Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 1 - Hard Climb - full transcript
Claudia is forced to drive the rock truck as her crew struggles up the rocky trail to their mountaintop jade camp, Wolverine.
(dramatic music)
(footsteps)
- [Man] You know jade, it's
in our heart, our soul.
- [Claudia] It takes a
different breed to be a miner.
It ain't for the fainthearted.
- [Robin] The hunt for
the jade, its a passion.
When you find a grade-A boulder,
all of the headaches, it's worth it.
- It's the chase,
disappointed for two, three
months then BAM, got the goods.
- Nothing is ever easy, ever.
But all it takes is one really nice rock
to change everything.
(hammer slamming)
(banjo music)
- [Narrator] This season on jade Fever.
- [Claudia] Everything's
changed this year.
This is a whole new venture for us,
it's a whole new adventure for us.
- This ground is the most dense
jade country on the planet.
(banjo music)
- Come on, let's go mining.
- There is jade here.
First win of the year.
(laughing)
- Let's crack this open
(cracking rock)
Dang, this doesn't get
any better than this.
- This is a game changer.
- Bam.
- Oooh.
- We may be able to save the
summer, right here right now.
- Hey Guy, you break it you buy it.
(laughing)
(rocks tumbling)
- Got a lot of the line.
- Time is running out.
(chainsaw)
- The crunch is on.
(tires squealing)
- No.
(tires peeling out)
- Nothing here.
If anything goes wrong we're
going to lose everything.
(chains clanging, machinery noise)
- [Claudia] We all have the same dreams
and the same ambitions.
- Yeehaw.
- [Claudia] I'll do everything I can
to keep all of us together.
- Whoo.
(laughing)
- We did it.
(horn honking)
- We aren't going to stop.
(hammers pounding)
- Oh my God.
(vehicle engines)
- This is going to be
the million dollar rock.
(upbeat banjo music)
- Yeehoo.
- jade makes people do crazy things.
(dramatic music)
(banjo music)
(vehicle honking)
- Oh my God.
- Don't keep it forward.
- Is it straight?
How do I know if it's straight? (laughing)
- Keep turning, keep turning.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] In jade
City, British Columbia,
Claudia Bunce is preparing for
the worst part of her year:
the annual 120 kilometer trek
to her remote jade-mining claims.
- You gotta control your foot.
- Okay. (laughing)
- And look in your mirror.
- That mirror is (beep) up.
- [Narrator] Claudia is
getting a crash course
from lead operator Guy
on handling a 65-ton rock truck.
Because this year,
they need her in the driver's seat.
- That's his job, to train the new people.
(chair lowering)
Okay that's better
He just never trained his boss before.
Oh my God now I can
really see over the dash.
- You know when you're
a passenger its easy
but when you're behind
and you got the steering
wheel in your hand
you're in control, it's a
whole different feeling.
- Okay I'm going too fast.
- Ready keep going, keep going.
- Oh my God.
(laughing)
- I'm a little concerned.
- Oh my God. Okay.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Driving the truck
is just one of many new challenges.
Her mining partner, Alan Qiao
opened a jade store in Beijing last fall
and he's now laser focused
on creating a market for Canadian jade.
- In the last few years I feel like
we should spend more time
working on the marketing.
(piano music)
- [Claudia] Canadian jade needs
to be marketed properly in China.
That's what Alan's job is this year.
So that means this partnership
is not mining this year.
So I need a new partnership
that's going to mine jade
because that's what we
are, we're jade miners.
So we're going to try another partner.
(speaking Chinese)
(laughing)
Peter is our new partner.
He's a gold miner and he realized
that jade is on his gold claims
and he wants to try jade now.
- [Narrator] Peter Niu's claim
is near Claudia's Wolverine Camp.
- I know Claudia's family from one friend.
I'm very happy to work
together for future.
They like jade very much.
- [Claudia] Go to Wolverine.
(banjo music)
(whirling helicopter)
- [Narrator] Wolverine has been Claudia's
jade mining base camp
for the last two years.
Do you know guys that
it's been eight months
since we've been out here? Eight months.
- [Narrator] Last September
an early snow storm
chased them out of camp.
- Crazy slippery up here.
(whirling helicopter)
- [Narrator] Wolverine
will be their home base
while they work on
Peter's neighboring mine.
(whirling helicopter)
(dramatic music)
- Alive!
- Very good.
- I like your style.
- Oh my God look at all the bottles.
- Ravens.
