09x01 - Big Cold Gold

[bunniefuu]

**

Narrator: last summer,
on "bering sea gold"...

Our mission is
to find some gold.

It's getting harder and harder
to find the ground

To make a good living.

Narrator: the quest for new
gold-rich ground...

Woman: oh.
Whoa.

It's time to go find
a different place to mine.

Narrator: push the alaskan
mining fleet...

Throwing anchor!

Farther than ever before...

Woman:
go find us lots of gold, zeke!

Man: we're gonna go out on more
dangerous missions,

To go find something
that hasn't been found.

Narrator: striking pay dirt
in two remote locations.

Holy mother of god!

Man: out there, in front
of that creek,

There is a source of
exploitable, good gold.

Man: oh, yeah!
Here we go, boys, here we go!

We're in the gold, buddy.

Let the gold streak begin.

We might have hit
the mother lode.

**

Narrator: now, as the winter
mining season begins,

The discovery of
the two new hot spots

Has set off
a modern-day gold rush.

Man:
there's a fortune down there.

And they want to try
to follow me up.

Come on.

We're gonna show all these boys
what gold mining's all about.

Yeah!

There's gold under
every rock down here!

Whoo.

This is gonna be my family's
chance to become millionaires.

Right now, you're gonna see

The beginning of the empire
of kris.

This is the farthest you've ever
taken us out of nome.

This is the biggest gold
we're going after.

Man:
I believe that there could be

Multiple careers worth of gold

In the location
that I've discovered.

I owe it to myself
to do it right.

I've never had to go down
an ice tunnel before.

Good god.

Woman: this is the hardest thing
I've ever done,

And ultimately, it's just me.

Many people fail, and I'm not
gonna be the one that fails.

Oh!


**

[ Whoops ]

Narrator: this season...

I got to get the hell
out of here!

That ice is blowing out fast!

It's not a question
of where the gold is...

See what I'm talking about?

He's got gold!

...but who can
get to it first.

Did you find this?!

Woman:
god, that's gorgeous.

Man: load the r*fles, boys.

The old west rules
are in effect.

So overwhelmed by...
[ Inhales ]

How truly
horrifying it really is.

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

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

**

Narrator: nome, alaska.

For over a century, gold fever

Has brought treasure hunters
to this remote port.


The continental united states.

Risking life and limb for a shot

At the richest offshore
mining deposit in the world.

Since 1898, miners have found
over 3 1/2 million

Ounces of gold.


The rush continues.

**

Man: whew. Made it.

Here we are.

Back at the bluff.

I can't wait.

Narrator: mr. Gold,
shawn pomrenke,

Turns to the grounds

He believes will fortify
the family empire.

I think, uh, we could be walking
over a million dollars

Right now -- this is the spot,
this is the spot.

It's gonna get us --
make us all rich.

Narrator: last summer...

Man:
that's a big nugget, there.

Narrator:
shawn's faith in the bluff

Finally paid off,

When he uncovered
a massive pay streak.

There it is.
Right there.

Narrator: and he staked a claim
to secure the grounds

For the future
of the shawn pomrenke family.

First claim I ever staked.

And it's all in the richest
offshore reserve in the world.

Narrator:
except for one little problem.

We went through all the work,
staking,

Filing all the paperwork,

Sending out everything,

And they issued us
all this stuff,

And then at the end,
they want to take it back,

And it's like, well,
you already issued this.

Narrator:
the claim was rejectee,

Leaving the grounds open
to anyone.

Pisses a guy off to --
you do all that work.

I don't know what --
what the deal is, but...

I'm still fighting it.

Eventually somebody will
show up down there, but...

By then, I'll have the mother
lode sucked up and out of there.

Narrator: the setback came
right on the heels

Of another major blow.

Well, they didn't
accept our offer.

They sold nome gold
to somebody else who outbid us.

Last summer, the pomrenkes
attempted to purchase


Of inland mining ground.

But their bid came up short.

I need to be able to support
my friend and family

And my workers.

