18x12 - Tangled Up in Gold

[bunniefuu]

It's not easy.

I mean, you get the gold, but
you wanna live to spend the gold.

In just eight hours,

mining regulations will
shut down the winter season,

marking the end of El nino's wrath.

And the most challenging
ice in Bering sea history.

The tomcod was the worst
I've ever seen it this winter.

This is not good. There's
ice jumbled up everywhere.

There have been
pressure ridges everywhere.

If these blocks were
to just, like, come loose,

they would plug up my
dive hole, like, instantly.

Equipment problems have
been an absolute nightmare.

I picked the saw up like this.

- No, you did not.
- -You're gonna piss me off.

I have never seen tensions with
the crew like I saw this season.

I picked it up by the handle.

More than I've seen in any winter.!

Despite everything,
the gold was amazing.

My feet are dancing
off the floor right now.

Now, on the season
finale of Bering sea gold

the fleet is down to one
last dive to hit their goals.

Go get it, buddy.

Tempting fate...

Be careful.

Are you good?

Before time...

Definitely gonna be
that last little bit of cast.

Runs out.

Whatever gold we get, we get. That's it.

And nothing's gonna stop me.

Hey!

Okay, this is it. Moment of truth.

Let's get to 5-0!

- Let's get it, papa.
- There it is.

Tears of joy, tears of joy.

- Whoo!
- Are you ready?

Let's do it.

It does not get any better than that.

We are at the end of our season.

Still got more energy in me.

Me and Jeff. We're not gonna stop.

We can't stop. We're gonna
finish this season strong.

This winter, no one's been getting
more gold than Chris mccully.

And, not surprisingly,

no one has set a higher goal

than nome's resident young g*n.

Lovely weather we're
having. Let's get to it.

We've got a new motor.

The reigning ice mining champ

has done anything and
everything he could to stay on top.

It's getting really hot.

Paying to upgrade equipment...

- Good day on the mccully claim.
- -Yes, sir.

Bringing in top talent...

We did really good on this round.

Good job, man.

Even diving solo when
he was left on his own.

I'm gonna get my dive
today, no matter what.

That's more gold than
I've seen in any winter.!

He's already set a personal
winter best for the season.

Now it's time, coming to the end

I can see myself now getting
better and better each day.

And after hitting his lofty


he gambled, raising his
stakes another 100 ounces.

We're gonna button things up,
and nothing's gonna stop me.

This winter has been all about
delivering for my new family.

Making this operation
as profitable as possible.

I've got the ounces that I need

for my custom crawler for this summer.

And I'm already committed to
paying for premium upgrades

to the boat that's gonna be launching it.

To pull that off,

I'm gonna need the biggest
clean out of the season.

I may have pressed my luck a bit too far.

We've been running shifts nonstop.

Now, I'm gonna go as
long as I can to finish this off.

But we've been riding
the equipment pretty hard.

Hopefully, it will hold on long enough.

We'll see.

- Hey, bud. So how's...
- How's that ground looking?

Whoo!

While the gold count leader gets rolling,

across the ice...

It's go time.

Shawn pomrenke is looking

for one last bite of the golden apple

to launch him into summer.

Extremely happy with moving
to the tomcod. It's pretty nice.

Tomcod paying just like it should.

Little mountains of gold.

Instead of digging dirt, we're digging ice.

Mr. Gold's aiming to fund

the most ambitious project of his career.

I'm putting it all into this inland mine.

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

Stressful? A little bit.

But starting with umineable
ground on tomcod.

This is not good.

There's ice jumbled up everywhere.

His back's been up against
the wall nearly all season.

Eastern end of 56,
there's a lot of flat areas.

He reluctantly made a deal
to mine on Vernon's claim.

Yeah!

But the results on 56 weren't cutting.

So he made a late, bold move,

relocating to his beloved home field

where he was rewarded

with the best gold all season.

Thirty-five.

And he found just
what he was looking for

at the arctic gold inland mine.

Uncovering the trail of
the original nome gold rush.

