14x09 - Mining on a Prayer

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] throughout nome,
the end of winter looms.

Holy *bleep*.
Look at that crack.

[narrator] it's a battle
to see which is hotter:

The soaring temperatures...

It could go really bad,
but hell,
we're gold mining.

[narrator] ...Or the miners...

This is what we have to do
right now to get gold today.

[narrator] ...As they tap in
to the richest gold
of the season?

-I think there's gold
through this whole area.
-All right!

You get a good horse,
ride it, baby, ride it.

You seeing any color?

Yeah. We could lean in
to really hot gold.

[screams]

pull in! Pull in, pull in!

[screaming]

[kris] holy *bleep*, huh?

We are sinking.

Mother nature is not
cooperating with me.

[narrator] while winter
melts away, the kellys
find themselves

out of debt,
but still underwater.

[kris] there's so much
*bleep* snow on the ice,

it's pushing us down,
and the water's coming up.

So first, the good news.
After a mostly crappy season,
we're ending strong.

I have a beautiful baby girl.

We're on great gold,
and it's all profit
the rest of the way.

The bad news?
This warm weather
is making the snow wet,

and it's weighing down
the ice, meaning water's
bursting up through the ice.

It's like a hawaii out here.
It's a *bleep* show.

Well right now, I just popped
a hole into where
my foot valves go,

and the water is pumping
right out the hole,
on top of the ice,

because the weight of the snow
is pushing the ice down,

and then the water rushes
through once you break
a hole through.

We're gonna flood
this entire area.

Just keep going.
There's nothing we can do.
We just have to push forward.

This is what we have to do
right now to get gold today.

Look, it's clear we're
running out of time
this season.

But we're finally getting gold
for ourself.

This gold is ours now.

There's nothing left
to pay back at this point.

So we have to keep
clearing out the water, to get
as much gold as we can,

and hope to god our operation
doesn't fall through the ice.

We're sending down andy first,
'cause he was already
on the gold.

He's gonna mow up as much
as he can, then I'm gonna go
down there

and just take over my shift,
and mow up the rest.

Are these conditions
dangerous?

Yes. That's why my dad
slipped on the ice
and broke his shoulder.

So we're short-staffed
to boot, but we have
no choice. I need that gold.

My baby needs that gold.

My baby's expensive.

You know what to do.
Get down there. Try to cover
as much ground as you can.

Good. We're ready to go.

Okay, go. Make me money!

[breathing]

[andy] all right. Idle up.
Let's see.

[kris] okay.

Idle up!

And now it's really gonna
flood, now that we have
the engines up.

And I don't feel safe
with so much water being
pumped on top of the ice.

Hopefully it holds.

Fast as I get it out,
it comes in.

It's gonna be a long day.

It's gonna be a fight
the whole way through.

[breathing]

[kris] idled up.

[andy] all right. Thank you.

So are you
seeing gold already?

Yeah.

[kris] okay, good job.

[andy speaking]

oh, thank god.

That is such great news.

[andy speaking]

all right, andy. That's all
that I care about.

*bleep* the snow.
*bleep* the water. As long as
the gold looks great.

[andy speaking]

[kris] all right, buddy!
I'm glad you're
in a better mood.

[andy speaking]

[kris] okay, 10-4.

Andy's found gold. So I'm
gonna be down right after.

We're gonna save
our entire season.

That's a miracle.

[narrator] 11 miles east...

[vernon] I mean, let's just
go ahead and set a goal.

You almost clocked in
six hours the other day.

I'd think you could probably
sh**t for eight.
What do you think?

Yeah, I think I can definitely
easily do eight.

Okay, well, I...
If you can do eight,
that'll be a, um, record.

[narrator] on scorching
hot gold, but nearing
an expiration date on the ice,

vernon adkison's launching
a dive for the ages.

[vernon] all right,
the gold marathon.

This has been a winter
to remember.

But this winter is not gonna
be around much longer.

We're playing with fire.

We're right up against
a massive open water lead,

and it's getting wider
every day.