- Oh Robin.
Ohh that's bad.
- That's the bathroom?
- Yeah.
- Bye bye.
(laughing)
- Okay let's get this.
(wood slamming)
- Perfect.
- We had to leave really quickly last year
so it was a little sad
when we landed with Peter.
Oh it smells like mouse poop.
- No.
- (beep)
- That mouse pooped everywhere.
That's not the first
impression I want to make
with this new partnership.
Is it clean?
Oh no they were in my bed. That's gross.
It's a mess.
Come look, Peter, this is Guy's house.
But thank God Peter's
personality is very bubbly.
- I will give everybody
a beautiful picture.
(laughing)
- I think we're going to get along great.
He doesn't want to worry about people,
and wants to trust people
and oh my God that's
what I need in my life.
So this way, right?
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] The group climbs a hill
to get a better look at Peter's claim.
- Goes across the bank over there.
- Yeah from that way.
- [Narrator] Peter's claim,
called Bullion Creek,
is just eight kilometers
from Wolverine Camp.
- Beautiful area, a lot of gold and jade.
(whirling helicopter)
- Peter's Bullion claim
is a promising area.
Last year they did gold
mining on that claim
and they found traces of jade
so we're excited.
- [Narrator] Claudia's
crew will mine for jade
on Peter's claim and share
the profits with him.
- We are ready.
- Let's go mining
(laughing)
- Peter has got tons of
energy, he's really happy.
- Whoohoo.
(laughing)
- It's a whole new ballgame for us.
New partners, new land, this
is a whole new venture for us,
it's a whole new adventure for us.
So we're keen to try it.
(joyful music)
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Early the next
morning their deal is finalized.
- Okay.
- Thanks for everything,
we'll see you soon.
- [Narrator] Peter is
heading home to China.
- Have a safe trip.
- Okay bye bye.
- [Narrator] leaving Claudia and her crew
to get the mining started.
- six o'clock, Friday
the 13th, what a day to
start a joint venture.
(tools sliding)
- [Narrator] Later at the trailhead,
Claudia, her husband Robin,
and the rest of the crew
are getting ready to
head out for Wolverine.
- Today is go day, so
yeah I'm maximum stressed,
probably at about 98 percent.
- You're not going to run the Volvo,
you're going to run the Cat.
- And now they want me to
drive the new rock truck.
Why?
- Because this one's loaded
and that one's empty.
- Yeah but I've only had
five minutes of training
on that one, I haven't
even touched the one.
- You just point it and drive.
- I was just told that I have
to drive this rock truck now.
It's all new, it's new
equipment, new claim,
new partnership, everything
starts from scratch.
The only thing that's the
same is the road to Camp.
The road to Wolverine
is the worst part of the mining season.
- [Narrator] To get to their base camp,
Claudia and her crew need
to drive Peter's equipment
over a rugged, 120 kilometer dirt trail.
- Oh my God.
Oh no!
- [Narrator] In previous trips.
- No way.
- [Narrator] the walk-in took a week
and put the screws to equipment and crew.
- Oh Robin.
(laughing)
- Ahh!
- Okay Claudia.
- [Narrator] This year they'll
have to conquer the road
without their son Josh and without R-2,
who are both completing
first aid training.
- Oh.
- How is your seat?
- I don't (beep) know.
So now I'm a rock truck operator.
Can you come with me for
the first ten minutes?
I'm just really nervous
about this first hill
and I just want to get my bearings.
- Okey dokey.
- Don't laugh, don't look like that.
- I'm very worried.
I just hope she don't panic
and do something stupid.
- Should I put my seatbelt on, really?
- Yes.
(laughing)
- Yes.
- I know she can do it.
You just got to drive and keep
the thing between the trees.
(tires rolling)
- Should be interesting.
Oh no she was (beep) her
pants, mark my words.
- Can I do it? If everybody
else can do it, why can't I?
My mining season is so short,
90, 100 days if we're lucky.
So we need to get in to Wolverine.
The 100 days starts right now.
Oh my God.
- You need to know where your tire is.
Your tire is like right here.
- How do I know if it's straight?
- Keep going, keep going.
Go a little faster.
- Yeah.
- Now go up another gear.
- But I didn't change anything.
Is there a problem?
- Well you'll feel it jump.
- I didn't feel no jump.
Oh God.
It's not gearing?
- No.
- Robin, this rock truck here
won't come out of first gear.
- [Radio] There's supposed
to be a switch for that.