You're thinking you're gonna
have enough land to mine

For the rest of your life.

It was a pretty sad day when
I found out we didn't get it.

Narrator: with the nome
gold property lost,

And the bluff suddenly
open to the public,

Shawn already has
two strikes this year.

He can't afford a third.

My goal is to make enough money

To get the big barge
up and running.

It's possible.

Anything's possible
in gold mining.

Narrator: to turn the family
business into a dynasty,

He's planning
the biggest project

In the family's history --

A 165-foot-long,


That will cost upwards
of $6 million.

We had $3 million set aside to
purchase nome gold,

But now I'm out
looking for another $3 million

To build the mega dredge.

And hopefully the bluff
is gonna pay for that.

We're just, uh,
upgrading our mess here.

We've got, uh,
little bit of plumbing,

Straighten everything out.

We put 20 feet of hose on.

Now we can reach out,
touch somebody.

Narrator: to extract gold
from the sea floor,

Miners are tethered to air,

Hot water, and communications.

Using a suction hose,
they vacuum up dirt,

And hopefully gold,
into their sluice boxes.

**

I'm gonna go down,
try to find that boulder

And that big pile of nuggets

I know that's under it.

Narrator: shawn's plan?

Locate a boulder he found
at the end of last summer.

A big rock that should lie
on top of big gold.

[ Respirator hissing ]

[ Generator chugging ]

**

**

Narrator:
below four feet of ice,

The bering sea drops
to a bone-chilling



Man: how's it looking
down there, boss?

Man: looking good, man,
looking good.

Narrator: without a constant
hot-water supply,

Hypothermia will set in
within minutes.

Man:
how about that visibility?

Can you see here?

Man: yeah.
Good visibility.

**

I'm coming into
a boulder patch here.

There's a lot of big rocks.

**

Big rocks, big gold.

Start dredging here.

See what I find.

Trying to get back on the track
to the mother lode, here.

**

Narrator: 80 miles to the west,
at the port of nome...

We're gonna just take
a bunch of sleds.

We're gonna latch
everything to them.

The fightin' irish are ready
to battle

With the frozen bering sea.

And the news of shawn's
discovery at the bluff

Has inspired captain kris
with an original plan...

We're going to follow
shawn to the bluffs.

Follow mr. Gold
to the gold.

We're gonna build everything --

Finishing building
everything out there.

Okay.
I think it's a great idea.

That's what we're gonna do.

Shawn messed up,
telling everybody

That there was
big gold down there.

He started a new gold rush,
and I got to get down there.

I got to go where there's
the best opportunity in my life

To ever get rich.

Hey, now that we're agreed
on that's what I'm doing, um,

We need to make this work.

You know, we're barely
gonna make it there.

Narrator:
for nearly five years...

[ Laughing ]

With brad, america's
favorite dad, at the helm...

Man: well, I'm not seeing
any gold at all.

Narrator: the kelly family
was on the fast-track to failure

In the mining industry.

Is he stupid?
I told him, keep moving.

He just -- he doesn't listen.

But, last summer...

Man: this season, we're gonna
do things my way.

I guarantee you we're gonna
make more gold

Than we ever have the last five
[bleep] seasons.

Narrator: kris seized control
of the business...

That's the sound of money!

And finally proved
he and his family

Belong amongst
the gold-mining elite.

The bottom line is that you guys
are hacking it,

And I actually
applaud your efforts.

Man: last year was
a complete struggle,

Trying to get on claims.

Finally I get on this
great claim, you know,

But I'm only gonna
make a good living.

I came to none to get rich,
I mean, really rich.

I really see us
having mansions --

Mansions in hawaii.

Look dad, I need you
to just trust me.

Yeah, whatever. Okay.
Whatever you want to do.

You're the captain. You lead us
on -- whatever you want to do.

Well, that's what we're doing.

We're just gonna, like --
it sounds like a cluster [bleep]

To me,
but I'm not sayin' nothin'.

