12x05 - Crank it to 11

[bunniefuu]

[Parker] This season,
we're definitely having
to take some bigger risks.

[narrator] 26-year-old
Parker Schnabel
has spent eight years

building his mining empire
in the Klondike.

But he's running
out of ground.

This season,
the only new claim

he could find
is deeper than anything
he's ever mined.

[Parker] Mud Mountain,

there's supposed to be
really good gold
but it is 50 feet deep.

Um, I mean,
some of it's 60 feet deep,

and that's 40, 50 grand a day

just doing stripping
and the bills keep coming in.

And right now,
we're only sluicing
at the airstrip.

And the gold's
just not coming in that fast,

so we definitely need
to, um, step it up.

[narrator] A mile away
at the airstrip,

Parker puts foreman
Mitch Blaschke in charge
with a skeleton crew.

This ground's
thawed out,

it's ready to go through
the plant.

It's just painfully
slow coming back in here,

you know, with the crew
that we have.

We've been
running Sluicifer 24/7.

[narrator] To pay
for Mud Mountain,

Parker needs to hit
from the airstrip

in the next three weeks.

Feeding the plant is, it's a big job.

You've got a timeline.

You've got to keep going.

It's non-stop.

[narrator]


is one of
Parker's rising new operators.

She loads the pay dirt
into Parker's only
working washplant, Sluicifer.

[Tatiana]
This year, I feel good.

I know what I'm doing, I know
what I'm looking out for.

I understand the plant,
the conveyors, so I enjoy it.

[narrator] At the other end
of the washplant,
Pascale clears the tailings.

Hey, Pascale, how's everything
looking over there?

It's great. How about you?

I think we really are doing
a great job up here.

Thanks, Tatiana.

[Parker on radio]
Let's crank it up.

Okay, if that's what you want.
You're the boss.

Uh, Parker wants us
to crank up the plant,

and that means I've got
to get the right tool
for the job.

This little pair of pliers
right here
might not look like much,

but this will control
just how much yardage
we do with Sluicifer.

I took the knob off
a couple of years ago
because we've had an issue

with operators jumping out,
you know,
adjusting the feed rate,

it's just not quite right.

Right now, we're at about


I'm going
to dial this knob here
and we're sh**ting for 250.

You want more gold,
you've got to take
some chances.

Hey, Tatiana,
you got a copy?

Yeah, copy.

[Mitch] Okay,
hold up for a sec.

- Parker wants us
to crank this thing up.
- Okay.

We've been running


I just set it at 250,
so you're going to have
pick up the pace here a bit.

- Okay, roger that.
-[Mitch] All right?

- Thanks.
- No worries.

[narrator] Running
should produce 15% more gold.

[Tatiana] Right now,
we are in fifth gear,
so just going super-fast.

[narrator]
But it also produces


[machines running]

Oh, sh**t,
the tailings are starting
to build up.

I'm going to have
to go help Pascale.

It's just... This is
absolutely crazy

trying to keep it up,
move at all.

[narrator]
If the tailings build up,
it will jam the conveyor

and break the plant.

Hey, Mitch,
you got a copy, Mitch?

[Mitch] Yeah, go ahead.

Can you please come over here?

I just need to have
a chat with you.

Yeah, no problem.

Me and Pascale
are really struggling
to keep up

with the plant right now
as two people
is just not enough.

[Mitch] Yeah, you need
one more person
to make it work?

- Yeah.
-[Mitch] All right.

Well, I know a guy.
Just, uh...

give me 10 minutes.
I'll get you
some help down here.

- Okay, awesome. Thank you.
-[Mitch] Yup.

Hey, Chris, you got a copy?

Yeah, Mitch, this is Doumitt.

Yeah, hey, can you come down
to Sluicifer?

I need you to run loader here
and do some tailing,

but I just don't have
enough bodies down here.

So, I need you to come out
of retirement if you can.

I'll be there
in just a few minutes.

All right, thanks.

I work the gold room,
that's my job,

plus I do
a lot of peripheral stuff.

Every year
since I've been with Parker,

we've been able
to get more and more gold.

We're breaking records
year after year.

This could be the first year
that not only do
we not break a record--

I take that back.

We could break a record
going backwards.

[Doumitt]
We're as much as a team
as we are a family up here.

You know,
if you can do a job,
you do it.

Last time I was in a loader
was about two years ago.

It seems so big and scary.

Yay, I see Doumitt over there,
so I can finally focus
just, just here in the plant

and let Doumitt
help Pascale for now,
that would be really nice.

