All three veteran drivers — Lisa Kelly , Darrell Ward and Art Burke — faced the growing list of problems created by the unusually mild winter weather caused by the El Nino in the Pacific Ocean.

And, the show got its latest new driver, a literal fresh face in year-old Steph Custance who passed the second part of a driving test at Polar Enterprises and got hired. Ward was on his way to the First Nation village of Pikangikum, Ontario when the latest problem caused by the mild winter cropped up.

The temperature was too warm — a bit more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit — to allow travel on the ice road, so Ward had no choice to but to stop driving. As he sat, Ward fretted over how an undelivered load could spell disaster for the new company he started a year ago with Kelly. Then Ward recalled a previous trip to Pikangikum and a shortcut road he took, a road that is not part of the officially-maintained ice road network, but a road nonetheless.

What Do Ice Truckers Make? | isycihe.web.fc2.com

Ward found the turnoff for that road, and while it was in even sketchier condition than the one he was on, Ward pressed on, having little choice.

But, it was close.

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On this imitation of an ice road, there was no shoulder, no turnaround, no signage and backing all the way out was clearly not an option. Ward inched onto the ice and then crept along the three-mile crossing, listening to it pop and crack under his truck. Once back on dry land, Ward stated the obvious: But, her enthusiasm for heading home fully-loaded thawed as quickly as the ice roads when a dashboard light started flashing and the engine of her truck started missing.

Lisa Kelly breaks an ice road trucking rule no one breaks

Kelly could wait for help that may or may not arrive, or she could assess the situation herself. That meant breaking one of the cardinal rules of life on the ice roads: Never turn off your truck.

After topping off the oil, she hopped back in the cab and tried to start the truck. You have got to be kidding me. Luckily, Kelly was at the top of a modest grade. She let off the brakes. Started coasting down the hill, popped it in gear and the truck fired up and Kelly rejoiced.

Art Burke was on a mile trek from Winnipeg to St.

He bounced along the badly rutted ice road, pointing out where the muskeg was actually showing through the rapidly deteriorating ice and snow.

Partway along, Burke stopped his truck to inspect a road grader about half buried in the mud and snow.

That was made clear when Burke arrived at a mile-long ice crossing that led to his destination. Work crews were busy pumping water onto the ice in hopes of it freezing that night to thicken the surface. Burke waited overnight, doing some math to figure out of his load would be under the ton limit.

Before the sun came up, Burke edged onto the ice. I think I can make it before the sun comes up.

Last night, she was back for part two of her driving test. Custance bobtailed off the Polar lot with Kohaykewych in the passenger seat. He had her try some uphill starts and then took her off-roading down a powerline right-of-way, and eventually back to Polar. A huge change in my life. A quick preview of the next episode showed Custance getting tips on making a lake crossing from Todd Dewey.

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