for sheamus,

A 500ton dredge is a first.

Geez. She's a monster.

Tony's second dredge
Was built in 1946.

And is 150 tons heavier
Than dredge number one.

It mined for just six years.

Before it was abandoned
At thistle creek.

Looks like more than one
Truckload. That's for sure.

- Yeah, no kidding.
- I'll follow you.

Okay.

You're saying "We."
You mean you.

I know I'm capable of the job,

But I have a lot
Of other responsibilities.

And my own thing going on.

I've been mining
Just as long as you.

- That's correct.
- I got a big crew just like you.

The dredge's
Colossal 9ton engine.

Was built to power
Army tugboats.

Geez, it's not
Even rusty in there.

No.

It looks brandnew In there.

They don't make engines
Like this at all anymore.

To find one in this good
Of shape is pretty rare.

That would be really neat
To see that running.

I remember seeing
Dredge number one,

Your dredge number one,
Running back in the '80s.

Really?

It was a long time ago.

I didn't think I'd ever see
Another one

- running in the yukon.
- No.

- I mean...
- Technology's changed.

A lot of people didn't believe
In the dredges.

I'm in.

I've known tony a long time.
He's always been a crazy guy.

Has crazy ideas,
But so do most miners.

It's the only way you survive.

In some sick way, I'm kind of
Looking forward to it.

Up ahead...

I just can't keep mining
Under tony.

The ground would include
About 175 claims.

This may be picking a big,
Old battle with tony beets.

Should probably keep it
Quiet for a while.

Lease.

I think we might be
Neighbors pretty soon.

We're getting ready
To fire up big red.

For the first time this season.

At his indian river
Claim, parker's crew has big red.

Hooked up and ready to sluice.

Just one day behind schedule.

You want to send
Some water up here.

And make sure it's all good?

Gotcha. Let's do it.

Fire it up, buddy.

Yeah, we got water, bud.

Want to get these
Conveyors spinning?

- We're ready for them?
- Yeah.

Everybody clear!

Big red is ready for
The first dirt of the season.

Hey, tyson, let's go!

First bucket, baby.
First bucket.

Dirt and rocks rattling
Against steel...

Who would have thought
It could make you feel so good?

I don't see any weird spray
Coming out of the prewash yet.

That's a good sign.

Yeah. Water in the deck.

Dude, the it ain't...
It ain't shaking.

- Rick!
- For sake!

The shaker deck should
Be bouncing on its springs.

You never turned it on!

Should have been shaking.

Was that his job, or what?

- Yeah.
- Bit rusty.

It's been a long winter,
Brother?

Damn.

We've got the
Shaker deck shaking.

It looks like it never shut off.

It's the earliest
We've ever been going, I think.

We're going to have
The first gold.

To hit 5,000 ounces,
The crew needs to keep sluicing.

Day and night
For the next 5 months.

Now we're going to run the piss
Out of it till it breaks.

- Yeah!
- Killing it!

But they have no idea.

If they've beaten todd
Out of the gate.

Hey, parker.

I'm going to call todd
And give him the good news.

Come on.

Freddy dodge. Hey, man.

It's rick ness. How you doing?

Hey, is todd with you?

He's not going to take the call?

Todd won't take the call.

He's not going To take the call.

Well, I'll tell you what, man.
You give him a message for me.

Let him know
That rick and parker.

Are sluicing at indian river.

We did it, man.
We're sluicing first.

All right.
Ask if the bet's still on.

Going down, hoffman.

South in colorado,

The hoffmans
Are in catchup mode.

I got a text.

Old parker's running already.

So, you know, I can look
At that two ways.

I can be pissed, or I can look
At it like, you know what?

I'm putting my war
Machine together,

And we're going to kick his ass.

Todd's plan to hit 5,000 ounces.

And beat parker...

Run three wash plants.

Freddy will operate rusty red.

At the fairplay claim.

Half a mile west at sacramento,

Todd will take charge
Of double trouble.

And hunter will run
Their ace in the hole,

Monster red.

You know, most goals that my dad
Sets are really crazy,

But this year,

I'm the most positive
I've ever been.

We know
What kind of gold's here.

We're bringing in
Three wash plants,

And I think we're going
To kick parker's ass.