At this point, every minute
under the ice is critical.

So, even though it's getting
toasty up here, I'm looking
to heat up production.

All right, so uh, give me
at least eight hours in,
I'll be happy.

Okay, will do.

-All right. Well, here,
we'll even shake on that.
-All right.

Okay, good show.
Be careful down there.

We're looking to set
a team record
for the longest dive today.

The longest one we've ever had
was a little over seven hours,

so I'm gunning for eight.

[crew member] yeah, that looks
good right there.

Good suction, good flow
in the box.

He's set, and he's ready
to rock and roll.

[vernon] we need it,
if I'm gonna hit
my 200 ounces.

And with this weather,
and that lead, this might be
the last tango.

[breathing]

[gary] all right,
let's get busy.

[breathing]

so, gary, are you
seeing anything?

[underwater breathing]

[gary] oh yeah, I'm seeing it.

[breathing]

now I'm going through some
funny rocky stuff, and...
So far, so good.

You're all hydrated. You got
plenty of chow this morning.

All rested up. You think
you can go the distance?

[underwater breathing]

[gary] yeah, I think I can.
I know I can.

All right, gary.

[breathing]

I think there's gold
through this whole area.

Whoo!

All right, all right!

So far, it seems
like everything's working.

He's down there
picking away at it.

Oh! Whoo!

We're gonna dive him hard.
If he can do eight hours,
I got a new name for him.

He'll be "the gold gorilla."

and I can just shorten that.
We'll call him "goldrilla."

[gary] there's gold back here.

Hang on, gary. We're gonna
rename you. You'll be
"gary the gold gorilla."

[gary]
*bleep*, man!

[vernon] we'll put you
in the record books.

[narrator] 12 miles west...

Yeah!

[shawn] we got the pad
built up. And we got
everything moved over.

Now it's time to see
if there's any gold
down there or not.

[narrator] shawn pomrenke's
on to his last move...

[narrator] ...Racing to find
the epicenter
of a storied jackpot,

or watch the trail dissolve
in the mounting heat.

[shawn] putting
all this weight on the ice,

and now it's starting
to crack. Holy *bleep*!

Look at that crack there.

*bleep* damn.

I'm still not where
I need to be.

I need another 30 ounces
to meet my 120 ounces gold,

so I can make all
of my payments
that I owe.

I'm still looking
for good gold on this jackpot.

I'm close, but I want
to hit the bull's-eye.

That's what I'm after.

Problem is,
the gold's getting hotter,
but the temperature is, too.

And I'm worried there's not
enough time left.

Oh, *bleep*.

Damn it, already.

Basically, we've cracked
the ice in a complete circle
around us.

So we're just sitting
on this, uh... Sitting
on a chunk of ice...

Floating in the middle
of the bering sea.

It could go really bad,
but hell,
we're gold mining.

Nobody said it was gonna be
a safe job.

So, time to get in the water.

We're literally on an island
right now.

We're floating on a circle
of ice that's broken off

from the weight
of the equipment and snow.

And it keeps getting
weaker and weaker.

At any time,
it's gonna collapse.

So the plan's simple.
Mine as much as we can,
as fast as we can.

Double dive day.

I'll go first.

Joe'll go after me.

We're prepared to work
into the night.

Whatever it takes.

All right, let's do it.

[shawn] I'm good.

[breathing]

let's see what's here.

[breathing]

okay. Idle up.

All right. 10-4.

[joe] how's the material
looking?

[breathing]

[shawn]
it's a bunch of big rocks.

As the sand comes up,
it meets the cobble.

Usually, it's hot right here.

[joe]
hell yeah, sounds good.

I think there could be
a chance that we're getting
close to it.

[shawn] yeah.

[breathing]

[shawn speaking]

[breathing]

oh, there it is!

Ooh.

[breathing]

I found the gold, man!
I found the gold!

[breathing]

[shawn speaking]

[joe] oh, yeah.

[shawn] I found great gold!

Almost got it!

There it is!

Perfect.

