[narrator] It's race day in Nome.
Every winter, for over 50 years,
the town has turned out for the Nome-Golovin 200,
the oldest snowmachine race in the state of Alaska.
Go, guys, baby. Let's do this.
[narrator] This year, the celebrated 1999 winner
is returning for one last stab at glory.
Ooh, yeah.
[Shawn] One of our biggest events in Nome is the Nome-Golovin.
You win this thing, you achieve god status.
I did it back in '99, one of my proudest moments.
[indistinct]
[Shawn] I'm returning this year to show this town I still got it,
and make a run at the grand prize,
Two grand, two ounces of gold.
This race is Nome to the bone.
[narrator] 47 racers will run a grueling 200-mile, two-hour sprint
across the twists and turns of Nome back country.
[man speaking]
[man] Good luck!
[Shawn] Nome-Golovin, it's no joke.
Most years, only half the racers at the start
make it back to the finish line.
People crash and get hurt all the time.
But I'm not gonna back down.
I'm competitive about everything,
not just gold mining.
[narrator] While Shawn is racing for glory,
the rest of the fleet are jumping at the chance
to zoom up the gold board.
Gold.
[narrator] Some will win...
[diver speaking]
They will do that [bleep] under the water.
Hey, come on.
[narrator] ...and some will wreck.
[groans]
[man speaking]
[engines churning]
[man] Here we go.
[narrator] Shawn's not the only member of the fleet with a competitive drive.
Got my off-road on. Make sure your off-road is on.
That means you're ready to go.
[narrator] Chris McCully is racing to take advantage
of Mr. Gold's absence from the field.
[Chris] He's gonna rally it, notch it up and down.
This winter, I am determined to get the most gold from this fleet.
If Shawn wants to go out and race, that's okay with me.
I can just keep piling up that gold, and be on top.
In fact, I'm gonna make today my biggest haul yet.
48, 49, 50...
That's where all the drone footage tells me
that the ground I really wanna poke on is right over there.
If I wanna stay on top, I've gotta make sure that
we're on the killer ground, off the bat.
And I'm pretty confident that we will be.
The last time I used my ROV to prospect,
the ground that I found, it looks sick,
and it's the best ground that I found all winter.
Yeah, I did.
The fact is we've been sucking up a lot of gold so far.
There we go.
Wow!
And I think today is gonna be really lit.
[Chris] Yeah.
[Chris speaking]
All right, going in.
[Chris] I put together a great team,
but if I'm gonna get this day started,
I wanna go dive first.
[underwater breathing]
[Chris speaking]
All right. Let me know whatever's going on.
[Chris] There's a lot of glare around it right now.
I'm just trying to clean up the place
so I can get a better look on it right now.
[John speaking]
[Chris] All right, yep, here we go. Coming up.
Oh, man!
[John] Do you like what you're seeing down there?
[Chris speaking]
I like Jeff Bezos' account.
[Chris speaking]
Yeah, we'll pick it up for him.
[Chris speaking]
[John speaking]
Looks like there's a lot of ground ahead of us.
[Chris speaking]
[Chris] You know that I'm gonna make money.
[engines roaring]
[indistinct]
[narrator] As Shawn careens towards the 50-mile marker
in the Nome-Golovin 200.
[Kris] And I'm really hoping to pull it right off the bat.
I really need it. Please, pretty please.
Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please.
You talk to yourself a lot, and have some good conversations.
An Irishman is always forced to talk to himself to find his equal.
I guess you get the best answers you want.
Look in the mirror. Yeah, Kris, you're good looking.
- Shut up, stupid! - Yeah, you are, Kris, stop worrying.
[narrator] Kris Kelly is trying to keep his season
from careening off course.
[Andy] It looks a good spot. Lots of gold.
It's from my corner.
Like, if we go down there and we start making money,
we're gonna kill this [bleep] off.
- [Kris] This is the ideal condition. - [Andy] Yeah.
Shawn's out there running his race,
and this is the perfect time for me to get some gold
and catch up to him.
And in theory, I got just the way to do it.
[Kris] Bringing in my custom-made crawler
to scoop the gold off the seafloor,
and we're on a great spot for it.
The problem is, the thing's not here yet.
