18x09 - Trapped Under Ice

[bunniefuu]

On the Bering sea,

it's time for each captain
to grab the bull by the horns

and make a tough call.

There's piles of gold still out here.

The end of winter mining

arrives in nome in less than 10 days...

If you see gold, just keep on digging.

To the north is a big reef.

Leaving just enough time
for one more do or die move.

One last game changing decision...

Everything is gonna be
better because of this.

That could seal their fate for the season.

Time to go to work.

And that time is now.

- Gold.
- Yeah!

On the tomcod.

You have to go where the gold's at.

Otherwise, you're just diving.

Man, spending money, man.

Hell, I'm, I'm good
enough at spending money.

I like to make it too.

Facing an uphill battle
to reach his winter gold,

Shawn pomrenke is making a big move

to bring the gold home.

We mined and mined on, on claim.

Little tiny cleanup.

We come out here where the gold's at,

it's rough and jagged.

But we'll get through it.

Because there's piles
of gold still out here.

They're just getting harder to find.

Unless you know where you're going.

At the beginning of the season,

the ice on the tomcod,
it was too bad to work.

There's ice jumbled up everywhere.

So, I had to make a deal to go on 56.

The gold wasn't good enough there.

I'm doing something major
to turn my season around.

I'm going back to tomcod.

The ice improved just
enough to roll the dice.

It's my birthday today.

Let's hope our home ground
gives us something to celebrate.

I like this.

Show up and all the hard work's done.

These boys are up and running already.

I'm looking forward to get in the water,

making some gold.

Birthday gold. The best kind.

Box is running well.

Everything's working good.

All we need's the gold
now and I think we got it.

Yeah. yeah.

yeah.

Yeah.

I'm expecting to find a lot of gold here,

and it has to happen.

If it doesn't,

I'm out of ideas, and this season's a loss.

So, there better be a birthday present

waiting down there for me.

How you feel? The air good?

Water good?

All righty, let us know what
you're seeing down there.

I made it to the bottom.

Well, Shawn's on the bottom.

What's he got down there?

All righty, here it comes. Throttling up.

What do you see down there, Shawn?

The gold's good down here, Joe.

We're gonna make some money.

Yeah.

Real break from the monotony of 56.

Find nothing over there.

Lot of nice chunky
pieces of gold in here, Joe.

Gold has poured up
the hose like a fine wine.

Yeah.

That's Bering sea saying
happy birthday right there.

Tomcod, the gift that keeps on giving.

While Mr. Gold takes charge,

across the ice...

Okay, so check out what we're
looking at here with my, sonar map.

We're definitely, according to this image,

we're in the sand here,

and then to the north is a big reef.

That's been the biggest
moneymaker for me historically

when I use little dredges,

is to find the south edge

of cobble bodies like this and reefs,

and then, like, just pick my way along.

After a season of frustration,

captain Zeke's found an opportunity

to light up his sluice box

in the final stretch of winter.

According to this bottom image,

we're right here,

and the reef should start in about 38 feet

straight to the north.

So, this is, like, definitely,
like, a depression

that nothing really ever escapes from.

What I'm hoping is that

the gold has been concentrated
up on the edge of this reef,

and as we get closer to it,

the gold will get hotter and hotter.

And, like,

it could potentially get
insanely hot right around in here

and there could be a bunch of ounces.

Just as long as no one else
has dredged through it yet.

This season has been brutal.

It took us forever to get on the gold.

And when we did, it wasn't that much.

I don't really know what to say.

It's on the low end, you know?

Yeah, it's a lot of work building up to it.

And the fact is, at least we're on gold

and we can keep doing it.

But in the end, my team refused to quit.

Like, we were diving right here,

and we couldn't find any of these rocks

'cause I think they were just outta reach.

And I found a reef a little
closer to where we were working

that could turn our whole season around.

This is a place

where historically, there
have been big pressure ridges.

And it just piled up rocks here,

you know, over millennia,

and then concentrated the gold here.

So, if we can

if gold gets really hot right here,

then we'll just be able to
follow this east and west

and just plunder it all out.

Hell, yeah.

Sounds good.

We've set up a new
hole to attack this reef,

and we've added 20 feet of hose

so that we can cover as
much ground as we can.

There's a chance it'll take us
under a big, nasty pressure Ridge

with giant chunks of ice

hanging directly above our heads.

But it's late in the
season and we need this.

So, we're gonna risk it.

I'm ready to go.

You got me on the comms?

Yeah, I got you.