[narrator] as temperatures
continue to climb...

[zeke] we'll be diving
on this hole in no time.

[narrator] ... Zeke tenhoff's
quest to save his season
is heating up.

[zeke] the plan is,
get as many dive hours
as possible,

while the weather is nice.

It's turning into
a giant swimming pool
out here.

It's crazy how warm
it's getting.

To make things even worse,
we lost steve riedel.

He wasn't making enough money,
so he decided to split.

Luckily, we've got our friend
shlomo here to help get us
across the finish line.

Oh, yeah!

Look at that! Yeah!

Right now,
we barely have enough time
to get eight ounces,

and keep the operation going.

Our last time out,
we'd finally got on
some really great gold.

So I just gotta get back on it
fast and make sure that
nothing slows us down,

'cause that could be
the nail in the coffin.

[breathing]

you ready for the pumps?

[zeke on radio] uh, yeah,
ready.

[gabe] okay. Here they come.

Yo!

All right, you're chilling.

[breathing]

[zeke] we're like, on top
of a ton of cobble.

[gabe] all right. Roger.

You might run into
something hot.

[zeke]
yeah, it like, could lead
into really hot gold.

[gabe] it's got a lot
of radius, so we can punch
a bunch of holes,

and either pick up what he was
following in another spot,
or find something new.

I don't know. Lots of cobble
to work with, though. Lots
of radius, lots of cobble.

So I'm optimistic that
he'll get on something.

Stick and stay, make it pay.

[zeke] yeah,
we're making it happen.

[narrator] one mile east...

[kris]
everything's still good?

[andy] everything's great, j.
Just a lot of really good
gold. Everything is good.

Are you still
in that black *bleep*?

[andy]
yeah, it's never-ending.

And the gold's never-ending?

[andy] the gold's not ending.
That means
kris'll make his bills.

[kris laughs]

[narrator] after fighting off
debt all season, the kellys
are out of the red...

And into the black.

Hey, you've been down there
a really long time.
You gotta be getting tired.

[andy speaking]

[kris] are you ready
to be done?

[andy] yeah, I'm done.
Yeah, my arms are tired.

[kris] okay, come up.
Your dive's done.

[breathing]

I'm gonna go get changed.
James is gonna help andy
out of the hole.

We're gonna get ready,
as soon as andy comes up,
I jump down there,

and I do...
Dive as long as I can today.

It was good. Really good gold
the whole time.

Yeah, best gold I've seen
all season.

Well, andy says we're
on some amazing gold...

So let's go see.

Judging by how quickly
the area is flooding,

this could be our last day
on the ice.

But you never know.
The water's not flooding
the shack yet.

We're on stellar gold,
and there's no way
we're packing it in yet.

You bet your a*s
we're gonna keep pushing
as long as we can.

-Okay.
-Okay.

[breathing]

okay.

[breathing]

how's it look, j?

[kris]
looks great already.

Yeah, it does. It gives us
a lot of ground.

[andy] hey, you see
that black *bleep*
I was sucking up?

[kris]
yeah, I'm just working
the edges of it right now.

[kris speaking]

I know there is. Wait 'til
you get to the deeper
black *bleep* .

Man, it *bleep* trickles down
nice and says hi.

[kris] okay. Well,
that's what I'm working on
getting to. Right on.

Good stuff.

We're on really good gold.
About time.

Everything's dialed in. Hey.

[kris] like I said,
gold mining is luck.

You got that right.

[kris] yeah, baby!

[machine sputtering]

-yeah, something's not right.
-Something's not right.

-No, it's not. Might be, too,
something's not running.
-Something didn't sound right.

[kris speaking]

what was that, j?

[kris screaming]

pull in! Pull in, pull in!

[kris screaming]

pull in! Pull in, pull in!

[strained breathing]

we've got you.
You all right?

I just had trouble breathing.
It wasn't, uh, plug-up,
thank god.

You know, when I say,
"pull the umbilical," pull it!

I... I yanked it, and the guy
yanked back, and I was like...