All they need
To fire up monster red is water.

For the last 24 hours,
The crew has been filling.

Monster red's holding pond.

Geez.

- Yeah.
- Holy.

Why is that Not filling up?

I think we're losing it
Out the whole bottom.

Where the hell Is it going?

I guess it doesn't matter
Where it's going.

We just need to fix it.

Kevin, turn that water off.

Okay.

The porous base of the pond.

Has allowed thousands of gallons
Of water to drain into the dirt.

Until the hoffmans
Fix the problem,

They're losing valuable
Sluicing time.

It's costing us money
Every day we're not running.

I'm not in a good mood.

I think we're going to have
To slap a liner in it.

But you know it's another
20,000, 30,000 bucks.

To line that.

I think
We're already behind schedule.

And putting a liner in, that's
Going to take another week,

And parker is already sluicing.

Well, at this point, we've
Just got to make a choice.

What we're going to do.

We already have double trouble's
Settling pond.

It's full of water.
It's full of silt.

Why don't we dig a trench.

Between double trouble's
Pond and ours,

Blow the dam, wash some of
The silt down into our pond?

I think it'll seal it
Just as good as a liner will.

Hunter's solution...
Dig a channel.

From monster red's empty pond.

To double trouble's full pond.

The siltrich water will then
Flow down the channel.

As it settles,
The silt should create.

A natural watertight liner,

Sealing the pond.

I'm not so sure.

I mean, if you put a liner
In it, it's a surefire bet.

The thing I'm most worried
About is we blow.

All that silt in there,
And we don't fix the leak.

We've got a pool full
Of silt and no water.

I mean, we just don't know
Until we do it.

You said you wanted to run
Monster red.

You're two weeks started.

You got a serious
Decision to make.

What is it?

This is going to affect
The entire season.

I think we should try it,

'cause right now,
We're not going anywhere.

All right.

- Sounds like a plan.
- Andy, grab 700.

All right. Let's go.

Until hunter's
Tested his silt scheme,

Both double trouble
And monster red.

Are out of action,

Losing the hoffmans
Up to $60,000.

In gold every day.

This is my first big decision
Of running this operation.

And this is stuff
My dad's always had to done,

So, I don't know.

A lot of pressure
On me right now.

Hunter, you got A copy, hunter?

- Copy.
- What do you think, buddy?

It's getting pretty close.

Say a little prayer, man.

Say a little prayer.

In colorado,
18yearold hunter hoffman.

Has made his first major call.

Seal the bottom of monster red's
Leaking holding pond.

With a layer of silt.

From double trouble's
Neighboring pond.

Andy's going to dig a trench,
And when we blow this out,

Hopefully we get all that mud,
And it seals our pond, too.

So, that's the plan.

But if it doesn't work,

The hoffmans will have
To delay sluicing.

While they line
The pond with plastic,

Putting them a week
Behind parker.

And losing them hundreds of
Thousands of dollars in gold.

We're getting close.
I got about another 10 feet.

The water will start
Coming through.

I hope this works.

These decisions are lonely.

You don't know
If it's right or wrong.

You're either a hero or a goat.

And I've been there.

I don't know how
This one's going to go.

I really don't.

There's some water
Coming through.

Water's trickling through.

Yeah, you can see it
At the bottom.

Yeah, 104.

I mean, this dam's really
Holding on for dear life.

Hunter, stay back.

What are we seeing?

I think it's going
To break through.

Get a big one, andy.
Get another one quick.

Pull it. Pull it.
Pull it. Pull it.

Go, you son of a.

There she goes.

- Yeah.
- Yeah. There.

- Holy smokes!
- There we go!

Whoo! Look at that.

- It's definitely working.
- Yeah!

Hey, andy, pull back.

- Back out, andy. Back out.
- Pull back, andy. Pull back.

Yeah.

That's a lot of mud.

No.

That thing is ripping.

I mean, it's working just how
We planned it, so it looks good.

Good job, guys.

We'll be able to run
Pretty quick.

Andy, why don't you go ahead
And shut that off?

We'll start filling up
Both ponds and get sluicing.

104, we got the water
Where we wanted it.

We got it.

Hunter's gamble has paid off.