[machine whirring]

I can say getting back
in the loader
is like riding a bike,

but I always used
to fall off a bike,

so we're not going
to use that example.

Oh, crap!

Tatiana, Tatiana,
shut down the plant,
shut down the plant.

You're all jammed up.

Pre-wash is loaded up,
the dirt is spilling out
everywhere, girl.

[washplant rumbling]

[engine stops]

That's what happens
when you try to stuff

three pounds
on a two pound can.

They're just feeding
this thing too fast.

I feel really good
about how things are going.

I mean, you know,
the cost to gold ratio
right now is... is great.

We're on track for, you know,
a very profitable year.

[narrator]
At Lower Duncan Creek,
Rick Ness is riding high.

[Rick] I'm clearing
an overburden in the creek cut

so that we can keep
enough pay into the plant.

I mean, this is basically
what we hung our hat
on last year

and this is what we run.

Last year, this
is what got us to our goal.

It's what got us
started this year
and it's been consistent.

[narrator] Just five weeks in,
he's already mined


It's his fastest start ever.

[Rick] But the biggest problem
that we've got right now

is we're fast running
out of pay in the creek cut,

and all that's left now
is this last little strip.

That's going to get us
maybe five, six more days
of running, if that.

In order to progress here
in Duncan Creek,
we... we have to get bigger.

And if I want to keep growing,
we're going to have
to spend more to make more.

Do you mind just being over it
like four feet or five feet

this way next time?

I know you
want me closer to you, right?

I just really,
really miss you.

[Brennan laughing]

[narrator] Expert dirt mover,
Brennan Ruault,
loads pay into a rock truck

for Chris Kruse
to take to the washplant.

He looks like
a man with a plan.

What's up, buddy?

So, we're just about
out of ground here
in this creek cut, huh?

[Brennan] Yeah.

We've got to pivot fast. Um...

I mean, I've been thinking
about where we can go

and I think that
I want to go upstream

and kind of stay
on the same pay layer.

I... I haven't done any poking
around up there yet,

but I know that this has
all been real consistent.

[Brennan] Yeah.

So, I don't see
any reason why
it shouldn't stay like it is.

[Brennan] Right.

[narrator] If the pay streak
from the creek cut continues
under the 26 acres

of frozen ground to the west,
it could contain over
a 1,000 ounces in gold.

The one bad thing about...
about heading that way though
is that it is frozen, right.

There's permafrost there,
so we know
it's never been mined.

We haven't dealt
with any permafrost
really here yet,

and I don't think there'll be
too much frozen mud there
either, right?

Well, that'll be a nice place
to try
that new dozer out anyway.

Maybe see how that thing rips?

Yeah, no [bleep].

So do you want me
to go flash that dozer up
or what?

I don't know yet.

I don't know
if you're going to be
the one to run it.

Are you [bleep] serious?
I come up here in minus 30

and put it together
and you're taking my thunder?

Come on.

How much money
did you pay for it?

[Brennan] Lots.

[all laughing]

[Rick] It seems like
the perfect opportunity
to see what it's got.

Okay. Well, I'm down for that.

Start burning the $100 bills.

-[Brennan laughing]
-[Kruse] Move some mountains,
boys.

Fuel bill's
going up today, boys.

-[Brennan] Whoo!
- Way up.

[engine revving]

[narrator]
The 900 horsepower


cost half a million dollars.

It burns two
and a half thousand dollars

of fuel a day,

the same as all of Rick's
other equipment combined.

Yeah, definitely
it's pretty sweet
that Rick has let me

operate this big beast.

If I get to be on this for,
for a big part of the season,
I'll be pretty happy.

This dozer is definitely built
to help open up
ground way faster

when it comes
to these frost points.

You know, this is
the right tool for the job,
and it'll get things done

quick, 'cause you can see
the size of it.

[narrator] The 475 pushes
to rock trucks
worth of dirt

while the six-foot ripper
shank tears
through the frozen ground.

[Brennan] I'm just trying
to hammer down, now
that you see the sun's out,

and it's making a mess
of absolutely everything.

I mean [bleep]
look how soft this is.
Got to go real gentle.

I mean, this dozer is


You know, like look at this,
I'm already sinking here.

[groans]

Now, my worst nightmare
just happened.

[bleep]

That's not good.

[Brennan] Sweet.

[bleep]

[bleep] stuck, what a [bleep].

[Brennan groans]

Hey, Rick,
you got a copy, Rick?

Yeah, go for Rick.

