All right, let's go.
We got to get this stuff moving.
Todd:
Let's load up!
I'll call, okay?
Narrator: Last spring,
six down-on-their-luck men
left Oregon...
...for the Alaskan wilderness.
Todd: Hey!
They dropped everything
to find gold...
Remsburg: This is
where the gold is, boys.
Narrator:
...to live the American Dream.
Todd:
They're not gonna get paid
until we dig the gold
out of the ground.
I want them to have gold,
you know?
Pay for their houses.
Narrator: They spent all summer
and all fall enduring...
Stop, stop, stop!
...disappointment...
Three months!
We don't have any [bleep] money!
...disputes...
- Don't argue with me.
...and disaster.
Help him!
Now as the harsh Alaskan winter
arrives...
We need every little
flake of gold we can get.
Narrator:
...the crew is just inches
from what they have been after
all along.
Whoo-hoo!
Gold-rich bedrock.
Hurt:
We know what's there now,
but we'd sure like to have
some more of it.
Narrator: But before
they can get their hands
on millions of dollars’ worth
of gold...
Sure feel the temp dropping.
Narrator:
...they still face floods...
Bad day to be a pumpologist.
Narrator:
...landslides...
Just getting a little
too dangerous.
Narrator:
...and subfreezing temperatures.
We're running out of time.
The snow's here and it's frozen.
Narrator:
They have to strike it rich
before the arctic blast
freezes them out.
Doumitt: This is
the best material so far.
We're not gonna leave it behind.
Narrator: Early October
in Porcupine Creek, Alaska.
Jack Hoffman measures
the mining crew's progress.
Right now,
looks like it's at 60 feet.
I've just got a little ways
to get to touch bedrock.
That's where the gold's laying,
so that's what I'm hoping.
Narrator: The rookie miners
have spent the season
digging as deep as they can
to find gold.
We're gonna walk out of here
rich men.
Narrator:
The further down they go,
the more gold the dirt holds.
Holy [bleep]
got our first real nugget.
Good job, buddy.
Narrator: But the Hoffmans
are down $275,000.
For five months
of backbreaking work,
none of the crew
has made a nickel.
My time was wasted.
Ah [bleep] it.
Narrator: And the brutal
Alaskan winter is upon them.
Harness:
We got real low water pressure.
We could have a frozen hose
or something.
Remsburg: It's stuck!
Narrator: Time is running out
to hit gold-rich bedrock
and save their failed season.
I know where the bank is.
I'm gonna rob it.
Narrator:
They plan to keep digging to hit
bedrock before the freeze.
But the deeper they go...
The more dangerous it gets.
[excavator creaks]
Hurt: Right now, we're about
That's melted glacier water
coming out way up north,
on top of the mountain.
Narrator: To dig deep enough
to reach the gold,
the guys had to widen
the glory hole,
cutting into the levee
that holds back the creek.
As they narrowed the levee,
more and more creek water
was able to leak
into their hole.
About a 50/50 game.
Water's coming in about
as fast as we're pumping it out.
We've got water
coming in everywhere.
And what it's doing,
it's washing all the dirt away
from the rocks.
We're losing a lot of stability.
I just don't know if we can go
any deeper than that.
Narrator: Despite the risk
of a cave-in, Jack digs deeper.
I don't know
if I can go too much deeper.
Narrator:
The ground beneath the 400
excavator begins to give way.
Todd:
It's cracking!
Jack has no choice
but to get out.
Get moving!
Remsburg: Gonna get it out
of the hole.
Easy, easy.
Jack is the team's most
experienced machine operator.
It takes all his skill
to keep the 400
from slipping into the hole.
[whistles]
Jack, your tracks are sloughing!
Good lord.
[engine sputtering ]
Jack just barely gets out
with the 400.
But it'll tighten your pucker
up. I'll tell you that.
Narrator:
To fight the floodwater,
the team is relying
upon a four-inch pump.
But it's a losing battle.
Thurber's looking at it now --
my assistant pumpologist.
See this water
coming out here?
Water comes out, it'll cavitate.
It'll suck air through there.
It's like a hole in your straw.
You can suck all you want.