The silt has sealed the leak,

And monster red's pond
Is holding water.

Parker better watch out, 'cause
We're about to get running.

Big red has been
Running for three straight days.

Loader operator spider
Feeds the plant with pay dirt.

We're running pretty fast.

We're doing 130,
140 yards an hour.

So we're just got
To keep hauling,

And hopefully,
We're on the gold.

In the cut,
Parker loads pay dirt.

Into the rock trucks.

The first time
That todd and I met,

Eight years ago, What was I, 15?

He's been mining
Since he was 6 years old.

He's got a lot more
Experience than I do.

You know they're amateurs.

When they dig through
With their fingers.

Don't know What they're doing.

It's just gold fever.

That's all it is.

Since then, slowly
Creeped into todd's world.

And now we've beat him
Four years running.

This will be number five.

Not bragging or anything,
I'm just saying.

What the

it's on fire?
Are you kidding me?

That really is on fire.

We're going to need another one.

Me.

- Is that full?
- Yes.

Here. Here.

It's burning.
Watch yourself here.

Yeah.

That's hot, man.

I think it's out.

That's not good.

No. No, that's not good.

I don't think anything
In there's salvageable.

Might just let it cool down
Because dumping all that,

We might crack something.

I think the oxygen's
Out of my lungs, too.

We always joke
About running them.

Till they burn to the ground,

But we're always just joking.

Looks like it probably
Blew an oil line.

It's right behind the turbo.

Oil sprayed out and got on the
Hot exhaust and got in flames.

- Did somebody hit the bypass?
- Yeah.

Cut the power.

Every hour
The wash plant is shut down,

Parker's losing
$2,600 worth of gold.

- Let's just grab another loader.
- Okay.

This doesn't help
Our sluicing time.

Parker's other loader
Is 2 miles north.

On the other side of the claim.

That's the first time
That's happened.

Yeah. I was thinking that.

It's a real pain in the ass
That that's what takes us down.

We can't afford Any breakdowns.

It's going to hold us up
Quite a bit.

What the Happened here?

What the hell?

What is this?

A river going through
Where the road's supposed to be.

Heavy overnight rain
Has washed out the road.

What the.

We're pretty well screwed.

The only way to reach
The loader is to rebuild it.

And our excavator's
On the other side.

Of course.
Well, one of us is getting wet.

Rock, paper, scissors?

Sure.

I've got a life ring
Right back here if you need it.

Perfect.

My rock, paper, scissors
Skills are good.

I'm just going to pretend
It's not water.

Good job, richard!

- That sucked.
- Is that cold.

Hope he had his phone
Out of his pocket.

You, water.

I'm just going to have to throw
A bunch of rock back in here.

And try to put this road
Back in as quick as I can.

And get the damn loader
And get back to getting gold.

That's more like it.

Parker must get
The loader over to big red.

Before he loses any more gold.

You know,
Still got quite a bit of seepage.

Coming through this rock,

But once I compact it,
I think it'll be all right.

Bingo.

Awesome.

Lucky my lighter didn't get wet.

Pants are falling down 'cause
They're so wet and heavy.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

All right. Is there anything
Else I need to do?

No. The road's crossable.
I mean...

Deal with it when we get
A loader fixed.

Yeah.

Small hiccup, right?

In the big scheme of things,
Everything is all right.

Keep big red sluicing.

Life is good.

All right, boys.
Fire up that wash plant.

We got a loader.

Everybody clear!

After 6 hours.

And nearly $16,000 in lost gold,

Big red is back in business.

Well, we lost probably a shift,

But we got another loader
Down here.

The main thing is
We're back running,

And that's all that counts.

We're ready to go.

If you're going to run this
Like you built it,

We're going to kick ass.

Two days
After parker fired up big red,

The hoffman crew has
All three of their wash plants,

Rusty red, double trouble,
And monster red,

Finally ready to sluice.

Parker beat us to the punch,

But make no mistake, guys.

We're going to war this summer.

Those guys up north, they have
No idea what's coming at them.

And we can get 5,000 ounces.

Freddy, you ready?

Rusty red's ready
To make gold, todd.

All right.
Hunter, you got monster red?

It's ready to go.

I'll be down at the "C" team
At double trouble.