Hey, buddy, I think I need
your hand over here,

got a little bit stuck
in the dozer.

Brennan, that's not like you.
Are you serious?

[Brennan laughing]

Yeah, I tried capping off
some really soupy [bleep]

there is some good stuff,

and just [bleep] sunk through,
so...

Stopped before
it got real bad.

All right, well,
just hold tight.
I'll be right over there.

[narrator]
At Lower Duncan Creek,

Brennan Ruault has sunk

Rick's half million dollar
dozer into deep mud.

[Rick] We're running low
on pay in the creek cut,

I, basically, have
to keep stripping.

This stuff right here,
this is going
to put us behind.

Any kind of delay is a risk
that we'll have
to shut the plant down.

What happened
is I pushed a little too far
trying to ramp out there.

And as soon as
I left it, my blade,
the front end,

just sunk down
and then my ripper was stuck
on this sharp frozen edge,

so I kind of
couldn't get out of it.

[Rick]
As soon as I get this dug out,

he should be able to come,
just come forward

and track right on
through the [bleep]

and then get back up
and get back to work.

[Brennan] It's not stuck
all that bad,
it's just enough

that I can't quite
get enough traction
to back out of it.

Brennan, I'm not going to hit
anything out there, am I?

No, I don't know
if I'd pull there, Rick.

Maybe just see
if you can grab that corner
bit on my low side there.

[Rick] Can I go there?

Yeah, that'll work up
there, too, you bet.

Come on, baby,
we're right there. Come on.

There we go.

Whoo! [bleep] yeah.

[shouting] sh**t ya!

[laughs] sh**t ya.

[bleep] if that
wasn't a rookie card, eh?

I know you're nervous,
you're trying to impress me,
so I'll let it go.

[laughs] Thanks, buddy.

What not to do?

Follow Big CAT for more tips.

As of right now,
I'm pretty far behind
the power curve, you know.

A lot of things happened
that weren't supposed to.

We're really behind
the eight ball at this point.

[narrator]
Deep in the wilderness
at California Creek,

nearly a quarter of the way
through the mining season,

special forces veteran,
Fred Lewis, has less than
two ounces of gold.

Got to really focus
on moving forward.

I've had no crew,
I've had no time,

I've been behind schedule
the entire season,

but I'm all in
on California Creek,

so right now we've got
to make it happen.

You know,
it could, it could have
just maybe a little bit more

to get her up
to the full line.

[narrator] So far,
former Green Beret mechanic
JB Mayer has been

his only crew, until now.

[JB] Who is that, Fred?

Oh, that's Stuart and Chris.

Woo-hoo!

[Stuart]
What's up, brother?

- Hey, whoo!
-[Stuart] Oh, man.

- How have you been, man?
- Good. How's it going?

- How's the family?
- Good.

- Hey, man.
- Oh, son! Ah, thank you.

- JB.
- Good to see you.

[Fred]
How's your mother?

Christopher, right?

This is JB,
our mechanic.

We have a mechanic, Stuart.

A mechanic!

[narrator]
Infantry Scout sn*per,
Stuart McKenzie,

is the only one of Fred's crew
of military veterans

to come back
after last season.

We've got
good equipment right now,
we have a 220.

We're working on some more,
but we're going to make sure
we get all good equipment.

Gold is here, man.

We've just got to figure out
where that pay level starts,
pull it out and we're good.

[narrator]
Short on returning crew,

Fred drafted in his stepson,
Christopher Parker.

[Fred]
You guys want to go see it?

Yeah, let's go
check it out, bro.

[Fred] So,
how have you been, Stuart?

[Stuart] Yeah, Good man.
I'm not going to lie.

It was pretty tough
coming up here, man.

[narrator] Fred's
leased eight claims
on California Creek,

a remote, unproven piece
of virgin ground
over 40 miles away

from the nearest town.

[narrator] He stripped
an area to mine

that's the size
of four football fields,

but he still has another
three feet
to go before pay dirt.

[Stuart] You know,
I have a pretty good feeling
about this season.

This is the Wild Wild West
when it comes to gold mining.

Been dying to get up here.

So, a lot of people
would probably question
my coming back to work

with Fred because of
how bad last season ended.

It's not Fred's fault
that there was no gold
in the ground in Oregon.

If we ever wanted
to make anything
of gold mining, you know,

we had to come to the Yukon.

We're about to make
a lot of money
with a lot of gold.

[Christopher] Oh, wow!

[Fred]
I'll get you some boots.

You know the controls,
confident in that?

-[Christopher] Yeah.
-[Fred] All right.

