bobthedog:
Take my word for it, as someone who actually does know, that it is nothing like you see on the telly. You have no concept of trying to breathe -55 air, none at all. You have no idea how spooky it is to watch water jetting up 30 feet away from your 37 tonne truck because the weight you are imposing is making the ice sink. You have no clue about watching a crack run from beneath your truck and running ahead of you.
That gentlemen is the exact reason why I want to give it a shot. I enjoy driving on snow and ice simply because of the thought and control you need to put into it to keep going and it is a bit challenging (anyone who says its easy is a blatant lier). Yes I have been watching the programmes but for their entertainment value only, I have been doing my research for instance the Yellowknife to Davik Diamond mine road was opened in 1983 and since then there have been 2 fatalities both of which not driving related also the speeds used on the roads are closer to 15mph when loaded sometimes dropping to 6.5mph and 37mph when empty, so take my word for it I am under no illusions of this being easy. At the end of the day, like I said in an earlier post, if they turn round and say sorry we dont take on Brits or sorry your licence wont cover you over here then I have lost nothing, still got my job/house/family back in blighty, I just want the chance to try which I dont believe warranted the some of the comments. BTW JIMBO47 and bobthedog have you driven the roads? If you have can you tell me what they are like.
Oh and FYI Lisa Kelly the one whom you refer to runs the James W Dalton Highway (aka Dalton Highway or Alaska 11) which runs from the Elliot Highway just north of Fairbanks up to Prudoe Bay
dabenji … i hope you dont think i was bulling …imo i gave a straight answer to a to a question no sugar coating just like i got when we started the journey to canada …
BTD has ran the manitoba/ontario rds,i belive…,
myself … been up north on the gravel rds in mb,ab,sk,bc ,and never thought the money was good enough to run ice in winter ,when i could make reasonable money on highway…
when the winds howling and the temps way down /snowing its more than enough excitement for me…
but if you start looking now and with a bit o luck you could try the 2012 season.
my neighbours(husband &wife) ran the ice for yrs in mb &on tario ,and know shuttle trains from calgary -yellowknife for 2mnths and he told me that the ice rds job is not what it was,
imo if you still think you want to do the ice … think manitoba &ontario bush roads first…
jimmy.
Thanks I might try the bush roads first then do you have any companies that might give me a chance, was thinking about the 2013 -2014 season on the ice anyway just need to build up as much info as I can before trying, and btw I admire your honesty, but like I said im under no illusion that this is going to be a walk in the park, lol i’d imagine the -15 we had here a few weeks back is tropical compared to some of the temps you guys see day in day out.
If its just the challenge of driving on the ice, why dont you look at doing some work in Sweden, they have ice roads aswell, and are part of the EU, meaning you can drive on your UK licence and find work there without any problems aswell.
dinosteveus1:
Good post, far too many bullies on here. It’s not a nice place to be sometimes, especially if the ‘been there, done it’ brigade are on. They gang up and 'dis you big time if you don’t know it all or aren’t in their little ‘group’.
Utter ■■■■■■■■.
You appear to label me in among the bullies, yet you know better. The “been there- done that” brigade, as you so eloquently describe them, usually start off reasonably enough, and then you come along again and again banging on that this and that is wrong. You seem to know so much about it all. And you argue all the damned time. Those of us that have been there and have done it then get fed up with hearing the same old ■■■■■■■■ arguments… It never ends.
So Benji, go ahead… Go up there. Be my guest. I will pull you out after your inexperience gets you stuck, but you will be shovelling the snow as well. There is none of this “not paid to do that” ■■■■■■■■ up there. You will have to get your ■■■ out and do the real work, the stuff that Lisa doesn’t seem to have to do. And if you ■■■■ up too often then you could find yourself stuck for a long time… Just for your info, the bears start waking up in May as a rule, so you need to have walked out by then.
But if you smash a bridge, or dig a hole in the road or any other happy ■■■■■■■■■, then you better be ready to repair it, and you better know how to repair it.
If it cools down properly again then I shall be going up this week. I have a run to Gods River in Manitoba, I think, and then we are on the Ontario roads. I will take the camera and post clips on youtube again.
“I like driving on snow” indeed! This has simply got to be a wind up.
Agreed its not bullying its just trying to give me a true insight into the dangers and trials that lie ahead if I get out there, and Bob I believe that is why they put rookie drivers with experienced ones until they know what they are doing, Im not afraid of a challenge and I am certainly not afraid of hard work, and as for the enjoyment of driving on snow and ice motorway driving gets very boring I like to challenge my driving skills to know what gear to be in where to postion myself on the road and also to judge others driving so I wont have to try to stop suddenly or take evassive action to avoid someone thats what i ment about driving on ice, its all for the betterment of my driving skill, nothing else.
DABenji:
Oh and FYI Lisa Kelly the one whom you refer to runs the James W Dalton Highway (aka Dalton Highway or Alaska 11) which runs from the Elliot Highway just north of Fairbanks up to Prudoe Bay
Ahha!!!
Come on now DABenji, own up, have you got a secret crush on the lovely Lisa■■?
Is that what this really all about??
The lads who have done the job and who actually KNOW have given you the answers you have been looking for, but keep going, nothing can stand in the way of true love, not -50 temperatures or a lack of experience.
Good luck with what you are looking for but one last thing…I think she`s married!!!
Bottom line is this. You have absolutely no idea what you are asking for. You saw Lisa with her muesli bars and sleeping bag… What you didn’t notice is that every other scene she has changed her clothes and changed her hair style.
Take my word for it, as someone who actually does know, that it is nothing like you see on the telly. You have no concept of trying to breathe -55 air, none at all. You have no idea how spooky it is to watch water jetting up 30 feet away from your 37 tonne truck because the weight you are imposing is making the ice sink. You have no clue about watching a crack run from beneath your truck and running ahead of you.
The British invented just the right thing for that job years ago and it could probably do those runs as a lake ferry all year round but it’ll probably take a while for the Canadians to realise it.
Maybe we are a bit behind the times in Canada,one of the many appealing characteristics of the place.How many British people would like a slower paced lifestyle ? Lots probably
I was thinking more in the context of it must be better sitting on one of those in the cafe while it flies smoothly over the ice than trying to drive an artic across a frozen lake.