Narrator: captain kris may have
led the family

To gold and respectability,

But brad is having
trouble letting go.

Man: captain kris is
a high-strung individual.

Good intentions for his family.

But uh, qualities
of a good leader are --

Somebody that can take charge,
designate jobs,

And uh, his demeanor
is still pretty calm.

Kris gets pretty excited.

And then these pieces
go on next.

Kid, you take one of these down.
Let's set it up on --

Argh!
Did you get your head?

He's lacking a few of
the qualities

To be a great leader,
put it like that, you know?

Hey, man.
Why's it got to be my face too?

Stalin was a leader too, right?

You know, there's
a lot of leaders.

Leaders can lead you down
the drain, you know what I mean?

I know you don't think
it's gonna work.

I know it's gonna work.

It's just gonna be
a cluster [bleep].

All you do is, you tell me
my million problems,

And you never come up
with one solution.

My dad's a little butthurt
that he's not captain.

He's waiting for me to fall down

So he can go back into
leading everything,

And I'm not gonna fall down.

I may trip, you know,
I may trip,

But I'll get back up,
and I'll keep moving forward.

You don't have a tent,
you don't have shelter.

Does he think of the weirdest
[bleep] in the world or what?

How -- how's that weird, kris?
You have to go prepared.

Is that weird to you,
to be prepared?

Narrator: there are no roads
from nome to the bluff.

The way is a punishing
overland track

Across 80-plus miles of tundra,

Or a risk passage through
jagged ice and open water.

Hey. Hey, can I get everyone's
attention, please?

Man, we're always
waiting on you.

Yeah, okay.
'Kay, lookit.

This is the truth --

We're going on this
crazy adventure.

This is the first day of it.

I promise you,
if we do this well,

And we pull this
out of our asses,

We'll get 500 ounces for sure.

I want to go for 1,000,
and I know we can do it.

We're gonna adventure.

Let's get the [bleep]
bell curve, man.

Let's go.

Hey! Get the [bleep]
onto your thing!

Let's go!

Everybody thinks
it's some malicious act

That I'm gonna follow shawn
around to try to steal his gold.

That's not true.

I'm going to the bluffs
because of desperation.

You only get a couple chances
in life to hit it big,

And this is one of those times.

Let's rock and roll, eh?

**

-Narrator: coming up...
-Man: the wind's picking up.

It's a dangerous spot to be.

Good god, it's dark down here!

**

Narrator:


**

With little planning,
and even less foresight,

Captain kris kelly

Is shepherding his family
deep off the grid,

To claim a piece of the new
gold rush, at the bluff.

Man: I don't have the money
to do this.

We haven broken-down machines.

We have a bunch
of crappy equipment.

But the bluffs is my
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I have to jump on this before
somebody else takes it from me.

You know, and I need my brother
and my dad to stand behind me,

'Cause they need to see,
this is gonna be the best thing

In their entire life.

**

Go, go, go, go, go!

Go!

**

**

Oh, man.

Kris's 2,000-pound sled, dude.

Hundreds-of-pounds steel sled,
to pull up these mountains.

I don't get it.

Narrator: kris's shed,

An absolute marvel
of modern engineering,

Was not designed to be dragged


I'm not gonna b*tch, but...

I just want get everybody
up here safely,

And it's getting so narrow,
the wind's picking up.

The ice can go up to


It's a dangerous spot to be.

Really bad up here.

Narrator:
for the former captain kelly,

The forced march to the bluff
may be a step too far.

There's not a lot of planning.
It's like a family picnic.

"Let's just do it today.

Let's just pack up
all our stuff and go."

That's the kind of deal it is.

You know, somebody
could die from freezing.

Kris, he's going off the wall.

I want to gut it, and then
I want to zoom up that hill.

Narrator:
with 60 miles still to go,

Captain kris and crew
have to get back on the move,

Or risk being caught
in the tundra,

Where nighttime temperatures
can drop 50° below zero.

Man: you know, you have to ask
yourself -- you're just like,

"Kris, did you make
the right decision?"