Parker might have
Won the battle.

He's got big red,
And he's running.

But we're going to win the war.

Let's get fired up.

I want each one of these guys.

To take some freaking gold
Home to their families.

As a leader, I got to step up.

Last year, I failed,

And this year,
I want to do better.

I'm going to try to do better.

Once all three
Wash plants are sluicing,

Todd will be running
An unprecedented

800 yards of pay dirt an hour,

Six times what parker can run
On big red.

First to fire up
Is 50yearold double trouble.

There it is, dude.

Double trouble.

Two round guys running
Two round trommels.

Heading towards 5,000 ounces.

- We'll get it.
- All right.

I tell you what, juan, she ain't
The prettiest girl at the dance,

But she's got comfortable shoes
And lots of moves.

You know, this is
An exciting moment.

We've never had
Three plants before.

This year, we're going to have
Three plants up and running.

It's going to be a good year.
We're going to get some gold.

Hey, guys, I'm going to go ahead
And fire up double trouble.

Okay. Sounds good.

All right. Number one trommel.

Number two.

We're coming online
With the conveyer for the feed.

Okay. Feed belt's on.

All right, todd. Ready to go.

First bucket, double trouble.

She smokes a lot.

So did john wayne.

Everybody loved john wayne.

Hunter, fire up monster red.

Let's run some dirt.

Hey, hunter, going
To fire up the screen.

Tailings conveyer's on.

I'm about to throw some
Dirt in it, so super exciting.

You know, I've never had
This kind of responsibility,

You know, running
This whole operation.

And it's a great feeling.

This just makes all the hard
Work worth it right here.

Two down, one to go.

Freddy, fire up rusty red.

Freddy, what Are you doing here?

I need to talk to you.

We got a big problem
At fairplay.

What's up, dude?

We're in deep,
Deep trouble at fairplay.

What do you mean?
Something broke?

They got our water Shut down.

What do you mean
Your water shut down?

Basically, we got served
An injunction by the state.

We can't use those ponds.

We have no water Right now.

- Why? How come?
- They're saying.

They're off
The active mining site,

Even though it was
An existing pond in the past.

The division of
Reclamation mining and safety.

Has deemed the water supply
To freddy's wash plant illegal.

He must shut down.

And drain his two ponds
Immediately.

- Are you kidding me?
- No.

No, I'm shut down.

I have no water.

So what do we do?

I don't know.

If freddy
Can't operate rusty red,

The hoffmans won't be able
To run the dirt they need.

To hit their season goal
Of 5,000 ounces.

And beat parker.

I don't know what to tell you.

I don't know what the hell
Is going on.

I mean, we were served
An injunction.

I can't use my water.

We may have to go to court
And fight it. I don't know.

I don't know.
It's just not a good day.

Dawson city.

Residents gather
To watch the moment.

Their frozen
Topoftheworld highway.

Becomes a river once again.

With them is tony beets.

The ice
Was tony's last obstacle.

Now he can get his power barge,
Jasmine b,

100 miles up the yukon river.

And start moving
His second dredge.

So we got the oshkosh
Running here,

With jasmine b
Sitting on the trailer.

It's too far over
To the left here.

Yeah. I would pull myself away
From the bank.

Mike beets must pull
The barge up the steep bank.

Into a better position.

The best vehicle to handle
Tony's 60ton mega barge...

Mike's eightwheel drive,
18ton, militarygrade oshkosh.

- Keep pulling. Keep pulling.
- Keep pulling. Keep pulling.

Hey, hold it. Hold it.

Wait!

Tony's 60ton
Power barge, the jasmine b,

Has slipped off its trailer.

Without it, he'll never bring
His milliondollar dredge.

Back from thistle creek.

We really need to get this
In the water.

We have well over 30 trips
To make with this barge.

It's a 3day round trip.

And every day we lose,
We can't make up in the fall.

So what are we going to do?

Yeah.

Tony's plan...

Have mike push in one loader
With forks up front.

While monica pulls.

In a second loader
From the other side.

Mike takes another shot.

At getting the power barge
Safely into the river.

Finally, after months
Of preparation,

Tony is ready to start
The 100mile journey upriver.

To his dredge at thistle creek.

I'm in california,
Meeting a couple guys.