How's it looking down
there on this hole...

What are you seeing?

Does it at least look pretty stable

I mean, what's that ice look like?

Yeah, Roger.

Let me know when
you want these pumps.

How's it looking, dude?

You, you liking our spot?

, yeah, dude.

Dude, that's awesome.

I'll let you get after it.

Hopefully, this pays!

Need a payday.

We're trying to do this as
cheap as we possibly can.

Because we don't have
thousands of dollars

to put into a sluice box at the moment.

So far this season

kris Kelly's plans for gold and greatness

have sprung a leak.

But the captain is refusing

to take the setback lying down.

You guys are gonna
see how easy this goes.

You know?

Like, don't be intimidated by the
five feet of snow in front of you.

This season's been a disaster so far.

The main reason's been the sluice box.

We've been on good gold for weeks,

but this sluice box leaks like crazy.

I have to do something about it.

Pick it up.

Hey.

A couple seasons ago,

we had a super insulated
box called the coffin.

We didn't use it this season,

'cause it's been buried
in the snow for years.

If we can dig it out

and bring the coffin back from the dead,

our gold numbers will start soaring.

Let's get this over with.

Hold! It's sticking out.

- Where?
- You can see it?

I can see it.

Sticking out just the tip.

Sometimes just the tip is all you need.

The question is,

how the are we gonna
get this out of here?

You're not gonna get that up.

It's frozen to the ground.
You're gonna break your back.

This is.

One, two, three.

Can you put it on the side?

- The question is...
- What?

How the are we gonna
get it out of this hole?

I'll lift this side.

I just need you to put yours on the lip.

And then just keep moving
it up as I walk it to you.

I think that way's quicker.

- Are you sure?
- No.

Who do you think's faster?

- You're up on top.
- He won't.

Do you think it's faster to go that way

or faster to go that way?

And be truthful.

Now it's time for

choose your own Kelly adventure.

Do you pick kris's bad idea

or Andy's equally bad idea?

You picked kris's bad idea.

Let's see how you did.

No, that's not gonna work.

Would you like to try again?

Okay, hold.

I don't have it.

Two people can't do this.

You gotta help me.

Maybe it's time to call a friend.

Okay, start walking.

- Okay. Hold on. Put it down.
- Okay.

There.

To be honest with you,
it's just Andy pushing it.

Keep coming. Keep coming.

We dug out the coffin,
we'll get it set up dive

and see how this beast
handles everything.

Okay. Be careful.

- You be careful.
- Push.

There.

Told you it was gonna be easy.

Back on the ice...

The current gold count leader

is looking to stay on top
by doubling his efforts.

We're on k*ller gold,

but equipment issues is holding us back.

Like last time out,

the high pressure line blew off.

But that's fixed now.

I'm not gonna let anything stop us.

We're gonna try to get two dives today.

One for me and one for Jeff.

We gotta get the hours and the gold

that we should've
been getting all season.

How's the light down there?

Pump's coming.

Yeah, dude, we got the pump on.

He's down.

Time to go to work.

How's that ground looking down there?

He says the ground looks good.

So, no, no big plug
ups or anything like that.

So, we're just smooth sailing still.

Here we go.

Sweet.

All right, bud. Stay after it.

Right now, Zeke's out to the east.

And, honestly,

this extension is helping us out a lot.

It's getting us into places

that we haven't gotten to go into.

So, it's a huge game changer.

It's a little sketchy,

'cause he's far underneath
this, like, hanging ice right now.

Under constant threats
of a pressure Ridge,

Zeke tenhoff raids a new discovery.

How's it looking down there, dude?

Sounds good, dude.

So far there's been...

There's been a reward for the rich so far.

We're 20 feet longer

with this extension we just put on.

The gold's looking really
hot, so hopefully it pays.

Right on, dude. Sounds good.

We'll, run down the pumps
and pull the tether up.

Yeah, Roger that.

Yeah, buddy.

We found something special
and we decided to go for it,

and it paid off huge.

This has been the best
day so far this season.

Even though that giant pressure Ridge

was hanging out right above our heads,

I can't wait to get back down there.

Finding this reef could
be the key to our season.

Over there in those rocks,

that's as rich as I've ever seen gold,

like, hands down in, like,
my whole mining career.

- For sure.
- Ooh.

I mean, it's just, it's totally jacked,

who the knows how much gold

if, if we can follow that thing, it's like,

we could make some serious
money in the next couple weeks.

My mind is blown that
nobody has found this.

Twelve miles west...

