04x18 - Go Big or Go Home

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
way up north in the klondike...

Shut it down!

Narrator: ...the gold-mining
season is over.

But not for parker schnabel...

Parker:
we're back to washing rocks.

Narrator:
...and rick ness.

All right, let's move it!

Narrator:
they are defying mother nature

On a quest
to hit 1,000 ounces of gold.

It looks good. Let's do 'er!

Whoa!

Ness: I'm all for
trying to move this quick,

But I don't want to [bleep] die.

Narrator:
to achieve the impossible,

They battle their equipment...

Whoa!

Narrator:
...each other...

Parker's struggling
to come up with a plan.

Narrator:
...and the klondike winter...

What the [bleep]
is that?

...with a mining legend
at their side.

Hey, tony!
Yeah!

They refuse to let anything
stand in the way of their dream.

I could go home
and put 836 ounces of gold

In front of my grandpa.

Whoa.

Why not wait 10 days
and put 1,000 in front of him?

Parker!

Look at
all that good stuff.

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

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Man:
this is cbc north radio one.

here's the weather forecast
for yukon.

starting off, it's going to be


with an overnight dip
just below zero.

Narrator:
it's october.

All across the klondike,

Gold miners are packing up
and heading south.

[ Engine revs ]

All except parker schnabel
and rick ness.

They are hell-bent on getting


I mean,
I could go home right now

And put 836 ounces of gold
in front of my grandpa,

But why not wait 10 days
and put 1,000 in front of him?

Right?
That's what I want to do.

Ness: all these guys
are packing up and winterizing

Because they know what's coming,

And they know what needs
to be done before it happens,

So would it be a good idea for
us to be doing the same thing,

But if we were doing that,

We wouldn't be getting


Narrator:
two weeks ago, parker resorted

To thawing frozen pay dirt
with a water monitor.

Parker:
that's pretty awesome, dude.

Good job.

His season ended with success...

It's about 836.

...worth over a million dollars.

Da-ding!

His crew went home as planned,

But parker talked rick
into staying

To make one last push
for 1,000 ounces.

Are you in?

That'd be pretty amazing.


Baby.

Now with the monitor
thawing the gold-rich pay dirt,

The guys
can keep the wash plant fed.

Parker needs another 164 ounces
of gold,

Worth $230,000, to hit his goal.

Parker:
we've got this monitor here,

So it's doable

Because that thing's
doing the job of a couple guys.

It's going really well.

Ness: right now we've got two
trucks and we've got two people,

So I'm kind of hot seating
between machines today.

Hey, parker, I got
another truckload on the way.

Hey,
you doing all right, rick?

I think it's about time
for a swap.

Ness: yeah, yeah,
I can do that.

Narrator: the pay dirt
from this cut, fantasy land,

Is the best
they've had all season.

This is some pretty good dirt,
rick.

If we can keep on this stuff,
we might hit that 1,000.

Right on, buddy.
We'll keep going.

How you doing?

Hey, man, how's it going?
Parker around?

Parker?
Yeah.

He's around somewhere.

I could probably
give him a call on the radio.

Yeah, I'd like
to talk to him, please.

Sure.
Who can I say is here?

David.
David miller.

Yeah.
Hey, parker.

Are you
in the area here?

I got a david miller
looking for you.

[Bleep]

All right,
I'll be right over.

Narrator:
david miller, a local miner,

Loaned parker his monitor
for seven days two weeks ago.

Hey, parker,
how's it going?

Good, how are you?
Not too bad.

What can I do
for you?

Well, I kind of need
my monitor back, man.

Boy -- I mean, it's --
our whole plan

Is to use that thing
to get the pay thawed

So we
can keep sluicing.

Well, you know, like,
I agreed to rent it to you

For a little --
a specific amount of time,

And that time's come
and gone, man, so...

The weather's gonna change
quick here, man.

I want to get it up
high and dry.

How about I just load her up,
and I got to get out of here?

All right.

Okay.
Thanks, man.

Without the monitor,

Parker has no way to get through
the fantasy land permafrost.

It's, like, the one thing
we got going for us.

I know.

We're kind of screwed.

Yeah,
we are.

[Bleep] [bleep]

Parker:
we have no monitor.

We have no people.

I don't know what to do.