If the hole's above your liquid,
you're not gonna get anything.
You're just gonna suck air.
And that's what it's doing.
Narrator:
The crew has to drain the hole
to have a chance
of reaching bedrock.
To do so,
they need another pump.
I'm gonna run over
to Schnabel's
and see if he'll loan me
a six-inch pump.
We're just not gonna --
our pump's not doing it.
Lord knows I've borrowed
enough stuff from him.
But hopefully...
one more time.
Narrator: Across the creek,
at the Big Nugget Mine,
veteran miner John Schnabel
has already proved
that there
are millions of dollars of gold
here in Porcupine Creek.
Over the years,
Schnabel's become wise
to the signs that
the Alaskan winter is close.
Whoa!
Dude, I thought
I'd see you guys running.
Oh, we're just getting
everything put away
for the winter here.
You're all shut down.
Yeah. Well, the snow last winter
was so deep
that it pushed the windshields
out of those two machines
on the far right.
- Oh, you're kidding.
See the plywood
on the front of them?
They landed on the steering
wheel, broke them all to pieces.
- So, the snow
was over 10 feet.
- Oh, geez.
I hate
even asking you this.
I basically came over
to see if I could borrow
a pump from you.
We need two pumps running
in there.
We're not gonna get
that water out of there,
and then we're done.
Schnabel's pump
is already drained
and packed away for
the long winter.
All he has for Todd
is a warning.
Any day the snow can come,
you know,
and you get caught
with your pants down,
and you're
gonna really feel
a burden
trying to get out of here.
What's your guess
for this year, man?
I'm not guessing.
I've left.
- Oh.
- [laughs]
So that ought to be
a sign for us.
This is my last day up here.
[ chuckles]
All right.
So I'm just telling you --
I get the picture, John.
I get the picture.
- Take care of yourself.
- See you, man.
[engine turns over]
Todd leaves with only a stark
warning for his rookie miners.
I don't think they know anything
about the weather conditions,
how it changes so rapidly here.
That cold air runs down
this canyon
like water runs down the canyon,
and it blasts you.
So they could get froze out
overnight.
Narrator: Finding a new pump
will take time,
and running the leaking one
is using up precious diesel.
I don't want to sit here
and burn the fuel
and keep the pump running.
I'm just gonna have Chris
turn the pump off.
Narrator:
For the last three weeks,
Chris Doumitt
has worked 'round the clock
to keep the pump running
and the glory hole dry.
Doumitt:
I've been working long shifts.
I get up in the morning and work
and then stay up till 1:30
at night babysitting this thing
so that they can run
in the morning.
I should be able to move
the water, and I can't do it,
and that's frustrating.
That ain't gonna work
down there.
I'm not gaining on that water
down there.
I know you're
not gonna like this.
I need you
to go down there.
I know you stayed up all night
running that.
I need you
to turn it off.
- Okay?
- Yeah.
That split
in that intake line is --
we're just treading water.
Well, it's keeping out
of the landing.
It's keeping it
from becoming Lake Porcupine,
to keep it in the hole.
I'd rather turn it off,
find a new pump,
and then really hit it.
It's gonna take hours --
Just freaking do it, okay?
Doumitt: This is kind of stupid,
if you ask me.
[ click ]
We're running out of time.
Weather's setting in.
End of the season's
coming around.
It doesn't make sense to me to
let it turn into a lake again.
I'm seeing bedrock fade away.
And we're so close.
Narrator: The Hoffmans
are racing the Alaskan winter
to hit bedrock and gold.
But with their only pump broken,
there is 30 feet of water in the
glory hole, and Jack can't dig.
- Fills up so freaking quick.
It's not funny.
Jack: Yeah.
Doumitt: It's the only thing
that's stopping us now
from really hitting
rich material is water.
Whatever that next layer is has
got to just be loaded with gold.
If we keep going
the way we are,
I don't think
Jack will ever dig again,
unless he digs
through 30 feet of water.
He can't do that.
Narrator: The crew desperately
needs another pump.
[sighs]
I wonder if I exhausted
all my resources
of who I know
has got a pump.
I'll see
what I can do.
If you want to see
bedrock,
you're gonna have to see
a pump first.