Over three hours in,

captain Chris hasn't
stopped hitting the bull's eye.

Yo, yo.

Were you over by the big rocks?

It's good stuff.

That's a pile right there.

The gold down there is sick.

I got my hours in.

Now it's time for Jeff to
do his first dive for the team.

Whoo!

The dude is one of the
most solid divers in nome.

You ready, g?

, yeah. Get money.

Let's keep the ball rolling.

Okay, that's it.

Jeff is down there.

And right now, we can't stop.

So, we're gonna keep going.

We're gonna keep pounding
some hours in the box

and until the day is over.

What a great day.

Wow!

While the mccully team
fires on all cylinders,

across the ice...

How do you like being
back out of tomcod, Shawn?

Looking good. Yeah.

Shawn pomrenke enjoys his special day

with the season's first dive
on his beloved home grounds.

If you see gold, just keep on digging.

Keep digging.

Yeah. Good to be home?

Yeah.

Good visibility, good ice, good gold.

Can't ask for anything more than that.

Yeah.

Shawn's been down for quite a while.

I'm gonna go suit up.

Birthday gold.

Better than birthday cake.

I got my birthday wish.

The tomcod, it didn't disappoint.

There was gold, gold and
some more gold down there.

For the first time all
season, we're crushing it.

It looks really good.

Let's go, Joe!

Joe's gonna go down
and keep the party going.

I'm gonna go celebrate with my family.

And tomorrow, I'm hoping to
break the bank on the scale.

Good dive.

We're on good ground right now.

This sluice box is going to
be the game changer for us.

Everything is going to
be better because of this.

Reaper nation is entering stage two

of the captain's plan to get
their season back on track.

I'm just happy that we
made it with zero dollars,

just some man labor

and a bunch of pieces
I had sitting around.

But that's why...

That's why you don't throw
anything away you know,

because you never know

when you're going to need it again.

We resurrected the coffin from the dead.

We're going to do a few quick patches

and test it out,

make sure everything is in good shape.

We'll add insulation so it won't freeze up.

Overall, I like the box and
everything's looking good.

Now we just got to run for a bit,

let the cold get in, and see where it sits.

And if we have any issues from there,

we just... we fix it.

Everything's doing great.

We've got a box that
can handle us turning it up

to full steam on the pump.

Everything's working today.

We've got a great opportunity

and I'm gonna make the best of it.

It's time for me to get down there,

get on some gold

and see how the coffin handles it.

Hopefully, we see better
results than we were seeing

with the other piece of crap sluice box

and the problem is solved
for the rest of the season.

Hold on.

Slack tide...

Means when there's no current, nothing.

Athe bottom is just murky as hell.

Yeah, let's get some
water all over the front.

Andy, he said like...

Kris just found a little something.

Good.

Good news. Good news.



I got us on gold.

Put about an hour's worth
of material through the coffin.

We'll weigh this out,

and then we'll know if
the coffin is working for us.

Everything worked great today.

So, right now, we're going
to go have some drinks,

we're going to celebrate,

and we're not going to
have any more problems.

Okay!

Good job, everybody.

Are you hitting some
fresh ground down there?

Sweet. That's... that's great.

Three hours into his
first dive of the season

and Jeff orzechowski is delivering big

for his new teammate.

Wow.

Right under this, super-soft Clay...

It opens up into like, river gravel.

Just below this Clay land.

Yeah. This stuff right here is really good.

I could... I could see the color in it.

This is good material right here.

It's gonna be good gold for sure.

Good day on the mccully claim!

Yes, sir.

- We made money today.
- For sure.

You see that?

It's still piling up right there.

Yeah.

I'm starting to love my job.

Yes!

Today was a win.

We got two dives in, and
the equipment worked.

We were on good gold the whole time,

and we took charge.

I can't wait to see what's on the scale.

We're going to go home
with pockets full of gold, dude.

Hi, my name is kris Kelly, and
welcome to another episode

of "kris Kelly's secret
guide to successful mining."

Today we're going to be
talking about something

that's extremely important.
Working on a budget.

So, you know, in my head,

I only want to spend $100 a day.

The plan is simple.

Work hard all week, cut
as many corners as you can

so I can afford Chinese
food one time a week.

And you know how to
save even more money

when it comes to a restaurant visit?

Leave your crew at home.

You can't afford to
take four or five people

to Chinese food in this town.

Whoa, whoa! I can barely
afford to eat here myself.

Yeah, go ahead and put that right here.

Beautiful. Thank you very much.