Narrator:
with no thawed pay dirt to run,

Parker's forced
to shut down the wash plant.

Parker:
man, it's [bleep] over.

Looks like I might be going home
without 1,000 ounces.

Without that monitor,
we're [bleep]

Narrator: the next day, scribner
creek is at a standstill.

It didn't work.

I'm out of ideas.

We could maybe get a few ounces
out of the pad

That little blue is sitting on
if we scrape that off.

At one time, we had a lot of pay
dirt stockpiled up here, and --

Well, that would give us
at least three days running.

Yeah, I think it would add up.
That's a pretty good idea.

Why don't we do it?
You can hop in the hoe.

We need
to get the thing moved.

Yeah,
for sure.

Good idea,
rick.

Right on,
buddy.

Five months ago,
parker set up little blue

On a pile of pay dirt
that is already thawed.

Parker:
getting us closer to our goal.

I mean, it won't put us there,
but it'll get us closer.

We've got to do something.

Narrator:
but to get to the pay,

The two klondike rookies

Need to move
the 20,000-pound wash plant.

Parker: you know,
it's pretty heavy and awkward,

And it's pretty easy to break.

It's not like
we're using it right now,

But that doesn't mean
I want to ruin it.

It's still a good wash plant.

I still paid a lot of money
for it.

Throw that chain
around the whole bottom beam

Or the top one and down through
that one piece of i-beam

That's welded
at the top.

Looks good!

Let's do 'er!

All right,
let's move it!

Easy.

[ Clanking ]

Slow.

[ Metal creaking ]

That's not good.

Whoa! Stop!

Parker: [bleep]

That could have been bad.

I'm all for
trying to move this quick,

But I don't want
to [bleep] die.

I know.

Guess we'll find
something heavier.

Round two, we'll try this
with a stronger chain, I guess.

Oh, yeah.

It's gonna work.

[ Beeping ]

Now we're
getting somewhere.

[ Metal creaking ]

Yee-haw!

Time to go to work.

[ Engine turns over ]

Parker:
this season, we've had

Over 100,000 yards of pay
on this pad,

And throughout the course
of the year,

The floor builds up,
and pretty soon,

Your floor is a foot higher
than when you started,

And that's all good pay.

I'm just scraping it up
into a pile,

And we're gonna run it
through the plant.

It should be some good gold
in this,

And we really might actually
get something out of this.

Don't know yet what kind
of gold's in this ground,

But at least it's a shot.

Desperate times call
for desperate measures, I guess.

Start her up.

We're back
to washing rocks.

Yee-haw!

Narrator:
over the next three days,

Parker and rick run
close to 2,000 yards of dirt.

Oh [bleep]

[ Clanging ]

Oh, man.

Well, I thought
this ground was changing,

And that's a sign right there.

There's only one way

A chain gets that far
down into the ground,

And that's if it's already
been stripped and mined.

[Bleep]

Narrator: the chain reveals rick
has dug down into old tailings.

Hey, parker,
you on the radio?

Yeah,
what's up, rick?

I just pulled up
an old chain.

I think this part's
been mined already.

All right.

Well, let's get the rest of it
out of there

And run
the stockpile.

Let's pull the mats
and see if we got it.

All right,
see you in a few.

Parker:
here's the last scoop.

Narrator:
parker's hoping three days

Of running little blue pay dirt,

Plus the dirt from fantasy land
he sluiced last week,

Just might deliver the 164
ounces he needs to hit 1,000.

All right, let's clean her up,
rick, and see what we've got.

We've been trying
to run as much as we can.

You know, we've been running
quite a bit of yardage.

How's it looking?
Nice.

We're looking --
boxes we've had in awhile.

Right.

I mean,
every run has good gold in it.

My last cleanup
was 205 ounces.

If we can get another one
like that, we'll get to 1,000.

Whoa.

See that nugget?

That's a beauty.

That is.
Look at that.

You never know.
Maybe it's in here.

Maybe it's in the box.

Narrator:
after the rest of their crew

Headed south for the winter,

Parker schnabel and rick ness
stayed behind.

They've run six days of pay dirt

Through their wash plant,
big red.

They need 164 ounces
to hit their 1,000-ounce,

$1.4 million goal.

Pretty fine stuff.
Yeah.