That's right.
Narrator:
"Dakota" Fred has mined
in Porcupine Creek before.
He knows
that at this time of year,
the best place to go
for equipment
isn't another gold mine.
All of the mines in the whole
area -- they're all shut down.
They know we're living
on borrowed time.
Everybody has already
winterized their equipment,
preparing for 12 feet of snow
to be on top of everything.
We haven't.
Narrator:
If Fred's going to find a pump,
he'll have to get creative.
I kind of know
where the bones are buried.
Vigilante:
How you doing?
- I'm Fred.
- Fred, Ralph Vigilante.
How you doing, man?
Narrator: Ralph Vigilante's
construction crew
thinks they might have a pump
Fred can borrow,
if they can still get to it.
Last time it was used,
it was halfway up a mountain.
You could follow me up,
and then I'll ride up with you.
'Cause we're cramped for space
for turnarounds up there.
Fred has no choice but
to make an attempt to get it.
To do so, he will have to tackle
the Alaskan backcountry.
Here, there are no proper roads,
just muddy tracks
left by loggers.
Hurt:
Pretty nasty up here.
We got to go out
in the backcountry,
up on this mountain here,
see if we can find where
they got the pump stashed.
They think the road's
good enough here.
We'll see.
Not exactly like
running down to your
rental store and picking one up.
I'd like to just say one thing,
fellas --
mission accomplished.
Little more,
little more, little more.
Whoa. Right there.
Hey, nice pump, man.
Nice pump.
That'll work.
This is definitely gonna do
the job!
When did you say
it's gonna start freezing?
Thursday, they're talking
temperatures in the 20s.
That'd be
the end of our mining.
Within an hour,
we should have that thing
pumping water like crazy.
Oh, I sure hope
that crew appreciates this.
Well?
We got us a pump, boys!
We got us a pump!
Doumitt:
I'm a happy camper.
I know you are, man.
Good job, man.
Narrator:
Everyone jumps in to get the
borrowed pump up and running.
Get away from my truck!
If we can get this pumped out
real quick,
we might be able
to get material out,
might be able to hit bedrock,
might be able to get
a whole bunch of gold, you know?
Just a whole bunch of "might."
No, no, no, no.
Jack: If I do that,
it comes down!
That could do it.
There you go.
You got it.
This is a six-inch pump.
Compared
to that little four-inch,
this is more than
twice the capacity.
This pump will probably pump
anywhere from 1,000
to 1,200 gallons a minute.
[engine sputtering ]
The crew's mining season
depends on this pump.
[engine turns over
If it doesn't work, they have
no chance of reaching the gold.
Yoo-hoo!
Got a twist in the hose
right here.
[strains]
[laughs]
Yeah.
That pump's doing great.
Oi!
There you go.
It's the fountain of youth!
Tastes like gold to me.
Narrator:
The new pump moves 72,000
gallons of water per hour.
But Jack still can't get
in the hole to dig just yet.
Jack: Tomorrow
morning, when I get up,
I'd like to have it
just as close to empty
as I possibly can.
I want to dig down.
I want to hit bedrock.
One of our guys is gonna be
staying up all night.
Narrator: Looks like
another double shift for Chris.
Doumitt:
It's cold...
dark...
late.
Narrator: Chris has to add
every two hours.
Doumitt: Oh,
about four or five more times
and I think
we call that project done.
Then we're in the money.
Narrator:
The crew has rationed fuel
to last the rest of the season.
Running through the night uses
an unplanned 50 gallons.
They're gambling
on striking gold
before they run out of fuel.
At first light,
Chris is back to see if his
cold night shift paid off.
They have to dig today
but can only do so if
the water level is low enough.
Perfect.
Excellent.
That's about as empty
as we can get it.
I'll do another double shift
if I have to
if it gets Jack
down in there.
Narrator:
The massive effort to drain the
flooded glory hole has paid off.
A stockpile of gold-rich dirt
builds up at the wash plant,
ready to be processed.
Hurt:
That glory-hole material
should be some good stuff --
really good stuff.
Narrator:
Jack passes 65 feet --
deeper than anyone
has ever been before
on the Porcupine Creek claim.