Keep your bucket straight.

Do not curl
like you're digging.

We're not trying to dig.
We're just trying
to move dirt to the side.

I'm excited
to embarrass myself.

You're going to do great.

[narrator] Before he allows
to work on the mine,

he first tests him out.

Stay clear, everyone.

[Fred] I got him a job
on a farm

just to get
some more excavator work.

So he does have stick time,
but I've never really seen him
operate myself.

Yeah, the only thing
you did on that, Christopher,

is you started to go forward
before you lift it up.

Yeah, no,
I didn't realize that

the bucket was
out all the way.

Yeah,
otherwise it was perfect.
Just keep it up.

It's because
I am perfection personified,
as you know.

I'd say one thing
that I have ingrained
in Christopher

that may have been
a bad idea is a little bit
of overconfidence.

[narrator] Christopher
is also ex-military

and the son of Fred's wife,
Khara.

Fred has helped raise him
since he was seven.

How's it feeling there,
Christopher?

You're doing
a really good job.

Did you expect any less?

I mean, it's me
we're talking about here.

Get back to work.

[Fred] Luckily,
I've known Christopher
for almost his whole life,

so I know how to train him,
I know how to push him

and I know
how not to push him.

So, that's going
to help me a lot.

But he's a stubborn
little punk sometimes.

So, I got him on this trial.

He's k*lling it.

I could say he's graduated.

I'm about to get
the hell out of his hair

and let him
get some work done.

[narrator] Down in the Cut,
Stuart has
his work cut out for him.

[Stuart] And I mean,
look at this,

the mud is just
un-[bleep]-believable.

Now, we've got
to just get it
the [bleep] out of here.

[bleep]

[Stuart]
Water inspectors are here.

They have the ability
to shut us down

and make our life
a living [bleep] hell.

Fred is talking
with the inspectors.

He is kind of
giving them the lowdown.

You know, if these guys
are unhappy,

then we're going
to be very [bleep] unhappy.

You can kind of record
a little bit,

but cameras down here
in a minute.

Those guys [bleep]
I don't think
are in a very good mood.

[narrator] On Fred Lewis'
California Creek claim,

water inspectors
have turned up

and hit Fred with
a list of things he must fix
before he can do any mining.

[Stuart] Well [bleep]
that's just extra work

that's just going
to put us more behind.

I think at this point
what we have to do
is, uh, be compliant...

[Stuart] Yeah.

...and do what they want,

- make them happy.
- Yeah.

But it's also going
to teach us
how to do it right.

[Fred]
We've got to remove
all the overburden

and topsoil
from around the creek.

We've got to get gravel
and build berms,

and we've got to lay gravel
on our road.

After that, we've got
to stop permafrost that's
leaking into the creek.

Okay.

So, we've got
a huge laundry list to do,

but it's all stuff
we relatively
had to do anyways.

[narrator] To prevent
melting permafrost

from washing mud
into the creek,

they need to build berms
on either side,

move the road nine feet
from the water's edge,

then armor both
with gravel to secure them.

[Fred] We're going
to have to basically focus

on every single thing
he told us to do.

[Stuart] Yeah.

Until then,
we're not doing anything else.

[Stuart] We've got
a week to do it.

[Fred] We're going
to run 24 hours.

But I still don't know
if we're going
to get through it then.

Well, you know what?

We could sit here
and [bleep] talk about it
all day long I think.

But the key is we have
a lot more work to do now.

So, we're really
going to have to focus
from this point on

and just knock [bleep] out
and do it right.

-[JB] You said it.
-[Fred] Let's get
the [bleep] going.

- Focus. Definitely.
- Roger that.

[JB] This has got to be
our road access,

and obviously, if you look
now, it's... it's nowhere
near that.

So, the road
is probably one of
the most important parts

of our mine operation
because we have
to be able to move freely

and quickly down it.

And right now,
it's a freaking nightmare.

It's k*lling us.
It's slowing everything down.

So until
all this overburden is out,
we're kind of stuck.

[narrator] Fred gets started
on the berm...

[Fred] We've got
to do this right.

[Stuart] Our entire mine site
is covered in three feet
of liquid mud.

[narrator] ...while Stewart
and JB get stuck
into building the new road.

We have so much
that we need to clean out

that we can be running
for 24 hours.

Right now,
I'm pulling double duty.

I'm doing the excavator
and I'm also doing
the rock truck.

We're trying to get
this mud out of here,
you know.

It's not a simple task.

[JB] Oh, my God,
he's losing dirt
all out the truck, man.

