Jade Fever (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 1 - The Long and Grinding Road - full transcript

(western music)

- [Claudia] It starts with one rock.

One find.

- [Josh] When you see the good color,

follow it.

- [Robin] Gotta get it done.

The season will be over
before you know it.

- [Steve] Just like a
war that you wanna win.

We're gonna do it or die.

(rocks falling)

- [Narrator] This season, on Jade Fever...



- [Claudia] Two mile is
an amazing little place,

it has a lot of history in my family.

- [Steve] Something with this
area got me 45 years ago.

It's just like coming home.

- [Robin] Three generations...

We know it's there.

We're just getting started.

(hammer striking)

- We need jade now.

(excited exclamations)

- [Claudia] We all want the same thing.

- Look at this baby!

- [Claudia] So we fight for it.

- Why you have to jump against me?



No respect, none.

- [Claudia] You test your family.

- Robin doesn't want me here.

- That's just stupid.

- [Claudia] You test your friendships.

- [Gary] Hey, whoa!

- It pisses me off when he does that.

- [Claudia] Just to find that rock.

- [Guy] Go! Go, go, go, go!

- [Claudia] We can lose
everything for this dream.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Claudia] Oh my god!

- [Josh] This is gonna be
the million dollar rock.

(excited whooping)

- [Claudia] Jade makes
people do crazy things.

(soft music)

- [Robin] Let the games begin!

- [Claudia] Begin!

- [Narrator] At the Dee's Lake trail head

in northern British Colombia,

- Go.

- Just make my hairs...

- Okay let's start the truck, let's go!

Your hair looks great.

- [Narrator] Claudia Bunce
and her crew are making

the annual spring trek to
their jade mining claim.

- We are doing it today.

This is the start of jade mining season,

and look at the weather.

We are good to go.

The gods are shining on us.

Guy, Gary, Josh, we're leaving.

- [Robin] Let's go guys.

- Away we go.

Everybody's itching to get back out there.

- [Claudia] Move it or lose it!

- Claudia more than some,

ˆbut we'll get out there,

ˆand we'll get after it.

Find some jade.

- [Narrator] Claudia's husband,
Robin, leads the convoy.

- On the road again.

This year, potential for us to get

ˆthat million dollar boulder is very high.

ˆ- [Guy] And we're off!

This year is the year.

I've got a feeling.

ˆFinger's crossed.

- Nothing comes easy when
you're in the jade industry.

Nothing.

This is it, we're doing it,

we're on our way to Two Mile.

But it really is a crucial year this year.

Because of what happened last year.

- [Narrator] Late last season,
Claudia took a big risk,

starting a brand new mine

at a high alpine claim called Two Mile.

- [Robin] Take a look at
that big boulder right there.

- [Guy] You got her.

- [Narrator] The gamble paid off.

- [Robin] Oh hey, holy (beep).

- We found jade.

(cheering)

- [Narrator] They
discovered a massive lens.

(excited whoop)

- [Robin] Looks like jade to me!

- [Claudia] Jesus.

- [Narrator] But in a
crushing turn of luck,

Mother Nature shut them out.

- We finally find the jade
to take down to cut to sell,

and we can't take it down to cut and sell.

It was devastating having to leave.

ˆThat jade has to come out immediately.

A lot of the money for this season

has to be from selling that jade.

(motor growls)

- Over the last few
seasons, we've exhausted

ˆenough resources that
we're pretty well bled dry.

This is really our last shot.

We don't pull it together
and find something sellable,

it's gonna be our last season for sure.

- You don't remember this road, do ya?

- [Narrator] The trek to
Two Mile is a punishing

70 kilometer journey through the mountains

on a rough, winding dirt trail.

- There's not one pleasant
part about the trip

except the scenery if it's sunny.

It's not a good trip in, no
matter how you look at it.

- [Narrator] New camp cook,
Karim Kaouar is making

the trip for the first time.

- I'm learning... (laughter)

I've been cooking for 15 years.

It's almost second nature, I guess.

But going to Two Miles for the first time,

I heard a lot of stories about the road...

I'm kind of worried about it. (laughter)

- That was easy enough.

- Hold on, Gary, hold on!

- It's all downhill from here.

Holy (beep).

When you come into the creek,
it drops off a bit here.

- Okay, thank you.

- [Narrator] Spring melt
has flooded large sections

of the road, leaving behind
pools of water and mud.

ˆ- Oooooh, (beep).

We're going into four-wheel, Gare.

- I've been in four-wheel
since we left the landing.

