09x22 - End of an Era: Gold Rush Special

[bunniefuu]

Cut the power!

Narrator:
previously on "gold rush"...

I'm gonna make
another run at 5,000.

...in this
do-or-die season...

What are we wagering?


That's, like, $100,000.

Yeah, sure.

...the stakes are sky-high.

I am not giving todd hoffman


Make no mistake, guys.
We're going to w*r this summer.

-It's gonna be a bloodbath.
-Let's go to w*r, boys.

[ Cheers ]

Tony beets' dredge plans
fall apart.

Rick b.: Tony!

It's our best start ever.

-Todd hoffman...
-You're gonna hit it!

...bets everything on
one last shot at glory.

I can't wait to take
your 100 ounces, kid.

We went from heroes to zeroes,
man, real quick.

-Easy, easy!
-I know! I'm trying!

And parker schnabel...

Parker: what the [bleep]
is this?

...goes to w*r with tony beets.

And you can go
[bleep] yourself.

It's a record
$14-million season.

[ Cheers ]
but for one miner,

It's the end of the road...

Just a huge disaster.

-...for another...
-Here we go.

...the start of
a whole new adventure...

I think it is time
for me to move on.

...plus, an exclusive look
at the upcoming ninth season.

Rick n.: I've got my own crew,
my own ground.

Right here, guys,
is our freedom.

Hurry up! You've had five
[bleep] days to get this done!

-- Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Narrator:
at the start of the season,
parker schnabel

Assembles his crew
in the klondike.

-How you guys doing?
-Good.

-Not bad.
-Good.

This winter, I ran into
todd hoffman in vegas,

And he ended up betting us


That he'd beat us.

-And you took that bet?
-Of course.

[ Laughter ]

All we got to do is hope
he gets at least 100 ounces

So he can pay us, huh?
[ Laughter ]

Todd may have started
a w*r here,

But we're gonna [bleep]
finish it.

It's gonna be
a bloodbath.

[ Laughter ]

Let's go to w*r, boys.
[ Cheers ]

Narrator: with his 100-ounce bet
against todd at stake,

Parker races
to be the first to run pay dirt,

And his crew follows suit,
dragging wash plant

Big red 400 feet into position.

Oh!

Just ain't
gonna move.

Do you think
it's froze in there?

It's just solid.

The klondike winter has locked
big red to the ground.

-Is it frozen in there?
-[Bleep] yeah, it is.

Can't even get it to budge.
-What a pain in the a*s.

Yes, sir.

Seems like we get bigger
and bigger machines every year,

And it always ends up coming
back to a guy and a shovel.

Get that front end
washed out.

Let's do it.
Sounds good to me.

Is there anything else
we can do?

Grab it towards you.
Just lay them both right there.

The last resort --

A propane-powered tiger torch.

Try to get that heat
under there.

[ Grunting ] yeah.

-Go ahead, rick!
-All righty.

Let's go.

Come on, baby.

Oh! Whoo!

-Yeah, man!
-[ Laughs ]

Parker: right here
works fine, rick.

Rick n.: That's how you move
a wash plant, boys.

Fire it up, buddy.

First bucket, baby,
first bucket.

-Yeah!
-Good job, guys.

First battle down,
but it's a long w*r.

Narrator: in colorado...

Juan: coming up, guys!
Coming up!

...the hoffman crew
is still racing

To assemble their wash plant,
monster red.

Well, I got a text.
Old parker is running already.

I could look at that two ways.
I could be pissed,

Or I can look
at it like, you know what,

I'm putting
my w*r machine together,

And we're gonna
kick his a*s.

Narrator: todd gives


A massive promotion
to wash-plant boss.

But I get
to run it my way.

Okay.

Hook me up.

Hunter: boom out.
He's got to stick out.

What?

Man: stick out
a little bit, todd.

Yeah, really?

[Bleep] everything he does,
everything he picks.

You're gonna have to bring
your stick in and curl out.

Otherwise, you're gonna
hit the screen.

Hey, watch this,
not this.

I'm trying to tell you
you're not gonna fit.

I got plenty
of room here.

-You're gonna hit it.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa!

You've got
to be kidding me!