You know?
But you can't --

You can't say that
to everybody else,

'Cause you have to pretend
that you always know

That that's the right move.

You do a lot of pretending.

Go ahead!

Go!

Yeah!

This season is a hail mary pass.

That's why my dad and brother
are so pissed at me.

But for a million dollars,
there's really not a lot

I won't do.

No matter what,
I'm gonna get there.

I guarantee that.

I told you it was gonna work.

Oh, my god.

That's not smart.

Narrator: 20 miles to the west,
on the outskirts of nome.

Man:
you think it would get goin'.

I'm going back out
to hastings creek,

After that prehistoric
beach line, at 45 feet,

That I was getting
after last fall.

Narrator:
the fleet's mad scientist
is staying true to form,

Betting his future on a spot
away from the crowd.

Man: keeping it super small.
I got my brother to help me.

So we can just go out
and prove the ground

That I found last fall.

I'm like, really thankful
that my brother

Sam is here to help me do it.

Rather than some of
the other, like,

Dredger-partner-type people

That are out there, kind of
in the dredge-o-sphere.

Narrator: last season...

Man: I want to circle the island
and kind of see

Where it looks like our
safe harbor points are.

Narrator: zeke went hunting
for a new gold deposit,

With sometimes business partner,

And other times love
interest, emily riedel.

Emily, no gold here.

After striking out
all summer...

Man: no one has ever ocean-mined
in front of hastings creek.

Narrator: zeke zeroed-in
on a potential hot spot

Along a prehistoric
beach line...

Zeke: the gold is pretty
much all fine,

And sandwiched up
in these rocks.

Now that we found a place
that could be promising,

That doesn't mean we have
to stop doing business

With each other.

I-i don't know.

Narrator:
and then cut ties with emily

To claim the ground for himself.

Zeke: I'm going out there
because I believe that there

Could be
a career's worth of gold

In the location
that I've discovered.

It's science, and it's gut
instinct, that's telling me

That there's something
worthwhile out there.

Narrator: but zeke's plan to
stake the first claim of

His mining career
comes with its own set of risks.

Zeke: I don't really want to do
what other people are doing.

I just don't have any desire to
do what other people are doing.

But it can kinda sting
when everyone else is getting

A bunch of gold over there,

And I'm over here because I
thought this was a better idea.

But that's what is fun to me,
is to think about ideas

And follow my own ideas.

Maybe I haven't, like,
had my big, huge aha moment

That proves to everybody
that, um,

They should've been thinking
more like me, but...

Maybe I will.
I don't know.

Hyahh!

Narrator: while zeke may play
by his own rules,

There are at least
a few actual rules

That he'll have to follow if he
wants to claim his own ground.

Zeke: the state wants to see
that I've really established

That there's gold there,

And that I have a plan
to mine it that is viable.

There have been a lot
of times in the past

Where I've not done my homework.

I'm trying to learn
from past mistakes.

I'm trying to also learn
from shawn's mistakes.

I owe it to myself
to do it right.

Narrator: to file
a mineral-rights claim

With the state of alaska,

Zeke has to provide

A detailed
analysis of the grounds.

Zeke:
that's what I'm talking about!

**

Definitely a prehistoric beach
line running right through here.

And uh, hastings creek's
spitting out gold,

Right directly that way,

And this is just
a concentration area,

Where the pressure
ridges just build up

And just kinda reconcentrate
heavy materials.

This is where we need to be.

Narrator: 10,000 years ago,

The beach line
at hastings creek

Was a mile off shore
from where it is today.

There, sheets of ice collide
to produce pressure ridges,

Massive blocks of ice zeke

Believes aggregate gold

In the ancient beach line below.

Narrator: mapping the ancient
beach line could play off,

But there's a reason
this area is still unexplored.

Zeke: this winter, I'm having
to deal with, like,

Serious deep-water
diving on thin ice,

Without really any support
structure in place

To keep me safe.

