http://www.diavik.ca/iceroad.htm

Anyone know much about it , i have seen it on the discovery channel , i have my class 1E (AZ, CDL, or whatever else it can be called) and i would like to go up there and drive the road for the 2 months it is open , i like new experiences, i get bored easily after a few months.

Know how to get hired on? I would like to hear about it.

 

With the current economy out here I suspect anyone with a pulse that can pass a edit test would be guaranteed a job. Maybe some of the trucking companies that haul up there would be worth contacting. I think Grimshaw RTL, Rainbow etc haul there.

 

There are LOTS of ice roads up north. You dont want to wander from the driving lanes even an inch. I used to have an e-mail with pics of a tanker truck that broke through the ice. I wish I could find it.

 

I have drove on them back in the sevetise you can go off track some what, but you CAN NOT GO OVER THE REGULATED SPEED. You have to stay neer to the center don't go to the shore. There is a wave that you push under the ice and if you go to fast you will break the ice and go in. Some of the channels that are driven on are deep and have a very fast current if you go in your gone. Ice roads are on rivers, channells and so on. I have thought about going up there again but then I have been there and done that, and I like to keep a clean pair of shorts. When you are driving and water is forming around your wheals you get a real pucker feeling. The north is real cool but not for the faint of heart. As I sit here I think about the time up there, one mistake and you die. It is not like a war zone but it never lets go there is no escape and there are no prisoners. If you go good luck to you. You will never forget being there it is a true experience. The guys that go there are true exploerers. Neer to the end of December and most of if not all January there is no sun. Dress warm brother and in your spare time check out the northern lights. I remember one storm so cold it was -110 f you find out what your made of in that kind of wheather.

 

That super B that broke through was a former ventures truck, that tried to cross an ice bridge that was only rated to carry a heavy pickup truck, if that much. The fact that he made it that far out attests to how far ignorance can really carry you.
As for the Diavik/Snap Lake/ BHP road, last winter was pretty tough with the warm weather. They never did get any full B train loads across before the ice went to heck. If the winter is cold however, that ice road is an industry in itself for approximately 45 days. Longer if weather permits
It is an interesting job to do, for the first few days, however, it gets old quickly, and you need to remind yourself that you are only there for the money. Most drivers gross 1/3 of what the truck makes, with possibility of bonuses after either the first 45 days, or a set number of loads.
Speeding is NOT allowed, anyone caught speeding is toasted. No second chances. No alcohol, No drugs. All of the above mean BYE BYE.

Otherwise, Ventures West, and RTL are the two major contractors on that haul, and they sub several other smaller outfits as required to fill quotas.

Look into it, look at it, then look past it..

Happy hauling

 

I am going to look into it some more yet as i find it really interesting , i watched a show on the discovery channel ( a few times now) about that exact road, that's why i asked about that one. I think it would be fun for a few months.

I think Dr. Evil can attest to the fact that i am the kind of person that is carzy enough (but possibly calm enough) to do that kind of job just for the experience. Heck , i slept in a camper with 4 other guys just so because i always wanted to work on a harvest crew

And not that it matters , what kind of money DO the truck drivers make?

 

I did one round trip, special load of chemical 6 years ago. Once was enough! Drove across both ways with the door propped open in the "ready to bail position".

This is the advice my Dad passed to me: If you can hear the ice cracking as your driving this is a good thing - if you don't hear the cracking, you going too fast, or too slow. Either way, get prepared to bail.

Quite honestly, I don't remember if I heard cracking or not, I was worried more about not filling my shorts.

I can't honestly remember what I made for the trip.

 

So, I take it no one obey's the seat belt laws??

 

Alright, Thanks so far guys , does anyone have an "in" or tips on getting hired? who to call?

 

Not when you're up there!

 

Westcan Bulk Transport LTd. --(780)472-6633
Ventures West Transport Inc.--(780)449-1955
RTL-Robinson Enterprises Ltd.--(780)447-4900


I don't have an in with these companies because I worked for a different one at the time and my trip up there was special circumstance.

 

There are ice roads in many remote parts of many provinces. Paul's Hauling out of Winnipeg, MB is always looking for suckers, oops I mean drivers, for the ice roads.

 

Paul's is a division of Westcan.

 

I have family that was out at the scene of one tanker going through the ice.