- I know, I'm looking for it.
- [Radio] You okay, Guy?
- So this is what happens
when you take over somebody
else's piece of equipment.
We can't get it out of first gear.
We have no books on it, so
we we don't have a clue.
- The thing won't come out of first gear
and I can't find the switch.
This can't be happening, no no no no.
(dramatic music)
- Oh boy.
Well the thing won't
come out of first gear,
and there's a switch or lever for it,
and we can't find it.
- What am I three, four kilometers in?
- [Narrator] Just 10 minutes
into the 120 kilometer trek
and Claudia's crew has a problem
with their new partner's rock truck.
- Okay, this one was what?
- That's just your check light check.
- That's all we need is a (beep)
rock truck that don't run.
I don't know, man.
- So I'm going to go play with it,
see if we can figure it out.
- Oh God if I'm stuck in furs
it's going to take me a week to get home.
So yeah he's trying to
figure out what's wrong
and hopefully we figure it out.
(truck engine)
- There she goes.
- Oh.
Why? What happened? It just did?
- I don't know but.
- Don't touch nothing.
Okay it just initiated itself.
- [Radio] Was it that button there, Guy?
- No, I just held it to the floor
for a few minutes there
and it wrapped the gear.
Okay you're going to take over now.
Usually there's a switch,
I held it to the floor and
she just started shifting.
- [Narrator] Guy heads back to the landing
to start walking in the bulldozer.
- Sure hope there's no
grizzlies kicking around today.
- I'm doing it.
- [Narrator] leaving
Claudia to drive on her own
for the first time.
- Okay, okay, okay put
it in here, push it in.
- Okay, okay, okay, okay!
- (beep)
- [Narrator] Back at the trail head
the rest of the crew is hitting the road.
- Yeah and then there's a
half a case in the tank.
- [Narrator] Alex, the jade City cook,
is joining the walk-in
by driving out a quad.
- This is my first time out
here, hope for the best.
- Okie dokie.
- [Narrator] Robin's brother Donnie
is hauling the diesel
they'll need on the road.
- That's fuel for after hours.
- Yeah.
- Just in case.
- [Narrator] Guy and new guy Gary
will be bringing up the rear
in the slowest moving vehicles
the bulldozer and the excavator.
- Well the new guys get the
roughest pieces of equipment
and that's the excavators.
- Ain't going to be that bad, is it?
- Oh no.
- Yeah it's going to be that bad.
- No no.
- Gary went with them from Alberta.
- I'm a buddy of Guy's,
he finally talked me
into coming up here to go play with him.
I mean work.
- First time to Wolverine for me.
- Only tell the guy so much.
He'll see it when he's on it.
(engines starting)
- Here we go.
Pray for no breakdowns.
- On the road again.
- I'll give you day, your
attitude will change.
- Okay.
- This seat is hell. My
back is killing me already.
I don't think people quite understand
how difficult it is to get to Wolverine,
let alone to mine in Wolverine.
Um, it's a lot of work.
(vehicle engine)
- Doing okay, honey?
- Is this the rough road?
- [Narrator] After
climbing the first hill,
Guy wants to see how the
track vehicles are holding up.
- I'm gonna have a quick stop here
and just check the rollers and idlers.
- You bet.
- How do you like the smooth part so far?
- I thought it was going to be worse.
- Walkin' a piece of equipment 120 clicks,
you wear out a third of the
undercarriage right off the bat.
- Yeah, rollers are a little hot.
After rollers get too
hot the seal blows up,
then the oil comes out.
(wheels rolling)
- [Narrator] Gary improvises
and finds a temporary way
to cool his machine.
- That'll do her.
- Quick fix, fair enough.
- June 6th, you can still
scoop snow over there.
(wheels rolling)
- [Narrator] But a few
minutes down the road
Gary's machine is still heating up.
(hissing engine)
- Oh (beep).
- Guy.
- We got some issues back here.
- Oh (beep).
- Hey Gary.
(dramatic music)
- I shut it off in case its the battery.
- That's uh insulation, ay.
- [Narrator] After just
10 kilometers on the trail
Gary's excavator has caught fire.
- We're down.
- Went really good for a whole three hours
and next thing you know
I'm pouring old smoke
from underneath my cabin
and losing oil.
- That's hydraulic fluid.
One line must've had a pinhole in it.
- Blew the end right off the hose.
- Look here, this was sparking.
- [Narrator] A spark
from the battery ignited
the hydraulic fluid.