Looks nice,
but it's fine.

We'll see
what we've got.

We might
max the scale out.

It only
goes up to 35.

So,
that's 30 ounces.

Yeah.

Oh [bleep]



[Bleep]

Not quite
what we were hoping for.

I mean...



Doesn't even
put us on track.

We're 119 short.

It makes me wonder
what the hell we're doing.

Parker: I think staying
might have been a big mistake.

We need 4 times that
if we're gonna get to 1,000,

And the way it's going,
we're not gonna do it.

We're frozen
out of fantasy land.

We've got no other ground.

And honestly, this just feels
like a big mistake right now.

As much as I want to show
my grandpa 1,000 ounces...

...there's not a lot
keeping me here.

Narrator: parker's cleaned up


He's 119 ounces shy
of his 1,000-ounce goal,

And he has no more ground
left to mine.

This is the final stuff.

Just checking the coolant
in all the radiators

To make sure that they're good
to sit for the winter,

Then we roll out, I guess.

Parker: hello?

Hey, ma.

I'm fine.

I'm having some issues.

Did something happen to grandpa?

So he's in the hospital
right now?

Is he, like, stable?

Do you think it's more serious?

What? What?

I'm losing you.

Hello?

[ Dial tone ]

[ Cellphone beeps ]

So, my grandpa's really sick
right now.

He's in the hospital.

I came up here knowing
that there was a chance

That my grandpa wouldn't be home
when I got home.

And right now...

...you know,
it doesn't look great.

Narrator: john schnabel has had
cancer for over a year now,

But recently,
his condition has deteriorated,

And he's now been hospitalized.

If parker stays in the klondike
to hit 1,000 ounces,

He may never
see his grandpa again.

Six months ago, john schnabel
gave parker his blessing

To head north
and seek his fortune.

I look upon you
like the eagle

When he flaps his wings
and flys out of the nest.

You're gonna be
a success.

[ Laughs ]

I hope
you're right.

I know so.

Now parker can either
head home to his family

Or stay in the klondike
to make his grandpa proud.

Hey, rick.

I need
to talk to you.

So, this map
is an old drill sheet

That tony gave me
at the beginning of the season.

These red marks
indicate the best holes, right?

Ness: sure.

The best ground we had
was right over here.

And if you connect the dots
from where our best ground is

And all the best ground
that they mined is,

Which is right up here,
which hasn't been mined.

It's on the other side
of the creek,

And most
of what we've found

On the other side
of the creek's been thawed.

So, I'm thinking that we might
try to do something up there.

Parker's map
shows a series of drill holes

That track a pay streak of gold
running through his claim.

The ground
has already been mined,

But parker suspects
the pay streak continues

Into a patch
of thawed virgin ground

At the far end of his claim.

Problem is, it's a four-mile
round trip from his wash plant.

That's a hell
of a long way away.

I mean, that's probably
the farthest out of anything

We've done this year.

For sure.

Twice as far
as fantasy land.

Everything else
has been a gamble.

Probably our best shot.
Let's do it.

Parker: now, we've got very
little time to play with here.

Every load that goes
to the plant has to count.

We need good ground.

That's the only thing
that's gonna do it for us.

[ Engine turns over ]

Narrator: parker needs a dozer
to cut a path

To the far edge of his claim.

I thought about leaving,

But my parents suggested
staying here and keeping going.

There's not a whole lot I can do
at this point

But give this my all
and get this finished,

Hopefully go home
with 1,000 ounces

And pray
my grandpa will be there.

Narrator: before he commits
to opening a new cut,

Parker has to first
find bedrock

And then test the pay gravel.

I know that parker's struggling
to come up with a plan,

But I was hoping for something
a little more reasonable.

It's so far that even
when we had a full crew here,

We wouldn't have went that far.

I hope it pans out,
but I don't know.

At this point,
I'm pretty skeptical.

Narrator:
parker cuts a deep test trench.

After five hours,
he spots something unusual.

[Bleep]

Huh. What the hell?

And it's just pure white sand.

I don't know what it means.

Well, I'll grab a pan full of it
and bring it to tony.

I mean, if anybody's gonna know
what it means, he will.

Narrator: parker seeks advice
from his claim owner and mentor,

Tony beets, who's been mining
the klondike for 30 years.