Juan: you know, this is
the start to the season,

And if this is
any kind of glimpse

Of what it's gonna be like,
it's gonna be real difficult.

Narrator:
todd is 2 days behind parker,

But he now has two wash plants
ready to sluice.

Parker beat us to the punch.

He's got big red,
and he's running,

But make no mistake, guys.

We're going to w*r
this summer,

And we can
get 5,000 ounces.

Parker might
have won the battle,

But we're gonna
win the w*r.

Let's get fired up.

Hunter,
fire up monster red!

Let's run some dirt.

[ Whirring ]

Guys, I'm gonna go ahead
and fire up double trouble.

All right.
Number one trommel.

First bucket,
double trouble.

She smokes a lot,
but so did john wayne.

Everybody loved
john wayne.

Okay.
Come on over.

Narrator: at the end of
their first week of running,

The hoffman crew
weighs the gold.

Okay. Go, dad.
Give us the total.

We got 212.05.

[ Cheers and applause ]


That's our best start ever.

Hey, parker. This is todd.
How is it going?

Not too bad.
How are you doing?

Question --
what'd you get?

Yeah, we just did
our first cleanup, actually.

It was 202 ounces.

Normally, that would've kicked
our a*s, but I'll tell you what.

We got 212,

Best start
we've ever had.

I can't wait to take
your 100 ounces, kid.

Wow. I'm --
[ dial tone ]

Hung up on me.

Narrator: in the klondike,
tony beets' starting mission --

Transport his second dredge

From thistle creek


Tony's barge, named jasmine b,

Will transport
his 500-ton dredge.

Sheamus: jasmine b is sitting
on the trailer.

We really need to get this
in the water.

We have well over 30 trips
to make with this barge.

It's a 3-day round-trip,

And every day we lose
we can't make up in the fall.

Narrator:
tony's youngest son, mike,

Takes control
of the 18-ton oshkosh...

...to maneuver
the 60-ton jasmine b.

Tony: keep pulling!
Keep pulling! Keep pulling!

[ Crash ]

Mike!

Mike: so, what are we
gonna do?

Narrator: skipper rick bloom
heads upstream.

Rick b.: Tony!

But just 10 minutes in...

What do you got?

Sounds like the engine
is overheating.

Whoa,
she's really hot.

...the engine temperature
surges into the danger zone.

Mike:
wow, that's hot.

Sheamus: something in the
cooling system for the engine,

And there's cold water
coming in,

But the engine
is smoking hot.

Up ahead...
What the [bleep]

This thing is on fire!

...a sneak peek
at the new season...

...including the klondike's
newest mine boss.

That's my entire livelihood
up there.

It's ready to fall.

Narrator: parker is going to w*r
with todd over the gold,

But he's also picking a fight
with his landlord, tony beets.

Howdy.
Hey, parker.

Good to see you.

Before the start of the season,

Parker secured a deal
on new virgin ground.

So, this is literally
right next to tony's dredge.

Yeah.

Parker:
well, I've got a scoop of pay,

So we'll grab a pan
and see what happens.

I'm hopeful to find
any gold at this point.

I would be amazed
if I come up with 10 flakes.

Well, hmm...

Well, that's
a 20- or 30-flake pan.

That's impressive
for digging a hole

Out of the ground,
sloppy, wet.

That's pretty damn surprising.

Narrator:
parker is one step closer
to getting out from under tony.

Ah, [bleep]

Well, now is as good
a time as ever.

Well, uh...

I'm on a lease
on the ground right next to you.

I'm just trying to have
a good long-term place,

Mm-hmm.
Which you've always

Made pretty difficult...
No.

...and a lease that doesn't have
a bunch of bull[bleep]

Basically, tony,
and that's really what it is.

I don't know.
I guess I'm going over there.

Your ground.

You're not gonna
make this easy.

[Bleep].
Whatever, tony.

[Bleep] lease.

Churning through
a lot of ground.

Narrator: in colorado,
determined to beat parker,

Todd adds a third wash plant,
rusty red,

Owned by freddy dodge.

Andy, h*!

We got to go
full speed ahead.

We got to get rusty red
in the game.

Here come
the liner guys.

But before they can sluice,
they need water.

Angle over this way
on the front of the excavator.

