Ice Road Truckers returns

For a while last year, one of the most popular searches on our web site was for Ice Road Truckers. Not having access to the History channel last year (it’s a rather long story, but I digress), I had never seen the show.

Then, while vacationing in New Hampshire, I came upon the show one day and sat transfixed by it for nearly three hours of back-to-back episodes – as was my mother, who is in no way interested in trucking.

The good news I found in my in-box this morning is the show is back for its third season. Debuting Sunday, May 31 at 9 p.m., Ice Road Truckers will chronicle Carlile Transportation as it hauls construction materials and oversized drilling rigs along ice roads to the oil camps of Alaska’s North Slope. According to the History Channel, Ice Road legends Hugh “Polar Bear” Rowland and Alex Debogorski return along with veteran George “King of the Haul Road” Spears and Jack Jesse. Joining the cast this year will be Tim Freeman, a rookie from Minnesota, and Lisa Kelly, the first full-time female driver to be seen on Ice Road Truckers, the channel said.

For anyone who has ever hauled in minus-70 degree temperatures or on ice roads, this show provides a reminder of the difficult conditions they faced. For those who never have, after watching the show, you probably will never want to. But it’s still great enjoyment to watch. I know I will.