Thurber, we're going down
pretty good.
I might hit bedrock here
pretty soon.
We'll find out.
Looks pretty good right now.
From here on down,
it looks like about 25 feet,
and I'm over 40 feet down.
So this is a pretty deep hole.
Narrator: Jack Hoffman
is digging deeper
than anyone has before
at Porcupine Creek.
Jack:
Still looking for a nugget.
Narrator: He's betting
that the richest gold deposits
are down on bedrock.
The crew is now
going to wash the dirt
that Jack has pulled from
the depths of the glory hole
to find out if he's right.
That's the stuff
we're gonna run right now.
This is good old stuff here.
Comes from 65 feet down
in that glory hole.
It's been getting better
and better
every time we went down deeper.
Let's see if old Nellybelle's
gonna crank here today.
Getting them started a lot
of times in cold weather --
that's tough.
Got to pat her on the a*s
a little bit here.
Warm up there.
[engine sputters]
Come on.
[engine turns over]
We find the right ground,
we're gonna be sweet.
Narrator:
The wash plant pans for gold
on a huge mechanical scale.
High-pressure water jets
blast the dirt
into slurry
that falls into a shaker.
Larger stones are discarded.
At the sluice box,
the remaining dirt is forced
over metal riffle bars,
where heavy gold pieces
sink to the bottom
and stay trapped.
For the gold to be filtered out
effectively,
it's crucial that the dirt is
loaded at just the right rate.
But Fred is desperate
to get to the gold.
Greg and Thurber are worried
he's loading way too fast.
Thurber:
Got to watch him.
He's getting all excited,
jamming too much.
We're not gonna get a good idea
of what we got. It's too thick.
Narrator: If the riffles
can't process the heavy dirt,
it will clog up.
The gold will be flushed
down the creek,
and they'll never know
how much gold they lost.
Remsburg: We need to give
a little more washing time
so the heavy gold can drop.
Slow down
just a little bit.
Hey, I haven't been doing
nothing!
Fred, just a little bit.
Just a little bit.
It's like asking a kid
to give up his Halloween candy
when you ask Fred
to slow down.
What's his problem?
Narrator: They're not just
running the risk of losing gold.
Jammed rocks
could cr*pple the shaker --
a death blow for the mine
at this late date.
If anything breaks, we're
really gonna hurt on this one.
So I'm trying to make sure
everything's running nice,
no problems.
Narrator: Jack stops digging
in the glory hole
to halt the wash-plant run.
He wants to check the riffles
to be sure
they are not losing any gold.
Turn the pump off!
One is off!
The riffles are fine,
and the material appears to be
rich in gold.
Todd: Guys, we're consistently
digging gold out of the ground.
Jack: This whole back
of this riffle's got gold.
Oh, look at that.
Hurt: I think there's
a little bit of excitement
over there
at the sluice box right now.
This is really good
down here.
Remsburg:
Gold in them thar hills.
[laughs]
Hurt:
We know what's there now,
but we'd sure like to have
some more of it.
Narrator:
With ominous clouds sweeping
down from the mountains,
the crew prepares for a big
push on the remaining dirt.
This is one
of our most important runs,
with the most positive
amount of gold
that we've
ever ran through here.
Ready!
Let's wash some rocks!
Had some
of our spray bar plug up.
So I just got to relieve it
and get that dirt going down.
Todd: We're weary.
We really miss our families.
But, you know,
this is for our future.
Sure feel the temp dropping.
It's getting cold.
Harness: The temperature drops
Starting to get
huge snowflakes.
It's a little scary.
I love snow --
but not right now.
Doumitt:
From what I understand, the
snow gets really, really deep.
We're not really prepared for it
clothes-wise, supplies-wise.
We're just not ready
to stay the winter.
It can get really deep
really fast,
and you're not going anywhere.
Two feet, you're done.
Narrator:
The snow shower passes,
but it's a stark reminder.
Winter is upon them.
The crew has to make
every minute count.
Doumitt: Whatever it takes,
we got to get it done.
This is the best material
we've run across yet so far.
So we're not
gonna leave it behind.