Got to get this water
filling this huge

Basically swimming pool.

Well, that's the first
piece of many.

Narrator:
they need to line the pond
fast before the wind gets up.

Freddy swaps man power
for horsepower.

Here goes nothing,
guys.

Man:
this is the last time you all
are gonna see freddy dodge.

[Bleep]

-I'll be [bleep]
-whoo-hoo!

-Whoo-hoo!
-One down!

Hunter:
hey, guys, easy!

Keep going if we can go.

Get some rocks
on there.

This is the only time
when 300 pounds helps.

We're ready to roll.
All we need is water.

Gerber, go ahead
and fire that pump up.

[ Whirs ]

Freddy:
water! Water!

-Yeah!
-Yeah! Whoo!

That water right there,
that means gold.

Narrator: but before freddy
can start sluicing...

Hello.

...he gets a call
from the county.

[ Clears throat ]

"Your property
is zoned residential.

Based on the foregoing,
you are hereby

Ordered to cease
and desist

All mining and commercial
activities immediately."

That's it.

I've got most of my life savings
tied up in that plant.

I can fix the wash plant.

I can get another pump
for water.

I can do all those things,

But I can't beat
that piece of paper.

Can't beat this, you know?

Narrator:
dredge number two is on hold
till tony can fix his barge.

Instead, he decides
to upgrade dredge number one.

Sheamus:
get it out of here!

Narrator: the 79-year-old dredge
should get 15% more gold

Once tony completes
the $600,000 refit.

Shut up, tony.
That's what I'm [bleep] doing.

Kevin, tony's eldest son
and dredge master,

Is finally ready to launch.

Tony: hey!

Kevin: the [bleep]
are you yelling?

Well, should we start
dredging then?

-Get started.
-All right.

Yes, it is.

Narrator:
and after 2 weeks of mining,
it's time to find out

If the improvements
have paid off.





Worth a staggering $370,000.

This was supposed to be
our biggest year we've ever had,

And all it's turned out
to be is...

Just a huge disaster.

Narrator:
mid-season, todd hoffman

Is out of decent ground to mine.

We went from heroes
to the zeroes, man, real quick.

Todd's only hope --
a new claim he's secured

Called the jewelry box.

Todd: so, we're gonna dig
a 1,000-yard hole.

I want to see what
the material looks like.

It's kind of a hail mary,
but right now,

It's all we got.

Let's fire it up.

Well,
here goes nothing.

Thurber, what do we need
to get out of this test?

At least 5 ounces.

All right.

Go ahead, dad.
Pour it.







Yeah!
[ Cheers ]

Oh! You guys,

The jewelry box
is open for business.

Let's go!
-Whoo!

-Extra gold! All right.

Narrator:
after two months of repairs,

Tony's barge is finally
en route to thistle creek

To start shipping
his new dredge.

[ Thumping ]

Whoa!

[Bleep]

Yee-haw!

Narrator: it's taken two years,
but tony beets

Is finally barging dredge parts
on the yukon river.

Three months in,
parker is halfway

To his 5,000-ounce season goal

When foreman rick ness
receives news from home.

What's up?
You know my ma has been

Battling cancer
for awhile,

But she had
a recurrence of it.

Okay.
I just --

I really feel like I should
be there when she --

You got to take care
of family, right?

I hate to lose you,
but you've pretty well

Got to leave now to get there.
-Yeah.

Down a man, parker fills in,
trucking pay to big red.

How's your day going
in the truck there, parker?

No, it's fine.
I don't mind driving truck.

I just hate that,
after five years,

We're still hauling pay
like a bunch of idiots.

You look like you hate
sitting in that as much

I hate loading them.

I told rick to set up
the same way we do

At sluicifer,
and he didn't want to.

We're gonna have it done
by the time he's back.

It's game time.

While rick is away,
parker seizes the chance to move

Big red right into the cut
using a conveyor system

Instead of rock trucks
to feed the wash plant.

How we looking?
Easy, easy!

I know!
I'm trying!

Keep going.

-Towards me 6 inches!
-No, not even that! Like, 2!

Little more
towards me.

h*, h*, h*!

That is
not nice and easy!

-[Bleep] off.
-All right.

h*, h*! h*!