That have ground up
In the yukon.

Parker has flown
2,000 miles south.

To palm springs, california,

In search of a deal
That could change his future.

I just can't keep
Mining under tony.

And I've got to keep
Looking for ground,

Because the royalty rates
Are so outrageous.

I'm willing to take a big gamble.

On anything that doesn't
Have these same terms.

Parker's landlord, tony beets,

Takes up to 30%
Of all the gold he mines.

Right now, we give him a huge
Amount of royalty payments.

And I can't imagine
That he's going to be.

Too happy to give that up.

Hey, parker, how are you?

Good to see you. Come on in.
Thanks for coming.

78yearold
Ken tatlow and his wife, joan,

Own land in the klondike.

Together with local miner
Stuart schmidt.

So, parker, what can
We do for you?

Well, I just wanted
To find out a little more.

About that ground you've got
In the indian river.

And what are you interested
In doing with it?

We've discussed it
Between ourselves.

And we'd probably be
Interested in leasing it.

Do you want to look
At some maps?

Yeah, do you have a map?

Okay.

So, here's eureka creek.

The ground that
We're talking about.

Would include About 175 claims.

Yeah, wow.

And then just going downstream,
Something like that.

Holy cow.

There's a lifetime
Of mining here.

There is. There is.

Well, this is
Tony's ground, right?

- That's right. And these...
- Wow, so tony's dredge.

Is set up just right
In here somewhere?

- Right. Right here.
- Holy...

So this is literally
Right next to tony's dredge?

Like, 500 feet away.

He could put a cannon on
His boat and be shooting at us.

Yeah.

But, like,
Tony being right there.

Does create
A bit of an issue, too.

- Right.
- But that's my problem,

- not your guys'.
- Yeah. Yeah.

I'm thrilled
That you guys have this.

And I've been looking
For something like this.

For several years.

And it depends on
What kind of royalty rate,

I guess, you guys...

We were thinking
The standard 10%.

- Yeah.
- Wow.

So if you take out
6,000 ounces, we get 600.

Is that standard? Because I know
If I do 6,000 ounces,

I would pay double that,
'cause it's 30% royalty

- over...
- No.

- What?
- Over 5,000 is 30%.

- Wow. Wow.
- You're kidding.

- Mnhmnh.
- That's a lot.

That's unacceptable, really,
To pay that kind of royalty.

You're dealing
With different people.

We shouldn't talk
About it too much.

I don't want you guys
To change your mind.

Well, I really do want
To move forward with this.

Well, then, we should
Just move forward.

- Okay? You, too?
- So...

- Yes, all forward.
- Okay.

- Got a deal.
- Sign your life away, partner.

- Yeah.
- Let's do it.

- 10% royalty.
- Yeah.

Wow. Only two pages?

Where's the other 15 pages?

Pretty basic.

This may be picking a big,
Old battle with tony beets.

Yeah, should probably
Keep it quiet for a while.

That makes this
Very interesting.

It'll be fun.

"It'll be fun."

He can't stop you.

- Drive safely.
- Thanks, ken.

Parker's first
Land deal away from tony beets.

Has bought him a future
On lowroyalty virgin ground.

That's a result.

Except for staking ground,
It doesn't get better than that.

I mean, tony's not
Going to like it.

You know how he acts
When it comes to.

Not being able
To keep a tight leash on me.

So... We'll see.

Two days later,
Parker is back in the klondike.

With a new land deal
Under his belt.

But he can't abandon
Scribner creek.

And his current landlord,
Tony beets, just yet.

I like mining.
I like being up here.

And the more places
We have to go and mine,

The better chance
We'll have of being able.

To make a success
Out of it for a long time.

But, for the time being,

Tony beets is going to be
Our home base,

Because I've got a big
Investment in the ground.

Gold mining
Is a longterm operation.

At scribner creek, parker's
Already spent $1 million.

In manpower and fuel.

To rip through permafrost,

Strip overburden,

And open cuts to get
To goldrich pay dirt.

Until he gets the gold
Out of the ground,

He can't afford to escape tony.

And, right now, parker's current
Lease for scribner.

Is up for renewal.

I can't have tony beets find out.

About this new land
With ken and stuart.