Narrator:
With dwindling fuel supplies,
they push their luck
running dirt into the night.
You fall, no one's
gonna know you're down.
So it's kind of dangerous.
Just getting a little too
dangerous. Just too dang dark.
We've been running a long time,
and just -- that's it.
It comes down to safety.
That's the way it goes.
We're gonna shut down.
That's it! Move!
Narrator:
They have run dirt from
the bottom of the glory hole
for 18 hours.
Remsburg: All our equipment
held up, and it was a good run.
So it was a good sign.
Narrator: But the crew will have
to wait for tomorrow's cleanout
to find out how much gold
they've collected.
- Ready?
- Go.
Okay.
That's it.
We're done.
Narrator:
The Hoffman crew wakes up
after yesterday's 18-hour shift.
Bad day to be a pumpologist.
Narrator:
Melting snow and overnight rain
have again overwhelmed
the pumps.
It's going to take
at least one full day
to drain 40 feet of water
from the glory hole.
But there's still plenty of work
to be done
cleaning the gold out
of the wash plant.
We'll just start panning it out,
and if we're real careful,
we'll just pan
every little ounce.
It'll be nice to see
some good color down there.
I think it's gonna be hot,
you know?
It's our deepest stuff.
So, yeah, why not?
We need every little flake
of gold we can get
out of this cleanout.
Let's do it.
Every little flake.
Let's do it.
Narrator: Each section
of the wash plant is dismantled.
The riffle bars are removed
and the concentrated material
trapped inside
carefully collected.
In the entire season,
the crew has pulled out
just over 6.1 ounces of gold,
worth just $8,850.
To turn a profit, they need
to find 30 times that amount.
I believe and I'm hoping that
this stuff is just full of gold.
We started out thinking
we knew what we were doing.
If it turns out
the way I'm hoping,
then it proves we know
what we're doing now.
Narrator: The cold, driving rain
only complicates matters.
They need gold now
and plenty of it
if they have any chance
of making back
the $275,000 they've spent.
You know, it's anybody's guess
as to how much gold
we might have found.
I don't know if I have a job
or not when I get back.
So, you know,
I'm really up in the air.
Narrator:
Even the miners' moss matting
that lines the lower sluice box
should hold valuable gold.
There.
Doumitt:
Man, this gold's heavy.
You always think
there's that nugget laying
right there on the surface.
Kind of excited to start
panning it, see what we do have.
Jack:
It's gonna show the guys
what's really down there
in the bottom of that hole.
Doumitt: When you take
that last little swish
and the layer of black sand
floats off
and it leaves that gold
in the pan...
Jack: Good lord.
[ chuckling ] That's a rush.
It really is.
- Yeah!
- Whoa!
Todd:
Looks really good so far.
Yeah.
This stuff is really hot.
Blast the day channel,
fellas.
We're finding
cornflake-sized flakes of gold.
We'll have the last laugh.
This is probably my best pan
right here.
Narrator: It's tedious,
bone-chilling work,
but the panning is complete,
and the crew
can finally get warmed up.
Meanwhile, in Greg's house,
Jack and Todd clean the gold
and weigh their new total
for the season.
Ready to do this?
Yep.
See what we got.
It's pretty.
No one on the team
has been paid all summer.
Their future depends
on the outcome.
Thurber: We got family and
mortgage and stuff at home.
Put that in jeopardy
to do this.
As far as I'm concerned,
if we haven't made a profit,
you know, there's no share.
I'm going home to, you know,
no employment and no nest egg.
That jar's heavy.
All right, man.
Let's go tell the guys.
Jack:
Well, guys, here it is.
We worked hard. Everybody did.
And I'm real happy with you.
There's 14.64 ounces here.
[ cheers and laughter]
Do it again, do it again.
Whoo!
Narrator: 14.64 ounces
is worth almost $20,000.
their season total,
is just from today's cleanout.
In one day, they've pulled out
$11,500 in gold.
Jack: This cleanout
was our absolute best one.
It's just
drop-dead fantastic.
That just proves
that it's laying
right down there on bedrock,
and there's gonna be
a lot of it -- a lot of it.
Narrator: The miners' hard work
is finally paying off.