[ Crash ]

All right.
Just straight back.

I'm gonna put
our tires down!

Yeah, and you drive it
this way.

Good.

Unfold it.

Hey, drive it a little more
to the right!

That's it!
We got it!

Hey, you ready
for water?

-Nice.
-Looks good!

Looks good!

Narrator: one week later,

Rick returns to find his
operation turned upside down.

Holy [bleep], man.

What the [bleep] is this?

Find tailings are backed
right up to the sluice box.

It's so [bleep] obvious
this plant is too low.

So [bleep] stupid.

At the end of the day,
it's about our bottom line,

So I don't really care

What rick thinks
as long as the system works.

Rick n.: It's a piss-poor
setup, man.

To do it sneakily is one thing,

But to do it half-a*s,
you know, without telling me,

That's the part
that pisses me off the most.

Narrator:
at thistle creek, tony beets
finally has two cranes on-site.

Sheamus: whoa!

He's ready for the biggest
challenge on dredge two,

Removing the massive
front gantry.

Yeah.

[ Creaking ]

[ Creaking continues ]

I think it's caught
on a bolt here, tony.

-Holy [bleep]
-whoa!

Tony:
whoa, whoa, whoa!

Len: yeah, I'm good.
I'm safe here.

But I don't need
clean underwear so...

There we go.

Narrator: tony is
one step closer to running

The second gold-catching
bucket dredge in north america.

Todd:
it's been a tough, tough season,
but I want to redeem myself.

Narrator: in colorado,
todd once again faces disaster.

You're all clear back here.
You're good.

In a last throw of the dice,

Todd gambles
on a whole new wash plant,

Running new ground
on the side of a mountain.

Todd: if I could get it set up
by the end of the week

We could start putting up
some big numbers on the board.

We could come out of here
with our heads held high.

Hunter: this is
the top of the feeder,

Has all the spray bars
and the hopper.

It's a big piece though,
so it's gonna be hard

To get on there.

-Look solid?
-Looks good.

-[Bleep], man.
-Dude,

Hunter: just listen
to our hand signals.

I can see
what's going on.

No, you can't see [bleep]
behind that leg.

We're trying to get --

We need to rig it
so it ain't like this.

It's like this.

You see?
Let me put it on.

I'll drop it in
right now.

It has nothing to do
with the chains.

No, you won't.
Shorten them up!

[ Groans ]
for [bleep] sakes!

Juan: he's saying that the issue
is that the loads not leveled,

But the other thing is, too,
he doesn't listen

To anybody on the ground.

It's always our [bleep]
fault why nothing works.

Okay.
Juan, you ready?

Hold the tag line.

Put some pressure
on the tag line.

There you go.
Hold on.

Juan:
hold it right there.

There it is!

Let down!
It's good!

[ Laughs ]

That was
a by-the-book lift.

Perfect.

All right, guys.
Holy roller,

She's about
ready to fire up,

This is it, man.

We're gonna get
this thing started.

-Yeah! There she goes.
-Whoo!

Narrator: the hoffman crew
is back in business.

Todd:
it's coming out!

[ Cheers ]

It looks really good.

What's that bring us
to season total?

Right now,
we're at 5,381 ounces.

-Wow!
-Bingo!

-Nailed it.
-Did it!

Narrator:
with five weeks still to go,

Parker shatters his 5,000-ounce
$6 million goal.

We came up here with that bet
in vegas with todd.

I would think we can consider
the bet won at this point.

-[ Laughs ]
-yeah.

Narrator:
it's time for parker to deliver
on his other season goal --

Get out from under tony.

Parker: rick!
Yeah?

We're yukon landowners,
rick.

No [bleep] way.

Want to look?
[Bleep] yeah, man.

Finally,
we're yukon landowners.

For a half a million dollars,
parker buys 11 klondike claims

And accomplishes
a lifetime ambition.

Parker: this is
the first chunk of ground

That we've bought here
in the yukon,

And, you know,
after five years of looking,

I'm pretty happy
that we made it happen.

If there's gold in here,
we should get it, man.

Hey, this is one
small step for us,

But this is one giant
middle finger to tony beets.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: parker decides
to truck his pay to big red,

Straight through tony's yard.