And go crazy and try to kick us
Off the ground.

So I've got to get that lease
Signed with tony right now.

My main concern now is the yukon
Is a pretty small place.

He may already know.

And it could just be
A big grenade, right?

You know where tony's at?

He just went Down to the yard.

All right. Thanks.

How you doing?

We'll get this signed.

All right. I don't know why this
Thing's so many pages, tony.

Well, I don't know
If you've heard.

About this whole bet With todd.

So, he's saying 5,000 ounces.

So I guess we'll have to do
Something like that.

No kidding.

So are you happy To sign this?

Sweet.

We'll piss each other off,
I'm sure.

Here you go, man.

We'll have to have coffee again
Again sometime soon.

You, too.

Working on it.

Parker's contract
Safeguards his investment.

In the gold at scribner creek.

Got her done.

Now he can mine
Tony's ground at the same time.

As starting work
On his new lowroyalty land.

As far as I'm concerned now,
I'm legal with tony.

We've got a lease signed.

And we can go down there and
Start stripping this new ground.

That we got from ken and stuart.

He definitely may not like it.
But he can't stop me.

After a whole season of delays,

Tony beets and his foreman,
Sheamus christie,

Are finally
Setting out for thistle creek.

We need to get out there,
Need to get started.

On taking this dredge apart.

Tony's new captain, rick bloom,

Will pilot the 60ton vessel
Up the yukon river.

Tony's megabarge leaves dawson
And starts a 100mile journey.

Up the mighty yukon river
To thistle creek,

Where his 500ton second dredge
Has lain idle for over 60 years.

May take 14, 16 hours, but...

We may have a stopover overnight.

To get some rest halfways up.

The 50ton crane
Will be the next load.

Yes.

Tony!

What's going on?

Starboard engine's Overheating.

Whoa, she's really hot.

Better go have a look.

Tony and sheamus head below deck
To check on the engine.

Wow, that's hot.

Something in the
Cooling system for the engine.

There's cold water coming in.
But the engine is smoking hot.

Tony can't risk engine
Failure on the river.

He has no option
But to return to port.

35 miles south,

Parker schnabel
Is on tony's home turf.

On a mission to prospect
His new lowroyalty land.

Parker's new land begins
Less than half a mile.

Beyond tony's camp.

There's really nowhere to start.

So I'm just going to dig a hole.

This is as good a spot as any.

The results of this test hole.

Will decide his mining plan.

And how long parker
Continues as tony's tenant.

At scribner creek.

We got gravel.

That's a good sign.

It looks pretty thawed out.

I'm really surprised to just
Pick a spot like this.

And come up with
Gravel right there.

So...

Well, I've got a scoop of pay.

So we'll grab a pan
And see what happens.

This is good bedrock.

See, it's nice, blocky stuff.

And just covered in nice sand
And garnets.

And all sorts of stuff in there.

I'm hopeful to find any gold
At this point.

I would be amazed
If I come up with 10 flakes.

I'd like to see
Just a couple, really.

We shall bushrack.

Well. How many?

One, two...

I can't count that high.

Well, that's a 20-
Or 30flake pan.

That's impressive.

For digging a hole
Out of the ground,

Sloppy wet.

That's pretty damn surprising.

I don't get pans like this
In some of the best cuts we do.

The gold's in the ground.

Now, parker must decide
How many men and machines.

He wants to transfer here,
Away from scribner creek.

I'd be pretty interested to get
In here with more equipment,

'cause thawed ground
With pans like that,

Pretty tough to lose money.

This is tony.

Well, now is as good
A time as ever.

Well...

I'm on a lease
With ken and stuart.

On the ground Right next to you.

I'm done jumping through hoops.

And that's all you do.

Is you move the hoops around
And make me dive through them.

For you.

I'm just trying to have
A good longterm place,

Which you've always
Made pretty difficult.

- No.
- And a lease.

That doesn't have a bunch
Of bull basically, tony.

And that's really
What it is, is I...

I don't know.

I don't know.
I guess I'm going over there.

Your ground.

So you're not going
To make this easy.

Whatever, tony.

After an injunction,

Todd's third wash plant,
Rusty red,

Has been sitting idle
For a week,

Leaving it to wash plants
Double trouble and monster red.

