Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Out in the Cold - full transcript

(tools hitting rock)

(upbeat music)

- Oh my god!

- [Claudia] Up here, near
the Yukon and Jade City,

we've got the world's richest deposits

of nephrite jade.

And the Chinese want it.

(man laughing)

- This is gonna be the
million dollar rock!

- Now, we just have to find it.

(man shouting in joy)



I will dig until my hand bleed.

Go!

Jade makes people do crazy things.

(laughter)

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Stuck in
the middle of nowhere

and without a clue.

- (beep) sake.

- [Narrator] The Jade City
mining convoy has been

stopped dead in its tracks.

- Turn the key on again.

- [Narrator] More than halfway to

their mountaintop claim, Wolverine.

- Stopped here to refuel
excavator and cock!



And now the rock truck won't start.

I don't know what's wrong here.

- This never goes as planned, there is,

there is really should be
no plan when you do this.

It never works.

- [Narrator] The road to Wolverine

is a 120 kilometer dirt track,

that can take up to a week to navigate,

depending on conditions and breakdowns.

And although, this is just
their second day on the road,

Robin and Claudia's crew have already

had their share of challenges.

- [Claudia] Oh no!

- I'm overheating.

Leave 'er down, we'll
lose a lot of antifreeze.

- This is not the creek, this is the road.

- [Claudia] Oh my god.

- [Narrator] Now, their recently purchased

rock truck won't start.

- [Josh] Is it requiring service

and it doesn't want to restart?

- Everything is done, it's got new oil,

it's just, it won't start.

So, now we have to
figure out what's wrong.

Or how to reset it.

And that's the problem we got right now.

It's gotta be electrical.

In the process of trying to
find out why it wouldn't start,

you got out the book and
went through the manual on it

and there was all kinds of
stuff come up on the screen.

It's got a wrench thing happening here.

It says, this needs to be fixed,

you gotta do this, this and this

and it's like okay,

is it a computer issue why won't it start?

- [Narrator] The rock
truck is carrying fuel

for all the vehicles, if they abandon it

they won't make it to Wolverine.

- The nearest mechanic is
12 hours away, at best.

But we don't have time to waste,

they have to figure out
what's wrong with this.

- In anywhere in that
book say where I reset it?

- Let's try and jump it.

- [Narrator] Rather than trying to reset

the on-board computers,
Josh thinks a boost

will give them enough
power to start the truck.

- The thing says 20.4
volts, should get 24.

- Let's try and jump it.

- If this is okay,

well then let's just put the cables on it.

- [Robin] Okay.

- [Narrator] The batteries
aren't completely dead,

so a jump may be all they need
to get back up and running.

- We're gonna try to boost it,

if there's not enough voltage on these

new computer vehicles,
you have no starting.

- Right on this side, Guy, right here.

(suspenseful music, machine noises)

Okay, hang on.

Okay.

(engine turning)

(man exclaims)

- [Guy] Perfect.

- [Robin] Yep.

- [Guy] Okay,

okay, unhook power.

- Josh was starting to
analyze some of the stuff

that's going on out there,

he's getting the hang of it.

Just, you know, get it
running and get to camp.

- [Josh] Yep, to the (mumbled)

- Okay, let's get outta here.

(heavy music)

- [Narrator] The rock truck
is a vital piece of equipment

to be used all summer,
hauling out jade boulders.

And the Wolverine area
is strung with them.

(machine noises)

To find jade, the Bunce's placer mine,

scraping the ground, searching for rocks

of solid nephrite jade,

potentially worth thousands
of dollars per kilo.

- We have a 100 days that we can mine,

it's because of the weather,

we have to be out within a 100 days.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] But before
they can start mining,

Robin and Claudia and their crew of

Guy,

Brian,

Josh

and R2

need to grind

another 50 kilometers over rugged terrain.

- [Claudia] It's a really
long trip for everybody,

we're ready to go, we
just want to get there.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Day three of the trek,

today the road to Wolverine
meets the Turnagain river.

- [Claudia] Gonna be a
tough haul this morning.

Here we are, going to
beat the Turnagain again.

- Turnagain river,

2015.

- [Narrator] The Turnagain
river drains an area

the size of Ireland and doubles in volume

with snow melt in springtime.

- [R2] Let's see how high she is.

- [Claudia] A river
crossing, it is a big deal,

it takes us a lot of
time to figure things out

because if it goes wrong,
it can go really wrong.

You can lose a day or two or three.

You can lose equipment.