Well, you *bleep* pull on it,
then!

I was pulling
myself out, *bleep*!

Okay.

We're having issues
with our air compressor.

Every now and then, it's,
like, really hard to breathe.

He said pull him up.
I told james to pull him up.

And james pulled, and then
stopped, and then kris is
pulling the umbilical,

trying to get out, so...

...He's out.

Okay, whatever.

I put my mask on
too *bleep* tight.
I tried to put it on myself.

I couldn't do it.

Uh, nothing.
My air got *bleep* loose.
I tried to get back,

my *bleep* umbilical was
stretched out...

-Yeah.
-...And then I'm trying to get
someone to pull me back,

and I'm pulling myself up,
and *bleep* over here let it
go back in!

So I was just *bleep* pulling
to nowhere!

Yes, that was what I thought.

So yeah, that was kind of
a disaster.

All this time, I'm worrying
about getting flooded

and the operation falling
through the ice. But instead,

the air compressor
and james being a moron
almost k*lled me.

But hey, we got good gold
and the ice survived the day.

So I'll call it a success,
with a minor asterisk.

[kris] I'm okay.
Hey, everything's fine.

-I just was overtired...
-[andy] it's just
that air compressor.

...And all of a sudden, I was
having trouble breathing.

-I know.
-And when I have
trouble breathing,

I'm not far away
from the hole,
and I'm super-tired,

-I need to get the *bleep* out
of there.
-Sure.

Anyway, let's pack
everything up. Let's go home.

[james] I've gotta pull
the pole umbilical,

so to pull the umbilical,
I've gotta yank back.

And, um, they always tell me
if, you know, they yank once,
that means they're fine.

And if they yank twice,
pull 'em up.

Sure as *bleep* was in,
you know, a little bit
of trouble, um,

you know, I kind of panicked
a little bit, because, uh,
he was running out of air.

Hey, let's go home.
I've had enough.

Then it went green.
We got a lotta gold.
Pushed it to the limit.

We worked a lot harder
than we should
of worked.

Hopefully mom is cooking
something good.

[narrator] one mile west...

[gabe]
you seeing any color?

[zeke speaking]

all right!

[narrator] despite
the melting ice,

zeke tenhoff is gaining steam
as he hunts
for the final ounces

to keep his operation afloat.

[gabe] we're ongoin'.

And he's just gonna cut a line
and we're gonna
mow through all of it.

You know, you gotta grind
and scratch it out,
and that's what we're doin'.

[oxygen tank hissing]

[generator thumping]

[zeke speaking]

yeah, I got you.

[generator thumping]

*bleep*

[groaning]

hey, zeke,
how's that hot water feelin'?

[zeke speaking]

[gabe]
okay. I'll be up top.

[gabe speaking]

I turned the generator off,
and then back on again,

and it's starting
to warm up slowly,

but it's, like,
pretty much lost all its heat,
but it's still running.

[generator running]

this is not what we need.
Not at all!

We have almost no time left
this season.

So, having to mess
with an equipment issue,
at this point,

is a absolute k*ller.

That's what it looks like.

With the warm temperatures
we're having, there's a lot
of moisture in the air,

and it gets sucked in
to all the generators

and all the engines
and everything
that we're running.

And because it's out
in the sun, it froze up.

Hopefully, if I just blast it
with the blowtorch,

it'll do the trick
and thaw it out.

[generator running]

perfect!

Well, that was annoying,

but I'm glad
we got it fixed up super-fast
so we can get back on our way.

The season
has been a nightmare,

but I'm still super determined
to keep at it.

We're gonna get what we need
if it kills me.

[water gurgling]

[zeke]
all right! Yep, feels good.

Good to hear it.
We'll keep it hot for ya.

[zeke] yeah. I've got a lot
of work to do.

I'm gonna pound it out
so hard.

Hey, gary.
How're ya holdin' up
down there?

[gary]
yeah, I'm doing real good.

[vernon]
all right, because
you got five hours.

Get yourself
mentally prepared.