So, I gotta figure out another way to capitalize on the day.
I'm expecting Daniel and Andrew to get down there.
Uh, move the hose around it a little bit.
Maybe work two, three hours apiece.
Hopefully they can do it.
The crawler should be here any day now,
but if it doesn't,
I'm gonna have a dive team on standby ready.
I'm gonna start training Daniel and Andrew
so we don't miss a beat.
We cleaned out the engine. We've changed spark plugs.
We did everything we could to that [bleep] engine.
Last time out, this engine gave us trouble.
We inspected every nook and cranny,
so it should be running great now...
In theory.
[engine turning over]
[Kris] I just don't know what is the problem.
Fuel, air and spark. We have fuel.
We have spark.
[engine turning over]
That's why it's not [bleep] working, dude.
[beep] The fuel pump is pinched up here.
The fuel line is pinched up here.
[engine turning over]
[yelling and cursing]
We inspected everything. Every piece of that engine.
But we never noticed the fuel line was pinched against the wall.
That's why we haven't been able to get gold.
A [bleep] fuel line.
That's why we cost ourselves a bunch of money
and wasted our time.
This winter, we're our own worst enemy.
- Wow, that cost us a lot of money. - [Kris] 10 grand.
You know, that cost us 10 grand.
I need 10 grand! I need 10 grand!
Whatever, it's fixed. Now on to the next disaster.
We'll get everything set up and see if these rookies
have any gold-getting potential.
[belching]
[groans]
If you have a problem priming your hose
and you don't have one of those little ball primers,
the only way to get it done is to suck it through the line
and then hook it up like that.
And this is the result.
That's why I don't do it personally.
Hey, you're not supposed to [bleep] swallow the gasoline.
You know that, right?
[vomiting]
[narrator] While the Kellys get their engines going...
[Vernon] Welcome to ice station Wild Ranger.
[narrator] A familiar face is getting back in the gold race.
Jesus Christ.
Dad, I'll drive us back. How about that?
[speaking indistinctly]
This season got off to a bad start.
A heart fibrillation almost knocked me on my ass.
I've gotta go sit down. My heart's [bleep] up again.
[groans]
Yes. I need to talk to that [bleep] heart doctor is what I need to do.
Now, I'm rested up and ready to go.
But my daughter, Yvonne, came up to keep an eye on me.
- Hi, I'm Yvonne. - I'm Larry.
[Vernon] She's come up to Nome over the years.
You get stuck on a sandbar up here,
and the next thing you know, you're damn bear bait.
A pretty damn good goal.
Uh. Hands off, I know how you are.
But I'm especially glad she's here this winter.
With everything going on, it's good to have
one of my daughters up here with me.
Even if it is for a short visit.
I need all the help I can get these days.
- [Yvonne] Yeah, you do. - [Vernon laughing]
Shawn may be able to take time off from mining
and race snowmobiles,
but I sure as hell can't.
I made it for 200 ounces this season,
and so far I've got nothing. Nada.
Yeah, I just get kinda nervous
'cause I feel like he may, like, accidentally fall into the ice hole.
Heh, get away from the ice hole.
Jesus Christ.
She actually worries about me a little bit.
It makes me nervous.
I'm thinking right the middle of that cobble field due west of here.
We'll go out there and see if we can find a place
that looks flat, not jumbled up
and that we can get all the way through it.
It sounds good.
It works.
Today is pretty simple.
Find a hole with promising ground and get a diver in the water.
We're already behind because of that heart nonsense,
and now I've got no time for dillydally.
We've got to make it happen today or die trying.
Finally, some good news.
Larry found a great spot
with plenty of untouched ground.
It's time to call in the cavalry and get this show on the road.
Drive those in, and tie these things down.
That needs to be on this side.
Make sure it's gonna crank up.
Make sure all the valves are caught out.
We've got that pretty much in the hands.
[Vernon groans]
[bleep]
[Vernon moans]
We've got that pretty much in the hand.
[groans]
[Yvonne speaking]
I got ran over by a four-wheeler.
Ugh. You got a...
...sticky throttle I assume.
but, uh, yeah, that'll do it.
It could have been bad.
All it did is, the net effect was it knocked me on my ass,
but no damage done.
But good to go.