So all of that muck right now
is on top of our new road
we just built.

[Fred] Oh, my gosh!

[Stuart] This tedious
[bleep] of removing

[bleep] muck is getting
on my [bleep] nerves.

You know what, I don't like
leaving things unfinished.

This was my problem all day,
but we had a shift change.

So, this is now
Fred's problem.

Hopefully, it won't be mine
in the morning.

Hey, Tyson, Tyson,
you got a copy, man?

We need some help down here.

Whoa, take a look at this one.

We got a bit of shoveling,
eh, bud?

What do you think?

[bleep]

[narrator]
At the airstrip cut,

Parker's washplant is down
with a jammed hopper.

[man] How do you like
the look of that?

[Tyson] Climb up there,
then I'll give her
a little water.

Oh yeah, hang on a minute,
you good, Alex?

Did you say go?

[man] No, no, no, no,
don't [bleep] press go.

Okay, go for it.

[Mitch] This conveyor, well,
it's built
for removing overburden.

We're using it here
for feeding the washplant.

[narrator] Running more pay
has increased the weight
on the conveyor

and slowed it down,
so the dirt is not thrown
far enough

into the pre-wash
for the water
jets to clear it.

The material is falling
too far back in the pre-wash.

So, we're going to increase
the belt speed here

and that's going to allow
the material to land
where we need it to.

[narrator] Speeding up
the super conveyor's belt

should launch the pay further
into the pre-wash.

This thing, uh,
won't pull any RPM.
It's at 1,600.

If I try and turn it up
to 1,800,
it just starts smoking.

You can hear it.

Something's wrong.

The engine
just won't perform here.

But we need to keep
this thing running.

Let's just try
and scoot this thing
ahead a little bit.

We might have
a little spillage,

but that's kind of
where we're at.

[narrator] Mitch's plan
is to move the super conveyor
closer to Sluicifer.

Obviously, we don't want
material spilling out here,

but you have to have
this land in the correct spot
of the pre-wash.

You know,
we always want to run
as much yards as we can,

but there's a real fine line.

You've got to find
that sweet spot
where these plants run.

So, we were originally
at 220 yards an hour
before Parker wanted us

to jack everything up here
and get this thing ripping.

Now, we're at 250
and we're just
really fighting it.

I'm going to slow it down here
just a little bit,
sh**t for about 240,

and we'll see
how she runs there.

I'll turn it down a little.

[narrator] It's cost them
three hours
and $13,000 in lost gold.

[Mitch] The thing is right
where she needs to be.

We should have a good clean
up here if she holds together

and we'll just let 'er buck.

[engine running]

The creek has paid so good,

I... I just wish there
was more of it.

[narrator]
In the mountains above Keno,
Rick Ness is aiming

for 2,000 ounces this year.

But he's almost through
the creek cut
that has kept him

in gold since last season.

We've got one very good thing
going for us right now,

and that's
the plant's running.

Um, everything around that
is very scary.

[narrator] In the frozen cut,
Brennan spent five days
digging down to pay

in the massive 475 dozer.

[Brennan] Definitely,
we've had a few struggles
along the way

getting this frozen cut
opened up here.

[narrator]
If he doesn't hit pay soon,

Rick won't have
anywhere to mine.

[Brennan] I'm just getting
frustrated here, you know,

I finally get the dozer
to start ripping
and opening up some ground,

and all of a sudden I'm into
some frozen blue clay.

And I'm not too sure,
and there's huge pockets
of it as well.

So I mean, it's, kind of,
weird different layers,
you know.

I have no idea what's going on
and it's not making
any sense to me here.

You know, I don't know.
Do I go through that clay
in hopes

that there's gravel underneath?

I don't know because
I'm new to this ground.

I think I'm just going
to give Rick a call
and get him down here

to see what his thoughts
are because
I don't want to sit here

and burn a bunch of fuel
and waste a bunch of time
if it's just gonna be [bleep].

Got a copy there, Rick?

Yeah, go for Rick.

Hey, buddy, I don't know
what's going on down here.

I'm hitting
some huge clay pockets
that are frozen,

so I just-- I don't know
what to think about it.

You mind coming
and checking them out?

[Rick] Yeah,
I'll be right there, Brennan.

All right, perfect. Thanks.

[narrator] Rick gambled
on the pay layer
in the creek cut

extending into the frozen cut.

How's it going, buddy?

It's turned into a bit of
a mess out here, huh?

Yeah, I know.

[Rick] We should have
already hit gravel.