Three more hours
and you're done.

[gary] all right, I'm ready.

[narrator] with weather
quickly warming,

and the nearby open-water lead
growing by the hour...

[gary speaking]

[gary] all right. All right.

[narrator] vernon's hoping
diver gary simpson
will go down in team history

with a record eight-hour dive.

[vernon] gary's gonna
step it on.
He's goin' for eight.

I think he can make it.

Do you know what they say?
You get a good horse,
ride it, baby, ride it.

Gary's down so long,
we're actually able to pan
a sample from the box,

and see how good
this gold really is.

And it's looking smokin' hot.

[crew member]
yeah, that looks pretty good.

That's sweet. There's tons
of gold down there, baby.

You do the calculations.
A quick mental extrapolation.

In that five hours' time,
we probably cleared about


Okay.

I love running the numbers
in my head when it comes
to gold.

But if you're not careful,
it can get a little confusing
at times.

How many square feet
are in an acre?

Like 43,500-and-somethin',
I think.

Ok, well, let's see.
How many acres are in a yard?

I mean, you divide...
You multiply that by 375,
then divide it by 50.

-How many hours
we got on that?
-Okay.

-About...
-[overlapping chatter]

[vernon]
I got a couple of things

that have been bugging me
on some
of these gold chat groups.

It's a matter
of public record.

I paid $50,000
for claim number 56.

I've got tons of gold.

[device beeping]

all right!

[vernon] hey, gary, you've got
your time in, man.

You did your eight,
and you're goin' down
in the record books.

Good, you're now officially
'gary the gold gorilla.'

-[gary laughing] all right.
-[vernon] come on up.

[gary] all right.
It feels good, vernon.
I'm on my way.

[vernon] this winter
has been cray cray.

Gold in the sluice box.
Gold in my pocket.
Gold everywhere!

And this record-setting dive
with gary, might just be
the icing on the cake.

Eight hours, baby.
That's just sick.

[beep] I'm tired, man.
I'm beat down.

[vernon] I can't wait
to weigh this one.
It might just break the bank.

This has the makings
of the best ice season ever.

All right!
Gary the gold gorilla.

[mimics gorilla belching]

[indistinct]

[narrator] twelve miles west.

[gabe] man, how're we looking
down there?

[zeke] I've definitely dredged
a lot of what I can reach
with the hose.

All right.

[gabe] come on up there, man.
Let's go.

Yeah. I feel really lucky
that I was able
to get into some good gold.

[narrator] with the
finish line in sight,

zeke tenhoff's refused
to allow an equipment snafu
to burn out his season.

[groans]

I'm getting worn out.
I've got done for the day.

[gabe] okay, man.
Come on up.
Get outta there.

He's comin' up.

Well, let's see.

Wow, there's some flakes.

-[zeke] yeah?
-Those are flakeys, dude.

Yeah. There's way more than
I've seen all season.

Just touch this
little b*stard, dude.

Whoa!

-Cool, dude.
-Yeah.

-Nice nugget.
-Yeah, right in the top.

First place I looked.
A big old chunk of gold.

[zeke] we're like
the little engine that could.

Mother nature has been
fighting us really hard
the whole way.

We've had bad ground,
we've had equipment
shorting out,

but we just keep goin'.

I know we've got
some gold here, but I'm not
gonna clean up yet.

I'm just gonna go rest up
so I'm ready for one more
strong dive tomorrow.

Now we've seen gold.
This is silly,
my whole dive.

So, after, like, weeks
of flailing about
in the blizzards,

and not getting any gold
at all,
that's a pretty good feeling.

Here we go.

I'm satisfied
with today's progress.

[narrator] one mile west...

So how's it going down there?

[shawn] it looks good.
More clear gold.

More gold than I've seen
all season.

Ah, perfect.

[narrator] over
seven hours in, the trail
to the golden jackpot

is heating up
for shawn pomrenke.

[shawn speaking]

yes.

-[joe] excellent.
-[shawn] it's looking
really good.