Yeah, I just looked over and I saw him say, "Huh-uh,"
and the four-wheeler just knocked him over,
and I thought he got, like, totally ran over by it.
But it's scary.
I mean, he's too old to be getting hit
by four-wheelers and stuff, I mean.
[Vernon] That was a new one.
Getting plowed in by a four-wheeler.
Heart problems, what's next?
I'm not sure if it's bad luck or if I've got nine lives.
All I know is we've gotta get back to work.
Nothing's gonna stop me from getting gold.
It's taking a while, but we've got excellent weather.
We've got some time left in the season.
All the parts have finally come together.
I'm not sure how much,
but we'll put gold in the box today.
[narrator] Back in the Nome-Golovin 200...
[Shawn] See you later.
...as competitors bow out left and right,
Mr. Gold's hanging tough and quickly gaining steam,
looking to crack the top ten.
And back in the gold race...
I feel like a yeti right now, I'll be honest.
...despite sudden wind gusts,
Team Zeke is getting ready to enter the Gold Board Grand Prix.
Ugh, how goes it out here?
Sweet. I'm gonna suit up.
- So then I'll send you down next. - Sounds great.
Good to go.
Shawn's off guard today.
But letting a day go to waste,
for me, is criminally negligent in this situation.
I can't afford to hold ashore on a windy day.
With all the money that I've spent
building this self-contained dive shack
and just all the expansion that I've done to my operation
like bringing in my friend, Nate.
He really impressed me this summer.
[Nate speaking]
[Zeke] But ice mining is a totally different beast.
So, we're gonna go through some training drills today,
and hopefully he can get up to speed.
Pretty stoked to go down under the ice for the first time today.
Um, every breath could be your last.
I'm gonna be taking it super-slow.
I think once I get this down, I'm gonna crush it.
But, for today, it's just baby steps from the greenhorn here.
All right, I'll get your light.
There Nate goes. First dive.
[Zeke] All right, why don't you just hang out for a little while,
just a little below the hull.
[Nate] Roger, roger.
He's gonna be hanging out right down below the hull there for a while
until he gets comfortable.
I want him to get comfortable.
I've got another mask rigged up here
in case I jump down there.
How're you feelin'?
[Nate speaking]
[Zeke speaking]
It may seem like we're just goofing with Nate,
but this is an important drill.
You're putting your life in other people's hands when you're under the ice.
If you hear from above that you need to come up,
you cannot hesitate.
You have to get up immediately.
An extra second or two could make a huge difference,
and he passed the test.
[Nate] I'm feeling really good. I'm feeling really comfortable.
I've been through whatever, I mean,
I'm gonna, like, take it slow and everything.
I'm also, like, I'm really down to dredge.
Thank you.
[Zeke] If you're ready to dredge in the hole...
Okay, I've still gotta practice, I mean, for a little bit of time.
Yeah.
My gut tells me that Nate's ready to go.
So, I'm gonna send him down to do a little mining and we'll see how he does.
[Nate speaking]
[distorted laughing]
[Zeke speaking]
[Zeke] How does everything feel down there?
[Nate speaking]
We have turned the pressure off. You should have suction.
Yep, I've got suction.
I found the spot, right where the sand meets these rocks.
[Nate] And I'm gonna try and turn that big bench
and go back and forth and it's feeling really good.
[Zeke] Well, that's awesome news, man. Keep at it.
[Nate] Copy that.
[Nate speaking]
[joyful shouting]
Yes!
Making money.
[Zeke speaking]
[narrator] More than halfway through the Nome-Golovin 200 snowmachine race,
Mr. Gold makes a pit stop on his race for glory.
[Shawn speaking]
Truth is, I'm not as young as I used to be,
but I'm still in the game.
It's like gold mining.
I give it my all, no matter what.
You can never stop trying to rise to the top.
Go.
[narrator] As Shawn motors off...
...back out on the ice...
[John speaking]
[Chris speaking]
[narrator] ...Chris McCully chases gold.
[Chris speaking]
[John] Heck yeah, baby.
We're gonna give them all a run for their money, for darn sure.
[Chris] Hey, John, you got a copy?
[John speaking]
[Chris speaking]
[John speaking]
[Chris] I'm gonna start heading up.