- There's no gravel there.
-[Brennan] No.

[Rick]
And I can see that wall,
it's just clay and mud.

[Brennan] Yeah,
and it's almost like,
it's almost like a weird...

It's almost sticky,
you know what I mean?

[Rick] It's like, it's clay.

Well, and that's the problem,
it looks like the clay

that's supposed
to be under the pay.

[Brennan] Yeah, exactly.

[Rick] It's not like anything
I've run across out here
or really anywhere.

But I mean, we've got
how many days here
in this one area,

and it's just
there's no end in sight.

No. I don't want to keep going
if it's going to be

a waste my [bleep] time
and your money.

[Rick] Yeah,
it doesn't make any sense

and the fact that
I'm not seeing
any gravel anyway

- where there should be
gravel...
-[Brennan] Yeah.

I mean, I [bleep]...
We can't just keep
throwing money at this.

We've got to find
some thawed ground,
I think, and fast.

[Brennan] Yeah.

[Rick] I say we just walk away
from this for now.

-[Brennan] Okay.
- You can park that big CAT
and let's...

-[Brennan] All right.
-[Rick] Let's find some pay.

[Rick]
I try and keep my calm,

but it doesn't make
any [bleep] sense.

[narrator] The frozen cut
is to the west
of the creek cut.


a glacier pulled gold
from the mother lode.

As it melted,
the gold washed down
the valley.

Where the water moved faster,
the gold settled
on a layer of bedrock.

But at the frozen cut
where the water flowed
more slowly,

the gold appears to have
been distributed
in a thick layer of clay.

This is a [bleep] disaster.

You know, I just spent
hole in the ground

and all we found is clay.

So what's worse than that,
we're almost out of pay dirt

and we're going to have
to shut the [bleep]
plant down.

If that happens,


not [bleep] happening.
Start this piece [bleep].

Doing the berms,
the road and taking care
of the drainage,

as we're trying
to remove overburden
is proving to be

nearly impossible
in the timeline
that he set up.

So, if he comes
and inspects us at this point,
we're pretty screwed.

[narrator]
At California Creek,
Fred's four-man crew

have been working all week
to complete the changes

required by
the water inspectors

to prevent mud
getting into the creek.

These 12-hour shifts, man,
they're [bleep] brutal.

Fred is out here
pushing me to my limit.

It's every day.

It's tedious,
mind-numbing, boring.

And I am [bleep] exhausted.

[narrator] Fred has just
one day left
before the inspectors return

to assess the work and decide
whether to shut him down.

[Stuart]
We're hitting it hard.

You know,
the work's been challenging.

It's one of those things
you hope what you're doing
is going to be up to par

and good enough
for everything, you know.

We got a lot
of the road built already

that we worked on last night
and this morning.

It's a pretty good feeling
that we're actually
accomplishing something.

[Fred] So,
this is the end of our road.

We've already punched
about a quarter of a mile
of this road

and this is the only section
we have left to finish,
literally, this is it.

What I'm doing is
I'm bringing in gravel

from the other spots
of the claim
and dropping it on the roads

and patting it in,
so it stays nice and firm.

All right.

[narrator] Fred has been
collecting gravel
higher up the hill.

[Fred] No. Whoa.

Oh, [bleep] this is all ice.

So now, I've got to try
and turn myself,
so I don't flip.

This sucks right now
because I'm facing sideways
and I'm just sliding on ice.

Whoo!

[bleep]

[narrator]
The 220 excavator weighs


[Fred groans]
Argh!

You know, I've jumped out
of planes at 22,000,

it's the highest
I've ever jumped,
and I never was nervous.

And that 60 feet
in the excavator
definitely made me shake.

[narrator]
After working all night,

Fred's crew have finished
the road.

But the inspectors
are due any time

and they still
haven't finished the berms.

[Fred] What I'm basically
doing is driving
the entire claim

in the excavator
looking for berms to fix
and tightening those areas up

to make sure
we're within regulation.

[JB] I think right now
the berms are doing their job.

It did rain a couple of
days ago pretty hard

and what we had built up
to that point held up.

[Fred] You know,
we've been all hands on deck.

We went to 24-hour shifts
just for
this water inspection.

And right now,
I'm a little uncertain

on whether
or not we're going to pass.

You know,
there's an actual probability
of getting blacklisted

if you, if you really mess
something up here
in the Yukon,

and I don't want
to get blacklisted
from anywhere from anything,

let alone the best place
in the world to gold mine.

[car honking]

Nacho, he is the greatest dog.

