Ice Road Blogging: The Final Chapter
Okay, okay, after posting part one of Ice Road Blogging, I lost track of how many of you said, "yeah, but do you really know Sarah Palin?" Yes my pretties, I do. She hasn't invited me on a moose kill with Todd and Bristol, but I do have never before seen video of her. Maybe if y'all ask kindly, I'll post it with one of my upcoming blogs. Oh and Sarah, if you're reading this, my parents still get a kick out of that video. But let's get back to the story:
At 4,739 feet, Atigun Pass is the highest pass in Alaska that is maintained year round. It serves as a lifeline for Prudhoe Bay, which is hundreds of miles above the Arctic Circle, and is our countries largest oil field.
But because sea ice blocks the path of ocean barges for almost the entire year, Carlile Transportation (www.Carlile.biz) sends it's now infamous blue trucks up the icy Dalton Highway to keep the facility, and support city stocked, and alive.
Yes, these are the stars of the History Channel's smash hit: Ice Road Truckers. Their exploits are scene regularly on the air waves, but this is a chance to see what it's like without the fast edits and computer generated graphics added in. This was shot with just me, and a Flip Ultra HD video camera.
In late Winter 2010, I took a ride with one of their truckers, Robert Pennick, for my employer, KTUU TV, and it's website www.GoToAK.com with 104,000 pounds of diesel strapped to our backs. The weather and road conditions were quite pleasant, until the last 40 miles . . . then all hell broke loose. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the video do the rest of the talking:
Stay tuned for my next series, where I'll take you to a remote lodge that is only accessible by air and snowmachine (which is Alaskan for snowmobile), yet serves up four star cuisine and fine wine. So after a round of dog mushing, one can fill up on shitake and oyster mushroom risotto and pinot noir, or perhaps after an exhilerating snow machine run, a reindeer steak served medium rare with a petite syrah?
Until we rub noses again!
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