- So, got a couple of
melted hydraulic lines.
Dead in the water.
Claudia's gonna to have a few chosen words
and they're not in the dictionary.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] It could take a week
to get someone out to
replace the hydraulic lines,
leaving the excavator
stranded on the trail.
- Three hours in, we're down.
So beginning of the trip,
not doing pretty good.
- [Narrator] Guy will try to catch up
with Claudia and Robin
while Gary takes over the
driving duties of the bulldozer.
- And away we go.
(swooshing)
- I'm tired, I'm grumpy,
I just want to be at Wolverine.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers
ahead, the rough conditions
are starting to grind on Claudia.
- Boulder Alley.
- Ohh, entering one of the
worst parts of the road
and it's brutal.
(wheel traction)
- It's going to be rough for a bit here.
Extremely.
- (beep).
Oh (beep), (beep).
- The boulders are getting
bigger, aren't they?
- Yep.
- You don't know what
kind of rocks are in them,
you don't know if they're sharp ones.
(beep) that was deep.
- You okay, babe?
- Shaking the (beep)
out of myself, but okay.
- That's how it keeps you awake.
- I should be wide awake then.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] The crew begins to separate
as Robin and Donnie pull
away from Boulder Alley.
(guitar music)
- Okay, okay, okay, okay.
(yawning)
I didn't have my afternoon nap.
- [Narrator] An hour further up the road
and Robin and Donnie are nowhere in sight.
- (beep).
This is not a nice hill, this is horrific.
Ahh.
(beep).
Robin, I'm at that really bad hill.
The one where you can go right or left,
I don't know what's worse now.
(suspenseful music)
Robin.
- [Narrator] Robin is out of radio range.
- This is the one hill that
I was most scared of doing.
Robin!
Robin!
(suspenseful music)
- This is not a nice hill.
Robin.
- [Narrator] 40 kilometers
into her first day
driving the rock truck to Wolverine,
Claudia has come up to her biggest test.
- Robin!
Robin!
- [Narrator] Robin is out of radio contact
so Claudia has to get the 65 ton truck
down the hill on her own.
- Okay I'm going to try.
(gear shift clicking)
- I can't believe I'm
doing this on my own.
This is the one hill that
I was most scared of doing.
- [Narrator] Any wrong move
and the rock truck could jack knife.
- Ahh.
- [Narrator] Or worse.
- Pray to God we don't tip.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Seriously!
Ahh!
Okay I'm going to go in
the rut, go in this hole.
Pray to God it's strong.
Almost out.
Okay, I'm good. Everyone's alive.
Yahoo!
(harmonica music)
- [Narrator] An hour later,
Claudia catches up to Robin and Donnie
and finds out about the excavator fire.
- (beep).
The excavator is part
of our mining equipment.
Every minute that we're not
mining we're in trouble.
So I'm not a happy girl.
(door opening)
- It's not good. It's just the way it is.
(engine starting)
- It's not an easy home
stretch here for today.
We're all exhausted,
grumpy, hungry, tired.
But we'll get through it.
That's what we do.
- [Narrator] The crew has finally
reached their destination for the night
after a grueling first day on the road.
- We're at the snowmobile cabin.
A little over half way
to Wolverine right now.
- Oh. 12, 13 hours. It's a
long day in a rock truck.
Good to just stop.
Let's go check out the cabin.
Having your first day on
the road with a breakdown
is always horrific.
Home sweet home.
But this is the farthest that
we've ever made it on day 1,
so yeah I'm proud of myself.
- [Narrator] Gary, the
last member of the convoy,
arrives with the bulldozer.
(bulldozer engine)
- How was Boulder Alley?
- Oh my (beep) God.
(laughing)
I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
(laughing)
- This is basically half point.
So it won't be pretty tomorrow
but just go with it.
- Told you we had a beer in there.
- What, you didn't see that this morning
what he put in there?
- No, I didn't.
- Grab that.
- But I knew you would.
(laughing)
All of us have that same love and drive
to make this season a success.
It's everything to us.
Oh my God.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Next time, one jade Fever.
- Round 'em up, pack 'em up, let's go.
We got to get out of here.
(water running)
(beep) is that close.
- She's (beep) deep.
- Robin!
The (beep) does that mean to me?
- It's not hard, it's mud.
- (beep)
(splashing)
Ahh!
I don't want to be a trucker.
- That's what you're doing.
- See you in a couple hours.
(ATV engine)
- It's a lil deep.