- [Narrator] Robin takes the quads off the

back of the crammy,
concerned that tall load

may tip his truck.

- [Claudia] (mumbled) what's his plan now?

- Somebody is getting wet!

(laughing)

You put the Cat, the
excavator, on the down side,

so that they're axially
blocking the current

and then go down.

- Okay.

- Well not two, just one,

just walk one, one beside
one piece of equipment,

doesn't matter which one.

- I'll do it both, I don't care.

- [Man] I'll block the water.

- [Claudia] I say let's
try with Josh beside you

and see how it goes.

- We just are gonna try
and break the current

with the 'dozer, then walk
the quad beside the 'dozer

in the broken current across this thing.

And if anybody is going
swimming, I guess it will be me.

So that nobody lets, middle-aged,
has to be (beep) cold.

(engine turning)

Yeah, go ahead.

- [Narrator] Only a
few feet of water would

float these quads and send them and Josh

down the river.

- But look at if he goes
in on side over there.

Uh-oh, see, this what
I was concerned about.

See!

See, look it--

(Claudia exclaims)

(chuckling)

That damn kid!

(rustic guitar music)

- Yeah, sketchy or what?

- We're out grabbing some
rocks for some extra weight

on the high side on the river,

so the water doesn't
get under and wanna lift

and flip him down the river.

- Tryna' act a little nervous so everybody

wouldn't see how excited
I was to hop on the quads

and float them across the creek.

Let's go, one more time.

- Wrong hand.

- Be really careful!

(engine noises)

(Josh exclaims)

(Josh exclaims)

- [Josh] We'll do the same
thing with the side-by-side,

I'm just gonna drive it.

- [Claudia] The side-by-side?

- [Josh] Yeah.

- [Narrator] The last to
cross is the side-by-side,

lighter, taller and
with a narrow wheelbase.

It's the least stable of the quads.

- Oh Josh!

(suspenseful bright music)

I know that he gets frustrated,

'cause he thinks we're
wasting too much time

and being too careful,

but other case scenario
is that we lose the

freaking side-by-side.

(dramatic music)

- Oh Josh!

I don't know if I would do this one.

- [Josh] Yeah, me neither.

- [Narrator] On the third
day of the trek to Wolverine,

Josh is attempting to get the last quad

across the Turnagain river.

- I don't know if we'll
be three times lucky.

- Uh-oh.

Oh (beep).

(Claudia exclaims)

- [Claudia] I'm gonna say he has no fear,

'cause none of us old people
we're ever gonna do that.

None of us are agile enough to jump on.

Or crazy enough.

That freaking kid has no
fear, that's the problem

and that's the solution
too, like, no fear.

Ah, see!

Perfect.

Yeah, he did it.

(Claudia laughs)

This is a young man game,
this isn't for us old people.

Sometimes youth does trump experience.

He's the crazy one!

Well, we're all a little bit crazy.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] With the
quads safely on the other

side of the river, the crew can now bring

the rest of the equipment across.

(engine noises)

(Claudia exclaims)

- The Turnagain crossing went great.

It was quick, it was fast,

Joshua just came up with
a plan and we listened.

- This is my favorite part
of the trip right here.

(Josh exclaims)

(Water splashing)

- [Man] We made it!

- Yeah, Josh did awesome.

- I'm proud of him.

Josh was a great kid,
he's just 20 years old

and learning and he
impresses me every day.

- [Narrator] Last year, Josh left

a much different impression.

- (beep) man, I was just
asking for some (beep) slack.

The biggest issue I had last year was

that I was just in the way,

stepping on too many
toes, too many arguments.

That's why I wasn't (beep) touching it.

- [Robin] No, no, Joshua!

- Can't bite my tongue, I
have no brain-mouth filter

and I am not ashamed to say it.

When you start (beep)
jamming a bunch of stuff in--

- I wasn't jamming, I
was getting it ready--

- [Josh] I did, because
it's not there anymore,

it's just got taken out--

- Joshua, stop.

He has all the best of intentions

and his heart is in the right place.

- You guys just wanna prove a point,

you wrap this (beep),
you impressed us all,

good for (beep) you.

- But it doesn't come
off like that sometimes.

- [Josh] No (beep) (beep).
I know how to drive.

- [Narrator] Now with a season
of mining under his belt,

Josh is trying to turn over a new leaf.

- Don't tell anybody I said this but

there's a part of me that really loves

running this excavator
all the way out here.

I mean, look at this.