Yeah, there it is. Nice chunkers in there.

Yeah!

We hit pay dirt, finally.

We wasted too much time.

We could have been
sitting pretty by this time

if we would have moved sooner.

We can't feel too bad about it.

Hopefully find some patches.

Puddles of gold.

Now, he'll need a giant final haul

to capitalize on his new discovery.

I got to get the inland up and running.

It'd be my last dive of the season.

I'll get suited up, get down
there and find some more.

It looked like we were down for the
count this season, but we come back huge.

The tomcod's been
helping fund the inland mine.

Now I know the treasure is there.

I got to hit the ground full
force with equipment and a crew.

We just need another 25 ounces
to keep everything on track.

The team's been grinding,
and I'm gonna cap it off.

But with the clock ticking,
that could be a long shot.

It's cold.

All buttoned up. Tighter
than a duck's a*s.

You got a copy, Shawn?

Yep. Good. Copy.

From the bottom.

Nice. Good visibility?

Nice. What are you seeing down there?

He likes what he's seeing down there.

Box sounds real nice.
Hear those heavies

pouring through the diffuser right now.

That's the sound of money.

We're in it, boys.

Thank god for tomcod.

It is April 15th.

Spring time in nome.

Today is the last day.

Hopefully, I can get
six to seven hours today.

They may only have one diver,

but team adkison, has
no intention of going easy

on winter's final day.

Since we started, we popped three
or four holes around in this area,

and each one of them has been good.

This winter, Vernon found himself
as landlord, of the Bering sea.

Well, I got something here for you.

I like more, because I like the royalty.

But life on the flat ice
wasn't a cakewalk...

- Move out of my way.
- I didn't say it.

I picked it up by the handle.

You don't wanna listen to me.

I don't give a what you do there.

And proved too much for some.

Man, it hurts so bad.

It blew out an eardrum.

Gary panos Rose to the occasion...

All right. That's what I wanna hear, Gary.

Even when pushed to the edge.

All right, we're ready.

Now, despite all the misfires

and with royalties from
miners subleasing his claim...

Good.

Vernon could be on the verge
of reaching his winter goal.

Let's shake, rattle and roll.

This season could've gone off the rails.

But Gary's been a beast.

He's on fumes at this point.

But to pay for that
new nitrox dive system,

I gotta push him one last time.

I just don't know what
he's got left in his tank.

All right, Gary. Put some gold in the box.

Got you loud and clear.

Get after him, buddy.

Gary, Gary.

Hey, how's that ground looking?

We've got this site marked as easy gold.

But it's not easy.

This is a lot of overburden right here.

So unfortunately, all that loose material

between the rocks has got gold in it.

But it's hard work moving
all those damn rocks.

So how's the gold looking, Gary?

Yeah, I can see you moving

a hell of a lot of material,
but I know there's gold in it.

All right, Gary.

All right.

We're in business.

All right, already!

Across the ice...

This is our last chance
at everything right now.

The finish line is right there.

We gotta hustle to make it work.

Reaper nation is hoping
for an ice-cold miracle

on winter's final day.

Just jump into work.

Andy, chip out the hole.

Pj, just start setting up the
air compressor and everything.

This is our last push. We
gotta make this work. Come on.

This season...

Yeah!

The gold has been far from cold.

But the sluice has been loose all winter.

Damn, that's bad.

And now kris has his
back up against the wall

as a big bill is coming due.

Whatever gold we get, we get. That's it.

There's no crying and there's
no bitching and there's no nothing.

It's done.

Look, we have a real chance
of hitting our goal this year.

Get pumped up, and let's get that gold.

It's our day to shine.

You know what? That
was a good speech.

I know you guys felt it.

Hallelujah!

We can do it if we stick
together and work hard.

Heigh-h*, off to work you go.

I need to hit my goal to pay
for the upgrades on my crawler.

My plan for the summer is the crawler.

It's the centerpiece.

Without it, everything will fall apart.

Last dive of the season,

we've had a few problems with visibility

and the box freezing up,

so we really need to
just hope for the best.