- Too deep.
- We're so close.
- Really?
Aw man.
(footsteps)
- [Man] You know jade, it's
in our heart, our soul.
- [Claudia] It takes a
different breed to be a miner.
It ain't for the fainthearted.
- [Robin] The hunt for
the jade, its a passion.
When you find a grade-A boulder,
all of the headaches, it's worth it.
- It's the chase,
disappointed for two, three
months then BAM, got the goods.
- Nothing is ever easy, ever.
But all it takes is one really nice rock
to change everything.
(hammer slamming)
(banjo music)
- [Narrator] This season on jade Fever.
- [Claudia] Everything's
changed this year.
This is a whole new venture for us,
it's a whole new adventure for us.
- This ground is the most dense
jade country on the planet.
(banjo music)
- Come on, let's go mining.
- There is jade here.
First win of the year.
(laughing)
- Let's crack this open
(cracking rock)
Dang, this doesn't get
any better than this.
- This is a game changer.
- Bam.
- Oooh.
- We may be able to save the
summer, right here right now.
- Hey Guy, you break it you buy it.
(laughing)
(rocks tumbling)
- Got a lot of the line.
- Time is running out.
(chainsaw)
- The crunch is on.
(tires squealing)
- No.
(tires peeling out)
- Nothing here.
If anything goes wrong we're
going to lose everything.
(chains clanging, machinery noise)
- [Claudia] We all have the same dreams
and the same ambitions.
- Yeehaw.
- [Claudia] I'll do everything I can
to keep all of us together.
- Whoo.
(laughing)
- We did it.
(horn honking)
- We aren't going to stop.
(hammers pounding)
- Oh my God.
(vehicle engines)
- This is going to be
the million dollar rock.
(upbeat banjo music)
- Yeehoo.
- jade makes people do crazy things.
(dramatic music)
(banjo music)
(vehicle honking)
- Oh my God.
- Don't keep it forward.
- Is it straight?
How do I know if it's straight? (laughing)
- Keep turning, keep turning.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] In jade
City, British Columbia,
Claudia Bunce is preparing for
the worst part of her year:
the annual 120 kilometer trek
to her remote jade-mining claims.
- You gotta control your foot.
- Okay. (laughing)
- And look in your mirror.
- That mirror is (beep) up.
- [Narrator] Claudia is
getting a crash course
from lead operator Guy
on handling a 65-ton rock truck.
Because this year,
they need her in the driver's seat.
- That's his job, to train the new people.
(chair lowering)
Okay that's better
He just never trained his boss before.
Oh my God now I can
really see over the dash.
- You know when you're
a passenger its easy
but when you're behind
and you got the steering
wheel in your hand
you're in control, it's a
whole different feeling.
- Okay I'm going too fast.
- Ready keep going, keep going.
- Oh my God.
(laughing)
- I'm a little concerned.
- Oh my God. Okay.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Driving the truck
is just one of many new challenges.
Her mining partner, Alan Qiao
opened a jade store in Beijing last fall
and he's now laser focused
on creating a market for Canadian jade.
- In the last few years I feel like
we should spend more time
working on the marketing.
(piano music)
- [Claudia] Canadian jade needs
to be marketed properly in China.
That's what Alan's job is this year.
So that means this partnership
is not mining this year.
So I need a new partnership
that's going to mine jade
because that's what we
are, we're jade miners.
So we're going to try another partner.
(speaking Chinese)
(laughing)
Peter is our new partner.
He's a gold miner and he realized
that jade is on his gold claims
and he wants to try jade now.
- [Narrator] Peter Niu's claim
is near Claudia's Wolverine Camp.
- I know Claudia's family from one friend.
I'm very happy to work
together for future.
They like jade very much.
- [Claudia] Go to Wolverine.
(banjo music)
(whirling helicopter)
- [Narrator] Wolverine has been Claudia's
jade mining base camp
for the last two years.
Do you know guys that
it's been eight months
since we've been out here? Eight months.
- [Narrator] Last September
an early snow storm
chased them out of camp.
- Crazy slippery up here.
(whirling helicopter)
- [Narrator] Wolverine
will be their home base
while they work on
Peter's neighboring mine.
(whirling helicopter)
(dramatic music)
- Alive!
- Very good.
- I like your style.
- Oh my God look at all the bottles.
- Ravens.
- Oh Robin.
Ohh that's bad.
- That's the bathroom?
- Yeah.
- Bye bye.
(laughing)
- Okay let's get this.
