Ice road trucking

not offended at all, just saying it's not obvious.

i never mentioned the History channel?

 

But then,where is is the show "Ice Road Truckers" shown?,that IS what we are talkin about,right?

 

History Channel online, full episodes: http://www.history.com/shows/ice-road-truckers (free... other than your Internet connection)

As for driving on ice roads, the dangers thereof and vs. driving in "normal" winter traffic...

I lived in Yellowknife for three years, and on top of that I have another five years experience on ice roads, logging roads, oilfield lease roads, single lane roads cut into the sides of mountains, etc., in northern Canada. So, I have more than a little first-hand knowledge. I also have about five years worth driving lower Canada and most of the U.S., with the exception of the N.E. There are drivers on this board that have more experience than I do, so I'm by no means the definitive source, nor do I "know it all."

I don't watch IRT, but I have caught bits of a couple episodes. What I have seen seemed, well... overly dramatic. But then, that's the whole point of the TV show. Is the driving difficult? Yes. However, the current version of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road is a far different animal than its first iteration which was built in the early '60s.

The road was initally built to service, first, the Tundra, then Lupin, Salmita and other mines... all gold. Canada's diamond industry didn't even exist (in any significant sense) until the mid-90's. The first diamonds were produced in October of 1998 (DeBeers' office was on the same floor and next door to mine in Yellowknife and the geologist that discovered the Ekati mine--Canada's first--was a client).

The first ice roads were very crude affairs, often traversed initially with cat-trains by drivers that no doubt had a pair of huge brass ones. It was literally a sink-or-swim propsition. The current roads, as seen on IRT, are to the original ones like an interstate is to the old mud roads from the early 1900s. That's not to say they aren't difficult and that there isn't some skill required to drive them... because they are and there is.

The number one danger in driving ice roads is impatience and lack of experience and prepardness. IMHO, the IRT series gives a false impression due the fact that these types of roads are unique. They have a lot of round-the-clock traffic, maintenance and security. There are hundreds of miles of other ice roads, in all provinces (and where most of my experience is), that are very remote, very lonely and much more dangerous.

To be successful on those roads a driver has to have the maturity and experience to pick the right speed and path for the road they are on... the ability to "read" the road. They should be reasonably mechanically inclined and have the ability to diagnose and effect repairs. They need to be comfortable being out on their own and be of an independant nature. Above all, they need to be able to keep their head about them when the SHTF... because at some point it will. I've lost count of the number of minor (i.e., tires) and major (i.e., busted front axle, dead engine, etc.) repairs I have made out in the bush, hundreds of kilometers from civilization in -40 (or lower ).

The biggest difference between "backwoods" vs. "normal" trucking? It is in the fact that with backwoods, remote, type of trucking the dangers are significantly magnified mostly due to the absence of services, traffic, emergency assistance and often very little to no communications. Even a "simple and routine" trip from Edmonton to Yellowknife can be very, very difficult and dangerous. There is a fair amount of traffic on that route (Yellowknife has a population of about 20,000), but there have been trips where I can count on one hand the number of other vehicles I have seen between Yellowknife and High Level, AB (about 750 km).

 

probably because we have given you all the info and then LostNFound came and backed up most of our info along with adding a bunch more none of us had lol


And no I still think I could do any of the Three Ice roads that have been featured on Ice Road Truckers.


And the money part, how much do you think they make? I know i'm just courious how much you think it pays....




American Trucker

 

I'm not talking crap, but judging from your post history, please tell me you didn't decide to be a trucker simply because you think "ice road trucking looks sooooooo cool", and "I love the danger"...

I've never driven on the ice roads, but know enough about trucking to realize it's stupid for overly eager new drivers to try something on the extreme ends of the profession...especially if they are doing it to seem "cool"...

 

I dont know what the Canadian companies pay for the ice road truckers but my brother is an owner operator and has been leased with Exxon for the past 12 years. He has one run, Houston, TX to Adak, AK. The run has to be done with two trucks together in AK. It pays 10K per trip