I wanna be where I am an asset,

I wanna be where I can put my
nose to the grinding stone,

not step on anyone's toes.

This is my diesel-powered
life. What the (beep) up?

- Josh's role is hugely
important this year,

'cause he's bringing up the excavator.

We can't start mining
without the excavator.

- I mean, it is the slowest
machine and the roughest.

- [Narrator] With no high
gear, it crawls along

at just two to three kilometers per hour.

- The last of the herd of
turtles is always Josh,

he's got the slow machine and we really

have to baby that thing on the way in,

that's our bread and
butter, the excavator.

- Wait for me!

Wait for me!

(suspenseful music)

- [Man] What do you mean you didn't bring

credit cards to camp, Richard?

- [Narrator] Halfway to
Wolverine is Boulder Camp,

a way station used by area miners.

It's the first chance
in days for hot water

and a hot meal.

- It's shower time!

- Shower, and then eat.

That's all the priority right now.

- [Narrator] Almost everyone
gets a chance to recharge.

Except for Josh, who comes in dead last.

- I wouldn't mind a shower or some food,

but it's the disadvantage of
being in this slow machine.

It's okay, I got sandwiches.

(tense music)

- Raise it up.

- [Narrator] But Robin wants
his son to go even slower.

- [Robin] So you filled
this up once or twice?

- [Josh] Twice, I filled
it up once on the trail

between here and Dease lake and once now.

I'd say I get about 30k to a tank.

- [Robin] Just don't put
this over half throttle.

- Oh (beep), God, I'll
never make any time.

It has to be.

- [Robin] No.

- No?

- [R2] Use a higher gear--

- This? No, there's no higher gear.

I'm in high power, do
you want me to show you?

- [Robin] No, okay.

- [Josh] I'm on the fastest, okay.

It is gonna take me twice as long,

I am going slow already.

- Okay, so, you're at high RPM?

- [Josh] Yes.

- You need to slow it down.

- Kay.

Okay, good.

- [Robin] If you go to half throttle,

you can get from here, almost
there on the fuel you got.

- It'll take me three days.

- You need to slow it down.

(Josh sighs)

Unless you are hot-dogger,
there is absolutely

no reason for a full throttle application.

That is wearing a lot of parts up.

You can't see it being worn
out and it aint' broke,

but you are wearing stuff out.

At full throttle, I can guarantee you that

excavator is breaking down.

- [Josh] (beep).

(dramatic music)

- Okay, so you're at high RPM?

- [Josh] Yes.

- You need to slow it down.

- [Narrator] The Jade City
convoy is about to start

the last leg of their
journey to Wolverine.

- At full throttle, I
can guarantee you that

excavator is breaking down.

- [Narrator] And the
pace Josh is traveling

is raising a concern.

- This thing is slow as (beep) and he just

tried to get me to turn
it down to half throttle.

I wouldn't even be half this far.

- Slow and steady really
does win this race out here.

It's not about shaving
two hours off the walk-in,

it's about saving the
maintenance time once we're in.

'Cause if we push it and it blows,

then we're done for.

- I'm the absolute (beep)
slowest here as-is.

It'll take me eight days
from here, like seriously.

No way.

- We'll get over into
the other part, okay.

- And then we had--

- [Narrator] Robin decides
to split the group in two,

so the first group can
arrive early and set up camp.

- Claudia and I and Brian
will head to Wolverine.

And Guy and Joshua and
R2 will stay behind.

Robin, you stay ahead of 'em.

- [R2] Okay.

- Staying his heels,
you're not gonna make it

because he goes too slow.

- Yeah, okay.

- Joshy, we're gonna leave you.

- [Josh] What you mean?

- We're gonna go ahead
and start camp tonight.

The group is separating
up because we do have

a slower group and then
we have a faster group.

- I'm the very slowest one, I understand,

yeah I understand that.

It's fine.

But.

It's just one of those things where

you just roll with the punches

and make the best time you can.

You're all good, mom?

- [Claudia] I'm great, thanks Josh.

- Love you.

- [Claudia] I love you too.

It's tough, 'cause we are trying to get

everything organized and get to Wolverine.

The whole idea is get to
Wolverine, start mining jade.

(tense music)

- [Robin] He needs to go slower.

Whatever.

- He's handling it, he's
watching everything.

- I know, I'm just saying,
he should be going slow.

I'm not getting into a big
argument with him, right there.

- I guess unfortunately for me

it's not my job to have an opinion

on how fast this machine can go.