- Anybody who thinks they
can just travel that road

whilly-nilly and make
it easy, not happening.

- [Narrator] Under good
conditions, it takes five hours

to drive to Two Mile.

- Slow and painful.

- Might as well get used to this.

- Yep.

- [Narrator] But three
hours in, they're only

a quarter of the way through the journey.

- I say we're gonna arrive at seven.

- It changed soon as I saw the road.

- Definitely the worst I've ever seen.

It let us know that it was the beginning

of a very horrific road.

- Wow.

That one is no longer.

- [Narrator] The dirt path that by-passes

the creek has been chewed
up over the winter.

- The road is gone.

- There's no way.

- [Narrator] So running
the swollen waterway

is the only option.

- Don't go way over there,

stay on this side,

cause if you crawl there, the
current could suck you down.

- [Narrator] Newbie Karim isn't willing

to risk it on the quad...

- Okay, I'm going for it.

- [Narrator] But Claudia's confident

she can make the crossing...

- Ride it like you stole it!

- Kay.

(motors revving)

- Oh my god!

- [Narrator] But she forgets
one very important step.

- Claudia, did you put that
thing in four-wheel drive?

(screaming, laughing)

(laughing)

- Oh no!

(laughing)

- You're not in four-wheel drive.

- Oh my god!

- We were trying to tell
you while you were crossing,

but I think you were panicking.

- All I could hear was
you guys screaming at me,

and it wasn't making sense.

- Okay, next mud hole, four-wheel drive!

- Four-wheel drive!

ˆ- [Narrator] Halfway to the mine site...

- [Narrator] The road
turns into an ugly mess

of mud holes and deep tire ruts.

- You go the wrong way, you're in

an awful lot of trouble real fast.

- Go Robin!

- [Claudia] You can do it!

(whooping)

- Go Gary.

- [Claudia] Keep going,
keep going, keep going.

(engine revving)

- Aw, we'll never make it.

- [Claudia] Oh my god!

(sighing)

Sonnofabitch!

Oh my god, that looks bad.

We picked the left, we
should've picked the right.

- [Guy] Don't fall into those ruts, Gary.

We'll have to drag you out.

- There ain't enough
winch-power here to get me out.

- [Narrator] On the road to Two Mile...

- [Guy] Taxi!

- [Narrator] Gary's truck has
bottomed out in deep ruts.

- [Guy] We got a little hung up.

There are like two and
half, three foot holes here.

Our trip into Two Mile: horrible.

We've got mud everywhere,

but we're not gonna let it win.

- [Gary] There you go.

(winch whirs)

- Hold on, hold on, hold
on, hold on, hold on.

Easy, oh buddy, oh my god,

we're gonna destroy (beep) out here.

This season, I just don't
want to fight with anybody,

especially my dad, but I've
just seen enough (beep)

get wrecked to see the value

in taking a step back and
assessing the situation.

It's not gonna happen.

- [Narrator] Winching Gary's
truck forward isn't working.

- [Guy] He's hung up pretty bad.

- He's gotta get pulled backwards.

- Well, that ain't happening either,

cause I'm not (beep) driving through that.

- [Josh] Why?

- Joshua.

- [Narrator] Josh wants
Robin to hook up his winch

to the back end of Gary's truck.

To do that, he'll have to
cross over a large mud hole,

but Robin doesn't like what he sees.

- [Robin] I can't straddle that ridge.

I need to know how deep that is.

(growling sigh)

- Joshua... he gets anxious.

It's easy to trigger him,
but in the mountains,

anything can go wrong at any time.

You've gotta be cautious.

- You want me to test it for you?

Grab a stick, I'm walking.

See it's not deep at all.

- [Josh] It's nothing,
there's nothing here.

- [Robin] How soft is it though?

- [Claudia] It seems
okay right here, babe.

- [Robin] This isn't my
call, this is Claudia's call.

- [Claudia] Nice and
easy, baby, you got it.

- [Karim] Get it, get it!

- [Josh] He doesn't need to!

Just go slow,

just go nice and slow.

(cheering)

- That'll be the way I go through.

- We're nine hours into this day already,

so let's see if we can
get this truck out today,

or see if we're gonna be
camping over here overnight.

- Kay. We'll just back up till it's snug.

Oh, coming in hot.

- [Josh] Okay you're good, you're good.

- Woo hoo!

- Kay, you've gotta go
out right through there.

- [Narrator] With Gary's
truck back on solid ground,

Robin's now got to cross
the mud hole again.

- [Robin] I'll let you go first

in case I don't make that, kay.