[John speaking]
[Chris] I prospected great ground.
It turned out to be better than I expected.
I mean, it was gold the entire time, nonstop.
And really, we just getting started on this pastry.
[whistles]
It looks like the gold goes in all these directions.
Right.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gold's out on his snow machine.
That's fine for me.
I'm just gonna keep loading up this box
while he's out there chasing trophies.
So, I think everybody is still caught onto this race day.
You're just racing for the podium.
I rather race for the riches.
So, while they go partying, I'm out here getting gold,
and I'm totally fine with that.
That dive, it's a big win, for sure, a big win.
[narrator] While one team is done for the day,
[Kris] There's gonna be no problems today, my friend.
[Daniel] I have no fear right now.
Started up the air compressor.
[narrator] Another is yet to get in the water.
Rule number one, plan your escape.
Make sure your hose is not wrapped up,
your ear line is not wrapped up on anything.
- If it gets wrapped up, I cannot save you. - Yeah.
[Kris] So, the crawler isn't here yet.
And my whole season is depending on that.
But that's okay.
And the engine wasn't working for the dumbest reason ever.
But whatever, it's fixed now.
We're gonna get the first of our rookie divers off,
my buddy Daniel,
and hopefully get the first gold of the season.
Better late than never, right?
[Daniel] Getting ready to go in.
Nerves are picking up a little bit.
But I can handle it.
Nothing to fear but fear itself, right?
- Good. You got him here. - [Daniel breathing]
[Andy] Okay, Daniel.
This side.
- [Kris] Check. Check. - [Daniel] Roger.
Starting my first dive.
[Kris] Okay, are you at the bottom of the hole?
[Daniel] Yeah.
Okay. I want you to make sure your umbilical's on, uh, the good side.
You know, the, the furtherest point away.
[Daniel breathing in rhythm]
[Kris] You know what? Your breathing is great.
You're doing a good job so far.
A lot of people start hyperventilating. [chuckles] right away.
[Daniel] Roger that.
[Kris] All right! That's what I wanna hear.
And I want you to clear off that cobble.
That's a good way to start the day off.
- [Andrew coughs] - [Kris] Are you okay?
- Yeah, I just puked up in that bathroom. - [Kris] Okay.
- Well, don't worry, you'll be okay. - [Andrew coughs]
- [vomiting] - Don't do that [bleep] under the water.
[Andy speaking]
[Andrew] I don't know.
Well, we'll give him the chance,
but I guess I'll stand next to the dive hole
- so I can help him out. - [Kris] Oh.
[Andy] What's he gonna do? Puke in the mask?
As in what, he's gonna take the mask off to try to clean it?
The plan today was getting both of our new divers in the water and tested out.
But Andrew's still puking his guts out,
so I don't think he's gonna dive.
[Andy speaking]
[Andrew speaking]
[Andy speaking] You've got some puke on your face right here, dude.
[Kris] Truth is... The other side. The other side.
Truth is, do you think I should risk putting you underneath there?
You... You tell me right now.
[Andy speaking]
Okay Well, let's wait till tomorrow.
Okay. Just 'cause I wanna give you the best shot you can do, dude.
I really want you to work out.
Sorry, you don't have to siphon gas very often.
[laughing]
Once in a while.
Andrew's out. And then there was one.
They've been down about an hour without a problem.
I'm happy.
[Daniel] I'm...
Yeah, stand up.
Stamp your feet. Wiggle around.
Just try to make it work.
[Daniel speaking]
[Kris] Okay. Fine. You did a pretty good job, if you wanna call it a day.
[Daniel] Coming up.
[Kris] You did a pretty good job.
So, how do you like your first ice mining experience?
It was good. I wish I had done better putting my hose in
because I could go longer.
[Kris] You know what, though, you did a better job
than I thought you were gonna do.
So good job.
- I don't know if that's... - It's a compliment.
That's a compliment, you know.
Only got a few flakes. Not enough to do a clean out.
Everything that's happened so far,
I'm gonna call this a win. The hell with it.
At least we got a diver down.
Thank you.
Daniel got some experience, and it seems like he might be a diamond in the rough.
Once we get the crawler, we'll be in good shape.
Success. He did a great job.