Narrator:
with his brother sam tending,

Zeke will have to dive deep
below jagged, shifting ice.

Zeke: when I go down there,
and it's murky and it's dark,

I tend to freak out.

If you can't see your hole...

I panic, and I'm down that deep,
and then, like,

Just [bleep] drown.

Like, that can happen.

[ Respirator hissing ]

Oh, my goodness.

Damn.

Good god, it's dark down here!

**

Narrator: coming up...

Here we are at the fork
in the road.

That's the easy path.
That's the road I want to take.

Horribly dark down there!

Kinda spooky!

We got a rider
approaching the dredge!

Wonder who in the hell
that could be.

Narrator: and later this season,
on "bering sea gold"...

Man: I'd never thought I was
gonna get millions, but...

Here I am.

Let's rock and roll!

They're all here!
All in here!

All underneath this one rock!

Karma gets you.

They want to play dirty,
we'll play dirty.

What are you gonna do,
you [bleep] idiot?

Whatever it is out there,
I'm gonna find it.

Pay attention what the [bleep]
we're doing!

Man:
desperate people are dangerous.

Man: this is [bleep]
you're too [bleep] close.

Oh [bleep] me!
That ice is blowing out!

I got to get the hell
out of here!

Oh, wow!
Wow, bill.

-Whoo!
-Give me some love!

All the way love!
Everybody love!

Narrator: at hastings creek...

Zeke: oh, my goodness.

Damn.

Good god, it's dark down here!

Narrator: zeke tenhoff is
chasing a mother lode

Into deeper waters
than ever before,

In order to stake
the first claim of his career.

Zeke: kinda spooky!
All right.

Well, I'm gonna
work my way down.

Oh, my goodness.

Yeah, just horribly
dark down there.

And it's really scary.

Narrator: unlike traditional
mining grounds,

Hastings creek is covered
in pressure ridges,

Up to 20-feet thick, causing
a near-blackout under the ice.

Zeke: I didn't know how
deep it is, man!

It should be about 45 feet.

I thought I was gonna be,
like, 37!

But I'm scared of 37, dude!

I'm plenty more scared
of 45 feet!

That's the scariest!

Just try to think about warm,
sandy beaches.

I don't know what
to think about, man!

Narrator: at 33 feet,

A diver exposes
himself to nitrogen poisoning,

Also known as the bends.

It's a life-threatening
condition,

And the nearest
treatment facility --

Over 500 miles away.

Zeke: there's a lot of deep,
inky blackness surrounding me.

Can you see the light
at the top of the hole?

I can still see that there's
light up there, but...

Man.

Doesn't look very reassuring.

I'm gonna try to
reorient myself.

Got to figure out
where the hell I'm going.

Okay.

Calm down, zeke.
Go that way.

This better be worth it!

I think the question is,
how far can I go?

Right now, I'm in sand!

But it's not really
exactly sand!

It's kind of a pebbly gravel.

Like, perhaps this could be,
you know, an element

Of what once was a beach.

Narrator: to accurately
evaluate, and attempt to claim,

The prehistoric beach line...

Zeke is relying
on some primitive tools.

Zeke: I'm gonna go as far
over here as I can,

As my tether will let me,
and get a sample!

Now I just have to find
part of the gold!

It was concentrating
on this old beach,

When this beach
used to be here!

Loose-a*s beach gravel
way-the-hell out here.

I know we're in the right area!

'Cause of this gravel
and this beachy stuff!

But the place I left off on
was a cobble field!

And that's where we need to be!

Where's the gold?
Where are you?

**

Narrator:


**

It's here.
Lots of gold right here.

Narrator: shawn is all in,
to fund his $6-million-dollar

Mega-dredge project.

Shawn:
this isn't the right rock.

I was thinking it was the big
rock I was on this summer.

Narrator: but five hours
into his first dive,

No big rock, and no big gold.

Shawn: there's some gold here,

But not
as much as around the rock

I want to find.

Punching another hole, here.

We're gonna keep looking.

There's gonna be a pile
around here somewhere.