Hey, tony.

Good,
how are you?

[ Laughs ]
yeah, it is.

Look at that.

It's this weird layer of sand
we found.

Yeah.

Well, that sounds
pretty promising.

Tony: yeah.

But the only problem is,
we'll need a few guys.

Right.
Right?

Tony thinks that white channel
sand is a really good sign.

I mean, that could mean
that it's really good ground,

And if there was ever a time
that we could use a nice,

Little hot spot,
now would be it.

I've told rick
to start moving overburden.

I'm heading to dawson
to see if I can find anybody

That's looking for work.

Narrator:
the area around dawson

Has a population of around 4,000
people during the mining season.

But before winter closes in,
half of them head south.

Parker: the town's pretty dead
right now.

You know, I'm gonna have a hard
time finding a couple hands,

I think.

It's just nobody here.

[ Dog barking ]

A lot of stuff for sale.

Not too many people
looking for work.

We've got to try
to figure something else out.

Narrator:
back at scribner creek,

Rick is manning the mine alone.

His orders are to get to bedrock
as fast as possible.

Ness:
the race is on right now.

I don't have time to truck this
overburden gravel out of here,

So I got to just keep kind of
tossing it off to the side

As far as I can get it.

Opening up new ground in october

Is not
where we thought we would be,

"A," because it's october
and we should be going home

And "b" because --

Whoa! [Bleep]

[Bleep]

[Bleep]

Narrator: rick ness is alone on
the far edge of parker's claim,

Clearing overburden

When he accidentally
overextends the bucket.

Ness: oh!

[Bleep] [bleep] [bleep]

Whoa!

Go, go!

[Bleep]

Easy, easy!

[Bleep]

I'm gonna definitely have to be
a little more careful.

forecast for today.

we've got a 60% chance
of snow flurries

for the dawson city area.

daytime highs of just 3 degrees

with tonight's low
dipping to minus 7.

Narrator:


Parker schnabel's
already hard at work,

Looking for white channel
pay gravel

That just might
contain enough gold

To make his 1,000-ounce dream
a reality.

Parker: this late in the season,
we can't be not sluicing.

We can't have that plant
sitting doing nothing.

We just want to get it done with
so we can get a fresh start

In the morning
and start hauling pay.

[ Clunk ]

Oh, wow.
That must be bedrock.

Narrator:
to make running dirt

This far from the wash plant
worth it,

Parker needs to find at least
30 colors in a test pan.

Parker: it looks like nice,
original ground.

Real tight pack,
that's a good sign.

I mean,
one pan's not a moment of truth,

But it'll give us an idea
of what to expect.

Look at that.

There's some gold
right in there.

That looks like
right around 50 flakes.

I mean,
that's [bleep] impressive.

There's no doubt about it.

The far cut has gold.

This cut might have
what we need, you know?

At the end of the day,
those 50 flakes,

That's only maybe $1 worth
of gold,

But when you start thinking

About how many pans
are in that excavator bucket

And how many pans
are in every dump-truck load,

Pretty soon,
it's not just a dollar.

If that kind of ground holds up,
this could be [bleep] amazing.

Narrator:
a 50-color pan

Means this ground
could be worth $50 a yard,


Than the dirt parker mined

Earlier in the season.

Parker:
rick! Come here.

I got to show you something.

So, this is one pan
right on bedrock, contact.

Ness:
[ laughs ]

Yeah,
isn't that sweet?

Yeah.

That's 50 flakes
or so.

That's impressive.
Wow.

What we need's
right here.

We're moving
some good dirt.

Parker fires up his wash plant.

He and rick haven't run pay dirt
for two days,

But they are soon sluicing
50 yards an hour.

cbc north radio one.

in your regional
weather forecast,

a 30% chance of snow flurries
around the dawson city area.

Day nine,
and winter's closing in fast.

Parker wants
to end his rookie season

With 1,000 ounces of gold,

But he's still 119 ounces short
of his goal.

Parker: the weather's getting
really [bleep] cold.

I mean, it's starting to freeze
pretty hard overnight.

You know, you look at --

This puddle
was pretty unfroze yesterday,

And today, it's pretty solid.

I mean, at some point,

We're not gonna be able
to sluice any longer,

You know,
and it's coming pretty close.