After five months digging,
the dirt is getting richer
with every scoop.
I think that's a lot of gold.
That's almost a pound.
That's a lot of gold.
I know what we did to get that.
There's not gonna be
any ifs or buts about it.
We're gonna get to
that bedrock, and we're
gonna get that gold.
We're gonna put it
in your pockets.
Narrator:
For the first time,
the crew can truly say
that they are on the gold.
But if they don't get
to bedrock and more gold
in the coming days, winter
will blast them out of Alaska.
Todd:
I'm not playing around now.
Now it's serious for me.
Hurt: This little pump
sitting up here on the top.
The water was right up
at the feet of --
in fact,
that pump had water on it.
Narrator: Yet another push
to get Jack digging
has stretched the miners'
resources to the breaking point.
We're out of fuel,
and it's dead.
Narrator:
Without a running pump,
it won't take Mother Nature very
long to refill the glory hole.
So far,
the Hoffmans have laid out
over a quarter
of a million dollars
to mine just $20,000 of gold.
Just -- this whole thing
is kind of a fiasco right now.
We got to get that water out
so we can see the bottom,
you know, so I can dig.
Narrator:
To save face and walk away with
something for their efforts,
they have to reach bedrock.
Jack takes advantage
of the break in the weather
and makes a 35-mile dash
into town
to buy more fuel with
what money they have left.
Woman:
It is the time of year
where the snow's
gonna be flying real soon.
So it's basically gonna be
driver discretion.
He may come, he may not,
you know,
depending on the road.
Jack: Yeah.
There could be,
you know, snow, ice.
With snow forecast,
it's touch and go
whether the fuel truck
will even be able
to make the trip up
the dangerous road to the claim.
- On the money.
- All right.
Without fuel,
it's game over.
We're gonna do our best
to get it to you.
- Okay. I appreciate it.
- No problem.
Jack is banking on the weather
holding off long enough
to get the critical
fuel delivery.
That fuel's coming, and I think
we're gonna beat the weather.
We'll be all right.
Narrator:
Dawn at Porcupine.
Fred wakes to what miners call
"termination dust."
Hurt:
That don't look good.
It is snowing quite heavily
right now.
Big, old, wet, sloppy stuff.
No sign of it letting up.
Not quite freezing right now.
It's about 34 degrees.
That won't k*ll our pumps
or anything,
but it might k*ll a few spirits
around here.
Narrator: Todd knows
the gold's within reach.
But without fuel, there's no way
to get it out of the ground.
Todd: It's eight miles
up this old road,
and I just don't think that
truck'll make it. Lot of snow.
Without fuel,
we're not running.
Alaska's giving us
a little lesson here.
Narrator:
If the fuel can't get through,
their mining season is over.
Thurber: The bad thing
about the weather --
we knew it was coming --
is we're just so darn close
to the gold right now.
Some of the pioneers
of gold mining have been here,
looked in there,
and said we're right close.
So when you hear that,
you get pretty excited.
It'd be nice to hit it
right now, but...
[laughs]
[ horn honking ]
Todd:
Dude, what's that?
Hurt: Oh, Tom did it.
- Whoo!
Can't believe it.
That guy's amazing.
Yeah!
I feel good.
Now we can run.
Narrator: Against the odds,
the fuel arrives,
and the crew
immediately puts it to use.
But no one knows if they have
enough time to get to bedrock
before the big freeze hits.
Another three or four degrees
and it's gonna freeze up,
and then
it's not gonna be nice.
Probably tonight, huh?
Do we have some pretty bad
weather coming in?
Or what have you heard?
I haven't heard the prediction,
'cause I'm afraid to listen.
Yeah.
Narrator:
The crew is thankful
that it's not
below freezing yet,
but digging in these wet, sloppy
conditions is less than ideal.
The melting snow is saturating
the dirt around the glory hole,
making it unstable.
Jack:
The hole's changed overnight.
It's gone from halfway decent
to dangerous.
Right now,
it's a dangerous hole.
Doumitt: I wouldn't want him
down in there.
I didn't like walking down in
there, it was flowing so bad.
It's really hard,
because all you got to do
is hit one little patch of ice,
then you're toast, you know,
and just that quick.