-[joe] what?
-[shawn]
man, I'm exhausted.

-[shawn] ready?
-Yeah, I'll put my suit on.

[shawn]
let's get it done, buddy.

Hell, yeah.

[narrator] but the team's
not quite ready
to put the season to bed.

Yow!

I'm not seeing the nuggets
I was hoping for
in this jackpot.

But we're on
some k*ller stuff.

That's the longest I've gone
this season, and it was
the best gold I've seen.

And not a minute too soon.

We're on a island
of cracked ice.

God only knows
if we'll be able
to mine another day.

That was a good dive.

It's looking good.

I've gotta get out
of this wet suit.

Gonna get joe in the water

we're not giving up.
We're gonna keep on
fighting for it.

Now we gotta get joe
down there, and just keep
grinding away at it.

The sun's going down,
but it doesn't matter to us.

We're gonna do
what we need to do.

[joe speaking]

[shawn]
how's your air?

[joe]
the air feels good right now.

Yeah, man,
I'm seein' good gold.

Nice.

[joe speaking]

[laughing]

well, let's go ahead
and just push on
through the night.

[joe]
all right. Suck-it-up
and send-it-up time.

[shawn] when you're
a gold miner, you know
when you have to push.

Leave it all out there.

And it's that time.

We're burnin'
the midnight oil.

We'll go all night
if we have to.

And then we'll head back
to town. Put it on the scale.

I'll be like a kid
at christmas morning.

Keep gold running
through that box.

Keep dirt running through
the box.
We're making money.

That's all that counts.

[joe speaking]

[kris] thank god
my mom's coming.

My whole life's
falling apart right now.

Your arm's broken.
Today's andy's birthday.

Brand new baby,
and my girlfriend tells me,

"I really need you
to start helping me out."

the only thing I'm not doing
is the baby's not sucking
off my nipple.

-Hi, mom.
-[mom] hi, babe.

Here, let me get your bag.

-Holy *bleep*.
-No *bleep*, it's heavy.

[kris] oh, mom, I'm so glad
you're here.
I'm not sleeping at all.

Bree has to feed the baby
five times a night.

No, she doesn't.
She's gotta get her
on a schedule.

[kris]
what the hell? That's not
what the doctor said.

[mom] a lot of the time,
they don't even take
a lot of milk.

That's why you put 'em
on a schedule.

Andy. It's me.

[andy] I already told you,
man, I don't want to do
anything for my birthday.

Two minutes.

Hey, buddy, you've gotta see
your jenny craig memberships.

Hurry up.

Look what I got for you.
I got you a nice cake.

-So you've got a minute.
-Andy, grow up.

I didn't want to do this.
I *bleep* told you
for my birthday.

[all sing]
♪ happy birthday to you ♪

andy, come on!

This is the normal
for our dysfunctional family.

Do you wanna know why
we don't celebrate
our birthdays?

Because we were always so poor
that it's a bad reminder

on how *bleep* it is,
when parents don't wanna
work hard in their lives.

*bleep*, kris.

Shut the *bleep* up.

[mom]
you're an a*s.

I am an a*s,
'cause I hate my life.

There's definitely
some big gold in that area.

[narrator] straight
through the night,
and straight to the scales,

shawn pomrenke
and diver joe fulwood

look to weigh the hottest gold
they've seen all winter.

I think we just tipped
the icing on top of the cake.

Time to get in there
and clean it up.

We're exhausted,

but that's what the last
few days of winter are like
if you wanna hit it big.

There's no rest
for the wicked.

We're not dead center
on that jackpot,

but I'll tell ya,
we're more than nibbling
on the edges.

Well, let's see.
This was a good one.

Wow. Lots of nuggets.

Oh, we're onto something
now, joe.

Hear that coarse gold.

-Whoo.
-Not bad, huh?

Beautiful.

-25.2.
-Oh, man, we're really
comin' in to something.

[narrator] 25.2 ounces
is worth over $47,000...

Whew!

...Bringing shawn
just three ounces shy
of his 120-ounce goal.