And it doesn't matter what
our gold total is at that point.

The weather doesn't care.

We're getting down
to the wire here,

And I'm not sure what to do.

Narrator: any day now, the water
in the wash plant will freeze,

And parker's season
will be over.

His only chance of scoring


Is to bring in more crew.

Two guys mining like this is
just [bleep] stupid, you know.

We have to find a couple people
if we're gonna make this work.

So, right now
I'm going to tony's.

It's tough asking him for help,

But I don't see any other option
right now.

We just need to get a good,
final season push right here.

We're running out of time.

Parker: you know,
we've got ground,

But we just don't have
the people to keep doing it.

Yeah.

I know somebody.

Who's that?
You.

You're all done.
You sit on your butt all day.

You might as well
give the kid a hand.

Well,
why not?

He really needs somebody,
so give him a hand.

It would be only one day,
right?

Yeah.
To help.

No,
it'd be a big help.

Sounds like a plan,
tony.

Oh,
you're so welcome.

All you'll be doing
is being on the couch sleeping,

So you might as well
do something.

Uh-uh.

Thank you, minnie.
You owe me.

Thanks, minnie.
Yeah.

Narrator:
at scribner creek,

It's day 10
of parker's final push.

To reach 1,000 ounces,

He and rick need
to kick things into high gear.

Ness: there's definitely a sense
of urgency right now.

We got a really short timetable,

And shorthanded
doesn't even cover it.

I mean,
everybody who had common sense

Went home for the season

Because they know
what's about to hit here,

And it's not gonna be easy
with no help, basically.

Here comes tony beets!

Yeah!

Hey, rick,
guess who's joining the crew?

Ness:
oh, really?

That's awesome.

Narrator: tony beets, known
in the klondike as "the viking,"

Arrives for his one-day shift.

Glad you made it!

So, maybe you could run our hoe
and load trucks.

Usually, we're just taking
about a foot

Or a foot and a half
of bedrock.

You think so?

Right.

All right.

Sounds good.
I'm glad you made it, tony!

I'm glad you're not!

Parker: I just told tony beets
what to do.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: until now,

Parker's been digging
a foot into the bedrock,

But after 30 years of mining
in the klondike,

Tony knows that gold can settle

Up to three feet
into the fractured bedrock.

Tony beets
is a pretty intense dude,

And he's kind of running
around here like a madman.

And he's definitely
bringing a lot of energy here,

And we needed him today.

We needed the help,
and it's a good day.

Narrator: instead of running
50 yards an hour,

With tony's help,
they're processing 150 yards --



Yee-haw!

Now I'm getting somewhere!

Narrator: with a big freeze
fast approaching,

Park, rick, and tony
work late into the night.

Yeah. All right.

Wow,
we put a good day in today.

And there's some
in there.

Maybe going deeper
in the bedrock was a good move.

Right on.

[ Laughs ]

Six months ago,
parker arrived at scribner creek

Having never mined
in the klondike.

Throughout the season,
he's relied on tony, his mentor.

Parker's run more than


In just 18 hours.

The far cut could be the richest
ground he's ever mined.

But to be sure
he'll hit 1,000 ounces,

Parker decides to sluice
for two more days.

a drop of 6 degrees overnight
in the dawson area,

so looking at consistently
freezing temperatures until...

Parker: okay, let's just
go ahead and start it up,

And we'll get some more pay
for this afternoon.

What the [bleep]
is that?

Holy [bleep]

Overnight,
temperatures have plummeted.

The big freeze
has caught them off guard.

That's insane.

Look at that motor.

Holy [bleep]

Look at under there.

[Bleep]

[ Both grunting ]

Oh.

Parker: yesterday
was our last day running.

Man,
it's [bleep] over.

It's been good fight,

But at some point,
you just have to call it.

Why don't you go
get us some tiger torches

And a sledgehammer,

And we'll see if
we can get these mats out and...

And then get out
while we still can.

Yeah, right.

Sounds like a plan.
Yeah.

I was really planning on getting

A couple more days
of running in,

But we'll have to hope
it's in the box now

'Cause this is it.

What we've got
is what we've got now.

Narrator: parker's chance
at a 1,000-ounce,

$1.4 million season
depends on what's in these mats.