You still mining about
southwest of the dive hole?

Yeah.


Narrator: tending topside --

Shawn's right-hand man,
cody moen.

Shawn: I mean, it's
the right-looking material.

I'm just not seeing...

A lot of gold I want to see.

It takes a lot more than one
would think to get down there

And do what we're doing.

We're out in the middle
of nowhere.

I think shawn's the best
gold miner in this town,

Him and his dad.

That's the team you want
to be on, is the pomrenke team.

It's been years
of this hard work.

People would do anything
to be where we are right now.

Shawn: there's a whole
bunch of boulders.

I got the nozzle
underneath this one.

Trying to get everything
loose around it

So I can get underneath it.

Five-foot long, 2 1/2 feet wide.

I'll get it cleared
out around it,

See if I can get it
loosened up enough.

Maybe it'll roll.

Narrator: it's not the boulder
shawn's been looking for,

But unable to find
the boulder he loves,

He's gonna love
the boulder he's with.

Shawn:
oh, there -- it moved.

Oh, yeah.
Here we go.

[ Grunts ]

Get down into the pay layer now.

There's some nice...
Oh, here we go.

**

Yeah!
Whoa!

Ahh!

That is beautiful.

There.

There.
There.

Yeah, you can see chunks of gold
down at the bottom of it.

Seeing good gold
down there?

Yeah.
I just seen a nice chunk go up.

Hiding in the little cracks,
hiding down in the clay.

He's seeing chunks.

That's...
That's good.

We're on the gold.

Here's some nice chunks
of gold, there.

There's something
big around here.

It's gonna pay off big.

**

We're making money right now.

Who is it?

We got a rider
approaching the dredge!

Oh, yeah?

Wonder who in the hell
that could be!

Narrator:


**

We got a rider
approaching the dredge!

Oh, yeah? Wonder who in the hell
that could be!

Narrator:
shawn pomrenke has returned

To the most gold-rich
offshore ground he's ever seen.

His goal?

Suck up enough pay dirt to fund
his secret weapon --

A $6-million mega dredge.

But now, there's
an uninvited guest.

Shawn: there's definitely some
nice, chunky gold around here.

**

The hell's going on around here?

Ah [bleep].

Narrator: with the future
of the family empire

Hanging on shawn's efforts,

Patriarch steve pomrenke

Can't help
but chip in his own two cents.

You want to come up?

All right.
I'm coming up.

At least we got some gold
in the box to show!

**

How are you?
We got some gold.

Flip that flap up, steve.

Once.

Oh, yeah.
Look at all them big chunks.

I see a bunch of gold in there.

That's a nice fill.

First dive!

Looks like you're
making some money.

We are making a little money.

Whew.

Haven't found that
mother lode yet.

Looking pretty damn good
for the first run, ain't it?

Yes, it is.
Not too bad.

You guys gonna be able
to stay on the gold here?

You gonna be able to put a major
amount of ounces in the box?

You know damn well how much
we badly need these ounces.

Dad does like to micromanage.

But that's steve pomrenke, so...

I quit trying to figure it out.

I mean, I have this vision
for this next dredge,

And I'm the most
excited about it

Because I do believe
in my capabilities

Of designing
and building this thing,

And making it the best dredge
on the bering sea.

I'll stay on.
Don't worry about that.

That's what I'm good at.

If you're gonna be building
the big barge,

We need these ounces.

We need them bad.

Narrator: after losing
the nome gold property,

And the claim at the bluff,

Shawn can't afford
another failed project.

I am worried a little bit about,

When I leave the whole
business here,

Will shawn keep
the business running,

Nd not run it into the ground?

It's gonna be his whole
ball game, not mine.

I want him to run
his own company.

I don't want to be the boss
over him anymore.

You know, because of that dang
nome gold deal falling through,

I mean, this is the only thing
really gonna make any money,

Here, starting off the season,

And we need them
ounces in our pocket,

Put that mega dredge together,

Otherwise that project's
not gonna happen.