He exceeded the expectations that I had for him.
I think he's gonna work out just fine.
[narrator] Eleven miles east.
We've got all the major parts to the buggle put together.
Got the main pump and engine running.
[narrator] After several heart-stopping delays,
Vernon Adkison is finally on the verge
of getting some ice mining on the books.
We sent out somebody in the water here in a few minutes.
And right after that, we'll be putting some gold in the box.
It certainly hasn't been easy, but finally, finally,
it's showtime.
I went out and found some of the best divers in the gold mining business.
Larry's first up.
He's dived all over the world.
He's totally, absolutely, a complete pro.
I was lucky to get him.
I can't wait to see what he produces.
Okay, Larry.
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking]
All right.
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon] Well, I mean, I'm thinking, especially the other one...
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking] Gosh.
[Larry speaking]
Gosh!
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking]
Bam!
[Vernon speaking]
Unbelievable. Larry's airline froze up.
And just like that, he had no air at all.
It has to be terrifying,
even for an experienced diver like him.
It's been one thing after another.
- Start this again. - All right.
We're gonna try it again.
We've got everything sorted out.
We've taken some precautions to prevent another freeze up.
There are no guarantees in this game.
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon] Okay, Larry, check the air.
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
After a very rocky start,
he's actually seeing visible gold.
He's only been down a few minutes.
We haven't hit the motherload yet, but...
...at least we're into visible gold.
[Larry speaking]
Yes.
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon] Oh, boy.
A rock jam. Of course.
At this point, it's just a matter of what's gonna happen next.
All right. You stay here and communicate with him.
Okay.
Throttle down.
Open up the dump valve slowly.
[Larry exclaims]
[bleep]
[Yvonne speaking] What?
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry speaking]
[Vernon speaking]
[Larry] Oh!
[Vernon speaking]
Well, this is about as frustrating as a day can be out here on the ice.
At this point, I wouldn't blame Larry
if he just told us all to go take a hike.
Not ideal to say the least.
[Larry] I'm gonna call it for the day.
I got clocked in the head pretty hard by that dump valve line.
It knocked me off the 8-inch hose
and sent me back to the ocean floor.
Rang my bell pretty good.
[Vernon] It's been a very interesting day.
We had, like, at least four that I could count near-death events.
[chuckles] But we survived them all.
Tomorrow, when we start her up,
I don't think we're gonna have all those problems.
And I feel better knowing that, uh,
I'm leaving and you guys are up and running,
and hopefully all of the bad stuff we've gotten out of the way,
and it'll be smooth sailing from here. So...
- Well, you know you could stay a couple more days. - [both laugh]
[Yvonne] He doesn't know about my limit.
[Yvonne and Vernon laugh]
[Shawn] Yeah.
[narrator] As Shawn heads into the final stretch,
he's finding his groove,
hitting speeds over 115 miles an hour.
[Shawn] On the move.
[narrator] While over on Tomcod...
[Nate] This is so fun.
[Zeke speaking]
[Nate speaking]
...[narrator] Nate Wednesday is also finding a groove
on his first dive under the ice.
[Nate speaking]
Probably like eight inches down.
[Nate] Roger. Roger.
Nate had never dredged before I came to know him,
but last summer, it was obvious that he was a natural at it.
It appears that he is a naturalized miner as well.
I think a lot of guys would struggle diving at these depths in the dark,
like, under these pressure ridges,
um, these temperatures.
But Nate takes to it like he's been doing it for years.
[Nate speaking]
[crew member speaking]
[Zeke speaking]
- [Zeke] Hey, Nate? - [Nate] What's up?
Uh, I think I wanna wrap it up for today,
uh, and get everything put away before it gets dark.
[Nate speaking]
My plan was to have a four-man dive team
so we could put a massive amount of hours on the box all the way along.
Now that Nate's got its feet wet,
we're ready to unleash the four-headed monster and get after it.
I couldn't be more stoked about how this is going down.
First dive. Go, Nate.
- Whoo! - [Nate] All right.
Yeah, baby!
[Zeke] Yeah, high five.
- [bleep] - [Zeke] That was rocking.
[Nate] Oh, dude, it was so dope.