We finally got the sluice box patched up.

I'm gonna go deeper than we've
been looking for harder gold.

It's risky because we
have no time to waste.

I have to hit pay immediately.

You're all good, bud.

Last dive. Go get it, buddy.

Thank you. Last dive, baby.

A little tight.

What the is this?

Holy! It looks like a pressure Ridge.

It goes all the way underneath the water.

It is crazy-looking.

Describe it.

It's an iceberg underneath the water

that reaches 20 feet down.

Is it touching the ground?

No, it's not touching the ground.

It's like... there's nothing.
You can walk underneath it.

Well, when it comes to
low tide, get the out of there.

Yeah.

I bet the low tide pushes
this right on the ground.

Due to El nino's
fluctuating temperatures,

pressure ridges have been trouble above

and below the ice.

And as spring approaches,

they can become even more dangerous.

When the tide goes out,

the water level can recede several feet.

Suddenly, a giant pressure Ridge

hanging from the surface

can be so close to the sea floor

there's no room to move.

And a diver can be trapped.

Definitely don't wanna be stuck
under the ice with low tide, dude.

How's everything else?

- Everything fine.
- How's the visibility?

The visibility is not bad.

- Idle up the engine.
- On it.

Idled up.

I'm going to work.

Describe the bottom for me.

I mean, it's like a pea gravel.

I'm a foot down already.

Well, we're on gold.

That's a good thing to hear.

I'm on something kinda hot.

Woo-hoo!

Okay, keep working.

As soon as low-tide comes

I think we get the out
of here, and we're done.

Let's end on a high
note and not get over.

Try to stay down there as long as
possible, buddy. We need this gold.

We're getting as much gold
as we can before it's the end.

I'm hoping for the best for today.

It's gonna be our last dive.

The last dive of the ice season.

Zeke tenhoff is trying to salvage

what he can from a tough season.

I have high hopes. We'll get her going.

While the enthusiasm has
been abundant this winter...

Hell, yeah, dude, I'm stoked on it.

As have the discoveries...

Check out what we're looking
at here with my the sonar map.

The one thing largely
missing has been the gold.

Ay, ay, ay. My gosh.

I don't really know what to say.

As a result...

Captain Zeke's still far
from hitting his winter goal.

You just got to keep a good attitude

and you don't ever find
gold if you're in a bad mood.

I was really hoping I could get
enough ounces to outfit my yurt

to be comfortable for my wife and kid,

but at this point, I don't
know if I'm gonna pull that off.

All we can do is keep pushing.

If I can get just three more ounces,

then I'll at least be at break even.

So I'm gonna try to clear
out this hole before we call it.

Yep, looking good.

You got me on comms?

Where'd he go, Oscar?

Where'd he go?

How you doing down there, Zeke?

- I'm waiting for the pumps.
- - Right on, I'll run 'em up.

How does that suction feel?

Okay. Roger.

How's it looking down there, dude?

Yep. Roger that.

This is the last hole.

Move as much dirt as we can.

At this point, as far we can see,
even if it gets us an ounce or two

that we scratch for, it's
gonna be worth those hours.

Yeah.

Rock and roll, dude.

Everything's going great.

Across the ice...

Looking good down there?

After nearly six hours,

mr. Gold is making his last dive count

in the final moments of winter.

All right. Throttling down.

Whoo!

What a way to end it.

The best gold I've seen this season.

And combined with all the
material the boys have been getting,

I couldn't ask for anything better.

Now it just has to be enough to
keep inland going into summer.

The dive went good.

Really good. Seeing lots of gold.

I don't know if I can get
my fat a*s out of this suit.

As the first member of the
fleet prepares to leave the ice...

Five miles east...

Okay... we're getting
to the shallower time,

for low tide, so just be
careful and keep your eye on it.

It's very hard to see gold like this.

The final hours of winter
mining quickly descend on nome.

And so too does the pressure Ridge

above kris Kelly.

