Ice Road Truckers: Season 1

At the top of the world there is a job like no other. A job to die for. Meet Hugh, Rick, Alex, Jay, T.J and Drew. They are ICE ROAD TRUCKERS. Just 28 inches of frozen water, years of experience and quick reflexes separate them from doom. The draw: a year's worth of salary and bragging rights in just two months. The risks: breakdown, whiteout, subzero temperatures, submersion in a frozen lake. In short, death. In Canada's far North, $40 billion worth of gold and diamonds waits to be extracted from three jackpot mines. Critical equipment and supplies get to these Northwest Territories sites only one way: a 350-mile-long highway across permafrost and frozen lakes. As 26-year veteran Alex Debogorski puts it, it's a "dash for cash," with each trucker racking up as many runs as possible - at up to $2000 per trip - in the eight short weeks before the ice highway melts. Along the way they contend with the most treacherous conditions Nature can throw at them while hauling tons of precious cargo. The truckers that brave this hazardous road form a charismatic and rag-tag fraternity. This mind-blowing series takes you through an entire perilous ice road season: from the construction of this massive frozen highway to the arrival and preparation of the truck fleet; from the first enthusiastic runs to the risky final days when the highway grows unreliable; from deep-winter breakdowns to isolation and boredom on the road. ICE ROAD TRUCKERS puts you in the driver's seat. Shot with 26 high-definition cameras in deepest winter, when saner people head South or stay indoors, this groundbreaking series depicts the rigors and risks of a previously unknown way of life. THE HISTORY CHANNEL® crew itself braved every extreme, subjecting their equipment and bodies to months of exposure, to capture the personalities and dangers of this frigid world. Climb in the cab, ride along and just try to stay alive with THE ICE ROAD TRUCKERS.

It s one of the most perilous roads in the world, a strip of ice built on frozen lakes that connects remote billion-dollar mining outposts in northern Canada with civilization 350 miles away. In the brief two months a year that the road is passable, ten thousand loads, some weighing as much as twenty-two tons, will travel over the highway in an urgent race to provide critical supplies to the camps before the ice melts.

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS follows the competition and camaraderie of six truckers over a season on the ice road, as they brave white-outs, thin ice, and the deadly cold to perform one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. From the construction of this massive frozen highway and the preparation of the truck fleet, to the risky final days when the melting highway grows dangerously unreliable, THE HISTORY CHANNEL takes viewers on a thrilling, adrenaline-pumping ride.

DVD Features: Ice Road Truckers episode of Dangerous Missions; 5 Featurettes: Meet the Truckers , Overcoming the Challenges , Perils of the Ice Road , Behind-The-Scenes , The Countdown