# history channels Ice Road Truckers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188 "2007-07-26T03:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/1 "2007-07-26T03:37:23Z")
Anyone watching it. It is about truckers driving from approximately Yellowknife in Canada to various locations out in the wild. They drive for a short season ,approx. 2 months. They go over frozen lakes to diamond mines or other industrial locations. They have to haul the supplies over roads that are made by clearing tracks on the ice. They go from lake to land to lake. The thickness is about 3 feet when they start allowing trucks on it. Sometimes they break through and deaths have occurred. The temperatures can be 42 below zero or more. If the truck fails they are in serious peril from freezing and frostbite. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/2 "2007-07-26T09:48:45Z")
I’ve caught a few episodes. Pretty lame with over-hyped drama that pretty much always lets you down. Not a single likable character. I want them all to fall thru the ice. When are they going to show us what they are really like? Like when they ingest enough crank to keep Vegas going for a 3-day weekend? I don’t believe a second of all the “eco friendly” BS they are pushing, either. I bet they don’t mind spilling a little deisel fuel when the camaras aren’t rolling. Everyone knows truckers throw all waste right out the window, too. I’ll bet that road is solid with frozen trucker bombs. Why the hell is this on the “History” channel? Hitler never drove a truck on frozen lakes! 😃 A poor rip-off of “Deadliest Catch” which is better, but also pretty lame. Okay. We all get the point. Alaska is a shit place to work. Its cold and dangerous. :rolleyes: Could have wrapped up both series in a one-hour episode. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/3 "2007-07-26T13:47:09Z")
We have been watching it, not sure why but it is fascinating. I really don’t care about the “characters” but am intrigued by the concept of driving huge rigs over 30 inches of ice. When the ice cracks while they are driving on it and makes all those popping sounds…freaky!!! And it is amazing to me that this is the only time of year those diamond mines can get any supplies…when the lake is frozen!! There are no other roads going to these places when the ice melts. Agree that it really doesn’t warrant a series…maybe an hour show, tops. But when it is 90 degrees and above outside, watching people run around in 40 below temps cools me off a little. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/4 "2007-07-26T14:22:05Z")
I’ve been watching, and I really like the show. But there isn’t anything else on Sunday night that competes with it right now. If it were up against something else I like, I wouldn’t be watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/5 "2007-07-26T14:43:55Z")
I watched the first episode on my iPod as a free download and have tuned in here and there to other episodes as I’ve happened to notice them. If they did a marathon after the series was done I’d probably watch at least some of it. I must admit that I’m evil, hoping to see a truck plunge to the bottom of the lake. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/6 "2007-07-26T15:13:37Z")
I’ve watched bit and pieces and I agree it is overly dramatic, but what do you expect - driving for 20 hours straight just isn’t that exciting in the first place, even if there is a small chance of ice breaking. The best part for me was these guys pulling into some mine in Northern Canada in -40 degree temps, and a bunch of guys in huge parkas come out to help them unload, and they all have South African accents! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/7 "2007-07-26T15:43:50Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Why the hell is this on the “History” channel? [/QUOTE] It spawned off from a “Modern Marvels” episode. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/8 "2007-07-26T16:31:38Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Okay. We all get the point. Alaska is a shit place to work. Its cold and dangerous. :rolleyes: Could have wrapped up both series in a one-hour episode. [/QUOTE] This series takes place in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/9 "2007-07-27T03:50:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Not a single likable character. I want them all to fall thru the ice. When are they going to show us what they are really like? Like when they ingest enough crank to keep Vegas going for a 3-day weekend? I don’t believe a second of all the “eco friendly” BS they are pushing, either. I bet they don’t mind spilling a little deisel fuel when the camaras aren’t rolling. Everyone knows truckers throw all waste right out the window, too. I’ll bet that road is solid with frozen trucker bombs. Jeez dude, its not _that_ bad. BTW, its in Canada not Alaska. None of them can do drugs (they’re tested regularly). And as a rule, most truck drivers don’t really get their thrills by dumping oil on baby ducks. Maybe you don’t think they’re likeable, but that doesn’t mean they have to die! 😃 For all its flaws (and there are many) I still think this show is about a million times better than any of the stupid, fake reality shows the networks run. This is a **real** reality series, i.e. it would be happening whether the cameras are there or not. And I find it more fascinating to watch cranky, cussing, shivering, blue-collar truck drivers than any bunch of whiny, useless, TV-pretty, Gen-Y’ers. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/10 "2007-07-27T05:42:19Z")