As the tide reaches its lowest point,

the space between the
pressure Ridge and the sea floor

has shrunk significantly,

leaving dangerously little room to move.

And in the tight quarters,

the ground that's been
kicked up can't filter out,

adding murky visibility to the mix.

This is it..

Ice, low tide came down and turning
it into a dangerous dark situation.

I'm headed up.

All right, j, you coming up?

I want to get the down
and get the out of here.

All right, buddy. You did a good job.

We got on great gold, but
with that pressure Ridge

bearing down on me, there
was no way to keep going.

I wanted to do more,

but the Bering sea can
be a b*tch when it wants to.

Turn off the engine, start
packing everything up.

We're done for the year. This is it.

Hopefully, there will be a
big surprise on this scale

and we hit our goal
or at least come close.

We're done for the season. Thank god!

Damn!

Gary's down there

grinding away...

Getting in that final push.

It's a tough material because there's
so many rocks that are tightly packed.

But, but he's moving it.

At the end of an exhausting season,

Gary panos is still on the gold.

He's getting tired.

And he's getting frustrated.

Gary's a warrior, but
he's just about out of gas.

I think he's reached his limit.

Damn it!

What we do is dangerous.

There's no getting around that.

But there's a... There's a time
you gotta know when to call it.

Good job.

I mean, you get the gold, but
you wanna live to spend the gold.

And so

hey, Gary.

Yeah, we're gonna have to call it.

We'll do a cleanup, and
then the tale will be told.

This season's been a first class.

But, you know, we persevere.

Gary did good today.

He did a little over five hours.

That's respectable.

That's ice mining, that's nome.

We call this place malfunction junction.

It's not for the weak of heart.

Let me tell you that.

As exhaustion knocks
out Vernon's squad,

Across the claim.

I am satisfied, with my dive.

We ended on a high note.

Yeah, that sounds great.

You know, I'm gonna
run the pumps down.

And, pull the tether up.

- Okay, sounds good.
- I'll head on up.

Sounds good.

Zeke tenhoff ends his hard
fought push to break even.

We tapped out the rest of that hole.

I think that's as good as we're
gonna be able to do for the last day.

Hopefully, we have a good haul,

and we can end this season in the black.

Time is almost up.

And there's still one team left on the ice.

Yeah, man.

Now, over six hours on the gold,

Chris mccully is giving
it everything he has,

as the clock counts down.

Sounds good to me, bud.

It's good to know that all
this grinding is paying off.

What's up?

All right.

Are you good?

- Whoo!
- -Wait, you found a nugget?

Wow!

Hey!

- A nugget!
- Yahoo!

All right, I'll start grabbing your umbilical.

- Whoa!
- What the... Crazy!

This could not get any
better than that, dude.

Wow.

I made it through all of that problems,

all the breakdowns, all the crew issues,

and now, bam! At the end of my season,

the gold gods gave me a nugget, dude.

That's what they treat you.

Yes! I couldn't be happier, dude. That's

I'm so happy. Like...

Wow, what a way to finish
the last dive of the season.

Wow.

Shimmering shine.

It's just all over the plate.

We'll see how we did on the scale.

But one thing is for sure that this
team was relentless to the bitter end.

Wow.

- We really crushed it hard.
- Got a lot of gold in the box,

and could not get any better than this.

That's how you end
your season, baby! Yeah!

And now, join us for the Bering
sea gold end of season awards.

In the category of best argument

involving the use of a chainsaw, goes to.

Gary panos and Chris numink.

I picked the saw up like this.

- No, you did not.
- -You're gonna piss me off!

The award for shortest time
under the ice this season, goes to...

And we have a repeat winner.

It's Chris numink

who logged one extremely brief
dive before busting an eardrum.

Man, it hurts so bad.

And finally, in the category
of biggest stretch of the truth,

the award goes to

kris Kelly... We're gonna
come up with the money.

For telling the guy building his crawler

that there'd be no issue paying for it...

Everything is working good.

When, in actuality, there
was a tremendous issue.

Shut the up.

Thanks for watching.