It's my job to do what
Robin Bunce tells me to do.

(suspensful music)

- [Narrator] While the
crummy and the rock truck

are quickly pulling ahead.

(exclaiming)

- [Man] On our way.

- [Narrator] The tracked
vehicles are trailing behind.

- C'mon. (beep).

- [Narrator] And as they spread apart,

the distance makes
communication difficult.

- I don't like spreading on it,

I worry about the guys,
R2 and Guy and Joshua.

They need me take care of them.

- Hey Robin.

- We have radios, but sometimes,
depending where you're at,

the signal doesn't come through,
which is the worst thing.

- Mister Josh, how are
you making out back there?

- Hey, Guy,

(radio static)

Guy?

(radio static)

Anybody have a copy?

(radio static)

- [Narrator] Without radio contact,

everybody is on their own.

(beeps, static over radio)

(machinery noises)

Josh is way behind.

- [Josh] Oh, what the (beep)?

No way!

- [Narrator] When he notices
the problem with his track.

- [Josh] Argh!

(beep) me!

I'm getting pretty close to Wolverine,

now following behind
and now I got to (beep)

sit here and play with
track bolts for an hour.

I got two bolts that are falling out.

I'm so far behind, the back of the pack,

and now I gotta play with this.

(beep) me!

(suspenseful dramatic music)

- [Josh] No way!

- [Narrator] All alone
and out of radio reach.

- [Josh] I got two bolts
that are falling out.

- [Narrator] Josh and his excavator are

stopped in their tracks.

The trail has shaken off a few
bolts on some excavator pads.

Without bolts, the pads
will peel off the track

and immobilize the excavator.

- Okay, here's the spare
nuts and bolts for the track

and I just pray and hope
that they're similar sizes

and that they will work.

And everybody is up ahead of me,

so I'm really behind the eight-ball,

like behind the eight-ball,
behind the eight-ball right now.

I get these bolts in, get 'em
as tight as I possibly can

and then watch them as
close as I possibly can

for the rest of the trip.

I'm a 135 pounds, like
how am I going to (beep)

torque these on to 200
pounds, where they're

supposed to be at.

Well, they're the right size but the pad

is twisted off now, so I
gotta try and figure out

how to get this pad back up.

Guy is the only mechanic on this trip,

that I have to rely on.

And he is about 20
kilometers in front of me.

He's not gonna come back,

because I don't have
a radio communication.

(tools making noise)

(bright music)

- We're here! Final river to cross.

- [Narrator] Far up ahead,
Robin, Claudia and Brian

are nearing the finish line.

- [Claudia] Not too bad.

Oh, you bringing in the water?

No, no, no, it's good!

Time to go home.

- [Narrator] After three
days and 120 kilometers.

- [Claudia] It's great!

- [Narrator] They finally reach

their Jade mining claim Wolverine.

- Yeah, we're home.

- Man, that was good!

(laughter)

Yeah!

- My gosh.

(exclaims)

Mama!

Now it's just the other guys to get here

and we're ready to go.

(bright rock music)

(suspensful music)

- [Narrator] As one group celebrates,

R2 and Guy slowly dredge along.

20 kilometers behind
them, Josh is stranded.

- So I've gotta get this (beep)
done here as quick as I can.

- [Narrator] With no way to call for help.

(labored breathing, grunting)

- I know it seems (beep)
up when I'm putting

my weight on it, but I'm not that heavy

and I know for a fact--

(grunting)

I know for a fact I could
use a little bit help.

The bolts have to be so tight,

way tighter than I can
possibly physically get it,

because I'm running over the rocks,

these things will be
rattled out in 10 minutes.

Such a (beep).

(grunting)

Oh man, I'm tired.

(tools making noise)

(snapping noise)

Oh (beep)!

(beep) me!

It's broken.

Dude, if it's not one thing,
it's the (beep) other.

I can not believe that.

I didn't think I was actually (beep)

strong enough to (beep) break it.

(beep) me!

(beep).

(tense music)

- [Narrator] Next time, on Jade Fever.

(horn beeping)

- [Robin] There they are.

- [Claudia] Thank God.

I wonder how far Joshua is behind them.

- Oh man, what a day.

No wonder where I am in a couple of hours.

Man, could you imagine if this thing

got hit by lightning?

All the electricity that
would pass around here,

in this bucket that I'm sitting in.

- Hi, did you guys hear from Josh?

They haven't heard back.

Gonna have to go find him.

- [Guy] That's not good.

- [Man] Where is he?