It’s a show about guys driving trucks, which only happens about a million times a day all over the world. I did it for a while and it’s tedious, it’s not an adventure. So what if it’s in Canada over frozen lakes or whatever, it’s all the same. Actually it’s probably safer than delivering around New Orleans or east St. Louis. You wind up smoking nonstop, eating all kinds of crap and picking up a paycheck. Meh. It’s not The Deadliest Catch by far, which is exponentially more interesting given the death toll, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/11 "2007-07-27T15:05:20Z")
[QUOTE=Operation Ripper] It’s a show about guys driving trucks, which only happens about a million times a day all over the world. I did it for a while and it’s tedious, it’s not an adventure. So what if it’s in Canada over frozen lakes or whatever, it’s all the same. [/QUOTE] Driving a truck in occasional white-out conditions and temperatures so low that it can freeze vital components (or the driver, if one gets stuck in the middle of nowhere) certainly sounds like an adventure. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/12 "2007-07-27T15:31:55Z")
To the OP: It isn’t approximately Yellowknife, it IS Yellowknife. Tli Cho Land Transportation’s offices are on the airport loop at Yellowknife Airport. They drive from there to three diamond mines (Ekati was the original mine after the kimberlite was found by Stuart Blusson and his partner). That’s where all of the Canadian diamonds I’m always spouting off about come from. I lived in Yellowknife for years, as did my parents. My sister still lives there. We know one of the drivers quite well (Alex Debagorski) and quite a few of the people who have appeared on the show. My parents are godparents to one of their children. Unless you have ever driven an ice road, you have no idea how frightening it can be. These guys are going on ICE over deep freezing lakes, ice which is only 36" thick and prone to pressure breaks. It’s scary as hell. They earn every penny they make. And to those who say that the truckers are on ‘crank’, you’re dead wrong. They also aren’t throwing their garbage out the windows - there are heavy fines for that sort of thing. It’s surreal to sit in my house in Baltimore and see people I know from the North on tv. It’s equally strange that the show isn’t playing in Canada at all, and I have to record it for my family. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/13 "2007-07-27T15:44:27Z")
Two drivers were on Kimmel last night. So far 39 people have died driving and maintaining the road. The ice ,even though it is 3 feet thick, moves up and down causing waves. Under the proper circumstances the waves can break through. The company maintaining the roads calculates the weights and speeds to prevent breakage. At 42 below zero if a truck breaks down it is dangerous. White outs and blizzards are additional worries. They drive off a lake onto shore and back across another lake. They are the only way the diamond mines can be fed, fueled and equipped. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/14 "2007-07-27T15:53:27Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Two drivers were on Kimmel last night. So far 39 people have died driving and maintaining the road. The ice ,even though it is 3 feet thick, moves up and down causing waves. Under the proper circumstances the waves can break through. The company maintaining the roads calculates the weights and speeds to prevent breakage. At 42 below zero if a truck breaks down it is dangerous. White outs and blizzards are additional worries. They drive off a lake onto shore and back across another lake. They are the only way the diamond mines can be fed, fueled and equipped. [/QUOTE] That’s a couple of weekends driving to the ski resorts in Colorado. You have a mountain on one side and a 1000 foot vertical drop on the other, plus snow and wind. Truckers crash and die all the time delivering crab legs and Gucci bags to the stores in Aspen. Phony drama. ---
**Author:** ![Runestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/15 "2007-07-27T16:02:47Z")
**Car and Driver** magazine did a story on the Ice Road truckers just a couple of months before the History Channel series started. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a link to the story on their web site - but someone who’s interested could probably check back issues at their local library. IIRC, the author of the story rode with one trucker up and back on a single run. It talked about the hazards of driving on the ice, the need to avoid ice ‘blowouts’, and the slow speeds across the lake (so slow that some drivers watch DVDs during the ice crossings). Other than the environmental hazards involved (the cold, etc.), the story made the whole experience sound much less dramatic than the History Channel’s TV show does. Can’t say that surprises me in any way… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/16 "2007-07-28T00:09:23Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] This series takes place in Canada. [/QUOTE] What? We haven’t annexed them yet? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/17 "2007-07-28T00:17:55Z")
An obvious attempt to rip-off the success of **The Deadliest Catch** , which had the highest ratings of any program on cable a while back. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/18 "2007-07-30T22:57:24Z")
Does TJ remind anyone else of Conan O’Brian? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/19 "2007-07-30T23:09:16Z")
A little bit, I guess, just from the freckles. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188/20 "2007-07-30T23:15:18Z")
[QUOTE=Key Lime Guy] An obvious attempt to rip-off the success of **The Deadliest Catch** , which had the highest ratings of any program on cable a while back. [/QUOTE] From the same producer, no less. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channels-ice-road-truckers/413188.md?page=2)