To deliver the gold.

We ran a lot of yards.
We have two plants running.

And we're doing
Our first cleanup.

Be nice to see something,
Even a piece.

I don't like this.

No way. Dude, come here.

Seriously, come and look
At this. Look at that.

- Holy crap, man.
- I don't even remember.

Getting pieces like that
Last year.

Dude, that is...
Good job, hunter.

Hunter's got his
First gold of the season.

But the hoffmans won't know
If they've beaten parker.

Until tomorrow's gold weigh.

My dad, I know he's really
Stressed out right now.

So if we had good gold
Tomorrow night,

It'd be really good for
My dad and the whole team.

Come on.

You guys got some gold
For this thing?

- Hell yeah.
- That's drying out right now.

At scribner creek,

Parker's first gold
Of the season is in the pan.

I'm glad that we were able to
Get going as quick as we were.

I know it didn't come
Without its problems.

But let's get some gold
On the scale.

Time to see
If the crew's head start.

On the hoffmans has paid off.

Here we go.

Holy - how's that, rick?

To be on track
For their 5,000ounce,

$6 million goal,

Parker needs
At least 200 ounces.

- 40.
- Look at that chunk.

70.

90.

There's three digits.

20.

130.

150.

- 170.
- Holy

- 180.
- Keep her going.

- Two hundy. Come on.
- 190.

Come on, 196,

197, 198.

- It's over 200.
- 200.

- What do we got?
- How about 201.9?

202. Good job. Good job.

- Man.
- Dude, that's awesome.

Awesome.

Well done, mitch.

Seriously, that... Holy.

That's what we're
Shooting for, right?

That should put us ahead of old
Todd hoffman, I would think.

- Thanks, guys.
- Yeah.

Keep her up.

Will do.

202 ounces is worth $240,000.

Well, 202 ounces,

That's a hell of a result
For a first cleanup.

If we can keep that up,
This season will be a breeze.

In colorado, the hoffman crew
Waits on their cleanup results.

Hey, guys. Come on over.

Let's go look.

That's a lot of gold.

The number to beat...

Parker's 202 ounces.

Okay. Go, dad.
Give us the total.

Together, we got 212.05.

Whoo!

212 ounces is worth.

Over a quarter
Of a million dollars.

There you go, buddy.

Good job, hunter.

Come on. I know you don't like
Being hugged by your dad,

But it's going to happen.
Let it happen.

You did a good job.

Plant's yours, hunter.

- Okay?
- Thanks, dad.

Treat the guys good.

Hunter has earned
The right to run monster red.

212 ounces, guys.

That's our best start ever.

Just wait till we get
Rusty red in the mix.

We got to get freddie off
The bench and in the game.

It's ready to go.
All I need's water.

I'm going to take that 100
Ounces out of parker's hands.

That's going to feel good,
Real good.

Hey, parker, this is todd.

How's it going?

Not too bad.

- How are you doing?
- So, what'd you get?

Yeah, we just did our first
Cleanup, actually.

It was 202 ounces.

- 202?
- Yeah.

Normally, that would
Have kicked our ass.

But I'll tell you what.

We got 212.

It's the best start
We've ever had.

I can't wait to take
Your 100 ounces, kid.

Well, I'm...

Hung up on me.

Obviously, he is
Bringing his "A" game.

This time of the year,
I don't think they've ever had

200 ounces or 210
Or whatever they've got, but...

up ahead, on the
Allnew season of "Gold rush"...

Todd's beat us here,
And that's just not acceptable.

This might be
Our best season ever.

Between sluicifer and big red,

We've got two very
Hungry mouths to feed.

Parker schnabel
Fights fire with fire.

Hoffmans.

The guy couldn't find gold
In a jewelry store.

Tony beets doubles down.

With two 75yearold dredges.

Look out! The
Thing is going to go.

Do you have to make A spaceship.

Out of this thing?

First gold from the dredge.

Now what the
Do you want, a cookie?

Get your hand off that lever.

Todd hoffman's crew
Comes out all guns blazing.

I can't work with my dad.

Parker might have
Won the battle.

But we're going to win the war.

Somebody just shot at us
Out on the road.

Everybody off the mine!

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.