He has definitely got
a lot of personality,

very stubborn,
minimal patience,

that's why he taught himself
how to honk the horn.

[horn honking]

[Taylor]
Hey, what's your problem?

You hungry?

[narrator] Nacho, the pug,
is Taylor,
the mechanic's dog.

[Taylor laughing]

[Taylor] Got to be close
to lunchtime, eh?

When I first noticed
that he was
likely knew what he was doing,

I was in a rock truck
working like this

and he is laying on the horn
while looking back
at me like this.

And I opened the door
and I could tell
he was thirsty.

So as best as I could tell,
he was trying to let me know.

But he does get a reaction.

So, I think
he knows it's effective.

Right, Bud?

[horn honking]

Well, it's been
a disaster of a week

wasting all that time
and money in the frozen cut.

But the good news is,
my girlfriend is
about to arrive.

[narrator] Rick has been
apart from his new girlfriend
for almost two months.

You know who is coming?

Oh-h*, your favorite person,
Leese, she's going
to be here any minute.

I met my girlfriend, Leese,
like really shortly
after I got home

and pretty much spent
the whole winter with her.

Yeah, we just clicked
and clicked enough for me
to say, "Hey,

do you want to come up here,
you know, with me this year?"

Which is a huge,
huge change for me.

You know, that's a big step
for her, too.

So, it's not glamorous,
you know, but the fact
that she agreed to do it

I think says a lot.

You know,
this is, uh, a big new thing,
big new thing for me.

Swinging for the fences
with this one, I guess.

[Rick laughing]

Who's that?
Who's out there?

Is that Leese?

[narrator]
Originally from Wisconsin,

Leese Marie has built
a career as a nurse.

[Leese] I missed you so much.

[Rick] I missed you, too.

[Leese] Very...

You're pulling
my pants down with your legs.

-[Leese] I'm sorry.
I hate you.
-[laughing]

- You got bags?
- I got bags.

- How was your trip?
- It was long.

- It was long?
- Yeah.

It's going
to be worth it, all right.

[Leese] Yes.

Oh, my Lord.

[indistinct chatter]

Uh, Rick's old lady
showed up today, right?

-[Brennan] Oh, nice.
-[Nate] He's go
a girlfriend?

Cool.

Yep. His name is Dave.

[Brennan] Ricky, attaboy.

[Chris] And here they are.

-[Brennan] Oh, is this Dave?
-[Chris] The happy couple!

I might have told them
that your girlfriend
was actually a dude.

-[Leese] Ooh!
-[Rick] That's...
that's rough.

You guys haven't even
met Leese yet.

- Leese, this is Nate.
-[Nate] Hello, how's it going?

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet ya.

That bum over there
is Brennan.

[Brennan]
Big CAT, actually a.k.a.

[Nate] Oh, my Lord!

You know,
you know Kruse.

[Chris] Yeah, I'm the,
I'm the smoke eater here.

[Rick]
Come on, sit next to me.

Happy to have Leese here,
um, to support me,

and hopefully, you'll see
a happier me out there.

Richard!

[everybody laughing]

[Brennan] Well, that's good.

- Love you, babe.
- I love you, too.

[Brennan] I love you, Richard.

-[bleep] you guys.
-[Brennan] Aww!

It was
an interesting week, I guess.

You know what's sweet,
is I got stuck in the 475.

What a joke!

I don't think
there's anything left to do
but pour some gold, right?

[Brennan] You're going
to count the numbers there?

Yes...
where I'm sitting here.

I'm going
to count the numbers.

[narrator] So far,
Rick has averaged
over 80 ounces a week.

-[Rick] Ready?
- Ready.

All right, here we go.

[Leese] 10, 20, 30, 40, 50,





Holy [bleep].
That's [bleep] sweet, man.

We've been going up
every week.

[narrator]
Worth over $173,000,

it's Rick's biggest gold weigh
so far this season,

putting him at 346 ounces.

Not a bad week.

-[Brennan] Yeah.
-[Rick] Yeah?

That even covers the cost
of that 475 running

and not getting any gold
out of that frozen cut.

[all] Ooh!

Richard!

Yeah, on that note,
let's get to work.

- Come on.
-[Nate] Sounds good.

[narrator] But to reach
his goal of 2,000 ounces,

he desperately
needs new ground.

[Rick] Well, we banked
some gold this week,

but we took a big hit
in the frozen cut,
it's a bust.

And the creek cut,
pay is almost gone there.

So, I need to find
some new ground
to mine and fast.

