[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Ice Road Truckers Season 12]
After their last grueling runs Todd Dewey, Lisa Kelly, and Scott “Scooter” Yuill didn’t have time to rest on Ice Road Truckers. During the November 12 episode of the History Channel series the three received orders from Bill Danh, operations director at Muskie Creek, for the biggest job of Season 12. They’d venture down to Fort Severn along with three others including “Muskie” Todd Friesen.
Half of the convoy would head on to a water treatment center where they’re providing clean water while the others headed to drop off building materials used to build homes. On top of that, they’d been tasked to dig out two trucks buried in the snow and pick up a backhaul. The rescue mission was paramount to them getting paid. Bill set expectations before they headed out on their thousand-mile journey. “Let’s work as a team. Forget about the cameras. I’m being serious,” he said.
The drives began their trek on the world’s longest ice road and also one of the most challenging. They faced uneven terrain and a nasty hill as temperatures dipped -23 degrees. It was a delicate balance to make it to what was described as an equipment graveyard. The half-frozen lake added another level of danger. Eventually, they came up to the buried trucks that the team needed to unstuck. Todd led the recovery effort, with the drivers shoveling the snow. “Muskie” Todd attempted to use his winch truck to pull out one of the vehicles.
The plan wasn’t working. Scooter and Todd disagreed on what to do. Things get heated between the two. “Todd Dewey needs to dial his sh*t back.” Scooter. “I have no patience for bullies…I’ll clock him right here. Don’t ever talk down to me.” Todd felt something was wrong and went to check in on Scooter. Scooter expressed how he didn’t like how Todd was addressing him. Lisa felt caught in the middle between big personalities. Eventually, Scooter and Todd reconciled and came to an understanding.
After four hours digging, they weren’t making much progress. Out of options, they decided to use a crane to break the truck free. Doing this risked damaging the truck, which would have been good either. It turned into a lost cause with what the convoy had available to them. They called Bill at headquarters as he was trying to get an ETA. Scooter asked for a loader or excavator. Bill wasn’t happy, but he knew they needed to find a solution and fast.
As darkness came, Todd, Lisa, and Scooter sat around a fire. The trio reflected on the season so far and all they’ve faced. It was a shared bonding experience. In the end, Bill found them a dozer. Will this be the difference-maker they’d hoped for? We’ll have to wait until next week.
Shaun, Riley, and Zach Harris
Shaun, Riley, and Zach Harris (History Channel)
Elsewhere, Zach and Riley Harris were headed to Fond du Lac to link up with their dad Shaun. For Riley, the experience was about proving he could control his nerves and do the job at hand. Shaun cautioned his sons to keep distance between the trucks before this harrowing part of the trip began. They had a 55-mile ice crossing on Lake Athabasca, one of North America’s largest lakes, ahead of them. Halfway through the lake crossing Harris had venture through slowly with precision as the the three had to deal with a heave (a long ridge of ice that forms along a crack on a frozen body of water).
They passed the spot where a family member died on a run, a sobering reminder that this job is no joke. In a dicey moment, Shaun had to get out of his cab while it was moving to fix his hood. Believe it or not, this was safer to do that than stopping near the heave. The guys made it to Uranium City. A ghost town that hasn’t advanced since the 1980s. Shaun took pride in sharing the milestone with his children. After marking the milestone with a selfie, Zach’s truck got stuck and had to be pulled out with help from dad. Then it was back on the road for the next phase of their mission.
Ice Road Truckers, Wednesdays, 9:30/8:30c, History Channel
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