That's pretty much what I would consider

to be the end of this segment.

He's scraping out the bottom.

You know, even if it's just a few flecks,

you know, a small pinch is a $100 bill.

After a season where
gold has been scarce,

team tenhoff's leaving nothing behind

for their reef clean out.

You know, it wasn't really
very picker-y down there.

If there was any big pickers,

I think we would have spotted them.

As far out as I was under
those pressure ridges,

I probably should have
ended this dive earlier.

But considering where we
are at this point in the season,

that really wasn't an option.

We need every flake that we can get,

and hopefully the scale is kind to us.

All right.

We got half an ounce.

- Boom. One ounce.
- One.

Whoa.

Two ounces.

Coming in hot.

- Three ounces.
- Three ounces.

Four. Coming in hot.

- Nice, dude.
- My god.

Boom. Five ounces, dude.

All right.



5.04 ounces is worth over $11,000,

the tenhoff's crews biggest
clean out of the season.

And the reef helped
Zeke turn over a new leaf.

That makes me want to
kind of dig deep on this area.

Well, if we can hit
holes with gold like that,

then those numbers
work for this business.

I mean... The dream
stays alive with ice mining.

Back in nome...

The sluice box, so long,

has only cost us, power from the house.

So zero dollars to build
that sluice box, so far.

Kris is hoping the coffin

brings reaper nation's gold count to life.

Bam! Good job, buddy.

I was down there less than an hour.

So if we can get at least a half ounce,

I'd say the coffin did its job.

If not, you might as
well just Bury me in it

because our season
will be on death watch.

Let's see what we got.

Half an ounce. What I said.

It's 0.7.

That's actually really good.

0.7 ounces.

It's worth about 1,600 bucks.

But more importantly,
the Kellys might finally

have a sluice box that doesn't leak gold.

What a novelty.

Mining is just a game. In one week,

everything will turn right around for us.

That box is going to make
a serious difference for us.

We're gonna make a
lot of money this week.

Across town.

I definitely have a great feeling

that this is gonna be a good thing now.

We're on hot ground.

You pound in a lot of hours in.

Every scoop I pour into
here, it looks really good.

I can't wait to go pan it down

and dry it up and get paid.

We're already having a k*ller winter.

And this day may be the best day so far.

I think I might have a
monster cleanup today.

So, ready to see what we got?

Okay, let's see how much we got.

All right, there's six, eight, ten...

There's 17, 20, 22, 24







That's not bad at all.

Wow.

Damn.

30.16 ounces is worth a hearty 70 grand,

and the bull market

is in full swing at the mccully camp.

Wow!

That cleanup right there was awesome.

With this equipment and this team,

there's nobody gonna stop us.

I think I'll shatter my goal

and maybe even set the winter record.

We crushed it, dude.

- That's 30 ounces.
- 30 ounces.

And this day, you see
the gold price today, too?

Wow.

Great job down there.

It looks like we did good on this run.

I see gold in the third tray.

That's always a good sign.

After switching to his
home grounds on tomcod,

it's time for Mr. Gold to
unwrap his birthday present.

Yeah, I think

I think I'm in for a pleasant surprise.

I think she's a little bit more

than what I was hoping for.

It's better to have it be more than less.

That was the best ground
I've seen all season.

That feels heavy.

Way better than anything
I've seen, and I'm 56.

And after my dive, Joe
worked into the night.

We should have a monster cleanup.

Five, seven...

There, you beat the last one.





34.88 ounces is worth over 81 grand.

Happy birthday, Shawn pomrenke.

Welcome back to the gold count.

Nice job, guys.

Happy birthday to me.

After one frustration after another,

this is by far the biggest
clean out of the season.

Moving back to my home
turf was the best call.

We're gonna have to push it

'cause there ain't much time left.

But we might have a
good season, after all.

It never gets old,

seeing it in the pan like that, does it?

It's like winning the lottery.

I think we've done
pretty well for ourselves.

Chris mccully stays on top

and Shawn starts making moves.

Yeah!

Next time...

Instead of digging dirt, we're digging ice.

On Bering sea gold...

Now I'm putting it all on the line.

If this doesn't work
out, I'll have to start over.

Time to get some gold, baby.

You okay?

You put that saw down
like I told you not to do it,

and you did it anyway.

Gary, you want to
micromanage how I hold my

when I take a piss.

That is hilarious.

We're sinking. We're sinking fast.

That's all that matters.
We're back on the gold.

There you go.

Wow.

It's not looking bad.

Damn!

Yes!