- What's up, man?
-[Fred] Hey, hey!

[Stuart]
What are you up to, brother?

-[Fred]
How are you guys doing?
-[Stuart] Good.

[narrator]
After a week of work,
Fred's time is up.

The water inspector
is due to return today.

If their road and the berms
don't measure up,

the site could be
permanently closed.

There's nothing
he told us to do
we haven't done.

The question is,
did we do it good enough?

- Yeah.
- I mean, we're new at this.

-[Stuart] Yeah.
-[Fred] All greenhorns.

Yeah, all greenhorns.

[Fred] I think
we've moved more dirt
just the four of us

- than we've moved
all season last season.
- That's... Yeah.

We worked
our butt off doing it.

[Fred] Yeah,
I'm really proud of you guys.

But at the same time,
this water guy could come in
and say,

"It's not amazing,"
and shut us down.

That's what's really
scaring me right now.

[Stuart] Yeah.
If he shuts us down--

[Fred] We're done.

It sucks to put in
all the [bleep] work
just to have us go home

because of just
a couple of mistakes.

He's here.

All right.

I'm going to go deal
with this guy,
I guess it's now.

- Good luck.
- You guys can't film him.

I'm sorry.

How are you doing?

We're winning.

Want to go see?

I walk with you just in case
you've got questions.

I know, man,
I would be really,
really [bleep] pissed

if this is what shut us down.

I'm nervous as hell.

You know, we've worked
our [bleep] asses off on this.

I don't think
there's really too much
more we could have done.

I really don't.

I mean, I really hate
that our entire season
hangs in the balance.

Chris,
can you see them at all?

They're just [bleep] standing
there chatting
and pointing at [bleep].

[narrator] After an hour
of walking the site,
Fred is given a decision.

[Fred] Oh, my gosh!

[Christopher] That sounds
like disappointment.

[John] You took forever...

That was a military
white glove inspection.

- Really?
-[Christopher] Really?

[Fred] You know,
it was probably one of
the most stressful things

I've gone through.
It really felt like
basic training,

and the drill sergeant
checking my sock drawer.

Um, there were
some issues, but...

key is we passed.

- We [bleep] passed.
- Good deal.

[JB]
Was he, was he happy with--

Uh, he was extremely happy
with our berms and our roads.

He thought they were great.

So essentially,
we live to fight another day.

[Fred] Let's get to it
and let's get some gold.

That's a relief, man.
That is a relief relief.

Hey, all you guys did it,
all you guys did it,
all three of you.

That couldn't have gone
any better.

We've got to get back to work.

We're through this hurdle,
but you never know
when he he could come back,

so we've got to keep it going.

[Taylor] Hey, Doumitt,
want some chips?

Oh, no, thanks.

[narrator]
At the start of the week,
Parker sped up the washplant.

[Doumitt]
...push some dirt around.

-[Taylor] How's it going, man?
-[Doumitt] Hey, young man.

Not bad.

[narrator] Time to find out
if his decision paid off.

-[Parker] Hey, Mitchell.
-[Taylor] What's happening?

[Mitch] Howdy, hi.

I bet you're ready
for that cigar there
after your day in the loader.

[Doumitt] It's fun getting
back into the thing,

but I definitely
know I was...

I've been in a machine.

[Mitch] Oh, yeah.

[Doumitt]
It was a bittersweet.

I say we throw some gold
on the scales.

You wanna count out, Mitch?

[Mitch] Yeah, let's
see what we got this week.

Here we go.

Fifty...

[narrator] To hit Parker's


[Mitch] 150.

[narrator] ...Sluicifer needs


[Mitch] 280, 300,
still got some in there,





[narrator] Worth $677,000.

- Wow.
-[Doumitt] Our best week.

-[Parker] Yeah.
-[Mitch] Our best week so far.

[Doumitt] Yes.

I stand corrected,
the best week so far.

-[Mitch] Yeah.
-[Doumitt] Yeah.

Smoking week.

Well, that just goes to show,
more rocks means more gold.

For this season,
we broke a 1,000,


- Very nice, very nice.
- Yeah.

You look like
an old bookie with that thing.

I'm... I'm still a pencil
and paper kind of guy.

[Parker] I'm going to dinner.

- Good job, guys.
- Good job, Chris.

- Thanks, buddy.
- Thank you, sir.

I know it's not been fun,
but we're getting there.

Things will settle down.

- Let's go get some dinner.
-[Doumitt] Yeah.

All right,
I'll bag this stuff up.

Thanks, you guys.
You did a great job.