(wood slamming)
- Perfect.
- We had to leave really quickly last year
so it was a little sad
when we landed with Peter.
Oh it smells like mouse poop.
- No.
- (beep)
- That mouse pooped everywhere.
That's not the first
impression I want to make
with this new partnership.
Is it clean?
Oh no they were in my bed. That's gross.
It's a mess.
Come look, Peter, this is Guy's house.
But thank God Peter's
personality is very bubbly.
- I will give everybody
a beautiful picture.
(laughing)
- I think we're going to get along great.
He doesn't want to worry about people,
and wants to trust people
and oh my God that's
what I need in my life.
So this way, right?
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] The group climbs a hill
to get a better look at Peter's claim.
- Goes across the bank over there.
- Yeah from that way.
- [Narrator] Peter's claim,
called Bullion Creek,
is just eight kilometers
from Wolverine Camp.
- Beautiful area, a lot of gold and jade.
(whirling helicopter)
- Peter's Bullion claim
is a promising area.
Last year they did gold
mining on that claim
and they found traces of jade
so we're excited.
- [Narrator] Claudia's
crew will mine for jade
on Peter's claim and share
the profits with him.
- We are ready.
- Let's go mining
(laughing)
- Peter has got tons of
energy, he's really happy.
- Whoohoo.
(laughing)
- It's a whole new ballgame for us.
New partners, new land, this
is a whole new venture for us,
it's a whole new adventure for us.
So we're keen to try it.
(joyful music)
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Early the next
morning their deal is finalized.
- Okay.
- Thanks for everything,
we'll see you soon.
- [Narrator] Peter is
heading home to China.
- Have a safe trip.
- Okay bye bye.
- [Narrator] leaving Claudia and her crew
to get the mining started.
- six o'clock, Friday
the 13th, what a day to
start a joint venture.
(tools sliding)
- [Narrator] Later at the trailhead,
Claudia, her husband Robin,
and the rest of the crew
are getting ready to
head out for Wolverine.
- Today is go day, so
yeah I'm maximum stressed,
probably at about 98 percent.
- You're not going to run the Volvo,
you're going to run the Cat.
- And now they want me to
drive the new rock truck.
Why?
- Because this one's loaded
and that one's empty.
- Yeah but I've only had
five minutes of training
on that one, I haven't
even touched the one.
- You just point it and drive.
- I was just told that I have
to drive this rock truck now.
It's all new, it's new
equipment, new claim,
new partnership, everything
starts from scratch.
The only thing that's the
same is the road to Camp.
The road to Wolverine
is the worst part of the mining season.
- [Narrator] To get to their base camp,
Claudia and her crew need
to drive Peter's equipment
over a rugged, 120 kilometer dirt trail.
- Oh my God.
Oh no!
- [Narrator] In previous trips.
- No way.
- [Narrator] the walk-in took a week
and put the screws to equipment and crew.
- Oh Robin.
(laughing)
- Ahh!
- Okay Claudia.
- [Narrator] This year they'll
have to conquer the road
without their son Josh and without R-2,
who are both completing
first aid training.
- Oh.
- How is your seat?
- I don't (beep) know.
So now I'm a rock truck operator.
Can you come with me for
the first ten minutes?
I'm just really nervous
about this first hill
and I just want to get my bearings.
- Okey dokey.
- Don't laugh, don't look like that.
- I'm very worried.
I just hope she don't panic
and do something stupid.
- Should I put my seatbelt on, really?
- Yes.
(laughing)
- Yes.
- I know she can do it.
You just got to drive and keep
the thing between the trees.
(tires rolling)
- Should be interesting.
Oh no she was (beep) her
pants, mark my words.
- Can I do it? If everybody
else can do it, why can't I?
My mining season is so short,
90, 100 days if we're lucky.
So we need to get in to Wolverine.
The 100 days starts right now.
Oh my God.
- You need to know where your tire is.
Your tire is like right here.
- How do I know if it's straight?
- Keep going, keep going.
Go a little faster.
- Yeah.
- Now go up another gear.
- But I didn't change anything.
Is there a problem?
- Well you'll feel it jump.
- I didn't feel no jump.
Oh God.
It's not gearing?
- No.
- Robin, this rock truck here
won't come out of first gear.
- [Radio] There's supposed
to be a switch for that.
- I know, I'm looking for it.
- [Radio] You okay, Guy?
- So this is what happens
when you take over somebody
else's piece of equipment.