Woman:
oh, my [bleep].

Dude, you should see the look
on these guys' face.

They don't look
too happy.

Rick n.: They can't figure out
what the hell is going on.

[ Laughs ]

Parker:
think we got enough of a pile
to fire up a wash plant.

[ Whirring ]

There we go.
Whoo!

Well, hopefully,
there's some gold in it.

Who the [bleep] is this?

Tony beets.

[ Whirring slows and stops ]

Whoa there.
What are you doing now?

I don't see how you can
have such a problem

With every little, tiny [bleep]
thing we do, tony.

All you have to do
is sit back and make money.

Yeah.
For you it is.

And you can go
[bleep] yourself.

Narrator: when tony's plan
to move his dredge fails

Because of a broken prop...

...it's down
to kevin and monica

To deliver on
his other season goal.





$4.4 million dollars.

This in front of us
plus this...

Narrator: parker ends his season
on an all-time high.

Well, for the season,
our 5,000-ounce goal

Turned out to be


[ Cheers and applause ]

...to a sweet number
of $7.5 million.

-That's a lot of money.
-Yeah.

Parker wins
his bet with todd.

He beats him by a cool

$5.5 million.

-Yeah!
-You guys are the best!

-What's up, guys?
-A little froze, huh?

Little bit.

Well, let's thaw it out
and run it.

In colorado, todd's crew faces

A second disastrous season
in a row.

You know what?
I don't want to stop.

I appreciate that, but
we're broken by this season.

We failed.

The only fair way
to do it is,

We're just gonna
have to take a vote.

We're a team.
It's the only way to make it.

I vote we thaw it out
and keep running.

-I'm with todd.
-Thaw it and run.

That's three.
How about you guys?

I'm ready to go.

I just don't think
it's worth it anymore.

Todd: hunter?

I think we should be done
this year.

Okay.
That's three-three.

Well, andy,
you're the one moving

All the pay dirt
over to the plant.

What do you think?
So I vote we're done.

So, we voted.

We got outvoted.

Okay, guys.

It's time. It's over.

Narrator: the hoffmans'
mining career is over.

Their final season total --



Worth less than $2 million.

Todd: you know, eight years ago,

I had a dream
to put gold in my pockets

And help my guys out
and my family.

I've accomplished that dream,

And now it's time
to chase another dream.

I'm not mining anymore.

Narrator:
even in defeat, todd proves
he is a man of his word.

It's not easy to do,
hand 100 ounces out,

But here you go,
parker.

Well, thanks for making good
on the bet.

Best of luck.
All right, take care.

Have a good winter.

Easiest 100,000 grand
of the season.

Narrator: as parker's
most successful season closes,

He chases an off-season
south american adventure

With best friend and foreman
rick ness,

Who has news to share.

I think it is time for me
to move on.

I'm going out
mining on my own.

Geez.

You know, it was
quite the bombshell,

Him telling me that
he's not coming back next year.

You know, he's smart,
and he's a hard worker,

But setting up a gold mine
is damn tough.

Rick n.: You know, it's time
for me to step away,

And I think we're parting
on good terms,

Which is good,
and, you know, I'm excited.

You know, I'm my own man now,

And I'm going to do
my own thing.

Narrator:
coming up on the all-new season
of "gold rush,"

Rick ness risks everything
on his own operation.

I'm literally
terrified.

That's
a humongous gamble.

It could be the end for you,
I mean, financially.

-Oh, boy.
-I need some direction.

And, yeah, I'm scratching
my [bleep] head.

Hit the bypass!

That's my entire livelihood
up there.

I'm gonna go home
at the end of the season

Broke with no friends.

Narrator: tony puts
his master plan in motion.

Tony:
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

[ Laughs ]

All right,
here's the first push.

Narrator:
and parker stakes everything

On new machines and new ground.

This ground is the best ground
that we've ever mined.

It's just, tony being the
neighbor is the biggest problem.

I don't care
what you do.

Yeah, you do.
You do care what you do.

What you're telling me right now
is to end my mining season.

Parker, you're smoking!
The pump is smoking!

[ Crash ]

[Bleep]

[ Screams ]

[ Screams ]