I'm trying.

I mean, all we can do is keep
pushing and popping holes

And sucking up dirt.

All right.
Okay, dad.

I hope you find something.

Dad and I have already done
amazing things together,

But we need to keep
growing this business.

I want to provide a life
for my kids that I never got.

I've worked through
that whole childhood.

I want my kids to be able
to get a good education,

And not end up having
to work seven days

A week, 16 hours a day.

**

Narrator:


**

'Kay. Here we are at the fork
in the road.

On the left-hand side,
that's the iditarod path,

And on the right-hand side
is where I want to go.

Narrator: captain kris kelly is
on a hail mary mission

To follow shawn to the bluff.

I can see where you want to go.

This is the only way
to take my shed.

The only way to do it is to hug
the ice spine on the shore.

It looks like you could
take it right through.

Looks like you're going
into a damn rock face.

Narrator:
but the great adventure

May have reached a dead end.

It looks impossible, this.

That's the road I want to take!

That's the easy path!

That's the only one I could
take, with our big building!

Hey, I'm all about
taking the easy path.

But that looks like
the most dangerous way.

That's a cliff, rock face,
right there.

Everything about this
adventure is dangerous.

I know I'm a good leader,
but you have to have people

That want to follow,

You know, that believe in you,
that want to make it.

I'm gonna do anything
I have to do.

What do you think?

Do you think we can
make it through this?

Not a chance in hell.

This is the blow hole.

All the way down the coast,
as far as you can see,

Is notorious
for having open water,

Because there's a north wind

That blows into this blow hole

Like you wouldn't believe.

People have come close to death
right here 'cause of wind.

I get it, I get it.

Can you imagine the old settlers
that had to carry



Up this hill on their back?

They had horses,
I'm pretty sure.

I don't think they did.

I saw pictures, and --

I think they ate the horses.

Well, that's why
they brought horses,

Just in case
they had to eat them.

Okay well, let's go this way.

Doesn't go that well.

No.

'Cause we don't have
any horses, dude.

We need to have
a better attitude.

We need to get our equipment
through this.

We need to build!

Saying, but I didn't know you
were trying to go down a cliff.

I can't go that way.

This is the farthest you've
ever taken us out of nome.

This is the biggest gold
we're going after.

Lookit. Everybody needs to get
their panties on, and let's go.

We got 'em on.

Right now, my dad and brother
don't believe

In a damned thing
that I'm telling them.

I mean, sure it would be easier
to go somewhere else,

But there's a million
dollars at the bluffs,

And I'm gonna go get it,

And there's no on
that's gonna stop me.

The only way I can lose
right now

Is if I get eaten
by a grizzly bear.

That's about it.

Narrator: coming up...

You want to grab one
of those samples, sam?

Hell yeah.

It's almost dark.

We have no place to stay.

We're not gonna freeze to death!

I can figure it out.

Man:
gold mining in the bering sea

Is a tough way to make a living.

You need to take chances
and take risks,

And do things that
normal people wouldn't do.

My dad was the one that
originally started

The ice-mining idea.

We've been doing it
for 15 years.

Dad built a little fish house,

And then put a six-inch
dredge in there, and...

That was the first time
I ever went diving.

About 10 minutes later, I come
up, and my lips were blue,

And I was hypothermic, and...

But that's what got me
into diving,

And looking for gold
in the ocean.

Narrator:


At hastings creek.

Yeah, you want to grab
one of those samples, sam?

Yeah.

Zeke tenhoff and his brother sam

Are assessing the fruits
of their day's labor,

As they work to secure
a mineral-rights

Claim on the grounds

With the state of alaska.

Yeah, this is the sample
that was from, like,

Far away from the hole
as I could get.

My immediate goal
for the start of this ice season

Is to collect enough samples
to be able to prove

That there is
a long-term resource of gold

Out at that prehistoric
beach line at hastings creek.

Once I have that data,
I can start

The claiming
and leasing process,

To have unrestricted access
to the area for the long-term.