Throughout nome...

Doing the last clean up.
Everything's off the ice.

The last thing to do is clean the gold.

- Looks like we got full carpets.
- -Heavy.

The fleet's readying
their final weigh outs.

Finally, the season is done.

The last couple of
scoops are the good ones.

- Look at that. Man.
- Wow.

- Are you ready?
- Let's do it.

Quick and dirty clean up.

We got an ounce. We
got one ounce, we got 1.3.

Two ounces.

Two point five.

Two point



bringing Zeke's final season
total to 15 and a half ounces,

banking over 36 grand.

I'm ready to haul all this gear off the ice.

It was a rough season,

and I didn't get as much gold
as I needed to for my family.

But the good news is, is that we did get
enough gold to keep going until summer.

It just makes me wanna work
that much harder going forward.

Okay. Four ounces, people.

Five.

Six.

There's seven. Okay, we got over eight.

Ten.

That's a little bit of a pile of gold. Okay.

It's 11.5.

I'm in a better mood.



bringing kris's season total

to 39.83 ounces, worth over

$93,000.

Short of his season goal, but
a strong showing in the end.

This is what we got, and to be
honest with you, that's not that bad.

The ice mining season
was a giant pain in the a*s

and frustrating, too, because
we were on great gold.

But a bunch of things kept us
from reaching our full potential.

I'm gonna have to smooth things over

to make sure we still
get our crawler done.

If I can pull that off, I know
I'll have a huge summer.

Thirteen...

Twenty.

Twenty-three eight.

It's beautiful.

Man. Man.

We gonna make 30? No.

Not quite.

Twenty-nine.

Yeah.



Yes.

Bringing mister gold's
total haul to 140.3 ounces.

Cashing out at a whopping $328,000.

Twenty-nine, that ain't bad.

That will get us to summer.

- Which is right around the corner.
- Yep.

The season started
looking like a disaster,

but we come on huge in the end.

Now it's time to hit it
hard on the inland mine.

And from what I saw out
there, this could be life-changing.

Blood, sweat, only a few tears.

Tears of joy. Tears of joy.

Four. Five.

Six.

Seven.

Here we go with ten.

Eleven point four eight.

And that ain't no bull




salty skipper over $26,000,

and with royalties, brings
his final season haul

to 84 ounces.

Worth nearly 200 grand.

And Vernon adkison hits
his goal right at the finish line.

Pretty good for the last hole.

You know, hey, I'll take it.

There were some tough moments,
but this season was a winner.

Fifty-six made me the
royalty king of nome,

and Gary came through
huge for us on the ice.

I can pay out the nitrox system,

and get that mother lode
in deep water this summer.

I've never been able to
reach it, until now. I can't wait.

Yeah. All right.

I couldn't have done
it without you, buddy.

Let's go. Let's do it. Here we go.

One two three, five six,
seven, eight, nine, ten.

Twelve, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22.





Damn.

- Let's get to 5-0.
- Let's get it, papa.

Wow.

And the nugget, all together...

Bam!

Wow!

Ounces, baby! Whoo!


young g*n $136,000.

And it grows his final total

to a monstrous 213 ounces, worth...

Wait for it.

A cool half a million dollars.

Bam.

And Chris mccully's paid
for the crawler, the upgrades,

and is once again the
winter gold count champ.

- Cool.
- Just trust the process.

- Trust the process.
- Yeah.

I don't know what to say,
but this season was insane.

- Over 200 ounces.
- Are you kidding me?

I took a big gamble, and I
got what I wanted and more.

I can't wait to k*ll it this summer,

and I can't wait to keep
providing for my family.

That's all that matters to me.

Without you and Wilson, I

I appreciate you guys.

Like 100 point blank percent.

That's how you end the season, baby.

Whoo!

Chris mccully emerges the champion.

Mr. Gold rallies big in the final days,

and Vernon adkison
completes the golden trifecta.

For the miners...

- Whoo!
- The journey continues in summer.

I've got cheese.

Got 'em. Bam!