(motors running)

- [Claudia] Oh no!

- [Narrator] But this
time, Robin isn't so lucky.

- [Gary] Back up and hit her.

- [Josh] Oh my god, oh my god.

- [Guy] Uh oh. That was not good.

- I think he got stuck again.

- Nope.

Oh, front U-joint on the
front drive shaft's gone.

- [Robin] I actually snagged a rock then.

- Yeah, drive shaft is broken.

- [Robin] So I got no
front-wheel drive now.

Son of a bitch.

- Worst case scenario.

Cause that road, you do not
do it in two-wheel drive.

You can't.

- What now?

- He has to get through to winch me out.

- [Narrator] To avoid the mud hole,

Gary is forced to go off-road.

- This way.

Head over there.

(wheels spinning)

- No good.

- [Claudia] What happened?

- [Robin] Sunk.

- This just goes from bad to
worse, to worse, to worse.

And then to worse.

(annoyed sighs)

- I need a nap.

- If she doesn't have the rest,

then she's gonna get grouchy,

so she just has a nap, and we carry on.

- [Narrator] Robin's not giving up.

- You know what, Gary?

We use two quads, and
it'll pull twice as much.

- [Narrator] They'll use the
winch-lines of both quads

for extra pulling power.

- No matter what, everything's good

cause we got beer, right Gary?

- Hell yeah!

(laughter)

- When you're out there, and
stuff isn't working correctly,

you've got to use what
you have and make it work.

- I guess dinner will
be tomorrow, not today.

- [Narrator] What was supposed
to be a five-hour trip

to camp, has turned into
a ten-hour ordeal...

- [Josh] He's not moving, we're moving!

- [Narrator] ...that's far from over.

- [Josh] Dad!

- [Narrator] And the day's frustrations

keep testing Josh's patience.

- Hey dad, you're just sliding.

Every time I say something,
he doesn't listen.

But he's the boss, he
can do whatever he wants.

- This way, this way, yeah.

(engines revving)

Fast, fast, fast!

Yeah, you got it!

(cheering)

- Claudia!

All right.

It's about to get fun in the sun.

- [Gary] We're gonna
pull that one out now.

- You're gonna try?

- [Gary] Yep, in a minute.

(helicopter engines)

- [Josh] There's a heli.

- That's what we need.

The chances of a helicopter just flying by

was just absolutely out of nowhere.

- [Narrator] If Claudia
can reach the chopper,

the pilot may be able to
pick up a new drive shaft

for Robin's truck right away.

- Are you sure it's working?

No way.

- And he's gone.

(sad music)

- [Narrator] But Guy has a plan B.

- I've got a drive shaft on my truck.

We can fix it right here.

I have a drive shaft in my pick up

because mine was a little
worn out, so I replaced it.

But the drive shaft is still good,

so I just left it in my pickup.

- [Narrator] The only catch:
Guy's truck is in Jade City.

- The only way I can fix
this is for me to grab

a side by side and go get the drive shaft.

So you guys hold the fort,
I'll be back in four hours.

- [Claudia] Oh god.

- Wish me luck.

- Oh, Guy.

- [Narrator] It's after 7 PM.

Guy won't be back until close to midnight,

if he makes it back at all.

- I was kidding when I said we
might as well just camp here.

We might be camping here.

- Even a bungee cord, if
we can get the bungee cord

hooked to it cause it's broke open.

- [Narrator] The trip to
Two Mile has turned into

a ten-hour nightmare for
Claudia and her crew.

- This is not a great start
to this mining season.

The road is just beating us up.

- [Narrator] Robin's truck
is stuck in deep mud.

Even worse, it's broken a drive shaft,

and Guy is making the long trip back

to Jade City to grab a spare.

- Just seems like one
problem after the other,

after the other, after the other.

- [Narrator] But their luck
could finally be changing.

- [Karim] He's coming back.

- [Narrator] The helicopter
they tried to flag down

earlier in the day has
circled back around.

- Yes sir.

- Not yet.

The chopper came back.

I don't know how that
happens, but hallelujah.

The problem is, I just sent
Guy off to go get that part.

You can just take him with you.

Thank you.

- [Narrator] With half the
journey still ahead of them,

Robin isn't wasting any time.

- [Robin] We're gonna keep driving.

- You are, we are?

- [Robin] Right.

I'm not gonna sit here and wait.

- [Claudia] How's the chopper
gonna know where to find us?

- Follow the (beep) road.

- He's pulling, go ahead
Gary, give it some gas.

Give is some gas, give it some gas!