Melt!
Melt, you [bleep]

Let's try
to get this [bleep] out of here.

Yeah.

You never know.
Maybe it's in here.

Let's get
this jigged.

Narrator: parker's first
klondike season is over.

The equipment is winterized,

And the last material
from the sluices

Has been reduced to
a single bucket of concentrate.

All right,
well, this is it, rick.

Yeah.

It all comes down
to one bucket, huh?

There's no doubt
we did our best, didn't we?

You know, I really appreciate
your time,

And thanks
for staying.

It was a pleasure.
Yeah.

We kicked some a*s.

Yeah.

You'll have to let me know
as soon as you find out.

Will do.
I'll stay in touch.

Parker will only
finish his cleanup

And know his season total after
the long drive home to haines.

My grandpa was the one
that got me in gold mining,

And he's been in the hospital
in seattle, and he's back home,

But this is for sure

The longest I've ever gone
without seeing them.

It's tough, you know?

But, you know, this season
has been an amazing adventure.

You know, it's been unreal,
and I can't wait to share it

With him
and the rest of my family.

Narrator: after six months
in the frozen north,

Parker schnabel pulls into his
family home in haines, alaska,

With what he hopes
is enough gold

To hit his 1,000-ounce,
$1.4 million season goal.

[ Laughs ]

You really
did come home?

Hi, honey.

I thought
about staying.

How are you?
Good.

I can't believe it.

Your pants
are falling off.

Have you
not eaten?

Has no one
fed you?

How are you?
I'm good.

You feel okay?
Yeah, no, I'm good.

Got any gold?
A little.

In your pockets?

I actually don't know
what we've got.

Why?

Because it was too cold
up there

To put it
on our finishing table.

Are you serious?

So, I could only get it jigged,
and then I have to pan it.

So,
how much did you get?

I don't know.

Come on in.

All right,
let me grab my stuff.

All right.

Oof.

So, this is the mother lode
in there, huh?

Well, that's what I've got
left to process.

Where's dad
and grandpa at?

Dad and grandpa
will get on the ferry tomorrow.

Parker: I thought grandpa
was back from the hospital.

Grandpa finished
his last radiation yesterday.

They're supposed to be on a 1:30
flight, and they got weather.

Nobody flew all day.

That's a bummer,

But I guess
it'll give me a chance

To pan
that concentrate out,

And I can have a solid number
for when they get here.

So, when you do that,
you'll have your season total?

Yeah, I mean,
it's been k*lling me

Not knowing
for the whole drive here,

So I should probably
go do that.

Do you need help?
Nope.

Okay.

Narrator:
parker heads to the workshop

To pan the last
of his concentrate

So that in the morning, he can
finally reveal his season total

To the man who first
inspired him to gold mine --

Grandpa john.

Parker!

[ Laughs ]
hey, parker.

It's great to see you.

You, too.
Oh.

You look good.

Thank you.

I feel a lot better
than when I left.

[ Laughs ]

So, I brought back the last of
our concentrate from up north,

And I had to pan it down here
because we couldn't --

It was too cold
to get our table going.

It's just outside
and out in the weather.

So, that's what we got
out of it.

And we need 119 ounces
to hit our goal.

I know
I've got 881.

Wow.

Parker: did we actually get
1,000 ounces?

It's 910.











Oh, man.

Oh!

[ Laughs ]



Oh, my gosh!

Wow!

Wait 'til
you see this.

Whoa!

Look at this.

Look at
all that good stuff.

[ Laughter ]

I'm going to the yukon.

Holy criminy.

That's over 1,000 ounces.
1,029.

Geez.
[ Laughs ]

You made
a great decision.

John:
a million dollars on the table.

Nancy: nice.

Here he is, 20 years old, and
he's already grossed a million.

[ Laughter ]

I'm overwhelmed.

I never have seen that much gold
in my whole life at one time.

Narrator: parker's total in his
first season mining the klondike

Hits 1,029 ounces
worth close to $1.5 million,

More gold than the hoffman crew

Has pulled out of the ground
in four seasons of mining.

Parker:
no, I can't believe we did it.

We just found $1.4 million
worth of gold,

And it was an amazing challenge.

Probably the hardest
six months of my life,

But seeing my grandpa's face

When we put all that down
on the table,

It made it all worth it.