Sunday, August 26, 2007

Ice Road Map


The truckers on the ice road must travel over two hundred miles to reach some of the diamond mines. Carrying tons of machinery over frozen lakes and a twisting landscape at up to sixty degrees below zero is never easy. This map should give you a good example of the length, terrain, and isolation that the truckers deal with for work.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

What is an Ice Road?



Key to operating a mine in Canada’s remote wilderness is the ice road, built by a Joint Venture of mining companies operating in the area, and shared by many other users from exploration companies to tourism outfitters and aboriginal hunters.
In operation for over 20 years, the seasonal road must be constructed annually to service several mines in the Barren Lands. The road typically opens early in February and closes early in April. It crosses lakes wherever possible to save costs, and of the 350 kilometre length to the Diavik mine, 75% is ice, built over frozen lakes.
Travel time on the ice road to Diavik is generally about 15 hours, but can be as high as 19 hours for very heavy loads. Speeds are carefully controlled to protect the ice.
Companies transport a variety of materials including fuel, construction materials, cement, explosives, and staples such as tires to their sites. Diesel fuel is the single largest commodity brought to the Diavik site.
During operations, Diavik transports approximately 2,500 truckloads of supplies to the site annually.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Frozen lakes don't bring fear

The truckers who haul 70-ton rigs hundreds of miles across Canada's frozen lakes aren't afraid of much — except warm weather. In the picture above: loaded with diesel for diamond mines, tankers on the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road wait their turn to cross a frozen lake in Canada's Northwest Territories. Last winter, for the first time, the ice didn't thicken to the consistent 40 in. required to support the heaviest rigs.

Interview with an Ice Road Trucker


It was a defining moment for a young trucker who'd been long-hauling for less than a year. T.J. Tilcox, 21, still remembers the moment he first eased his 18-wheeler off the terra firma just outside Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, on to the ice road he would follow to the Ekati diamond mine - 300 kilometres over frozen rivers and lakes deep enough to swallow him like the Titanic if his big rig fell through. "I put the window down because I was sweating," he recalls. "That was when I heard the cracking. I figured, 'I'm going straight to the bottom.' It's a pretty gut-wrenching feeling." The window went back up.

The History channel followed a group of road warriors as they cajole, ease and rev their rigs from Yellowknife to the three diamond mines that depend on them for their annual supplies of everything from diesel to replacement parts. The truckers have 50 or 60 days to move about 10,000 loads. They face -50C temperatures, steep hills, tight curves and, of course, the ever-present danger of plunging through. "I had a guy go through right in front of me this year," said veteran ice-roader Hugh Rowland."If you're not scared, you're crazy."

Driving on ice isn't like driving on asphalt, truckers say. Speeds must be kept down to about 30 kilometres an hour or a pressure wave builds in the water under the ice that can burst right through. And if a driver uses the brakes in his truck rather than his trailer, he's likely to jackknife and land in the ditch or the drink.

What draws drivers to what may be North America's toughest run? Money, for one thing. Rowland said a trucker with his own rig can take home $25,000 for eight weeks work if he does about 30 trips. Some call the ice road season the "Dash for Cash." Adventure, for another. "I thought it was going to be a hell of an experience," said Tilcox, who drove through a whiteout so dense he couldn't see past the hood of his truck and still sounds awed when he describes leaving the trees behind and heading out into open tundra. "All of a sudden you hit wide open and it's blowing ... oh my Jesus."Says Rowland: "It's a new adventure every day. It's like four-wheel driving with a truck."

What is an Ice Road Trucker?

Whatever you do for a living, it has to be more pleasant than the job chosen by the people in Ice Road Truckers. To bring heavy equipment and supplies to diamond mines in Canada's Northwest Territories, truck drivers have to guide their massive machines hundreds of miles over roads made of snow and ice. The ice roads are only usable in the winter, obviously, so the truckers work in temperatures that can reach -50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Even in the Canadian north, where the ice can freeze several feet thick on some lakes, the ice roads can only support so much weight. When your cargo is several tons, you have to be extremely careful - not just because of the risk of sinking through the ice, but because of "blowouts" caused when truckers drive too quickly, creating waves of pressure that can burst through the ice and render the road impassable. Even when you're not driving over frozen water, the roads can be treacherous, and it's not uncommon for jackknifed vehicles to block the road and bring the traffic, such as it is, to a complete standstill for hours at a time.
So why would anyone do this? Money, of course - a skilled driver can make around $70,000.00 for a couple of months' work.
But the work is lonely, tiresome and often very dull, and it's not uncommon for would-be drivers to drop out after a few days.