Go, go, go!

Good!

- [Karim] Good job there big guy!

- Not the first time I've been stuck.

Won't be the last.

- We're about halfway in.

Now, we'll carry on slowly.

- [Josh] Back in action, I love it.

- [Narrator] At best, they have another

three hours of driving ahead of them.

- [Claudia] So nice and slow and easy.

- [Robin] You betcha!

- [Narrator] But the next stretch of road

only gets worse.

- This road tests you in every single way.

ˆI'm good.

We all feel broken, like
what next could happen

that could make this any worse?

- [Josh] Gary!

Holy (beep)

Now straight tires, yep, and just hit it.

You're good, you're good, you're good.

- [Gary] That'll do donkey.

- We'll try to do what he did.

Put your passenger right here.

- [Narrator] Gary barely made it through

with four-wheel drive.

- Don't blow the back
U-joints on the rear end.

- [Narrator] Robin only has two.

- Take it easy.

- Right here, right in that one there.

ˆ- For (beep) sakes...

- [Josh] Nope, come this way a bit!

Oh come on.

- [Claudia] This (beep) trip.

- [Josh] This is nasty.

- [Narrator] The first trip into Two Mile

has turned into a major disaster.

- Put her in park.

- [Narrator] Robin's truck is stuck

for the second time today, and
it's broken the drive shaft.

Guy left for Jade City hours
ago to pick up a spare,

but the chopper Claudia
sent to bring him back,

still hasn't returned.

- More things could not
have happened in one trip.

It's horrible!

This road is from hell.

- [Robin] It'll reach there Gary.

- [Narrator] As the day
stretches into it's twelfth hour,

tensions rise.

- Turn that way, Dad.

No, no!

Aw, Jesus, whatever.

His truck.

My dad's the boss, so
he has the convenience

of not having to listen.

Very quickly it becomes obvious
if someone is ignoring you,

and then you just take it upon yourself

to stop sharing your opinion.

- He thinks I should
listen every time he talks.

But I'm the boss.

There we go.

- It's hot and cold.

I'm burnt and tired.

The trucks are falling apart.

Guy's missing.

Let's go, let's go , let's go.

- [Narrator] But once
they're back on the road...

- [Josh] There's the heli.

- [Claudia] Woo hoo, Guy!

(helicopter engine)

- I just had to race for five hours,

get the drive shaft back,

and then, boom, all of the sudden,

there's a little change in plans.

- Guy, you're coming with me.

You gotta start up the camp.

- [Narrator] Claudia has
decided to hitch a ride

on the chopper to Two Mile.

- I need to get there and
get the camp opened up

and warmed up and food
made for those guys,

cause I know it's gonna
be a lot longer for them.

Can I get Karim, me, Guy...

- Another chopper ride, I'm in.

Who's not gonna take a chopper ride

over four-wheeling in the mud?

Let's go!

I was not upset with that one at all.

(helicopter engine)

- [Narrator] The guys get to work

installing the drive shaft.

- [Josh] No turn it this way.

- [Gary] Okay, you got it.

- [Josh] We got one more to tighten.

- There we go.

- Four-wheel drive.

- Let's get out of here.

- [Narrator] Now they can
continue their journey to camp,

but daylight is fading fast.

If it becomes to dangerous to continue,

they could be stranded
on the road overnight.

- The farther you go
in, the worse it gets,

so we're glad we're closer,

but it is

still

a very horrific road, no matter what.

- I'll get ahead a little
bit so I don't dust you out.

- I think there's mud now.

- Yeah, a little bit of mud, probably.

(laughter)

- That's mining.

If you don't like
challenges, don't go mining.

On the road again.

I'm hoping our luck has turned.

- [Gary] I think we'll be good.

- [Narrator] Next time, on Jade Fever.

- Look, we're home!

ˆThis is what I've been waiting
for the whole eight months.

ˆ- Somebody needs to come clean the poop.

ˆ- [Claudia] That's gonna be your job.

ˆ- [Guy] Yeah okay. (laughter)

ˆ- [Josh] Oh he's hitting it hard.

ˆ- [Gary] That road tries to stop us.

ˆ- [Josh] Go, go, go, go!

ˆ- [Gary] You know the road's bad when you

ˆdrown the motor with water.

ˆ- [Robin] Just too much for old girl.

ˆ- [Claudia] We can't
communicate with each other,

ˆso I don't know what's going on.

ˆRobin, Do you copy, Robin?

ˆAnything can happen to them out there.

Does anyone have a copy for Claudia?

(radio static)