I hate to be the pessimist,

But this just looks like
a bucket full of sand to me.

I do kinda wish maybe I was
panning from samples

That were full of red
and black sand,

Instead of just old
prehistoric pebbles.

Oh, it's in here.

I mean...

Okay.

We got one tiny little speck.

It's right there.

Speck of gold.

Tiny little speck of fine gold.

That's not gonna
pay the bills.

It's not gonna pay the bills.

The first samples that I was
able to take, not looking good.

I mean, by brother's not happy.

If I take that much energy out
of sam to follow my plan

And it turns out
that my plan was

Just a little bit half-assed
in its architecture, then...

I mean, that's not cool.

Narrator: the first test buckets
are blanks,

But hoping to stake a claim
he can work for years,

Zeke's not giving up just yet.

We're gonna have to find a way

To get a little further
north of the hole.

You have to have faith
that things are going

To work out in the end.

Following the geology, there's
a lot of reason to believe

That there might be
a lot more gold out there

Than anyone can
possibly imagine.

**

Narrator:


[ Snowmobile engine sputtering ]

We [bleep] made it!

Hell yeah!

After an agonizing


Whoo!

Kris kelly is within sight
of the bluff.

We barely made it.

If this is half as good
as everybody says it is,

This is gonna be
the greatest thing

That's ever happened
to me or my family.

Nobody has this opportunity.

There's no chance in america
you can go and say,

"Hey, you go do this, there,

And you're gonna make
a million dollars."

Nobody has that chance.

Narrator: now, the only thing
kris has to do

Is figure out how to sleep,
how to eat, how to mine,

And how to avoid a mutiny.

Very good...
Oh, what's your problem?

We made it.

What's my problem is,
it's almost dark.

We have no place to stay.

You figure out
what my problem is.

We have the tent.
Everybody --

Yeah, we have the tent!
Have you set one up before?!

Yeah, so I've never
set one up before!

But it's a [bleep] tent,
and I can figure it out.

Everything's fine.

We're not gonna freeze
to death, everybody.

We work out in these
conditions all the time.

I know, but we have a place
to go to at the end of the day.

Here, we don't.

I have no idea,
to be honest with you.

I believe my dad and brother
wanted me so we'd go back

To the old way
of doing things.

So I'm basically saying,
"hey, you're gonna give up

Everything you know,
you're gonna come live with me

In the middle of nowhere,
and that's your new life."

If I can't make my family want
to make a million dollars,

I'll get somebody else.

Narrator: as night falls across
the bering sea,

Just one mile away...

Whoo!
Hell yeah!

Shawn pomrenke's first day
of the winter mining season

Comes to a close.

Shawn: this season's about
starting over...

Hell yeah.

And getting this
mega dredge built.

We got a long day
ahead of us, tomorrow.

Narrator: in the glow of
the golden nugget...

Let's go to bed, man.

Shawn heads for camp,
unaware that a determined rival

Has reached the gates.

Shawn: that mega dredge will
keep nome alive.

I mean, you start bringing
in $100,000, $200,000

A day into a small
community like that,

It'll definitely be a really
good thing for nome.

I guess this is where
we're setting up camp, boys.

There's a lot of families that
depend on my business and me.

I don't want to think about how
many people depend on me, but...

Long as I keep finding
big piles of gold,

It should keep all
these families happy.

We'll be nice and warm
here in a minute.

I have a feeling this winter
will be the best ice-mining

Season I've ever had.

I think it's the next
big gold rush, for me,

And I think it'll have people
trying to come down there

To mine, but...

Not too worried about anybody
showing up anytime soon,

Because it's taken me years
to get ready for it.

I mean, if people think
they're gonna come up here

And do it in one season,
they got...

They got another thing coming.

Anything this tough
has got to be worth it.

**

Narrator: on the next episode of
"bering sea gold"...

We're the reaper, and we've
come here to do business.

Oh [bleep] ricky!

This place is loaded.

Did you find this?!
No.

Did you find it?!