It's not the mother lode,
but we are on the path to it.

[shawn]
best gold of the season.
Best clean-out of the season.

But I think there's
either double or more
within reach.

That's what I really want.
That's the gold miner in me.
The jackpot.

That's what I set out to do
this winter.

I hope I get one more chance
to get out and find it.

The season's short-lived,
but I think we've got
one more move out of her.

Yeah.

I think there's a bigger pile
out there to be had.

This is amazing.
This is amazing.

There's so much water
on the ice, you know,
I can feel the end coming.

Yeah.

[narrator] despite
a teeny-weeny brush
with death,

kris kelly and the g*ng
are on the rise.

[kris]
look, that's pretty good.

Let's see what you guys got.

[crew member]
big chunks, right off the bat.

Oh, yeah. There's four.

We're already doing good.

There five... Six.

Come on, baby. Keep goin'.
Going.

-Seven, uh...
-Got eight there?

-[kris] eight and change.
-That's good. Can't beat that.

Well, 16 would be the...
Whatever.



[narrator] 8.45 ounces
is worth over 16 grand.

We did great. We k*lled it.

[narrator] the kellys are
quickly banking a w*r chest
for summer.

We had such a bad last year,
and we were in the hole
at the beginning of winter.

We were just backed out of it.

All the rest of the gold
is profit right now.
Everything's going good.

[kris]
I have a beautiful daughter,

and I need to start building
a future for her.

No more small-time kellys
moving forward.

We're goin' straight
to the top from now on.

This is the birth
of the kelly empire.
Trust me!

If we were smart
we'd pull off the ice
right now, though.

-Yeah.
-We do the smart thing.

If you guys would make
another 20 grand...

Oh, we will.
We'll just like...
Dude, we're k*lling it.

As long as the ice holds,
we'll be okay.

[narrator] across town...

[man] hey, we were down
for eight hours
hammering it,

it's gonna be juicy.

Yeah, I think we knocked it
out of the park.

Joe, I'm sure
it looks like it.

[narrator] the longest dive
in wild ranger history,
is in the books.

Oh, *bleep*.

[groans]

mind if I do a few curls?
[groans]

[laughs]

[narrator]
and vernon's ripped and ready

to see how much gold his diver
lifted over eight hours.

That's quite a different pot
of gold there.

-This is a heavy one here.
-Oh, yeah.

There's not much time left
this season.
That's just a fact.

We might not get
another dive in.

That's why this dive
was so important.

We needed to crush it today,
and I believe we did.

Let's weigh this up.

[gary]
let's see what we got.

Two... Three...

Four, five, six, seven, eight.

I like the way you pour.




[gary]
there we go.

Twenty-three...

Twenty-seven...

Thirty.



[narrator] 30.2 ounces
is worth north of $57,000.

And while he may be short
of his 200-ounce goal,

there is no question,
the salty veteran
has the hottest hand in nome.

That's the best count
I've seen in a long time.

-I needed that.
-Yeah.

This winter
has been incredible.

I've been doing this
for a lot of years,

and I have never
had one like this.

My one wish
is we could keep mining
long enough

to crush 200 ounces.

How amazing would that be?

Shawn, you better be looking
over your shoulder.

Let's get this tucked away,
and get the hell on back
out there.

We're on it.
We're finally, finally on it.

[narrator] vernon continues
his reign on top
of the leaderboard.

But shawn remains
within striking distance.

Next time,
on the season finale
of bering sea gold ...

Ice is starting to go *bleep*.
But we still
wanna keep goin'.

-Yes, you and I are now
finishing it strong.
- [crew member] all right.

One more dive and we're done.

[diver speaking]

well, get as much as you can.

Kinda like
the last man out here.

[diver speaking]

or it means we're making
the wrong decision.

[vernon] we got an
open-water lead out there
that's been closing on us.

It's over.

We've gotta move,
like, right now.

[diver 2 speaking]

oh, [beep] come on.

Whoo-hoo!

Gotta good end
to a for a long winter.