[piano music playing]
[wood slide whistle plays]
[cymbals clash]
[Zeke] Well, I got my little cleanup sleuths out here.
We got the concentrates from our first hole.
The price of gold's super high right now.
All-time historic gold price high.
So, we're definitely in the right business.
[narrator] After Nate's rookie ice dive,
Zeke Tenhoff is hoping to speed onto the leaderboard.
I would say with this 8-inch dredge,
it's probably like, you know, 10, 12 hours of diving per hole.
It's the first cleanout of the season.
Nate went down on his first dive under the ice
and he crushed it.
I'm not really expecting a huge number for this cleanup,
but I'm encouraged that we're really starting to pick up the pace
and we're gonna start really piling up some gold here.
[crew member] Oh, yeah, this is definitely gold.
I'm gonna light up this torch and dry this gold out outside.
Uh, what have we got?
Two point eight seven.
- Decent. Decent. - [Nate] Decent.
[narrator] Two point eight seven ounces is worth $5,400.
And Zeke and company finally get their names up in lights.
So that's good.
It's not a bad number to start out with,
but I'm aiming for a much bigger take over this ice season.
I think now that Nate's got his bearings with ice diving,
we've got a pretty powerhouse team across the board.
Pretty soon we're gonna be able to put multiple divers down every day
and the cleanups are just gonna get better and better.
That's why, like, I wanted to have four guys.
It really helps.
- [Nate] Whoo! - [Zeke laughing]
[narrator] Team Tenhoff has crossed the finish line for the day.
And back at the race,
the chequered flag is finally in sight for Mr. Gold.
- [crowd cheering] - That's Shawn.
[crowd continue cheering]
- [woman] That was so awesome. - [Shawn groans in relief]
Did you love that?
[Shawn speaking]
Just as tough as I remember it.
Well, that was a blast.
I finished eighth.
Top 10 finish.
Against all these young kids, I'll take that.
That's enough fun and games for me.
We need to get back to mining.
[narrator] As Shawn leaves with a top 10 finish,
back in Nome...
So far it looks pretty healthy.
Wow, look at that. Mmm.
[narrator] ...Chris McCully is trying to race to the top of the gold count.
[Chris speaking]
Wow.
When opportunity presents itself,
you gotta take every advantage you can.
Shawn entered the Nome-Golovin race.
That means, I'd be mining and he wouldn't.
So, I had to make the most of it.
Just judging what I see in the box,
that is exactly what I did.
The gold down there is absolutely phenomenal.
The final process.
Gold!
Yes. Let's see it.
Really heavy stuff right here.
Here we go.
We've got 40.
One hundred.
Two hundred grams.
Three hundred grams.
Four hundred.
Five hundred.
Six hundred eight grams.
But wait, there's more.
Here's our bonus round.
Look at that, bonus pickers.
Whoa.
Now that bumps it up to 617 grams.
Divided by 31.1.
Twenty ounces. Boom.
[narrator] Twenty ounces is worth $38,000.
And just like that, there's a new leader atop the gold board.
I would say an hour.
Wow. These numbers are bonkers.
The gold kicks up like this,
no one's ever gonna touch us.
Not Mr. Gold, not Mr. Clean, not anybody.
We couldn't be on hotter stuff right now.
We're absolutely smoking.
Just gotta keep it up.
Boom.
Yeah, good job, guys.
[Chris] Time to go and have a nice dinner, buy a pizza,
Ooh!
[narrator] Shawn proved himself in the snow machine race.
But he has fallen back in the race for gold.
Next time on Bering Sea Gold...
It's gonna be amazing. Everything's gonna work.
Everything's gonna be great.
But that would be nice.
Oh,
- [man] Whoo! - [beep]
Ugh!
I'm kind of nervous 'cause he doesn't know how to swim.
[Zeke] You got this, dude.
There's no excuses.
You just gotta do it every day, keep doing it.
Uh, some big chunks down here.
Kinda sketchy.
There it is, baby!
Cable on.
- Attaboy! - Yes!
[Vernon] Oh, good God.
[Chris] Finally.
Uh, that'll put a smile on your face.
- Give me some love, baby. Yeah! - Yeah, about time.
[man speaking]
Andy, pull him up.
This must be...
[Chris] We're just getting going.