KEN'S KORNER - APRIL 2010
FROM ICE ROADS TO ICY ROADS
BY AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & DRIVER KEN SKAGGS
Goodbye winter and hello spring! Whew, man am I glad that winter is over! To me, there’s nothing scarier than driving on ice, or driving in white-out conditions – or both at the same time. Most years, when spring finally comes, I feel a tremendous sigh of relief that I made it through another winter. Of course, some areas are still in danger of winter weather, but most of us are in the clear now.
I still remember my first white-out. I was on a winding, two-lane road in Pennsylvania. I was creeping along at about 30 mph and noticed a sharp turn up ahead. Just before the turn, a serious snow-squall came upon me and I couldn’t see at all. I turned my steering wheel where I thought the road should be and hoped my guess was correct. I remember easing off the accelerator, wanting to just stop, but I was afraid that I’d get rear-ended, so I just kept it going. Just a few seconds before having a heart-attack (metaphorically), the snow eased enough to see the road, and by the grace of God, I was still on it.
Another terrible feeling is when your truck is completely stopped on ice, yet you can feel it sliding, ever so slightly, being pushed by the wind. Now that’s a helpless feeling. This exact thing happened to me this winter while I was parked at a truck stop in Wisconsin. The lot was coated with glass-like ice and had a very slight incline. My brakes were set, but even after being stopped for a minute or two, I still felt my truck moving. I almost thought I was imagining it, so I got out and watched my steer tire move sideways another inch or two before finally stopping.
I get that same gut-wrenching feeling whenever I watch Ice Road Truckers on television. But, I still have to watch, and I’m happy for the show’s success. They are beginning their fourth season, and are the highest rated show on the History Channel. Those drivers are some real characters, and it’s always a pleasure to see what’s going to go wrong next. It’s not that I wish for trouble, or want to see an accident, I don’t. But, I know how subzero temperatures can play havoc on heavy equipment (and people).
I sometimes wonder about the other ice road truckers – the guys not on the TV show – the guys who were there before it became such a glamorous occupation. These are the guys that paved the way for today’s drivers – the old-timers. And what about the ones who didn’t live to tell about it? Thankfully, statistically speaking ice road trucking isn’t any more dangerous than any other trucking. Although there have been a few fatalities over the years, there haven’t been any more than you’d expect from any other type of trucking job – and thankfully, none in recent years. The ones who did suffer a couple of fatalities lately were the drivers who plow those ice roads. They are the first ones out onto the ice, blazing the trail for the big rigs. I’d like to see a show all about these guys.
Did I say glamorous? Yes, I did. You’d be surprised to see how many websites there are nowadays, advertising for ice road trucker jobs. Most of them are not legitimate, in my opinion, and just want to sell you a list of trucking companies that supposedly do ice road trucking. But what that tells me is there must be a bunch of guys (and a few girls) out there dying to get into it (no pun intended). The success of the TV show brought a bunch of daring drivers out for the challenge. But again, the old-timers – the first ones to go across those frozen waterways – that’s who I wondered about. What was it like back then? And could you even imagine doing it in a 1950’s truck? They must have had it really rough.
From the 1950’s through the 1970’s, John Denison was the leading pioneer, carving out one of the world’s first ice roads from Yellowknife to Port Radium. Edith Iglauer has a great book all about it called Denison’s Ice Road. Since then, more mining sites have opened and as needed, more ice roads to get to them. And over the years, the trucking companies and drivers who dare to go have paved the way (they wish it were paved) to doing it much more safely.
Of course, we who watch the show know a little about the ice roads in Alaska and Canada. But, did you know there is an ice road in the lower 48 states? It goes across two miles of Lake Superior, from Bayfield, WI to La Pointe, WI on Madeline Island. The children who live on the island and go to school on the mainland ride a ferry most of the year, and drive the ice road for a couple of months. And, on those days in between, while the ice is still hardening, they ride in an ice sled water taxi (a modified and covered airboat that is light enough to travel on the ice but will float should the ice not be thick enough and break). Sounds like a pretty cool way to go to school, and something the kids will never forget.
As for me, I have enough trouble driving on icy asphalt, so you won’t be seeing me trucking across the frozen tundra any time soon. Trying to navigate the lower 48 in the winter is enough of a challenge as far as I’m concerned. In fact, I like to stay south of I-40 as much as possible in the winter, whenever I have the choice.
But, if you are one of those daring souls who are not afraid of breaking down in the middle of a frozen lake and you really want to get into ice road trucking, look for actual trucking companies, not job listing services. Oh, and if you do happen to get a job there, don’t forget to leave your seatbelt off, and keep a hand on the door handle. You never know when you’ll have to jump from a sinking truck!