We can't get it out of first gear.
We have no books on it, so
we we don't have a clue.
- The thing won't come out of first gear
and I can't find the switch.
This can't be happening, no no no no.
(dramatic music)
- Oh boy.
Well the thing won't
come out of first gear,
and there's a switch or lever for it,
and we can't find it.
- What am I three, four kilometers in?
- [Narrator] Just 10 minutes
into the 120 kilometer trek
and Claudia's crew has a problem
with their new partner's rock truck.
- Okay, this one was what?
- That's just your check light check.
- That's all we need is a (beep)
rock truck that don't run.
I don't know, man.
- So I'm going to go play with it,
see if we can figure it out.
- Oh God if I'm stuck in furs
it's going to take me a week to get home.
So yeah he's trying to
figure out what's wrong
and hopefully we figure it out.
(truck engine)
- There she goes.
- Oh.
Why? What happened? It just did?
- I don't know but.
- Don't touch nothing.
Okay it just initiated itself.
- [Radio] Was it that button there, Guy?
- No, I just held it to the floor
for a few minutes there
and it wrapped the gear.
Okay you're going to take over now.
Usually there's a switch,
I held it to the floor and
she just started shifting.
- [Narrator] Guy heads back to the landing
to start walking in the bulldozer.
- Sure hope there's no
grizzlies kicking around today.
- I'm doing it.
- [Narrator] leaving
Claudia to drive on her own
for the first time.
- Okay, okay, okay put
it in here, push it in.
- Okay, okay, okay, okay!
- (beep)
- [Narrator] Back at the trail head
the rest of the crew is hitting the road.
- Yeah and then there's a
half a case in the tank.
- [Narrator] Alex, the jade City cook,
is joining the walk-in
by driving out a quad.
- This is my first time out
here, hope for the best.
- Okie dokie.
- [Narrator] Robin's brother Donnie
is hauling the diesel
they'll need on the road.
- That's fuel for after hours.
- Yeah.
- Just in case.
- [Narrator] Guy and new guy Gary
will be bringing up the rear
in the slowest moving vehicles
the bulldozer and the excavator.
- Well the new guys get the
roughest pieces of equipment
and that's the excavators.
- Ain't going to be that bad, is it?
- Oh no.
- Yeah it's going to be that bad.
- No no.
- Gary went with them from Alberta.
- I'm a buddy of Guy's,
he finally talked me
into coming up here to go play with him.
I mean work.
- First time to Wolverine for me.
- Only tell the guy so much.
He'll see it when he's on it.
(engines starting)
- Here we go.
Pray for no breakdowns.
- On the road again.
- I'll give you day, your
attitude will change.
- Okay.
- This seat is hell. My
back is killing me already.
I don't think people quite understand
how difficult it is to get to Wolverine,
let alone to mine in Wolverine.
Um, it's a lot of work.
(vehicle engine)
- Doing okay, honey?
- Is this the rough road?
- [Narrator] After
climbing the first hill,
Guy wants to see how the
track vehicles are holding up.
- I'm gonna have a quick stop here
and just check the rollers and idlers.
- You bet.
- How do you like the smooth part so far?
- I thought it was going to be worse.
- Walkin' a piece of equipment 120 clicks,
you wear out a third of the
undercarriage right off the bat.
- Yeah, rollers are a little hot.
After rollers get too
hot the seal blows up,
then the oil comes out.
(wheels rolling)
- [Narrator] Gary improvises
and finds a temporary way
to cool his machine.
- That'll do her.
- Quick fix, fair enough.
- June 6th, you can still
scoop snow over there.
(wheels rolling)
- [Narrator] But a few
minutes down the road
Gary's machine is still heating up.
(hissing engine)
- Oh (beep).
- Guy.
- We got some issues back here.
- Oh (beep).
- Hey Gary.
(dramatic music)
- I shut it off in case its the battery.
- That's uh insulation, ay.
- [Narrator] After just
10 kilometers on the trail
Gary's excavator has caught fire.
- We're down.
- Went really good for a whole three hours
and next thing you know
I'm pouring old smoke
from underneath my cabin
and losing oil.
- That's hydraulic fluid.
One line must've had a pinhole in it.
- Blew the end right off the hose.
- Look here, this was sparking.
- [Narrator] A spark
from the battery ignited
the hydraulic fluid.
- So, got a couple of
melted hydraulic lines.
Dead in the water.