Hey, Jack,
you ready to dig?
I'm ready.
Yeah! Got it.
[ cheers]
Good driving.
Whoo!
Todd:
Well, it looks like
my dad's really getting
a bunch of good material up
from about 65, 70 feet deep.
Hurt: No man or beast
has ever seen this.
This is 10,000, 20,000,
that this was deposited here.
It's exciting. I want to know
what's down there.
Narrator:
This could be Jack's last chance
to reach bedrock
in the glory hole.
[ rocks rattling ]
Desperate to strike it rich,
he pushes the 400 excavator
to its limit.
Remsburg: Guys, get back!
Todd: Look out!
[whistles]
Jack: It started caving away
down below.
Made me nervous.
Narrator:
The melted snow and ice
collapses the sides of the hole
around him.
Jack:
That's not safe anymore.
I'm gonna come up above.
Narrator: Jack has no choice
but to give up and get himself
and their precious excavator out
while he still can.
[excavator creaks]
Jack:
God dang!
Shook the ground.
Don't slow down.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on, buddy.
Holy crap.
I don't feel good about it.
It's a little scary, you know?
I know you're willing to die
down there,
but I'm not interested.
[ rain falling ]
Narrator: Todd makes the
decision no one wants to hear --
the digging will stop
until conditions improve.
- Good job, Dad.
Jack: Yep.
Way it goes.
We're not done yet,
but, boy, we're right there.
One good slam of the deep
freeze, and we'll be finished.
Narrator:
As the sun sets,
it's clear Todd's decision
to stop digging was a wise one.
This isn't --
it isn't looking too good.
I don't think
Alaska wants us greenhorns
mining anymore out here.
Sad, because
we just finally figured out
how to start mining,
start getting some gold.
So...
Hmm.
I'm just hoping it's
not too deep in the morning.
Narrator: Next morning,
the cold light of dawn
confirms Todd's worst fears.
Winter has shut down
the last working mine
in Porcupine Creek.
Remsburg: Geez.
Overnight,
the cold has frozen all water,
and without water,
they can't run.
They need to get themselves
and their thousands of dollars
in gear out immediately
or they'll be snowed in.
Remsburg: This might be it.
- I think this is it.
Let's go.
Let's go! Get in the truck!
Let's load up!
[laughing ] Oh!
Todd:
We got two more storms coming,
and then we're not getting out
of here for sure.
Remsburg:
I'm not real happy about leaving
without accomplishing
what we set out to do.
I mean, it is just unbelievable
how close we were.
Doumitt:
Like a football game,
we marched the ball
all the way down 99 yards.
All we have
is this one yard to go.
Todd: We haven't accomplished
our goal.
We've proven that you
can still do stuff like
this here in America.
Narrator:
To reach the main highway,
they'll have to negotiate
the treacherous
eight-mile mountain road.
Hey, guys, it's getting
a little dangerous up here.
That bridge looks like
it's a little slippery.
It'll be a pretty hairy ride
to the bottom.
I am broker now
than when I arrived in Alaska.
Broke.
Got some issues with
the finance company on my home.
So I got to deal with that
when I get home.
I have a natural ability to fix
anything, except for myself.
It would take
hundreds of thousands of dollars
of operations.
The gold was my answer.
We're just plowing our way
through here.
Looks like a monster tree
over here.
It looks like it slid
right off the cliff.
[ chain saw whirring ]
Narrator:
Carpenter Chris Doumitt steps in
to clear the roadblock.
Doumitt:
We'll battle through,
and hopefully next spring,
we can get back up here
and continue
where we left off...
...and get the gold.
Every tree up here's
gonna be over the road.
We could have one fall on me
right now.
When we hit the bedrock
in that hole,
I think we're gonna get
about $6 million.
That's just a guess.
Todd:
Just hit it! Push it!
Ready? Let's go!
Ram it!
That took care of that.
We're gonna come back,
and we're gonna kick
some serious a*s.
That's what's gonna happen.
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01x10 - Never Say Die
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Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Reality based series follows the placer gold mining efforts of various family-run mining companies, mostly in the Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Alaska.