Claudia's gonna to have a few chosen words
and they're not in the dictionary.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] It could take a week
to get someone out to
replace the hydraulic lines,
leaving the excavator
stranded on the trail.
- Three hours in, we're down.
So beginning of the trip,
not doing pretty good.
- [Narrator] Guy will try to catch up
with Claudia and Robin
while Gary takes over the
driving duties of the bulldozer.
- And away we go.
(swooshing)
- I'm tired, I'm grumpy,
I just want to be at Wolverine.
- [Narrator] 20 kilometers
ahead, the rough conditions
are starting to grind on Claudia.
- Boulder Alley.
- Ohh, entering one of the
worst parts of the road
and it's brutal.
(wheel traction)
- It's going to be rough for a bit here.
Extremely.
- (beep).
Oh (beep), (beep).
- The boulders are getting
bigger, aren't they?
- Yep.
- You don't know what
kind of rocks are in them,
you don't know if they're sharp ones.
(beep) that was deep.
- You okay, babe?
- Shaking the (beep)
out of myself, but okay.
- That's how it keeps you awake.
- I should be wide awake then.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] The crew begins to separate
as Robin and Donnie pull
away from Boulder Alley.
(guitar music)
- Okay, okay, okay, okay.
(yawning)
I didn't have my afternoon nap.
- [Narrator] An hour further up the road
and Robin and Donnie are nowhere in sight.
- (beep).
This is not a nice hill, this is horrific.
Ahh.
(beep).
Robin, I'm at that really bad hill.
The one where you can go right or left,
I don't know what's worse now.
(suspenseful music)
Robin.
- [Narrator] Robin is out of radio range.
- This is the one hill that
I was most scared of doing.
Robin!
Robin!
(suspenseful music)
- This is not a nice hill.
Robin.
- [Narrator] 40 kilometers
into her first day
driving the rock truck to Wolverine,
Claudia has come up to her biggest test.
- Robin!
Robin!
- [Narrator] Robin is out of radio contact
so Claudia has to get the 65 ton truck
down the hill on her own.
- Okay I'm going to try.
(gear shift clicking)
- I can't believe I'm
doing this on my own.
This is the one hill that
I was most scared of doing.
- [Narrator] Any wrong move
and the rock truck could jack knife.
- Ahh.
- [Narrator] Or worse.
- Pray to God we don't tip.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Seriously!
Ahh!
Okay I'm going to go in
the rut, go in this hole.
Pray to God it's strong.
Almost out.
Okay, I'm good. Everyone's alive.
Yahoo!
(harmonica music)
- [Narrator] An hour later,
Claudia catches up to Robin and Donnie
and finds out about the excavator fire.
- (beep).
The excavator is part
of our mining equipment.
Every minute that we're not
mining we're in trouble.
So I'm not a happy girl.
(door opening)
- It's not good. It's just the way it is.
(engine starting)
- It's not an easy home
stretch here for today.
We're all exhausted,
grumpy, hungry, tired.
But we'll get through it.
That's what we do.
- [Narrator] The crew has finally
reached their destination for the night
after a grueling first day on the road.
- We're at the snowmobile cabin.
A little over half way
to Wolverine right now.
- Oh. 12, 13 hours. It's a
long day in a rock truck.
Good to just stop.
Let's go check out the cabin.
Having your first day on
the road with a breakdown
is always horrific.
Home sweet home.
But this is the farthest that
we've ever made it on day 1,
so yeah I'm proud of myself.
- [Narrator] Gary, the
last member of the convoy,
arrives with the bulldozer.
(bulldozer engine)
- How was Boulder Alley?
- Oh my (beep) God.
(laughing)
I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
(laughing)
- This is basically half point.
So it won't be pretty tomorrow
but just go with it.
- Told you we had a beer in there.
- What, you didn't see that this morning
what he put in there?
- No, I didn't.
- Grab that.
- But I knew you would.
(laughing)
All of us have that same love and drive
to make this season a success.
It's everything to us.
Oh my God.
(laughing)
- [Narrator] Next time, one jade Fever.
- Round 'em up, pack 'em up, let's go.
We got to get out of here.
(water running)
(beep) is that close.
- She's (beep) deep.
- Robin!
The (beep) does that mean to me?
- It's not hard, it's mud.
- (beep)
(splashing)
Ahh!
I don't want to be a trucker.
- That's what you're doing.
- See you in a couple hours.
(ATV engine)
- It's a lil deep.
- Too deep.
- We're so close.
- Really?
Aw man.